Christian Perspectives on a Meatless Diet and Health

No, Christians should not be eating a meat diet today because it is injurious to physical, mental, and moral health, and God is leading His people back to the original diet of fruits, grains, nuts, and vegetablesCCh 230.4+2. While meat was permitted under certain circumstances in the past, the current diseased state of the animal kingdom and the availability of wholesome plant foods make flesh-eating unsafe and inconsistent with the preparation for a holy lifeTSDF 79.4+2.

• Physical and Mental Impact: Meat-eating contaminates the blood, causes diseases like cancer and tumors, and diminishes intellectual activity while strengthening the lower animal passionsPC 362.3+2.

• Spiritual Consequences: A flesh diet enfeebles the moral nature and creates a barrier to spiritual-mindedness, as the "flesh warreth against the spirit" Galatians 5:17PC 362.3+1.

• Original Design: God’s purpose is to restore His people to the Edenic diet of fruits, grains, and nuts, which provides all necessary nutrients for vigorous health without the need for animal productsCCh 231.1+2.

• Compassion and Character: Taking the life of God’s creatures for food destroys the tenderness and sympathy that Christians should manifest toward all of God's creationTSDF 73.1+2.

• Medical Responsibility: Physicians and health institutions are instructed to educate patients away from meat-eating, as such a diet is often a primary cause of their illnessSUFF 9.3+2.

• Call to Self-Denial: Those seeking to stand as a perfected people before God must cleanse their appetites and practice self-denial regarding unhealthful foods 1 Corinthians 10:31TSDF 129.6.

1 Corinthians 10:31CCh 231.1+3.