Please don't think of yourself as a failure. I once tried to go vegetarian when I was in high school and I couldn't do it. I think a lot of it depends on how you were raised eating and what you like to eat. I was raised in a home that respected animals greatly but we still ate hamburger and steak and other meats. I grew up on red meat. That's why when I became a vegetarian, I couldn't do it. I felt bad at first, like you are feeling but then I realized there are other ways I could support the animal kingdom such as giving money to the HSUS and donating bags of cat food to the local shelter.

My husband respects animals too but he's not an activist like I am. However, he's closer to being a vegetarian simply because his mother didn't like meat and hardly ever cooked it.

So you're not a failure, not at all. Don't feel like a failure and if someone makes a negative comment about the fact you eat meat, simply inform them of the good things you do for animals instead.