Ah, I can contribute to this. I recently (6 weeks ago) started eating chicken (free range), turkey, and fish again after being vegetarian for 9 years. I was vegan for 4 of those years. I still buy free-range, vegetarian-fed eggs and what I call "happy cow" milk.
I believe that a vegetarian lifestyle is a very healthy lifestyle. My non-veg father, a doctor and somewhat conservative (I'm also the child of an ex-hippie so just trying to say that he's not one to jump on a "liberal trend"), believes that people will eventually move to a vegetarian diet because of this.
Dogs can do very well on a vegetarian diet; for cats, it's different. They do need meat, though I believe there are now supplements that you can use... I would personally never put my cats on a veg diet, though I would consider putting a dog on one.
To cut this short, I think you have to find something that is a good balance for you. I found I wasn't eating much variety as a vegan and then later even as a vegetarian. That is *not* to say that there isn't variety in either diet. There is. But you have to be willing to experiment and cook. I can't stand the kitchen. I tend to eat crackers and wine for dinner if left to fend for my own in the kitchen. I tried (9 years, like I said), but I wasn't going to change myself. I now am left in the awkward situation of feeling guilty about eating some kinds of meat but feeling like I'm better off physically for doing it... at least for now.
I can say that I believe I will never eat pork or beef again (or deer, rabbit, or anything I didn't eat before being veg either). I may buy the occasional pair of leather shoes (I didn't buy any animal products while vegetarian or vegan (vegans abstain from all animal products-honey, gelatin (still don't eat that), leather, down, etc.)). If I go back to being veg because the ethical issues are too much to reconcile with the diet issues, then I will stop buying animal products again.
Okay, so not so short... I recommend the veggie lifestyle though. I didn't find it difficult. Sure, there are not as many choices at traditional restaurants, but I could always find *something*. I lived in San Antonio when I became a veg and Austin for most of it. Austin is veg-friendly, so I was lucky with that. But I've done it in Germany, DC, rural Tennessee, on the Navajo Reservation... basically, it's possible anywhere-from rural areas to big cities.