That much is clear. But there is nothing in the meat per se that is life-saving. The problem with strict vegetarian diets is that they cannot provide essential amino acids some of which are produced only in animals and not in plants, and are absolutely, as the name implies, essential for the normal functioning of our bodies.
We can get them, however, from milk and cheese, but a strict vegetarian diet is difficult, and the weight of meat accounts to some extent to the fullness we associate with 'satiation.' Meats also provide readily available iron needed for red blood cell formation (although one can get that from green leafy vegetables and strawberries). Then there is definitely a taste for "flesh" that is almost universal -- and may have something to do with our fallen nature.
What is interesting about the wonders of the modern diet, with many sources of nutrients and proteins, available year-round, is that on the one hand, it makes it easier for us to approach an "Edenic" diet, which is good.
On the other hand, all of this availability of different foods has made fasting less of a struggle for us than in earlier generations. In the olden days, just telling someone to avoid olive oil and animal products was enough to assure that one would be significantly weakened in body in the course of a fast -- especially in the late winter and early spring, when fresh vegetables and fruit weren't available.
Nowadays, with vegetable oils, fresh food shipped from the southern hemisphere, food substitutes, etc... it is possible to keep the letter of the fast without having the same effect. And yet we still find it difficult -- at least I do...
It seems that Christ must have eaten meat at least some, BTW, since he convened the apostles at the upper room to eat the "Pascha," -- after which supper he "took the cup..." etc... We know he roasted fish!