"So, my question is: does it matter from whence an ethic comes, if the ethic is correct?"
I think that it matters a lot. A person who is a vegetarian for ethical reasons, and a person who just doesn't eat meat because he or she doesn't like the taste of it probably won't have much in common. There are so many different paths that can lead to the right thing; what really matters is why somebody is doing (or trying to do) the right thing. I actually believe the opposite of what Shelby is saying; I think that a person's intentions matter more than the actual outcome. In other words, the ends do not always justify the means but the means might justify the ends. For example, somebody who is committed to the ethical treatment of animals, and tries really hard to be a vegan but slips up every once in a while is doing a better job of being a moral person than somebody who doesn't care about animal rights, but always refrains from eating animal products for other reasons (religion, health, personal preference).
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