Interesting thread.
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2. Animals aren't intelligent like we are/Animals aren't capable of reason.
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According to Aristotle, animals are NOT capable of reason because they do not have a soul, which is unique to humans...We, as humans, DO have a soul, and thus can act in accordance with reason. So that is a major difference between homo sapiens and other mammals.
Also, young infants, by the pure definition of it, do possess intelligence. Just because they cannot speak or move around easily does not mean tthey do not have the capacity to acquire knowledge.
Furthermore, the function of animals in the world is to simply to survive, unlike humans who have the added responsibility of living a moral life (we can have morals because of our soul and ability to reason). Thus, as part of the natural course of events, animals will be consumed by those on a higher level in the food chain. It is not immoral to participate in the natural order of the world.
To bring in another philosopher, according to Kant, it is not immoral to eat animals. This is because the concept of animal consumption can be applied as a universal law of nature, without destroying the concept in the process (e.g. most people with access to it consume animal meat in the world).
/runs away