We are just like lions except were fancy enough to season our meat.

Something that always bothered me about people who don't eat animals, unless for genuine religious reasons, is that they always tend to ascribe themselves unearned moral virtue. If this is the case, than someone who doesn't eat anything at all would be the most moral being on the planet. At least for the remainder of their life.

First thought is that there is no such thing as "the vegan movement"
There are a bunch of vegans, some militant within various movements and others content to do their thing and let others do the same.
As to whether its moral, that depends on the standards of morality being used, it is a matter of morality for many vegans certainly but there is nothing objectively moral or immoral about it.
I don't really see much of a connection between veganism and political correctness.

As someone who works in the food industry and having worked on farms my only thoughts on veganism is that,
1 Its a fad more than "lifestyle" or moral issue, and its one which for all the noise is back on the decline.
2 contrary to what vegans think, veganism is unsustainable, definitely far more so than traditional farming.
To put it as shortly as possible, plant crops require very narrow and specific conditions to grow, moisture, temperature, topsoil depth, etc..
Animals are far less finnicky.
If we stopped raising livestock about 70-80%(my best estimate) of farmland would be useless and we would need to find alternatives for the many byproducts of animal farming which are used for plant farming while the byproducts of plant farming currently used for livestock will go to waste.

It is a personal choice. My wife is mostly vegan and all vegetarian. However, we have seen a level of dogma from some of her vegan "friends" that is almost unreal. So yes, IMO there is a big political movement going on with veganism. They are being programmed via their emotions. Some of them are very cult like about it and though they hold themselves out as being 'hollier than thou' for their choices, they turn around and spew hate and vitriol towards people who do not share their beliefs. They ignore any rational argument refuting their "feelings" and blatantly attack the person. I agree with them that factory farming is evil and despicable. But getting shot or humanely culled on a non factory farm has got to be a better way to go then being eaten alive by wolves or a bear LOL. Or starving to death... Moral choice? It can be. Does it mean that they actually have a smaller "karmic footprint"? I don't think so. Does it mean they are eating healthier? I don't think that is true either.

We all live in different realities, but there is a ultimate reality from which we originated. Veganism is far removed from the ultimate reality, but has at its core a desire to preserve some things that we find beautiful in this world. Veganism also denies the very nature of man, we are predators not prey and the most aggressive apex predator. No other animal comes close to the motivation that mankind has to dominate and rule. To tell humans to be vegan is like telling lions to stop eating meat. Not one person can exist on this planet without causing the death of other animals