Gosh, that's actually a big question and not one that I'm sure anybody could come to a definitive, absolute answer.

Ultimately, I think it depends on an individual's ethics. Some people believe there's nothing wrong with hunting because it's just predation happening in the ecosystem. Some people avoid certain ingredients or produce like palm oil or avocados because of the ecological harm. For some people, it's eating only locally sourced food to minimize the impact of emissions from the global supply chain.

For many people, it's a murky line between doing what's right and doing what's achievable. And as people get pushed to their limits they might not be able to afford the luxury of choosing what's good.

For my part, I'm trying to do the best I can. Our grocery budget is quite frugal and we're getting squeezed. Eating vegetarian is often a financial necessity. My wife craves meat, and I'm not going to argue with her body's natural impulse. So if there's a bargain or leftovers, we won't pass up an opportunity.

The sad thing is, I live in a first world country and I know people who are way less food secure than I am.

Another one that kills me is eggs. I pay a little more for the free-range eggs from a factory farm, but I'm still buying from a factory farm. I have no illusions that the conditions of a factory chicken are good, but at the least they're not battery-caged, so they must be suffering less. But if we were buying from a local farmer, they'd either be too expensive or not able to keep up with demand. We'd be kind of hard pressed to meet our nutritional needs without eggs, so I have to live with the fact that I'm supporting a factory farm