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There are moderate vegetarians. I think the relationship between English speaking cultures and meat is essentially unhealthy. Humans are not designed to eat meat three times a day. It is wasteful of resources and unhealthy for the body and soul. This meat gorging in English speaking cultures is a relic of conditions in England and Scotland in the immediate aftermath of the famines and plagues of the first half of the 14th century.

Most people in England and Scotland spent most of the time between 1315-1348 wavering between never enough to eat and starving. There wasn't enough of grain or meat in most of Europe for anyone but the most wealthy. England and Italy were hardest hit. (Italy imported most of it's food. Shortfalls in other countries meant that people used all their food for domestic consumption instead of exporting). England was a mostly closed system except for the wool, cloth, and luxury trades, and being so far North took the brunt of the agricultural disasters. A combination of bad weather and disease that lead to terrible harvests and the near destruction of the sheep and cattle population of England. So going into the first plague years at middle century, you had a population consisting mainly of people who grew up in a state of perpetual want, malnourished and weakened by a life time of short rations and hard work.

The plague was devastating, but the survivors emerged to a decade of plenty. Suddenly there were more fields and animals than the survivors could quite take care of. There was suddenly surplus cloth, so fashion exploded and the middle classes could afford to adopt the effete practice of wearing underwear. Those who subsisted on barley and rye could afford meat and eggs and whole wheat. Those who ate whole wheat before the plague could suddenly eat white bread and meat three times a day like the aristocracy. The starving feasted on rich foods after a lifetime of saving. The wasteful English meat culture was born and eventually exported to Ireland and later the US, Canada, and Australia.

In contrast, in places like China, one chicken can last an extended family a week or more. They use everything they can on the animal and put a little meat in everything, instead of gorging on large portions at once. Not surprisingly, this is a vastly healthier way to eat.

I am a Buddhist. I choose to limit the damage I do to the world as much as I can. I accept that I can not live without harming things, but I do what I can to live lightly on the world. Each individual has the right a duty to make that choice for themselves. Where meat is required for health, meat eating is a reasonable choice. I admit, I think free range organic is a way better way to do this that earth destroying high cruelty methods. I think there is spiritual merit in living without meat, but not everyone can do this. Individual choice is key.