Conan...I still eat meat myself (though I limit what I eat and I go on fasts every so often).
I see a big weakness in your argument and I would go as far as saying that it's a strawman argument. You paint a picture of a meat eater gone vegeterian and apply it to all vegeterians. That's a big fallacy right there. Here are the two flaws that I see with your points.
Point 1 - all vegeterians start eating things like french fries and pizza.
How about the ones that don't eat junk and went vegeterian to eat healthy. They intake more fruits and vegetables, eat more whole grains, drink more water and tea and avoid things like crabonated bevearages, too much sugar/salt etc? Steve's a vegan (very similar to a vegeterians so I will put him in this argument), does Steve only eat french fries and pizza? I would think that those are on the bottom of the totem pole of good foods for Steve on a daily basis.
Point 2 - all vegeterians do it because it's trendy and for some animals.
What about the ones that do it for health reasons? For example, let's say I feel that if I eat a lot of varied fruits and veggies, nuts and whatever the best vegeterian diet is, I will be more healthy. That I don't need animal protein and fat. Why should I be lumped into that grouped and used as an argument that all types of vegeterian diets are bad for you.
Just because your friend did it for a certain reason and chose to eat certain foods shows the lack of research and right motivational reasons for her to pursue such a lifestyle change. It actually shows that your friend is dealing with much more than worries about her diet in her life (don't want to segway with this argument though, just wanted to point that out).
The biggest flaw I saw in your argument is your started the argument for eating meat with the same style that you argue against, persuation by force. My friend did this, my friend turned fat, fat is not cool (emforced by you not being friends with her anymore). If you want to be cool, don't be a vegeterian.
Anyways, I think that it is a good idea to provide a balanced picture for and against the argument for people contemplating the switch, especially since there is no concrete answer on the subject matter yet. But make sure to provide good evidence, like you did in the second part of your argument, instead of using flawed logic like the first.  |