In regards to eating meat

[Monica]

Inflict suffering or pain, probably not. To take its life, it might not be okay, but necessary for survival.

This is what we keep coming back to. For the vast majority of humans, it's not necessary to eat animals.

Well we can't just eat sand and air, so we eat what nourishes us.

Plants nourish us. Even in excess, plants just keep making us healthier. There's no such thing as eating too many veggies!

Animal products, on the other hand, cause disease. That's well documented.

From which point of view? From a sustainability point of view, the only way we're going to feed 7 billion people without destroying the Earth is through use of efficient sustainable and permaculture techniques which employ the cultivation of both crops and livestock. There is a ton of energy and motivation going in to studying the most efficient and sustainable systems for producing quantities of food. Just growing crop is not a sustainable system.

1. The 7 billion people cannot be sustained with a heavy meat diet. I think we're in agreement on this.
2. A sustainable/permaculture approach can be accomplished by utilizing cows and chickens for milk and eggs. They don't have to be killed for meat.
3. Based on what you've taught me about sustainable agriculture, I agree that a vegan diet might not work long-term for the whole planet. I can see the need for some animals. Thus, I'd say that a plant-based diet, with moderate milk products and eggs, is the ideal.

On top of that, without soy, a vegetarian diet is nearly impossible.

I don't understand. Are you basing this on the assumption that most vegetarians rely heavily on soy for their protein needs? If so, that's a myth. Yes, many do, but it's certainly not necessary. I rarely eat soy. I enjoy occasional tofu dishes but could live without it, easily.

Or is there some other purpose of soy that I'm missing?

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I understand that there are various "superfoods" that are recommended, but I've never found the idea of health out of a can or a bottle very appealing.

I find eating chlorella, bee pollen and bluegreen algae powder by the spoonful much more appealing than contributing to the suffering of animals.