Vegetarianism is wrong

Thank you for an interesting response. I'll now proceed to offering rebuttals to my opponent's arguments. Firstly, I'll like to address my opponent's points about animal reproduction and diets around the world. It makes sense that one group of people would develop a diet based on their environment. To go back to the example of the Cro-Magnon man they ate much different things than what we would consider to be a balanced diet today. Why? They ate whatever they could scrounge from their surroundings. There wasn't much large game thus they didn't eat much meat. It would be the same for a society today living in a landlocked country. They wouldn't eat much seafood in contrast to a coastal or island community. People tend to eat more of the resources that are available around them. As for my opponent's point about beef being eaten worldwide, much of that has likely resulted in modern technology making it possible to raise any kind of animal worldwide. Another point to bring up is that it's now easier to import certain kinds of food due to refrigeration technology so people no longer have to rely on what is available locally like the Cro-Magnon man had to(which eventually led to more meat consumption by humans) as food can be transported over longer distances and kept safe at the same time. http://articles.directorym.com... Next, my opponent addresses the point about rabbit reproduction. Rabbits often breed in the wild which is filled with predators and other factors which would naturally lower the rabbit population. This keeps the population under control. However, the animals which are domesticated or bred for food are usually kept in controlled conditions thus aren't exposed to the conditions that would naturally lower the population. Some examples include the neutering of pets in order to keep them from reproducing(http://www.humanesociety.org...) and segregation based on the gender of the animal. Finally, my opponent goes on to talk about nutrition. My opponent mentions vitamin B12 and that it's non-existent in a vegetarian diet. While meat is the main source of this nutrient it's not the only source. It can also be found in eggs and dairy products, both of which vegetarians consume. Vegans consume neither of these products, but this debate is about vegetarianism, not veganism. There is also research being done to find possible plant sources of vitamin B12. Soya products, seaweed, and algae are all being considered as possible sources. http://www.vegsoc.org... As for the health problems caused by vegetarianism, they are not non-existent. They are just less likely to develop certain health problems such as cancer and heart disease which is the number one killer in America. Cancer is a close second. http://www.cdc.gov... Another point addressed by my opponent is obesity. This certainly occurs in larger numbers of meat-eaters than it does vegetarians. The over-consumption of meat is likely the main culprit. Lastly, my opponent talks about my point about the low-budget of vegetarian meals. It is natural that somebody on a low budget would be inclined to eat less meat as meat is often expensive due to the nature of producing it. http://wiki.answers.com... I thank my opponent for numerous interesting rebuttals. I'll now like to point out that vegetarianism being wrong is a matter of perspective just like vegetarians saying eating meat is wrong. That's also a matter of perspective. Also, certain animals are likely only bred in large numbers due to large demands as a result of the high number of people who consume meat. If vegetarianism was widespread there would be a lower demand for these animals. Good luck in round three! :)