Any Vegetarians/Vegans here?

[Fromper]

How about the many critters that are inadvertently killed in industrial farming: voles chewed up in tilling equipment, calves which are born and slaughtered to keep cows making milk, frogs, snakes and so on killed with pesticides, etc. Are you sure that a "vegetarian" lifestyle actually has a net positive effect on the number of animals who suffer and die at the hands of humans?

It's one thing not to directly participate, but how sure are you that the effect you want (or don't want) to have on the world is a reality based on your diet?

Vegans don't consume milk for exactly the reason you said - cows are killed in that industry. All of the other side effects you're naming would happen whether people eat meat or not. But because meat farming is less efficient than plant farming, and because there are animals directly killed as a primary effect there are definitely more animals killed when raising them for meat, yes, I'm sure that my vegetarian diet causes less animal death than a meat eating diet. Not to mention all the animals that spend their lives in tiny cages before they're slaughtered for food - at least the animals killed as side effects live natural lives, first.

This argument is like saying "Well, humans die every day of disease and accidents anyway, so there's no reason not to intentionally murder a few more." Just because some death is unavoidable, there's no reason to intentionally add to it.