I live with a vegetarian GS, so not much meat makes it into the pot. But I am cooking chili today to use up ground turkey. I grew up in a camp for displaced people and have known real hunger. I do not begrudge anyone their hamburger. You have the right idea, Thomas Levi. It's about quantity and variety now.

I am not a vegetarian. I have serious doubts that I ever would be. I just don't see the difference between eating a plant and eating an animal.

But at the same time, I respect everyone's choice in this matter. It is a highly personal choice and I'll not try to influence it.

I am a pescetarian, plus eggs, very little dairy (still working on that half and half for my coffee). This is where I am currently, after many years of trying different "food modes" if you will - midwesterner-meat-and-potatoes to vegan to vegetarian to now. I think we change as we get older and have to listen to our own physiology. There is no one size fits all food mode. If you feel better eating meat, then eat meat (ethically, if that is a thing). If not, don't. Listen to your body. We are all unique.

i couldn't even thread a hook through a worm. so my vegetarian life began 25 years ago when i realised that i wouldn't ever have meat on the table, if it wasn't for others to kill the animal for me. anyway, i wasn't ever too keen eating dead animals - there is a family history of raw-foodies & vegetarianism on my mother's side, so we didn't eat meat on a daily basis at home. i noticed the benefits to my body of being vegetarian quite soon, which was accompanied by a repulsion to contribute to the monstrous breeding & killing of sentient beings. our planet would thank us for raising less animals on her too.

I havnt eaten meat for 40 years ( damn, I'm hungry )
I think sooner or later the entire world is going to have to eat much much less meat. Its a very inefficient and environmentally damaging way to produce food. As countries like China, India etc start to develop the demand for meat is going through the roof. Its just not sustainable.
The ethics of eating meat are complicated and arguably if you kill it and eat it, I guess that's for your conscience to decide. But modern meat production of beef, chicken, pork etc is like concentration camps. Those animals are filled with steroids, anti biotics and who knows what? And then meat eaters consume it. Yuck!

We are evolutionary creatures. Our teeth are designed to rip, tear and grind meaning tear and rip meat, and grind grains. We are evolved to be omnivores.

Interesting take, I raise meat goats and am in the process of switching from pure meat production over to show stock and breeding stock operation. My bosses wife raises beef cattle and she won't eat beef as a result. Cant stand the idea she may be eating one of her babies she raised and yet she keeps raising them. I tell you this because as producers we do care about our animals and most slaughter houses are humane in their processes though there will always be that one.... I would buy from a farmer advertising a half or quarter beef/pork/ lamb whatever you choose as these are usually slaughtered at a small shop where it is definitely done very humanely and most farmers do take wonderful care of their animals while they are alive. A well placed bullet is a quick death.

My daughter (20 yo) is vegan for those reasons. I would miss dairy and eggs, but I can do without meat for extended periods of time, and psychologically and ethically I prefer to. I have 4 cats and I often wonder why I do so much to keep them healthy and happy while eating meat from dead animals. I think I'd feel better about it if I knew the animals were not treated cruelly.

I am an omnivore. It causes me some consternation because of the industries that provide meat for consumption, but I engage in that hypocrisy. I do my best not to think about it.
I couldn't become a vegetarian, I don't like vegetables that much. Becoming vegan is out of the question.

I am a hypocrite, I couldn't kill an animal except to end its suffering and even then it would be hard, yet I eat meat. In nature, animals eat other animals and this is often my justification, teh problem is that in nature there are very few top predators compared to all other animals, but humans are a top predator and there are billions of us, and we have technology, so the balance is shot.

I have never met a meat I didn't like. Beef, pork, lamb, fish, shellfish, poultry, venison, racoon, rabbit . . .

I am always eager to try something new. For example, I have never had rattlesnake, frog legs, or any other kind of reptile or amphibian for that matter. I'm curious.

I've also never had any insects or other "bugs" (at least not on purpose!! lol) Some say that insects and related critters, such as mealworm, are the "meats" of the future. If that's true (or even if it isn't) then I'd like to try that too. Mealworm, cicada, tarantula . . .

I'm rather adventurous when it comes to food. I love my vegetables, but I have also found more vegetables that don't suit my palette than meats.

We should absolutely NOT be meating. veganism is not only morally superior, it is the least we can do.

This question keeps coming around and will probably keep doing so. A former partner and I learned about the problems of meat (especially beef) and started to cut out some meats from our diet. Eventually we went vegetarian and I never looked back. My late partner learned about her health problems with meat and went cold-tofurky (pun intended). The first thing we and most people note is an upswing in energy. There is another upside which I won't get into because few believe me (but I have proof).
To me it is a moral issue. Yes it takes many more resources is a major form of green house gases and pollution. Eating is a sensuous pleasure. It appeals to most if not all the senses and meat has been associated with extreme pleasure. To me the cost is guilt which I cannot ignore given what I know. We cannot say we are concerned about the planet and hunger of others if we use a food source that has such a high resource cost. I would tell omnivores to look around there is a ton of information out there that highlights to cost of eating meat. (Meet your Meat)

I've been a vegetarian for about 15 years, but I'm not a vegan (even though I think it's probably healthier to avoid cheese and eggs in general). I do go through periods when I'm much more strict and eat only whole, raw fruits, vegetables, nuts, etc., with few exceptions (e.g., a little hot sauce and dried spices on a salad). I find eating a "normal" diet makes me sluggish and I have more body aches and fatigue, but being more restrictive seems to make a huge difference. Perhaps some of it is that it's really difficult to overeat on raw fruits and vegetables, so getting an excess of calories (which I think tends to tax a typical body) isn't a concern, even when I'm eating nonstop throughout the day. Regardless, I don't think I could ever go back to eating meat. Even though the aroma of barbequed chicken is still enticing, it's not a strong craving. And the smell of bacon actually makes me a little queasy now.

Raising animals could become a thing of the past; meat is now being grown in the lab. No cruelty meat: BBC News - Lab-grown meat: The future of food? [bbc.com]

There is also the issue with the meat industries' contribution to Global Warming - even if it's no where near (no where near at all) as high as the energy industries' contribution. This point is probably more personally pertinent than the wholesale slaughter for consumption - even if that, too, is an important consideration.

To clarify, I can still justifiably accept that there are humane methods for the killing of animals for food.

Thinking of them as truly sentient beings (e.g. they care for their young, some shows affection to their human carers, and their sentience are only limited by their physiology: voice boxes, no opposable thumbs, etc.) does make it difficult. What if they weren't limited by their physiology? Would they express feeling and understanding to the point that we feel and understand them?

Meat.

Grilled burgers.... yummm. Broiled steak.... yummm. Fried pork chops.....yummm.