What Food Do Christians Eat?
Most Christians are omnivores who observe no specific dietary restrictions specified by their religion. A small portion of the Christian population follow a demi-vegetarian, vegetarian or vegan diet for religious reasons stemming from biblical passages such as Genesis 9:1-4, which depicts vegetarianism as God’s original dietary plan for mankind.
Although all types of meat and other foods are permitted in most sects of Christianity, some Christians choose to limit meat consumption or fast entirely on Fridays or during Lent. Catholics observe a number of occasions for feasting and fasting including Christmas, Palm Sunday, Easter, the Annunciation and Pentecost Sunday. Fasting is normally a spiritual practice performed to grow closer to God, become humble or control human desires, and it is not a strong part of Reformed or Protestant Christianity.
Vegetarianism in Christianity has been a minority dietary restriction for several important religious figures such as John Wesley, William Booth, Catherine Booth and Leo Tolstoy. Modern vegetarian Christians believe that an omnivorous diet is unjustifiable in an age when a plant-based diet can meet all nutritional needs, and others point out that God only allowed meat consumption after the Fall of Adam and Eve as a result of man’s inability to follow God’s will. Others follow a vegetarian diet to combat the unethical practices of large-scale factory farms, such as battery cages and veal pens.
