Food Part 2: Ichirou and Grace Discuss Vegetarianism

This post goes out to Lanetta, who gives me many things to think about in the comments. (Yes, you too, dear readers, can use the comments section to ask questions, make observations, or even just say hi!)
Yesterday Lanetta observed that Ichirou (a vegetarian) and Grace (the protagonist and omnivore) would inevitably have a discussion about Ichirou's vegetarianism, and that we could develop the two's personalities (and their friendship) through the conversation. I'm going to give this conversation a try:

We sat crosslegged on the floor of the cabin -- rather, I sat crosslegged, while Ichirou sat seiza, I think just to show off.  Ayana handed us each a bowl of steaming ramen soup. I noticed flat green pieces of what I suspected was seaweed and bits of soft white tofu. Ayana had also put a handful of snow peas and one of spinach, a much more elaborate ramen than I'd had before.

"Do Japanese people really eat ramen?" I asked as I took the spoon and tried to capture the noodles.

"Cut the noodles," Ayana instructed. "I didn't think to ask my accomplice to get chopsticks when he outfitted this place for me." Ayana moved to the couch and put her bowl on the coffee table.

I didn't tell her the secret Greg had asked me to keep, that I had met him when she hadn't. "So how would I eat this with chopsticks?"

Ichirou took his spoon and held it parallel to the bowl he held in his other hand. With a smile, he pantomimed bringing noodles up to his mouth using chopsticks -- and slurped loudly and long.

"That's so impolite!" I shouted, slopping a little broth on my lap. "That's your fault, you know."

Ayana hid what I expected to be a smirk behind her hand. "It's not impolite if you're Japanese."

I turned my attention back to Ichirou, who grimaced at his spoon. "Ichirou, why are you a vegetarian?"

"Lacto-ovo-vegetarian," he shot back.

"Ok, then. Why are you a lacto-ovo-vegetarian?" I turned to my bowl and fished out a piece of silky, mild tofu.

"Well ..." He set his bowl down, unfolded his now lanky body and wandered back into the tiny kitchen area. He returned with three forks, and handed one to each of us. He sat back on the floor, this time crosslegged. "I'm vegetarian because animals' fates shouldn't be decided by whether they're cute, majestic, or malevolent. They just are, and they have just as much right to be as I do."

"Oh," I said, at a loss for words. "But we're higher on the food chain, aren't they?"

 "We decided we were at the top of the food chain."  I saw Ichirou's jaw set, which changed his face from darling to -- interesting.

"But -- what would you do if there was nothing to eat but meat and you were starving?" I blurted out.

"I would eat the meat because I had no choice." He set down his half-empty bowl; I had abandoned mine a few minutes before.

"But you wouldn't be a veg -- a lacto-ovo-vegetarian -- anymore," I prodded.

"Vegetarianism has nothing to do with what I can't do, only what I am willing to do." He picked up his bowl and began to eat again. His deep brown eyes glanced up at me and in that moment I couldn't remember why I thought him so young.