I am deeply convinced that consciousness/awareness is not something limited to humans or primates but is a property of nearly all higher animals. There now seems to be serious backing for this opinion (locating consciousness in the evolutionary old brain stem):
Lowly brain stem may orchestrate the basics of consciousness
Of course, this raises the issue of animal ethics to new urgency. It is high time to reconsider the distinction animal/human when talking about ethics.
While moving the whole of humanity to vegetarianism might be a process for generations, inhuman practices in keeping animals and needless killing of animals should be made severely punishable rather quickly.
