I'm a vegetarian, as I've transitioned from being a non-vegetarian earlier in my life.
The only reason I switched was because I took a '30 day trial' (pre-Pavlina Era)
As with anything, I consider the best knowledge as experiential knowledge. I took myself as a scientist and my body as my lab subject. I took out meat for 30 days and it was tough at first, but I soon realized that I simply felt better at the end of the trial.
I felt like I had more energy because it seemed as though my body was using less energy for digestion, which left more energy for me to use. I also noticed that I had more clarity in my thoughts and less negative emotions. I also became more calm and patient as a result.
So I don't know too much about ethics, but I'd recommend everyone to do experiments with their own bodies. I totally agree that one shouldn't listen to strangers simply because they say that one thing is better than something else.
In my case, my body reacted positively to a vegetarian diet. And subsequently tried the same thing with milk and dairy products and found that Vegan was better for my body after my 'experiment'.
Listen to your body, do your own experiments. From your research, if you find that one option is better than the other, then you know what's 'right' for your body. Everybody is different, but don't discount the 'try before you buy' method.
