I was a vegetarian for two years. Not because I thought it was wrong to kill animals, I discovered that I felt "lighter" and happier if I cut out meat. Had no problem at all with others eating meat and did not feel morally superior. I finally returned to eating light meat and fish because managing your protein intake is a lot more difficult and expensive as a vegetarian. So please don't lump all vegans into the boggle-eyed must-convert category.

Maybe, Sarah, but I bet you spent a lot of time talking about how much "lighter" you felt. As even the letter writer said, he felt vegans are more spiritually evolved. I'm thinking the phone conversation didn't go quite the way it's presented, with all the aggression on her side (no doubt caused by eating red meat). He has to find someone as elevated as he in order to be happy, unless part of his plan is a mindless, passive person to control in that and so many other ways.

I have an uncle who is vegan. His reasons in changing his diet so drastically about 15 years go were both health-related and moral. When he switched, he told his family why, but now he never mentions any of the reasons. The only time the issue comes up is when we decide where to meet for lunch or dinner. Then he gets to choose a place where he can eat. Usually, he'll give us four or five choices - not all vegan - and we get to pick the one we want. If he comes to our house, we always make sure to have a vegan dish or two for him, which is no big deal. Salads, grilled veggies, and vegan pasta usually do it for him. So, my point is, you can be a vegan and not be an annoying holier-than-though boob.

I come from a family of ranchers, and as you can imagine, we love our beef almost as much as we do Jesus. I have absolutely no issues with someone who gives up animal products for health or religious reasons - these people are less outspoken and often use milk, cheese, or fish but simply abstain from certain foods. I do have a problem with the people who refuse meat for ethical reasons. For one, I refuse to buy into the argument that farming and slaughtering are cruel, if only because I do not respect animals the way I do people. I suppose one could make the argument that at least such people put their money where their mouth is (literally!), but I still do not like the idea that they may be judging me, when my own faith says it's OK to eat anything that looks good. Most of the time I'm right - it often turns out they ARE judging me, especially when told that I also hunt animals for sport in addition to raising them domestically. At the bare minimum, I would expect such people to keep their mouths shut about their beliefs when they're at my table. I would probably never invite such a person over for dinner unless he was willing to bring his own food. I also would expect ethical-vegans to be consistent - no leather sandals, no use of glue, gelatin, pet foods, or anything else made from livestock or other animal by-products. Those of you who aren't pushy or nasty about it, I applaud you.