Regenerative farming vs industrial farming is the dilemma.  It doesn't matter whether it's animals or plants or fungus.  

You may have an idea in your mind about what it's like to slaughter & process a cow, but I promise you, it can be done very humanely, if the cow is alone, lived a happy life, & never sees it coming.  It's completely analogous to plucking, skinning, dividing and eating an avocado, one that can sustain you for 3 months. 

Industrial farmers care nothing about ecological balance or humane conditions.  They'd rather genetically mutate the things they grow to survive on depleted land, than simply let the land regenerate itself.