With vegetarianism and veganism on the rise, a lot of people are curious what the Bible says about eating meat. You may be wondering whether it's okay to eat meat, whether there are specific meats you should avoid, or how to do ethically. All of these are good questions, hopefully you'll find the below information helpful.
Is it okay to eat meat?
As a former vegetarian for about 10 years and vegan for 2-3 of those years, I believe eating meat is both optional and morally acceptable.
God created every plant which is pleasing to the eye and good for food (Genesis 2:9), and he decreed man could eat all except the tree in the midst of the Garden (Genesis 2:16-17). It's worth noting at this stage that because God decreed plants are both good for food and that man should eat them, it is both morally acceptable and recommended to eat edible plants. My personal favourites are carrots, cucumbers, and tomatoes.
At this stage of the narrative, that's all man and woman ate. However, only a few chapters later and Noah sacrifices an animal to God and the aroma was pleasing (Genesis 8:20-21). As a result, God decreed just as he gave all the plants for man to eat, now he gives every moving thing that lives as food for us (Genesis 9:3). Therefore, there is no question on the morality of eating meat; God decreed it is good for man to do so.
Which leads us to the next question: are there any types of meat we should avoid?
Are there any types of meat to avoid?
You may have heard there are certain rules about eating clean and unclean animals, but you're not quite sure which animals are included or why these rules exist. Let's look at these rules, what was included, and whether it applies to us today.
In the Old Testament there are specific animals that God commands Israel not to eat (Leviticus 11). A few of them are specifically named, but the list is not intended to be exhaustive: camels, rock badgers, hares, pigs, and various birds, reptiles, and insects. So that's it, we can't eat those but everything else is good? Not so fast, skipper! We've still got the New Testament.
Jesus was born under the Old Covenant and through his death establishes a New Covenant. While he was required to observe these laws, it is clear in the book of Acts and various epistles that God was grafting the Gentiles into his chosen people. Suddenly, Jews who spent their lives following these rules now had to break bread with Gentiles who would gladly eat the unclean animals. This created a few tensions to say the least.
However, Jesus clearly taught that ritual washing of hands did not make you unclean because what enters the stomach does not defile you, rather what comes out of your heart defiles you (Matthew 15:15-20). At this stage it only applies to ritual washing, but this soon changes. Peter, after journeying to Joppa, prayed and had a vision where God made all kinds of animals, reptiles, and birds clean (Acts 10:15). In this new kingdom, Gentiles were welcome and their eating habits came with them.
Lastly, we see this freedom confirmed numerous times in the epistles. It is clean to eat all food (Romans 14:20), the only requirement is to be considerate of others and do not make them stumble. However, it is worth noting this scripture only requires consideration as to how your food in front of a person might cause them to stumble in their faith. Eating meat at home and with friends who do not consider it an issue of sin is still permissible. If you have Christian friends that consider meat a sin issue, share the above bible verses and how God permits all plants and animals for food.
How can we eat meat ethically?
The last issue I want to discuss is animal welfare and eating ethically. We've seen that eating animals is morally acceptable before God, all things are clean to eat, and that we should be conscious of others faith when eating in front of them. However, what should we strive to do ethically?
Most people today don't own enough land to grow crops and raise animals. We are at the mercy of food suppliers to do so ethically. And while telling everyone to eat high welfare meat is laudable, it's also idealistic. A person can't live on a hat full of dreams, they also need to eat food. Therefore, I encourage people to be conscious of what they are eating within their means.
But always, whether rich or poor, herbivore or omnivore—give thanks to God! He gives life to both plants and animals. He gives life to the farmers who provided for you. So take time before each meal to give thanks to God, not just for food, but for the lives he gave to make the meal possible. May all glory be to God our Father, who cares for us and provides for us. Amen.
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