Maybe, many of us also want to believe (like our daughter) that we really don't harm any of our animal friends just to satisfy our hunger ... 
When I eat at restaurants in China, a lot of the food (like chicken, duck, pigeon, and fish) arrives with the head still attached. It's supposed to be evidence of freshness, though I don't understand why a sneakster couldn't serve a duck pulled from the freezer with still head attached...
Shrimp with the head still attached can be a little tedious to eat. Though if you've had enough beers, eating the entire bug is not so big of a problem. Once in Hong Kong, the party I was with ordered a plate stacked with pigeon heads. The task: you crack the skull with your teeth and extract the brain, without dropping your chopsticks!
As for the playmobil toys, I think they'd be good education for children. My dad grew up in a village and participated in the slaughter of the dinner pig. People didn't get all sentimental about it in those days. Ironicly, I think when you see it all the time, it bothers you less than when you're sheltered from it.
Though with today's food technology, we could easily go vegetarian and not even notice. I survived in India for three weeks off purely vegetarian dishes and even gained weight. The problem on this side of the pond is that our cuisine is so meat-oriented we don't know how to make proper vegetarian dishes unless it's a salad, or something equally unsatisfying to live off longterm.
-Tim
