According to the Farm Transparency Project:
Most animals are slaughtered as babies, at a very small portion of their natural life span, regardless of whether they are raised conventionally or in operations that are labelled “humane”, “sustainable”, “natural”, “free range”, “cage free”, “heritage bred”, “grass fed”, “local” or “organic”.
The following chart comes from their website at: https://www.farmtransparency.org/kb/food/abattoirs/age-animals-slaughtered
* Most chickens and turkeys are bred to grow so fast that their bodies cannot endure very long. When not bred for consumption, chickens and turkeys can grow at a rate their bodies can sustain for many years.
This is the sad sad truth of every single type of meat industry. And, as you can see quite clearly from the chart: The dairy industry and the egg industry ARE meat industries and fully participate in the killing of baby animals. Thus, when you buy and eat dairy and eggs, you are directly supporting this slaughter, because it is an integral and inescapable part of dairy and egg farming. And when you stop buying dairy and eggs, you stop sanctioning this killing. (You can find much more information about this in the Dairy and Eggs sections of morallyvegan.org.)
Please stop. Let go of meat. Let go of dairy and eggs. We do not need to eat animals or animal products in order to have good health (1). Therefore it is not morally justified to harm and kill all these creatures. So, please: Do it "for the animals."
Mahalo for reading. Aloha...
1. It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes.