Oh my, this could do well in the debate forums...

To answer the question, yes I could easily be a vegetarian.  I eat one meal with meat some time between every other week and once a month. My last was on Christmas when the family was over.  If I did away with that meal, I'd be fine.  The longest I've been truly vegetarian (lacto- ovo-) was about two years.

When people mention "responsible" meat eating, they should know this really means less than three meals a week with meat.  The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a great meta analysis of over 76,000 persons several years ago showing responsible meat eaters live as long as vegetarians.  The researches stated, in part "Further categorization of diets showed that, in comparison with regular
meat eaters, mortality from ischemic heart disease
was 20% lower in occasional meat eaters, 34% lower in people who ate

fish
but not meat, 34% lower in lactoovovegetarians, and
26% lower in vegans." Of course, heart disease is the number one cause of death. (to be fair, the study found no significant difference in death rates from other causes)

To answer the nay-sayers about vegetarianism being an unhealthy option, lets get down to the nitty-gritty. Can you get enough nutrients?

Calcium:  available in sufficient quantities in most dark leafy greens, broccoli, Kale, tofu, and more, and, of course, dairy for the lacto- vegetarians.
Iodine: has been fortified in salt since the 1950s. 
Iron: in most healthy individuals, Iron is very conservatively metabolized, and stored, most notably as ferratin, to be reused, most notably in heme formation.  Iron stores fall very gradually.  Luckily, vegans get sufficient iron with green leafy vegetables, and notably eggs for the ovo- vegetarians.  
Vitamin D:  Go out in the sun people!  (actually, it's much more serious than that- the CDC concluded a study in 2011 showing only a 67% sufficiency in serum Vitamin D, and current RDA only suggests a level of consumption needed to stave off rickets- not what you need for proper bone and other organ health in later years).  So yeah, everyone's deficient. It's the only thing that ever shows up out of whack on my blood work...

Cobalamin (Vitamin B12) is a curious deficiency- I wrote a paper on it and my favorite medical term "Hyperhomocysteinemia" a few years back. As has been pointed out, a deficiency in B12 is no bueno.  It's one of the few markers for increased heart disease, and Vegetarians are at risk.  That's why I supplement it. What you really need is cheap, so you can't argue there!  Luckily, like Iron, it is very well recycled, and even abstaining from consumption of B12 for several years doesn't particularly affect your levels. 

And the big-daddy of the debate: Protein.  Well, a can of beans has usually 3.5 servings, each with 7-9 grams of protein.  Of course, this is deficient in Methionine and Cysteine, which you get in whole grains.  Notably, Quinoa (3g protein/serving, at least in the bag I have in the cabinet) and Tofu/Tempeh all have complete proteins with all the amino acids.  34-56g of protein are in the RDA for adults who aren't pregnant or lactating. 

An 8 oz sirloin steak has roughly 60g of protein.  Add that to the average diet with meat for at least one other meal, and the protein found in all the other stuff you eat, and you're looking at over 100g/day for a meat eater.  Wanna know what happens to that?  It's converted to fat.  (I'll spare the biochemistry behind it).

Plus, saturated fat is nearly absent from Vegetarian diets, unless you like spooning down coconut oil. Cholesterol is produced only by animal cells as well.  These are two huge focuses of the American Heart Association's diet. 


So, bah- You can be a vegetarian And yes, I could be one.

Impossible, Because this fatty's diet is composed of Pork, Meat Pizza, and Steak
Oh my gosh, So bad, but so good. ≧▽≦

Unless I am shown that eating meat is REALLY killing me, I would go for neither. As a bumper sticker once said, "The West wasn't won with salads."

However, should the killer-meat day come, I would definitely go for vegetarian as there would be fewer restrictions. I could still eat animal "byproducts" like eggs and mammal milk. Those two are already a good part of my diet, along with nuts.

Actually, i wouldn't mind becoming a vegetarian. I know of a lot of friends who are vegetarian either by religion, or by choice, and in all honesty whilst it seems like a hassle i think that it would be a worthwhile experience. Veganism, on the other hand, seems too extreme for me, so unless i had some form of strong incentive, i wouldn't consider it.

