@sift666, this is another series or at least a large article! My first Buddhist teachers never pushed what I should or should not eat...although the Korean monks followed a strict vegetarian diet and so did my Theravada meditation teacher. When I go to retreat I follow a vegan diet as well...My Tibetan teachers come from the high mountains were growing enough grain and vegetables to feed everyone is difficult to say the least, many of their tradition were vegan but most ate meat...
Mao killed millions by shutting down the food grids...that's what happens when systems become centralized...we the common people become dependent on authority and history has shown that is when democide and genocide happens.
Like the article states, there are worse things we can do than eating meat.