The benefits deriving from maintaining a vegetarian diet are innumerable and increasingly well defined by modern science; These benefits include a decreased risk of heart disease and some cancers. Many vegetarians say they feel better and more alert, and two of the three best sprinters in the world are vegan. Vegetarians often claim moral superiority over non-vegetarians through varieties of the “no living thing hurts” belief. However, only 2.8% of American adults are vegetarians. The advantages of vegetarianism are well known and the disadvantages seem negligible, yet in most countries only a small portion of the population is vegetarian or vegan; Why would anyone ignore the possibility of living longer and feeling superior, both physically and ethically? First, opponents of vegetarianism do not agree with its restrictions on scientific grounds. “But of course,” the vegetarians reply, “their muse, science, puts these claims to rest effortlessly.” No, in fact; Studies indicate that vegetarians are much more at risk of deficiencies in calcium, iron, zinc, and B vitamins. Although many devout vegetarians take supplements to counteract these deficiencies, the possible lethality of iron deficiency-related anemia, for example, completely debunks the claims of many vegetarians that no meat is somehow “more natural” – if normal humans cannot survive unaided after eliminating part of their diet, one can only conclude that part of their diet was essential. An even more serious symptom of the vegetarian diet is calcium deficiency: calcium deficiency inhibits bone growth, also causing proactive weakening of bone structures and ultimately osteoporosis and death. Again, many vegetarians take supplements or get calcium from dairy products, which are produced in the middle of paper, because not everyone thinks it is. There are diets that, followed, can provide conscious nutrition, including all the health benefits resulting from vegetarianism. Reducing your meat consumption is actually healthier than going without it completely, and simply being conscious and aware of the source and nutrition of your meals can provide all the benefits of a meat-free diet and so much more, with the nutritional benefit supplement of healthy meat products, without the danger of disabling anemia and osteoporosis. The problems that vegetarianism seeks to correct are not insignificant; there are certainly ethical issues with the way modern meat production works and health issues with the American diet and population. When healthier and more pragmatic approaches exist, however, the combative and self-righteous attitude of many vegetarians seems little more than youthful idealism..