Is it ethical to eat meat?

I don't think that an ethical issue really exists. Whether one consumes a plant or animal, life has been snuffed out in some way or another.

Perhaps what is more important to argue is should we be eating meat. Considering human bone structure and tooth distribution, it is obvious that we evolved as omnivores - thus implying that consumption of meat is acceptable. However, the amount of meat that should be consumed is usually not given much though. Despite the obvious health benefits of meat i.e. protein, iron, Omega fatty acids etc. one must not forget that there are also equally important components in vegetables and fruits. Moreover, vegetables, fruits and other plant matter offer something that cannot be obtained from supplements - fiber.

Further, the antioxidising effect of raw fruits and vegetables has been observed on many occasions. Applying simple logic and looking back to the time of our ancestors, it would seem that vegetables and fruits would be the cours de jour and meat would be a commodity obtained perhaps bi- or tri-weekly. Thus, while I do not believe it is unethical to eat meat, I believe that for health reasons and for preserving what mankind evolved as, it seems logical to restrict consumption to levels far below those which are usually observed in the bourgeois (couldn't resist) West.