For the record I 100% agree with both of your positions in practice. We slightly differ on the topic of distaste for exploiting life.

IMO that’s a function of how many human features we attribute to the life and how we exploit it. Thus it’s very subjective and can only be looked at in the aggregate: slaughtering cows and pigs is distasteful because they bleed and scream like any mammal. Milking is exploitative but it can be a much less invasive process and a more fair exchange for a decent life of domestic animals. Think of the human job of a wet nurse, it doesn’t inherently have to be shitty.

I’m just here to rail against extreme positions like “all animals must have the same rights”. It’s such a seemingly benevolent statement that’s loaded with much more complex implications when you apply it to reality.