Debate: Steak or Salad: Is Vegetarianism foolish?
Side: Salad

[Vegetarian diets are lower in fat and cholesterol] "if and only if you eat only fresh possibly raw vegetables all the time." It's not an all or nothing deal. Even if you only did it 10 percent of the time, that's still a reduction in fat and cholesterol. "How you prepare your vegetables will have a massive impact on how good for you they actually are"It takes very little time to learn how to cook vegetables so that you get the most nutrition out of them. In fact, here is a super quick tutorial. Raw is best, baked is second best, steamed is 3rd, boiled is 4th, and leave the skins on when possible. Now that wasn't so difficult, was it? ;) Cooking meat degrades all the same vitamins as it does in vegetables.You seem to be nitpicking trying to find any little thing to make a vegetarian diet look bad. Most of the arguments you presented apply to omnivores just as much as they do to vegetarians. What we really should be focusing on is the big question; What can people get from meat that vegetarians can't get from other foods. Below is a list of the vitamins and nutrients that are in meat. Under each one I've included a list of common foods that vegetarians can eat to get those vitamins. There are many other foods that could be listed, but I wanted to keep the post a reasonable size so I just listed ones that people commonly eat. Also keep in mind that people who are too lazy to eat a balanced diet can simply take a multi-vitamin or other supplement to get anything they are lacking.  Vitamin AJust a single raw carrot contains over 300% of your daily vitamin A needs. A medium-sized baked sweet potato has over 400%. Other foods include breads, cereals, dried apricots, mangos, many dried herbs, cantaloupe, and numerous vegetables. Lacto-ovo vegetarians can get it from dairy products.Vitamin B-1 (AKA Thiamin)Beans, nuts, cereals, and many soy foods like veggie burgers, veggie meatballs, meatless bacon and other similar products. Vitamin B-2 (AKA Riboflavin)Breads, serials, soybeans, nuts, pretzels, english muffins, numerous vegetables, and dairy products if you are a lacto-ovo vegetarian.Vitamin B-6*Breads, cereals, nuts, seeds, beans, legumes, and numerous vegetables. Vitamin B-12Many cereals, energy bars, and vegetarian foods are fortified with B-12. Lacto-ovo vegetarians can get B-12 from dairy products. FolateBreads, flours, pastas, cornmeal, beans, nuts, legumes, white rice, and numerous fruits, vegetables. Many breakfast cereals have 100% of the RDA of folic acid in each serving.Vitamin KAll the highest sources of vitamin K are vegetables. Meat has very low amounts of vitamin K.NiacinBreads, cereals, pasta, rice, nuts, and most fruits and vegetables. Lacto-ovo vegetarians can get it from dairy products.  IronBreads, cereals, some dried fruits, beans, lentils, dark leafy greens, and many fruits and vegetables.ZincNuts, seeds, beans, chocolate, oats, yogurt, brown rice, mushrooms, dried apricots, and many vegetables.Omega-3Breads, cereals, oats, flour, pasta, nuts, soy, dairy, eggs, many vegetables, and many types of oils.ProteinBreads, cereals, oats, beans, nuts, seeds, flour, pasta, nuts, soy, dairy, eggs, white rice, many vegetables, and some fruits."We need only 2.5 to 11% of our calories from protein. It's nearly impossible to fail to get enough protein." This website has detailed info on protein and includes sources to all the studies they used http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/protein.html  "Add to that the fact that you'd need to be eating only organic vegetable produce in order to avoid any pesticide/herbicide residue"This problem is not unique to vegetarians, omnivores face the same problem because they eat vegetables too. I haven't done any research on the effects of pesticide/herbicide residue, so I don't know if it's even something to be concerned about. If it was a real problem I would think the FDA or EPA would say something. If you know of any reputable studies that indicate it's a problem I'll check them out."Also, due to the fragile nature of vegetable matter, they begin to loose their goodness the second they're picked, as they are cut off from the source." The same applies to meat, plus omnivores eat vegetables too so that argument applies to them too."There's a lot of nutrients that are better sourced from meat and seafood, such as Iron and Omega 3 to name but two everyday essentials."There's a lot of nutrients that are better sourced from fruit and vegetables. Just because there is a better source, doesn't mean it's the only source."I also don't trust much American sources on fat consumption..."Here is one from