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Vegetarianism is not an issue for some
Of course it's possible to make a meal entirely out of vegetables. Add pasta, rice, potatoes, or a hearty eggplant parmigiana, and a stick-to-the-ribs dinner need have no recourse to the animal kingdom at all, except for some grated cheese. But where the sexes divide on this issue is over the question of desirability vs. possibility. While the average male is willing to concede that life can be supported without meat, he's likely to ask, why bother?
His beloved will have plenty of arguments to convince him. Large scale meat production is grossly inefficient on a polluted, crowded, hungry, and thirsty planet. Vast quantities of grain and water and carbon based fuels are required to get that charred ribeye onto your dinner plate. Animal waste is a serious environmental concern. It's immoral to use intelligent and sensitive creatures like pigs for food. Animal fat clogs your arteries. Antibiotics. Methane. Inhumanity. Are you still intent on eating your steak?
A wise guy will counter with Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and other eye-opening tomes about food. Pollan makes it clear that industrial farming is very bad for humans, animals, and the planet, but that sustainable and indeed beneficial alternatives are eminently possible. Done right, animal husbandry makes for not only better meat but better farming practices in general. A real smart ass might point out that paleontologists now believe early human brains evolved because of the necessity for cooperation, communication, and strategizing in the hunting of big game. Meat, in other words, made us smart.
The wise man, wishing to dine in peace, will do no such thing. While conceding all the ills associated with his steak, he will simply point out that life without beef, bacon, and grilled lamb chops is too depressing to contemplate. Besides, what would you eat French fries with if there were no burgers?
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