Why on earth are you bringing free will into the discussion? The point, as I apparently need to stress, is that [i]we don't need animal products[/i]. It's totally fallacious to compare us to other omnivores because 1) they live in the wild and don't have access to supermarkets, and 2) because they are driven primarily by instinct. We are far more cognitively evolved and therefore choices, irrespective of any notion of "free will", have greater value. [quote]You're using the fact that our bodies have evolved to ingest [i]both[/i] types of food sources as a terribly shoehorned argument that we have a choice to make with every meal. That's not what being omnivorous means. You're being an idiot.[/quote]So you're being forced to eat meat with your meals? How exactly? Please, elaborate. [quote]And it's a pseudo-morality, because vegans (as demonstrated in this thread) hold eating unfertilized chicken eggs on the same level as murder. That's ridiculous, because the two aren't even remotely comparable.[/quote]You are incorrect. Vegans are against the egg industry because the male chicks are killed (can't lay eggs), and the hens are often kept in poor living conditions and killed when they become "spent" after a couple of years -- their proper lifespan is around 9. If you read the OP's responses in this thread, you would have found him saying that he eats eggs laid by his own chickens. [quote]Moreover, one has to demonstrate that killing animals of another species is somehow morally equivalent to killing animals within your species.[/quote]Except nobody has claimed that. We have good reasons to value the life of a human over that of another animal -- mostly due to their difference in cognition. However, this does not remove moral imperatives toward other animals altogether. [quote]If so, are we to hold wolves to this standard? Monkeys? Which animals count? Should we say that stepping on an ant is murder? Is it only manslaughter if I didn't see the ant?[/quote]I don't know if you are propping up a straw man or simply misunderstand the core principles of veganism. [quote]I'm sure you can supplement the hell out of your diet with all kinds of ridiculous foods, but that doesn't make it any less unnatural.[/quote]This is another fallacious argument. Whether something is "natural" (a vague term) or not has nothing to do with whether it is beneficial for us. If you were truly consistent with your argument, you would be against all forms of modern medicine because they aren't "natural". You would refuse vaccines, antibiotics and life-saving treatments in favour of herbal tea. Vegans only use marginally more supplements than meat eaters (sometimes less). You didn't think vitamin companies make most of their money from vegans, did you? As usual, they are a small minority. [url=http://www.marksdailyapple.com/5-common-nutrient-deficiencies-and-what-to-do-about-them/#axzz3CaE3ofBh]Here.[/url] I don't know why you brought up biology because I already acknowledged our ability to digest meat. The key point is [i]nutrition[/i]. And basic nutrition tells us it is perfectly viable to live healthily on a vegan diet. I hope you now realize your misconceptions. Veganism is not a set of fuzzy ideals; the core arguments are rock solid. And I have yet to hear any argument against it that doesn't distort these in one way or another.