Animals will inevitably be harmed when we plant vegetables, and what is the difference between raising and killing animals for food and unintentionally killing them as part of plant-based agriculture?

The fact that animals may be harmed as an unintended consequence of planting vegetables, even if we do not use toxic chemicals and even if we exercise great care to avoid harming animals, does not mean that it is morally acceptable to kill animals intentionally.

We would also be planting less crops to feed humans directly than if we were to continue the inefficient process of feeding much larger quantities of crops to livestock before we consume them. Therefore there would still be a reduction in the number of animals affected.