Is being vegetarian ethical?

Compare this with a steak in which only one animal has had to die in order to feed many people.

Now you may be surprised after this first paragraph that I still think being vegetarian is a good thing - but more on that later. The point I mainly want to make is that the world is so interdependent and complex that it is wrong to impossible and therefore wrong to make simple judgments based on some initial information. In face every piece of clothing we wear, every item we use has at some point contributed to the death of other animal and even humans probably. Infact it is said that every time we move we kill mites that live on the surface of our skin. So for those of you who are proud vegetarians superior in the knowledge that you are one step more advanced and compassionate than meat eater - think again.

But that doesn't mean that you should stop being vegetarian. There are benifits:
Firstly, there are the health benefits which I won't go into here. Then from an environmental point of view, the resources needed for a kg of meat vs a kg of rice are much greater. So you are using up more land, more water and more energy to feed yourself on meat that rice. Thus the more vegetarian we become the less damage in general we do to the plant.

From a moral point of view, just the good motivation that you have taking action to lessen the suffering in the world is indicative and helping to build up a sense of caring and openness in you. This in turn contributes to your overall happiness in life. And if you are one who believes in karma, then the motivation to do good karma is the most important thing in determining how good or how bad a karmic action is.
What can meat eaters do

Given that the act of eating meat is debatably no more harmful to life than non-meat, the important factor is what motivation you have in eating. Do you revel in the taste of the meat knowing that animal have to die for humans because that is our right - or is there a sense of remorse for the animals that had to die for you to enjoy your meal. By having the knowledge that death is unavoidable in everything we do but none the less sparing a though for those beings who did die is the best way to minimise any bad karma that we get from eating (whether meat of not).

So be happy and enjoy a salad sandwich today (but don't worry if it has some ham in it too).