Editing Meat (section)

== Cultural aspects ==

Meat is part of the human diet in most cultures, where it often has symbolic meaning and important social functions.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Leroy |first1=Frédéric |last2=Praet |first2=Istvan |title=Meat traditions. The co-evolution of humans and meat |journal=Appetite |date=July 2015 |volume=90 |pages=200–211 |doi=10.1016/j.appet.2015.03.014 |pmid=25794684 |s2cid=23769488 }}</ref> Some people choose not to eat meat (vegetarianism) or any food made from animals ([[veganism]]). The reasons for not eating all or some meat may include ethical objections to killing animals for food, health concerns, environmental concerns or religious [[dietary laws]].

=== Ethical issues ===

{{Main|Ethics of eating meat}}

Ethical issues regarding the consumption of meat include objecting to the act of killing animals or to the [[intensive agriculture|agricultural practices]] used in meat production. Reasons for objecting to killing animals for consumption may include [[animal rights]], [[environmental ethics]], or an aversion to inflicting [[pain]] or harm on [[sentience|sentient animals]]. Some people, while not vegetarians, refuse to eat the flesh of certain animals for cultural or religious reasons.<ref name="Sandler 2014">{{cite book |chapter=3. Should we eat animals? |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0XXZBAAAQBAJ |title=Food Ethics: The Basics |last=Sandler |first=Ronald L. |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-135-04547-0 |location=London |access-date=11 February 2018}}</ref>

The founders of [[Western philosophy]] disagreed about the ethics of eating meat. [[Plato]]'s ''[[Republic (Plato)|Republic]]'' has [[Socrates]] describe the ideal state as vegetarian.<ref name=Buscemi>{{cite book |last1=Buscemi |first1=Francesco |title=From Body Fuel to Universal Poison: Cultural History of Meat: 1900–The Present |date=2018 |publisher=[[Springer Nature|Springer]] International Publishing AG |isbn=978-3-319-72085-2 |pages=10–16}}</ref> [[Pythagoras]] believed that humans and animals were equal and therefore disapproved of meat consumption, as did [[Plutarch]], whereas [[Zeno of Elea|Zeno]] and [[Epicurus]] were vegetarian but allowed meat-eating in their philosophy.<ref name=Buscemi/> Conversely, [[Aristotle]]'s ''[[Politics (Aristotle)|Politics]]'' assert that animals, as inferior beings,<ref name=Aristotle>{{cite book |last1=Aristotle |title=The Politics |last2=Jowett |first2=B. |location=Ancient Greece |page=I. 8. 1256b |orig-date=355-323 BCE}}</ref> exist to serve humans, including as food.<ref name=Aristotle/><ref name=Buscemi/> [[Augustine]] drew on Aristotle to argue that the universe's natural hierarchy allows humans to eat animals, and animals to eat plants.<ref name=Buscemi/> [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] philosophers were likewise divided. [[Descartes]] wrote that animals were merely animated machines, while [[Kant]] considered them inferior beings for lack of discernment: means rather than ends.<ref name=Buscemi/> But [[Voltaire]] and [[Rousseau]] disagreed; Rousseau argued that meat-eating is a social rather than a natural act, because children are not interested in meat.<ref name=Buscemi/>

Later philosophers examined the changing practices of eating meat in the [[modern age]] as part of a process of detachment from animals as living beings. [[Norbert Elias]], for instance, noted that in medieval times cooked animals were brought to the table whole, but that since the [[Renaissance]] only the edible parts are served, which are no longer recognizably part of an animal.<ref name=Buscemi/> Modern eaters, according to [[:fr:Noëlie Vialles|Noëlie Vialles]], demand an "[[Ellipsis (linguistics)|ellipsis]]" between meat and dead animals.<ref name=Buscemi/> [[Fernand Braudel]] wrote that since the European diet of the 15th and 16th century was particularly heavy in meat, European [[colonialism]] helped export meat-eating across the globe, as colonized peoples took up the culinary habits of their colonizers.<ref name=Buscemi/>

=== Religious traditions ===

{{main|Vegetarianism and religion}}

[[File:Florenz fleischtheke.jpg|thumb|[[Catholic Church|Catholic]] nuns buying meat in Italy]]

