I made the switch to a plant based diet recently, after carefully researching these very issues. The factory farms are literally factory "meat incubators", in which the animals are bred and raised in the most wretched conditions. Besides the torturous living conditions, the animals are forced to become cannibals, as the by-products that cannot be sold on the market are ground up and fed back to them, along with all of the steroids and antibiotics,etc. to force them to put on more weight quicker. And we wonder why cancer is so rampant?
It's been shown that males who consume a plant based diet live an average of eight years longer than their carnivorous counterparts. I have a lot that I can do with an extra eight years.
And it's also shown that those extra eight years are more healthy.
Aside from the animal and health issues, a plant based diet conserves resources, and is better for the environment. The list goes on and on.
Believe me, I like eating meat. I feel like an alchoholic that is avoiding the booze, or a smoker who is craving a drag, especially when I smell meat cooking. But, just as alchohol and tobacco are unhealthy for me, so have I learned that modern meat products are just as bad.