...that a shrill vegetarian would give us a recipe. You may be in denial, Ms. Parker, but vegetarians are so much more "eat this, eat that" and "how could you?" than your average omnivore. Vegetarians are their own bad PR. Take, for instance, you.

Plants are alive.

A morality based on diet never holds up because there is no legitimate place to draw the line.

Many folks refuse to contribute to the slaughter of mammals, and happily eat seafood every day.

Presumably because they hate fish? More likely, the draw the line at animals that have faces on which one could project human feelings and emotions.

The pinnacle of morality of course leaves the whole Animal Kingdom alone, sparing our brothers the birds and fish and worms - but how do you presume to know those soybeans don't ache and hurt when you rip them apart? How about the yeast in your bread?

We make these dietary distinctions to make ourselves feel better, plain and simple. Until yo become a "breatharian," or learn to eat dust, your life cycle is attached to the death of living things.

I am a vegetarian… have been all my life. My parents took it up in the health crazed seventies and raised their children accordingly. My Dad used to be one of those wacko vegetarians…always lecturing people on why they should give up meat etc…he no longer lectures other people…he now lectures me on why I should eat a little meat for my health… I in turn have never ever and never will lecture anyone on their dietary choices. I hardly ever mention that I am a vegetarian…it fact I really try and keep it quiet…. Only my family and closest friends know. As a person in my early twenties I find that people my age and younger accept my vegetarianism without a second thought… anyone older feel the need to interrogate me in detail about my diet and then defend their own right to eat meat….when I never said anything about it. I also wear leather and I point it out that I’m not such a perfect vegetarian… but I have been known to point out that leather is a bi-product of meat….. And when they quit killing cattle for meat there will be no more leather and I will cease to wear it. Since that is highly unlikely I use leather to my little hearts content. I can’t believe how so many people can feel so threatened by a pretty, healthy, and very polite vegetarian.

Charles made a really good point - it's not all about meat and veggies. It's about thinking where your food came from and the consequences of putting it into your body.

There is a lot of misinformation going around about way it is or isn't good to eat meat/veg. (A lot of misinformation has been reiterated on some of the posts here as fact). The fact is, us humans are fairly adaptable creatures. Our bodies can adjust to support many different types of diet. Sometimes, that adaptation is not very good for you. For example, your body will store away excess fat if you eat too much. Sometimes, the change is good, such as a reduction in metabolism when you do lots of exercise. Sometimes, it’s pretty benign, such as when your body stops producing certain enzymes if you don't eat certain types of food (like red meat). Therefore, there is a range of diets you could choose to eat (although I will concede certain conditions may place restrictions on some people).

Therefore, as conscious beings with a wide range of workable eating options, I do think individuals should take the time to think about where the food they are putting into their bodies came from. We know that all but the most basic animals have working neurological systems and can feel pain. Killing an animal quickly will result in it feeling some pain, if but for a moment. Alternatively, leaving it in unsavory conditions for the period of its life can result in a fairly miserable, painful existence. Therefore, if you eat meat, that’s fine, but perhaps you should think about choosing alternatives, such as free range, buying direct from the farm or raising your own (what my friend calls ‘happy meat’).

And if the pain of animals doesn't move you (as Charles rightly points out) what about the pain of fellow humans? Who picked your coffee? Where did that banana come from?

Personally, I’m vegetarian (or, vegaquarian - I occasionally eat fish). Why? I became vegetarian after I was made to participate in the slaughter of a goat on a survival course. It wasn't until then that I really thought about where my food came from. Now, my rule is that if I don't think I can kill it myself, I won't eat it. Fish - I love fishing, but am finding it harder and harder to justify eating it due to the state of fish stocks around the world.

My point is, people should think about where their food is coming from. I'm happy for people to eat meat, fish, coffee, bananas etc. so long as they have though about the consequences. We are now so far removed from the source of our food, it is very easy to forget how it came into being.

I'm a long-term, strongly committed vegan married to a carnivore, who has no interest what so ever in giving up meat. Lots of vegetarians and non-vegetarians manage to happy and healthy in their dietary decisions without name calling those with other lifestyles. I don't find articles or on-line debates like this helpful. However, I will be trying the penne with vodka tofu dish. It sounds awesome!

As it so happens, vegetarians do not live longer. Life is just so boring it

seems

longer!

This book does not sound like a good advertisement for vegetarianism or a a particularly worthwhile read but I feel many of the readers letters miss a crucial point about why we evolved to be omnivorous and what the best diet for humans now might be.

Monkeys and humans had to evolve to consume meat where available because our demands for nutrition are very high for our body weight due to the large brains we evolved for social purposes. This high demand for energy means that a high calorific density was a desirable factor in a food and whether it was nuts or other apes we were wiling to consume it.

However for Westerners at least there is now a clear excess of calories and we can choose a wide variety of diets while meeting (and in most cases exceeding) our daily energy, if not nutritional, requirements.

Other factors should now to be taken into account when selecting a diet and from a point of view of efficient land use, carbon footprint and morality a move to a more vegetarian diet is a good policy and perhaps a good survival strategy.

As a final cheery note after thirty years of vegetarianism I seem to be in better physical shape than most of my meat eating friends and, if I may be so bold, a better letter writer than many carnivorous readers of Salon.