@wmd
Definitely true.
Often people add a little bit of meat to a mainly vegetarian one to add some flavour.
In the area of Rome for example it's common to add a little bit of pig meat to pasta dishes.
I wouldn't consider this as eating meat every day, since the quantities are quite small.

I'm used to the fact that meat is generally the most expensive ingredient in a recipe, unless you're using some very exotic vegetable.
In Italy meat is easily 5 times as expensive as vegetables, thus making a mostly vegetarian diet much more affordable.
@Blumenkuebel @muellertadzio