Who eats veal?

My first expirience with thoughts of vegetarianism came when I was seven years old. I have vague memories of my dad reading a red book with a big cow on the front and then anouncing to the family he had decided to become a vegetarian. During the next several years my mom, brother, and I were the unwilling audience to countless diatribes about the evils of pesticides, the meat industry, etc etc.
Like most normal kids, I loved hot dogs when I was little (or so my mom tells me.) This stopped abruptly the year my dad turned vegetarian and he calmly told me at the dinner table how they were made. I don't remember the specifics, only the resounding words "SPARE PARTS" and visions of chickens' gizards and pigs' hooves shoved into a tube. Since then, I have eaten a total of 3 hotdogs in 15 years.
I also went through a phase in high school were I didn't eat red meat for almost four years, but that eventually phased itself into the occasional hamburger or helping of roast beef that I eat now. By no means have I ever been a vegetarian, and I never thought I'd get to the point where I could say no to chicken, turkey, or salmon.
But several months ago I became very interested in Zen Buddhism, and while there are no set rules that Buddhists must be vegetarians, the ideal that there is a universal shared life energy/force in every living creature has really started to wear away at me to the point where I have trouble justifying (to myself) eating anything that had to be killed for me to enjoy.
I've thought hunting was a cruel and vicious sport since I was little because most Americans don't need to kill to eat, and although many hunters do eat what they kill, the food is just a bonus. The thrill of the hunt and adrenaline rush of the perfect target is what keeps them coming back. Humans like knowing they are on top of the food chain, and "the food chain" is what most people use to defend the fact they eat meat.
But the food chain doesn't exist in America anymore. Survival of the fittest doesn't even apply since the Meat Industry makes entirely sure they provide millions of pounds of meat everyday for consumers to eat or waste. Although its not completely implausible, I have a hard time imagining a time when Americans would be so destitute and in need of food they would actually NEED to kill half of what we do currently to satisfy their hunger (i.e. legitimizing the food chain)
I don't think I could ever be a completely loyal vegetarian, but when we go out for dinner soon, don't be surprised if I ask for a vegetarian dish :) This was kind of a random post...but this is what happens when I don't realize the tea I'm drinking to put me to sleep actually is the caffeinated stuff
If you have a few minutes, check out this video from current.tv. It gives a little insight into the Veal and Poultry industry and the effects America's vast meat consumption has on the environment. It's pretty interesting...
http://www.current.tv./watch/21723214?s1=topVids&list=topVidsByAssignmentGroup&filterone=0&filtertwo=0&sid=21723214&fr=17