Back in July, a Herbie emailed me asking if I knew of any Bible quotes
that supported veganism or a plant-based diet. I didn't know of verses
off-hand, but thanks to a quick Google search, I found this website:
Vegetarianism and the Bible.
Afterward, I started thinking about religion and veganism, and how I
have friends of many different faiths and beliefs, many of which are
vegan or vegetarian because of their faith, or they find the two go hand
in hand. For example, when a friend of mine became Buddhist, he adopted a
vegan diet, explaining he felt he had to be a vegan to be consistent
with his beliefs. Similarly, another friend of mine was born and raised
vegetarian because she is a Seventh Day Adventist.
I wondered if others, particularly others of different faiths and
beliefs, found this same connection. I decided to ask the Herbies on
Facebook
for their thoughts. I explained I was interested in writing a blog post
that explored religion/spirituality and its relationship (if any) to
their vegan lifestyle and/or plant-based dietary choices. I welcomed
anyone to email me with their thoughts and opinions. Dozens of emails
poured in, and I'm sharing their thoughts with you today.
Please note that I'm not advocating any one religion or even religion at all.
I'm only sharing what some people in our community feel and believe, since this topic doesn't seem to be discussed elsewhere on the internet.
This is also a question I get fairly often and I'm hoping this post can
help answer some of those questions in greater detail.
I come from a family that is very religiously diverse (nearly every
family member has a different faith or no faith at all) and our practice
is to "love and respect" each other, even when we differ. I take that with me always.
Now, let's explore!
"Religion didn't play into the decision
for me to move to a plant-based diet, but it did confirm to me the
feeling that our bodies are made to perform perfectly without meat.
(Biblically speaking, we were vegetarians until after the flood.)" — M.
B.
"I'm a Seventh Day Adventist Christian, and the church as a whole
promotes a plant-based vegetarian diet as the ideal based on it being
with the original diet (check the book of Genesis). For more
information, SDADA Facts." — M.P.
"I'm a Hindu — born and raised as one — but that's not why I changed
to a plant-based lifestyle. My dad ate meat all his life. My mom has
never eaten it once and I have family members at all ends of this
spectrum. I'm the only one who has given up dairy products. We've always
abstained from eating meat on certain days of the week, at religious
ceremonies (weddings, births, religious holidays, etc.) but my religion didn't have anything to do with my giving up meat, or dairy, or oil (unless you call my health my religion)." — P.C.
"I feel that God blessed me with this body and I'm sure he wants me
to take care of it. My diet and exercise routine helps me do that." —
A.M.
"I'm not a follower of any religion, but eating animals and
thoughts of them facing death or cruelty is harmful to my spirit and my
conscience. No leader or dogma directed me to feel that way, though." — H.K.
"My mom is a fundamentalist Christian, but she's a vegetarian now. Some Christians like to use the God-gave-us-dominion-over-animals argument (a.k.a., "eat meat the way God intended" argument). There is a great book called Dominion by Matthew Sculley that addresses this — he's a vegan and a Christian. It's interesting. To
me, veganism is a spiritual belief and it's part of my spiritual
practice of non-harming. If people are offended by it, I try to be open,
non-defensive and polite." — M. B.
"Although I've been Buddhist for years and was attracted to
vegetarian/vegan diets for health reasons, it wasn't until my wife and I
started to study Chan Buddhism that she switched dramatically, and very
quickly, to a vegan diet. After a couple of months of my wife eating a
vegan diet, I realized that her views on suffering were right,
especially when I learned that dairy cows are the source of veal. Chan
contemplation allowed me to see that it really isn't that hard to create
a new set of habits that create less suffering... For me, it was a
combination of understanding the environmental damage done by commercial
animal agriculture, the suffering inflicted on the animals, the
incredible health benefits of a plant based diet, and deep examination
of the ethics of killing specifically for food in places where abundant
plant based foods are available." - C.E.
"I never ascribed to any one religion before I became vegan. I
suppose I was just agnostic. But veganism has become my religion...my
set of ethics, beliefs, my service to my community (all the things
religion IS)." — K.E.
"Although I don't follow veganism for religious reasons, the
concept of veganism is more or less a religious concept to me. It's what
I follow because it adheres to my ethical principles." — B.G.
"I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day
Saints (Mormon)... There is one specific revelation that addresses how
the Lord would have his people eat: The Word of Wisdom,
which is where the basis for a plant-based diet is found. I have found
much deeper truths in this scripture as I have learned more about the
food industry and food in general. We haven't been plant-based very
long, but it's been amazing to see things come to pass in fulfillment of
this scripture." — K. L.
"In summary, animal eating continues on both the old and new
testament BUT it's not true that God made animals as a food source. I've
hear many people say "God made animals for us to eat". My belief as a
Christian is that God made us plant-based (his perfect will) and charged
us to be guardians and stewards over the animal kingdom. But once sin
entered and animals were being sacrificed as an atonement for sin, the
meat eating shortly followed (His permissive will)." — S. S.
"The primary reason my wife and I remained vegan (after trying it
for health reasons) was because of our ethical and religious beliefs. My
wife and I are Mahayana Buddhists and Unitarian Universalists. One of
the teachings of the Buddhist precepts is 'Do Not Kill.' The Buddha
himself was not vegetarian and neither was his sangha, group of
followers, but many Mahayana Buddhists today are vegetarian in
observance of this precept. It has also been translated as 'Do no harm' or 'I undertake the training to do no harm'." — A. L.
