Vegetarian is the new prius

I read an interesting post by Kathy Freston. Raising livestock has an incredibly caustic impact on the environment. But haven't humans hunted and eaten land animals from the beginning of time? Yes, but that image is nowhere near the reality of animal production in 2007. Fast Food Nation will give you a quick documentary on the differences.

Using statistics and compelling logic, Kathy argues that removing meat from your diet does significantly more for the environment than driving a Prius, or even not driving at all.

What about the middle ground; eating only locally-raised, free-range meat. Then all the energy in creating and delivering hormones/antibiotics and subsequently transporting meat is removed.