[rexpop]

There are many reasons to avoid meat that don't apply to vegetables. First off the top of my head is it's a disease vector: both bacterial and viral (think swine and bird flus).

Secondly, water usage for meat is 2-5x the liters-per-kilogram of lentils, tofu, and 10x the rest of the staple vegetables.

Thirdly, every bite of meat on your plate carries an opportunity cost of all the nutritious benefits of eating a variety of vegetables. I could go into this further, but I think it's common knowledge that plant chemicals offer "vital and necessary" nutrition unavailable from meat.

Greenhouse gas emissions are also a factor that favors plant diets over meat.

I love a good prime rib, or a BLT, but the costs grossly outweigh the benefits.