Australia http://ajl.sagepub.com/content/6/3/250.refs Here is one from Oxford University in the UK http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/70/3/525s.full Here is one from Cambridge University in the UK http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=795568 "Too much of anything is harmful..."I agree, but the reason I pointed it out is because "It's been estimated that the average person in this country eats two - six times more protein, usually from animals, than is needed for good nutrition." So, clearly they are getting too much."I don't see how exactly, I'm not stating that meat producing agriculture is better, but it most certainly is not worse."That report has all the details. Consider this. One cow will feed approximately 533 people one meal. Beef cows are usually slaughtered when they are somewhere between 3 to 5 years old. Cattle eat 20 to 30 lbs. of food a day.So if we take the lowest of those figures, a single cow will eat 21900 lbs of food in its life. If we take look at the higher figures the cow will have eaten 57750 lbs of food. That averages out to 39825 lbs. A cow has about 400 lbs of usable meat. That means it takes 39825 pounds of food to produce just 400 pounds of food, which will only feed 533 people one meal. Just think of how many people could have been fed with 39825 pounds of food if those farms were used to produce crops for people.At least 50% of our crops are used to feed livestock. Remember that just one cow eats 39825 lbs of food in its lifetime. That's a lot of farmland just for one animal. So think about all those environmental concerns you mentioned about growing crops, and then consider how much of that is from growing crops to feed the animals. Keep in mind that we haven't even touched on how much food it takes to raise other animals like pigs, chicken, sheep, turkeys, etc. "In a 2009 Californian study comparing the environmental effects of vegetarian versus non-vegetarian diets, the researchers sought to answer this question and elaborate upon it by asking, “Does animal consumption create a heavier footprint than a vegetarian diet?” and “If so, what are some of the major environmental effects of an animal-based diet, and how might these be measured?”  They found that a non-vegetarian diet consumed 2.9 times more water, 2.5 times more primary energy, 13 times more fertilizer, and 1.4 times more pesticide than a vegetarian diet. These statistics suggest that vegetarian diets are, in fact, less taxing on the environment. These researchers support the notion that increased environmental degradation is a byproduct of increased agricultural output. Modern agriculture has prioritized optimum crop yields and animal farming to the detriment of the environment via increased energy output, use of natural resources, and generation of waste. An Italian study presented in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition that specifically evaluated the environmental impact of omnivorous and vegetarian/vegan diets based on both non-organic and organic products as six separate dietary patterns in addition to a “normal” or average Italian diet produced similar results.  Again, the researchers concluded that meat-based diets strain the environment the most and found that water consumption, in particular, plays the most significant role by accounting for 41-46% of the overall impact." "Intensive vegetable agriculture is also unethical given the waste of land and the unfair price given to your average developing nation farmer, and the above mentioned aquatic dead zones and you have seriously unethical practice here too."Unfortunately, there is no perfect system for food production, but the research clearly shows that the damage done by raising animals for food is much worse than growing plants. "If we all went veg, what would happen to the existing livestock?"It's not like everyone is suddenly going to go vegetarian leaving us with millions of homeless animals. It would be slow process and most the animals will probably be eaten. The rest would be set free to roam the countryside. I'm not sure what the ideal solution would be, but I think almost anything would be better than the miserable life they have now."Omnivorous Athletes: Just about everyone else"You missed the point. I listed those people to show that it is possible to be a vegetarian and be healthy.ConclusionI'm not saying everyone on the planet should become a vegetarian, although I would be happy if they did. Remember, the topic of this debate is "Is Vegetarianism foolish?" I think I've provided sufficient evidence to show that it is not foolish. It may not be for everyone, but it is certainly not foolish.