Steak, you can buy enough food to make salad, stir-fry, and bread for three people. Vegetarianism only excludes meats and fish and still provides for a well-rounded diet. Much of the protein and nutrients found in meat can be found in vegetarian foods such as beans and grain. A large-scale comparison that can be made of vegetarianism and a meat inclusive diet is the amount of land used for the production of animals vs. the production of crops. The same amount of land needed to graze cattle can produce approximately twenty times the amount of plant crops.
Crops are also much less expensive to grow and maintain compared to the cost of producing animals.
On a global scale, much could be done about the problems of world hunger by devoting more resources to crop production. A 300-pound cow will not feed nearly as many people as 300 pounds of grain and vegetables. As mentioned, not as much land is needed to produce crops as is needed for animals. Many people who consider vegetarianism do so for humane reasons. The treatment of animals is often very inhumane on cattle ranches, chicken and pig farms, and other production facilities.