A vegetarian or a vegan? pffft.... LOOK AT MAH LAYOUT. DONT BE FOOLISH.

I NEED MEAT

I don't think that I could survive as a vegan or vegetarian. I love my meats. The veggie life is a bit too overwhelming for me and  I would probably give up the next day.

I think we're supposed to be an omnivore species so it's best to eat an omnivore diet. While a vegetarian or vegan may be healthy an omnivore diet is better. Supposedly our ancestors changed to an omnivore diet millions of years ago. They would eat the muscle and organs of dead animals. One reason someone might avoid eating animals is because of how these animals are supposedly treated and killed. Some people, such as Gary L. Francione, maintain that these animals live miserable lives and are tortured. He says we should all be vegan because dairy and eggs can involve just as much suffering as animal flesh. He says there is no moral difference between eating animals and eating dairy/eggs because they both involve just as much suffering as the other. He says all animals are treated horribly and are tortured. He says this happens on all farms and slaughter houses.

There are numerous people I've read about who have eaten a vegan diet and developed health problems or died as a result of their diet. Though GLF has eaten a vegan diet since 1982. I don't know what his health is like though.

I eat and drink anything that tastes nice. I don't care if it's good for me or not. I'm not fussy about what I drink or eat.

I don't totally disapprove of the Vegan/Vegatarian Diet, however, after the Great Flood, God gave us permission to eat meat. The is probably due to the climate change which happened afterward, as it is speculated that plants became much less fruitful after the flood. The world was changing and The average age of mankind steadily decreased, showing that the world, or mans new genetic was steadily getting worse.

Even though I enjoy meat, and when I move out intend on making it a part of my regular diet, I don't want to eat to much of it.

Man's original diet was consisting of vegetables fruits and herbs, to the point where Adam and Eve was commanded to eat even the seed found inside the fruit. (Which is very nutritious for you). Even our biology, (which no one pays attention too) is omnivorious. We have teeth built for grinding, and our jaws can more side to side. However, we also have those sharp canines, which are good for biting down and show the other side to our regular diet.

I recommend that people eat meat to make up for possible diet deficiencies that can come from eating only vegetables ect. (nuts can fill that gap too sometimes however). Just don't eat it too much, as our body isn't made to handle extremely large portions of it.

Meat nowadays can be really bad for you though, just because of what they do to the animals with hormones, diet, and the way they are kept.

Get your meats from the farm.

It's not only better for you, it tastes a lot better too. We have cattle on our land, and those who purchase our beef can't go back to storebought meat because our's tastes so much better. Probably because they have a nice big field and are grass fed. We give them hay, (local hay) and Oats during the winter, but that doesn't make up the majority of their diet. ^^'

HELL NAW. In fact. I may become a meatitarian. I do not like veggies at all and LOVE meat. I'm pretty much a stereo typical kid in that regard.

NONE.

Sorry, but I'm made of meat, so I EAT meat .

Ha, ha, if I had to choose, though, I would become and ovo-lacto-vegetarian or a semi-vegetarian (or both? I love eggs and milk!). By the way, I have a new term for you. It's called a pescatarian! A pescatarian is a person who doesn't eat meat but does eat fish . My cousin was a pescatarian for a while, but she eats meat again xD.

Can I be a Vegetarian or a vegan? Well I'm sure I could, it would be easier to be a vegetarian though. But at the end of the day I would have to say that while I could do that, I'm so not going to. I like my sirloin stakes, bacon, chicken, BBQ ribs! ...now I'm hungry.

I can see maybe going something like that for either health reasons or as a cleanse for a few day to a week, but for me as a permanent everyday thing... yeah so not going to happen.

I've got cousins who are either a Veggie bite or a Vegan and yeah I'm sorry but I want my Turkey on Thanksgiving and pumpkin pie and
chocolate.

I like good food and if it doesn't make me sick or kill me then I'm going to eat it.