"I didn't adopt veganism as a spirtual practice, but it has become that way as I've grown in
my yoga practice and have become a teacher. I gravitate towards
Jivamukti, and they are all about compassion/non violence (ahimsa) and
the founders are vegans." — K.P.
"In the Old Testament, God gives man (Gen.1: 26-28) "dominion" over
animals and tells man to "rule" the animals, but doesn't say eat them. He
tells man what to eat next (Gen 1:29-30) "Look, I have given you every
seed-bearing plant on the surface of the entire earth, and every tree
whose fruit contains seed. This food will be for you, for all the
wildlife of the earth, for every bird of the sky, and for every creature
that crawls on the earth — everything having the breath of life in it. I
have given every green plant for food." In my study, I learned many
times over, what God calls meat we call plants, and what we call meat,
God called "flesh". Once the flood happened and Noah and his family came
upon dry land, God gave them permission to eat flesh (see Gen. 9) but
only because all vegetation had died from the flood. At this time, the
life expectancy went from 700 to 120. Proof that flesh will make us
sick. So in looking at how God intended for us to eat, it is clear
animal products were not involved. Only when sin became so rampant and
God was going to destroy the world, did we have to eat flesh. We are no
longer in Noah's situation....plant food abounds!" — B. H.
"Buddhism itself doesn't condemn eating animal products, such as the
Theravada tradition, where monks accept whatever is offered to them in
their alms bowl, even if it's meat. Tibetan Buddhism advocates a
vegetarian lifestyle. Personally for me, I didn't feel comfortable eating
other living things anymore... I went vegetarian for spiritual reasons
and feel I'm getting a bonus in that I truly believe eating plant-based
is the healthiest way to live. Buddhist beliefs and my health go hand in
hand for this one." — H. W.
"I'm a Christian, and according to the New Testament of the Bible,
diet has no moral implications — we are free to eat as we please and it
is not a sin to eat animals. However, when studying the Bible, you see
many instances of a plant-based diet as a HEALTHY way to eat and that
ties into the NT commandment to, 'glorify God with your body.' From the
aforementioned 'original diet' in the Garden of Eden before any death,
all animals were herbivores, even those that now are carnivores. From
there you see instances of plant-only diets or fasts, such as Ezekiel
(hence, Ezekiel bread), who ate nothing but his bread for 390 days. And
Daniel, who, along with his companions, chose to eat vegetables and
water instead of the king's "choice food and wine," and the king noted
their appearance was better than those who ate of his choice food. So while my faith doesn't give me moral issues with what I choose to eat, it reinforces the healthy choices. They are not completely separate, as my faith in some way influences much of my life." — D.S.
"I have always been an atheist, but veganism has become as close to a
religion as I will ever get. It is a strong ethical foundation from
which I make all of my decisions." — L. B.
"I am Unitarian
Universalist, and the denomination decided a couple of years ago to make
ethical eating a social justice study issue. We agree to uphold seven
principles, the seventh of which is 'respect for the interdependent web
of life.' It's often interpreted as respect for the environment, but
some, including myself, take it further to mean that everything is
connected and that my behavior is not in a vacuum. I might have the 'right' to eat badly as many Americans insist, but my choices do affect
others when it comes to the environmental cost of a meat and dairy heavy
diet, as well as health care costs that get borne by everyone." — J. F.
"Buddhist and vegan. But, it seems to me, whether one becomes
plant-based for ethical reasons, health-supporting reasons,
environmental reasons, religious reasons — one intention, inevitably and inadvertently supports the other. In other words, whatever the motivation, good comes of it!" — S. R.
"I did not go plant-based for any reason other than health; HOWEVER,
when I did, I was confronted by several in my church who felt I was
putting myself in spiritual danger. I was told I would open myself up to
spiritual attack and that I would be 'too weak to battle,' and that I
was entering a false religion based in New Age. I am part of a very
popular Christian, evangelical church. I was very shocked at the
reactions I got. On the flip side, I have gotten a real understanding of
how God intended for us to eat when He created us. I feel closer to Him
in many ways." — H. B.
"I was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
(Mormon) but haven't practiced in over 11 years. However, if Mormons
followed the Word of Wisdom to the letter, they would be very close to
Vegan. See Doctrine & Covenants 89."
"Coming from a Pagan perspective, which has no central doctrine but has adopted a number of different phrases to describe the practice (in a very general and/or a Wiccan-based way), I've personally taken on "An' it harm none, do as ye will", the very common Wiccan Rede, as a reason to take on a vegetarian diet. It wasn't the initial reason why I became vegetarian, but was adopted later on." — S. F.
"I was raised as an observant Jew keeping kosher laws. Those laws require humane ritual slaughter of kosher animals only (i.e. cows, chickens, turkey, certain fish) - most animals are not considered kosher. In fact, if an animal is mistreated before slaughter it is technically not considered kosher. I became vegetarian in 2008 when a kosher slaughtering house in Iowa was abusing its immigrant workers and animals. I was devastated. By definition kosher meant humane to me. I am sure other kosher slaughtering houses strictly follow all the kosher laws including the ethical treatment of both employees and animals but I felt burned. I became vegetarian and then vegan two years later, for my health. As time has passed I have definitely felt more spiritual and closer to the real roots of Judaism, before the flood, as others have mentioned in their posts. I invite our friends to our home for Jewish holidays and serve entirely vegan meals. They have all remarked to me how light and clean they feel after eating at my home. To me that is a form of spirituality." - C.
Daniel 1:11-16 was also quoted several times over to me, plus Gen 1:29-30 and Gen 1: 26-28.
Lastly, I welcome continued discussion in the comment section, but please remember — love and respect :)