What about beef though? And I think if dairy cows are raised on pasture on small farms, they are not out of the question costwise. Thinking locally and small-scale, why not dairy cows? Why not cows for beef?
Here's one of our local small dairy farms. These are some healthy, happy cows. No drugs. Nurse their calves.
Lathe Farm, Vermont - Grassfed, Organic, Local
FWIW, we don't drink milk here. And I don't think it's a physical need. But I am also not a big fan of soy for many reasons, especially unfermented.
Pollan has a great argument in Omnivore's Dilemma about why vegetarianism is not sustainable. If everyone in the world were veggie, we wouldn't have enough food.
In our climate, to do the local food thing, we pretty much have to eat meat. Even with preserved/canned/root cellared veggies, we'd not get enough nutrition through the winter without meat.