Using Animals as Mere Means to One's Ends

The editorial board of the New York Times weighs in on in vitro meat. I can't be sure, since the editorial opinion is so jumbled, but the board seems to be arguing that people should continue to eat meat, provided the animals whose flesh they consume are not made to suffer. Would the board say the same thing about humans? Is it permissible to eat human flesh, provided the humans whose flesh one consumes are not made to suffer?