Christy:

It is true that we have an obligation "to be good to the animals that we
take care of" but the obligation is directed toward ourselves. This is the
point that animal rights activists fail to understand. It is in our rational
self interest to take good care of our pets and even our food animals,
because the result will be a better pet or a healthier food source. As Ken
Stuart pointed out, animals do not have rights merely because they exist.
Rights are moral concepts and, as such, can apply only to conceptual
creatures--humans. Unfortunately, many today place feelings above thinking,
never identifying the origin of their emotions. This results in them
demanding that something IS just because they WANT it to be. Therein lies
the danger of your last sentence, "I want every animal to have a good life
before it ends on my plate." That is all it would take to convince many
people that it is all right to pass laws forcing us to guarantee a good life
for all animals (of course the term "good" would be left open to
interpretation by the gang in power at the time).

Happy eating,

Hank

"An invasion of armies can be resisted,
but not an idea whose time has come."
--Victor Hugo