Animals & Christian Living
1 Corinthians 10:31
Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.
Though shaped by culture, habit, and necessity, Christianity recognizes the spiritual significance of everyday actions, including what we choose to eat. This section applies Christian ethics to food choices, presenting a handful of scriptural arguments in defense of eating meat, dairy, and eggs, followed by counterpoints based on core Scriptures and core Christian ethics.
For some, spiritual challenges and change are readily embraced, but for others, new information and a nudge toward change are likely to meet with resistance and require processing. Some readers may need to step away from the screen, perhaps mid-sentence, to spend time with the Gospels, for prayer and reflection, in search of guidance, or simply to breathe and relax. At the end of the day, our relationship with God is highly personal, and only we can do the necessary work to discern why we have come to this page and what God expects of us. The ethical foundations that frame this discussion are explored more fully in Teachings.
When you are ready to begin exploring Christian food ethics, the arguments and counterpoints are presented below.
Food, Faith, and Daily Choice
Explore this Chapter
Scriptural passages invite honest reflection and raise important questions about our daily choices, and how our choices affect animals and the planet.
Does Genesis Permit Us to Eat Animals? Permission after the Fall is not the same as preference — and Scripture is clear about what God originally intended.
Does Animal Sacrifice Justify Eating Animals? Ancient ritual and daily food choice are entirely separate matters — and the final sacrifice of Jesus makes this clearer still.
Peter's Vision: A License to Eat Everything? Read in full context, Peter's vision was never about food — and may actually call Christians toward a more inclusive, more compassionate table.
Jesus, Fish, and Fishing — Should We Eat Fish? What Jesus ate in a particular time and place tells us less than we assume about how Christians are called to live and eat today.
The Swine of Gerasene: Are Animals Expendable? This story is about the power of faith, not the value of pigs — reading it otherwise requires setting aside what Scripture actually says.
"You Are Worth More Than Many Sparrows" —Hierarchy or Love? The same texts that elevate humans call us to serve those beneath us in the social order.
Common Questions
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Scripture suggests yes. Genesis describes God's original intention as a world without bloodshed, where every creature was given plants for food. Paul teaches that everything we do — including eating and drinking — should be done for the glory of God. The daily choices we make, including what we put on our plates, are not spiritually neutral.
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Food is personal, habitual, and deeply tied to culture and community. Christianity recognizes that spiritual growth often moves slowly, and that grace allows the time we need. What matters is a willingness to engage — to look honestly at what our choices involve and to ask whether they align with what we actually believe.
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Many Christians find that reflecting honestly on their faith leads them toward greater care in how they live — including what they eat. Choosing to avoid causing harm to animals is not a new or unusual position within Christianity. It has deep roots in Christian thought, grounded in Genesis and affirmed by core Christian ethics: love, mercy, humility, and care for all of God's creation. For many, this journey leads naturally toward a vegan or plant-based life — not as a rule imposed from outside, but as something that begins to feel like the most honest expression of what they already believe.
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The suffering involved in modern animal industries — in agriculture, clothing, and entertainment — is largely invisible, but it is financed by what people buy. Scripture calls Christians not only to personal virtue but to honest reckoning: to know what they support with their purchasing power, and to allow that knowledge to shape their choices.
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Paul's letters make clear that food choices which cause others to stumble or drive people from the faith are to be reconsidered. Vegan members of congregations have described feeling excluded and alienated at church gatherings. A community that always offers vegan food can welcome everyone; one that does not risks turning away those whose conscience leads them toward compassion at the table.
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Gently and patiently — which is the way most lasting change within communities of faith has always moved. The goal is not confrontation but invitation: to open a conversation about what core Christian values actually require of us, and to help one another see that a more compassionate way of living is not a departure from the faith, but a deeper expression of it. For many people, that conversation — about food, about animals, about what it means to live with integrity — turns out to be one of the most genuinely faithful they have ever had.
Voices from the Journey
You are not the first Christian to sit with these questions. Here are a few voices from within the faith — people who have walked this path, in their own way and in their own time.
“Caring and advocating for animals, and endeavouring to live compassionately, can be a lonely and disheartening experience in a world in which the plight of so many suffering sentient beings seems to be lowest on any political and religious agenda, and does not seem to matter in the lifestyle choices of most people around us.”
— Catholic Concern for Animals
“Change is vital to ensuring the ongoing relevance of the Christian voice within a wider society which is becoming ever more concerned about the way we treat animals... Our vegan vicars came up with a long list of action points including ensuring there is always provision for vegans at church functions... holding an annual St Francis Day/Animal Blessing service, welcoming local vegan groups to use their spaces for potluck suppers... and including animals within prayers and preaching.”
— Sarx: For All God's Creatures
More voices from within the faith can be found within the page about Peter's Vision.
“I was horrified when the woman working there tore the hook from the fish's mouth and blood shot out. I never realized that fish had blood, red like ours... I knew that a life had left this earth because of me, but I also knew that if I told the priest in confession that I'd committed murder, he'd tell me that I hadn't. There was nowhere to go for absolution.”
— Fish Feel
James 4:17
Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.
There are a handful of places in Scriptures that may lead Christians to believe that we can eat anything, including meat (birds, fish, and mammals), dairy, and eggs. But reading Scriptures in this manner conflicts with core biblical teachings, including the life of Jesus, who was inclusive and practiced expansive love, who exemplified moving the moral circle outward.
When choosing what to eat, it is important for Christians to know what goes on behind the closed doors of animal agriculture and the full effects of the fishing industry. In light of core Christian teachings and an abundance of alternative foods, as we become aware of contemporary practices, faithful discernment shows us that we may not eat “everything.” In time, in conversation with God, when we have a choice, many contemporary Christians find that walking with Jesus leads us away from meat, dairy, or eggs.
For those interested in learning more about what goes on behind tightly closed doors, please find undercover footage from animal facilities in the nation where you live.
John 8:32
…you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.
In most contemporary communities, with access to a grocery store or food market, it is easy to choose vegan. For those ready to embrace change in the service of God, here are some paths that you may want to explore along your journey:
Connect with a local vegan group on social media.
Find new recipes online.
Visit your nearest downtown area to locate vegan shops and restaurants that have priced, clearly marked vegan options on their menus.
Find tasty replacements for cheese and sausages, hamburgers and lasagna and any other favorite foods; look for vegan options on grocery store shelves.
Search for online recipes to create your own cheeses and meats.
If you have a vegan friend, ask if they might like to go shopping—they can show you their favorite vegan options, shops, and restaurants.
Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Rescued piglet Patsy reaches up to eat fresh green leaves in dappled sunshine, safe at a vegan anymal sanctuary. (We Animals Media.)