From a different perspective

There is simply not enough food to supply the needs of an expanding population. The need for food is increasing and as a result, efficiency is the key to providing the food at the least cost. "Factory farming," as it is called, often derogatorily, provides food for people at a low cost. The low cost translates to a low price which surely helps lower income families. Meat is no longer a commodity to be enjoyed once a year as it was for the peasant of feudal Europe. 

What does it mean to be in denial?

In my opinion, to be in denial means acknowledging the truth of something in the presence of evidence for that something. I will use the example of smoking. There is ample evidence pointing to the fact that smoking causes lung cancer. Someone in denial would continue to smoke and think that lung cancer would never happen to them. Someone who simply disbelieved something would do so because the evidence is either invalid or questionable. I think someone who is in denial doesn't believe something for a different reason. Perhaps that reason is desire, a desire for that thing to be untrue.