I'm curious to see if anyone had any thoughts about being vegetarian in Missoula.
Missoula appears to have a healthy local food ethic, but is locally raised meat better
for us and for society then some form of vegetarian diet?

It is important to know the source of meat products.
For that matter, it is important to know where all of your food products are from.
I believe in the ethics of vegetarianism, but I feel good sourcing protein from my friends who hunt and from local farmers who raise their animals humanely and organically.

I feel the vegetarian in Missoula exists in an interesting space. 'Montana'
I have lived many other places where the vegetarian diet has been more embraced.
Before moving to Missoula and entering the evst program I expected to be among many others
who were vegetarian and this was not the case. The reasons that people choose to be vegetarian are many and for me initially it was the industry perspective of not wanting to support the industrial meat factories and their treatment of animals and all the industries that profit from this system. That was over 10 years ago. The options have changed a bit if you know what to look for. In Missoula, I see and hear of quite a few people who arrived in town as a veg. who have gone back to eating locally produced meat (ie wild game)

I think this is fine, but this has often exposed the slippery slope of compromising morality and allowing yourself to eat "mystery meat" on occasion. For example, going out to dinner or going to a barbecue where you don't know where the food comes from but eating it anyway.

So, I won't sit on my high horse of morality here claiming that vegetarianism is better than eating meat. I am aware of the arguments about the grassland climates and the approximate number of calories it takes to produce meat versus the amount you get in return consuming that meat as food. From a permaculture perspective, animal grazing provides fertile ground for grasses, food and animal production and conflicting views and opinions. Can you get a complete protein source through plants? Protein is in a lot of food. Is protein the real issue? Is it more or less sustainable (buzz word) to consume quinoa, lentils, beans, etc... and vegetables that may have to be shipped in from where it is grown to provide needed energy to people who require it for a healthy diet?   

The moral and ethical debate continues ...   Does anybody have any experiences with the many types of vegetarianism, veganism, raw foods, hunting, switching their diets, or know people who do?