U.S. checking for mad cow

CNN.com: U.S. checking for possible case of mad cow disease

Now, I eat meat. Lately I've probably been eating chicken, turkey, and tuna more than beef, but of the meat I eat, beef is certainly an appreciable proportion.

However, it really seems like a decent idea to become a vegetarian. I'm not saying this to protest the slaughter of animals or anything like that. It just seems like it's an environmentally sound idea (especially if the vegetables are locally grown) that really doesn't seem like too much of a sacrifice, right?

And a real bonus is that you can't get BSE from vegetables, right? (though I guess you can get high doses of whatever is sprayed on them or carried in the ground water to them)

The big downside though is that it seems like such an inconvenience. It seems like most off-the-shelf eats are not vege-friendly, which means you have to make your own food. If you're around lots of people who eat meat regularly, you might be left without anything to eat.

I guess the compromise is to choose to eat vegetables whenever possible and only eat meat if necessary... Is that good enough?

I recently bought an Apple, so I guess anything's possible.