Wiccas, Pagans should you be vegetarians?

Question

If the main basis of following a Wiccan path is "It harm none, do what ye will", should a Wiccan eat meat? It does harm by the obvious, death of the animal. But what about the harmful way our society cages and treats animals raised for consumption? Their lives are void from the moment they are born and for the most part are not treated like an animal but a commodity. I know that plants are also alive but in a different way. Humans and animals draw breath. Any thoughts?

I would say that you would be minimizing pain if you chose not to eat meat!

I think the reason eating meat in this day and age is different is how the animals are treated. There lives are terrible at best. If someone believes everything has a spirit and energy then I feel we are consuming the energy of the life the animal (or plant) has lived. If you require meat then I think it would be wise to be more informed of where you meat comes from and the treatment the animal has received prior to their death. Suffering is not a goal of any creature and though when we eat meat we are contributing to the cycle of more animals being bred for that purpose. Look to your local farmers and ask the questions on hormone injections and more (ask similar questions about your produce).Just be more aware. Live more aware. Check out GoVeg.com.

Answer 1

*cries*
I feel like an outcast here.
I'm a Norse Heathen, and I'm a vegetarian. Okay, stop gasping, it's not by choice. I have a allergy to the meat protein. Before I developed it, I was the most ravenous carnivore imaginable. I miss meat!!! *cries*
Hildulf, you bastard. Give back that meat. So I can stare at it sadly.

Answer 2

I am an animist. ALL things have spirits. Those who say that animals are better than plants are living an anthropocentric (read: SELF-centered) path by denying that humans have superior forms of consciousness, that animals are close enough to be worth respect, but that plants can just be eaten and harvested for herbal purposes without a care. (Go do some research on "primary perception" and "Cleve Backster" if you think plants have no form of consciousness whatsoever.) And what about the spirits of the stones? Pagans wave crystals around all the time!

Just because a form of consciousness doesn't reside in an animal body with the same sort of nervous system doesn't mean it's not conscious. All things have spirits, and in order for me to continue keeping this body some spirit must be displaced from its own physical form so I can eat it. Therefore, whether it's a plant or animal doesn't matter as much as how that being lived and how it died.

ALL things are sacred, without hierarchy.

Answer 3

In the days of old, slaughtering meat was Essential for life! You wouldn't make it through the winter without it (anyone that says otherwise, I sure would like to see you try - no grocery stores or Wal-Marts allowed). It wasn't easy though, for these people to kill an animal that they physically raised and tended for. But it was necessary and they knew it. I think the problem now is not that we eat meat, it's that we don't appreciate the life that the animal gave up for us to live. We are so detached from real survival that we now see everything that's natural as unnatural (such as eating meat). We are humans, we are animals, we are also apart of nature just as any other animal is.

ADDED: Poor Ymmo!!

ADDED: Yes, by eating meat, we are creating a market for more meat to be produced. The conditions are not natural and due to mass production, animals are often put in close confining places - but think!! Do you really think that meat/meat product producers would ententially harm the animals? Really, I doubt it cause it is true "happy cows make better milk" or, if your animal is stressed, hurt, sick, etc, it produces less (milk, eggs, meat, the works) which means less money! Most of the laws that are made to protect these animals are designed and pushed by those that produce the meat products! Slaughter is messy, it's not nice - would you watch a loin kill and slaughter a zebra and think "how unnatural - this should stop....". It's not pretty, but it still is natural.

****Thought to ponder**** MAYBE the problem isn't eating meat products that causes these animals such disstress, maybe it's that there are so MANY PEOPLE in the world to feed! Instead of pushing no meat eating - you should be pushing worldwide population control.

Answer 4

Harm is inevitable. Life survives on the death of other living things, and sometimes the only way to stop greater harm from occurring is to cause harm to someone else. What the Wiccan Rede advises us to do is NOT to unilaterally avoid all possible harm; what it suggests is that all actions that avoid causing harm are acceptable actions. A further interpretation is that the Rede suggests that when we must cause harm, we seek to minimize the damage as much as possible.

Many Wiccan are vegetarians or vegans. I happen to not be one of them. Personally, I eat both meat and vegetable products. I try to buy my meat from sources where I know that the animals have been humanely treated, but it is natural for human beings to be omnivores and thus, I am one.

Answer 5

No, vegetarianism isn't a part of my path. I follow a Celtic path and as far as I know, the ancient Celts ate meat. Besides that, I like meat and I'll continue to add it to my diet.

I'm not a Wiccan and the Wiccan rede isn't a part of my beliefs.

I simply live and let live. The things that folks decide to eat or not eat is a fairly personal issue and not necessarily related to their religion.

Answer 6

To say that a Wiccan has never harmed anyone, would be a lie. We must try out best to attain that goal, but as humans we were created to be omnivores. A lot of Wiccans and Pagans are vegetarians, I'm not... but I know some who are. It depends on the person.
BB

Answer 7

The Rede says we can do what we will if it harms none. it does not say we can't do anything unless it harms none. That is a non-sensical rule. Death and destruction are part of the natural cycle. Humans are naturally omnivores, so I have no religious reason to avoid meat, which my body is designed to eat.

Answer 8

The eight words are deceptive to those who do not have a decent understanding of Wicca.

"An it harm none, do what ye will" is only talking about actions that harm none, no where in that does it say `do no harm'

If one bothers to read the whole of the Rede, one will find the answer about what happens when ones actions cause harm, and no, it doesn't matter if you meant to or not.

Answer 9

It's a matter of personal preference. With this logic, you could say that Pagans should not drive because they might squish a bug with their car. Of course that's a bit unreasonable. Many Pagans are vegetarian, and many are not.

IMO... it's impossible to live by the Wiccan Rede. Any Wiccan who can claim that he/she has never harmed a single creature or human is obviously lying. Everybody hurts someone at some point, whether intentional or not.

Answer 10

Ok the things is, "Harm None," is a Wiccan thing. It also mean more along the line of harm nothing outside the normal cycle of life. You know, no trying to kill people or anything. That's outside the normal cycle of life.
Animals are INSIDE the normal cycle of life. They are here to eat. Otherwise they over populate and starve. That's better somehow?? Everything on the planet has a purpose, animals are to eat. Their death can be respected.
I'm Asatru. I ASSURE you we do not follow "Harm none" as a creed.