Among the Indian religions, [[Jainism]] opposes the eating of meat, while some [[Buddhist vegetarianism|schools of Buddhism]] and [[Hinduism#Vegetarian Hindus|Hinduism]] advocate but do not mandate vegetarianism.<ref name="Tähtinen 1976">{{cite book |last=Tähtinen |first=Unto |title=Ahimsa: Non-Violence in Indian Tradition |year=1976 |location=London |publisher=Rider |pages=107–111}}</ref><ref name="Walters Portmess 2001">{{cite book |last1=Walters |first1=Kerry S. |author-link=Kerry S. Walters |last2=Portmess |first2=Lisa |title=Religious Vegetarianism From Hesiod to the Dalai Lama |year=2001 |location=Albany |publisher=State University of New York Press |pages=37–91}}</ref> Some [[Sikhism|Sikh]] groups oppose eating any meat.<ref name="Takhar2005">{{cite book |last=Takhar |first=Opinderjit Kaur |title=Sikh identity: an exploration of groups among Sikhs |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aeKWQzesOc4C&pg=PA51 |access-date=November 26, 2010 |year=2005 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |isbn=978-0-7546-5202-1 |page=51 |chapter=2 Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha}}</ref> Jewish ''[[Kashrut]]'' dietary rules allow certain (''[[kosher]]'') meat and forbid other (''[[treif]]'') meat.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/kashrut.html|title=Kashrut: Jewish Dietary Laws|encyclopedia=[[Jewish Virtual Library]]|accessdate=February 3, 2025}}</ref> Similar rules apply in [[Islamic dietary laws]]: The [[Quran]] explicitly forbids meat from animals that die naturally, blood, and the meat of pigs, which are ''[[haram]]'', forbidden, as opposed to ''[[halal]]'', allowed.<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of Halal |publisher=Halal Monitoring Committee U.K.|accessdate=February 3, 2024 |url=https://halalhmc.org/resources/definition-of-halal/}}</ref>

===Psychology===

{{main|Psychology of eating meat}}

Research in [[applied psychology]] has investigated meat eating in relation to [[morality]], [[emotion]]s, [[cognition]], and personality.<ref name=Loughnan2014>{{cite journal |last1=Loughnan |first1=Steve |last2=Bastian |first2=Brock |last3=Haslam |first3=Nick |title=The Psychology of Eating Animals |journal=Current Directions in Psychological Science |year=2014 |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=104–108 |doi=10.1177/0963721414525781 |s2cid=145339463 |url=https://foodethics.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/inst_ethik_wiss_dialog/Loughnan__S._2014_And_Bastian._..The_Psychology_of_Eating_Animals._In._CURRENT_DIRECTIONS_IN_PSYCHOLOGICAL_SCIENCE.pdf |access-date=August 6, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930183806/https://foodethics.univie.ac.at/fileadmin/user_upload/inst_ethik_wiss_dialog/Loughnan__S._2014_And_Bastian._..The_Psychology_of_Eating_Animals._In._CURRENT_DIRECTIONS_IN_PSYCHOLOGICAL_SCIENCE.pdf |archive-date=September 30, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Psychological research suggests meat eating is correlated with [[masculinity]],<ref name=Rozin2012 >{{cite journal |last1=Rozin |first1=Paul |last2=Hormes |first2=Julia M. |last3=Faith |first3=Myles S. |last4=Wansink |first4=Brian |title=Is Meat Male? A Quantitative Multimethod Framework to Establish Metaphoric Relationships |journal=Journal of Consumer Research |date=October 2012 |volume=39 |issue=3 |doi=10.1086/664970 |pages=629–43}}</ref>  and reduced [[Big Five personality traits#Openness to experience|openness to experience]].<ref name="Keller2015">{{cite journal |last1=Keller |first1=Carmen |last2=Seigrist |first2=Michael |title=Does personality influence eating styles and food choices? Direct and indirect effects |journal=Appetite |date=January 2015 |volume=84 |pages=128–138 |doi=10.1016/j.appet.2014.10.003 |pmid=25308432 |s2cid=34628674}}</ref> Research into the [[consumer psychology]] of meat is relevant both to [[meat industry]] marketing<ref name=Richardson1994>{{cite journal |last=Richardson |first=N.J. |title=Consumer Perceptions of Meat |journal=Meat Science |year=1994 |volume=36 |issue=1–2 |pages=57–65 |doi=10.1016/0309-1740(94)90033-7 |pmid=22061452 |display-authors=etal}}</ref> and to those advocating eating less meat.<ref name="Klöckner 2014">{{cite journal |last1=Zur |first1=Ifat |last2=Klöckner |first2=Christian A. |title=Individual motivations for limiting meat consumption |journal=British Food Journal |volume=116 |issue=4 |year=2014 |pages=629–42 |doi=10.1108/bfj-08-2012-0193 }}</ref><ref name="Schösler">{{cite journal |last1=Schösler |first1=Hanna |last2=Boer |first2=Joop de |last3=Boersema |first3=Jan J. |title=Can we cut out the meat of the dish? Constructing consumer-oriented pathways towards meat substitution |journal=Appetite |volume=58 |issue=1 |year=2012 |pages=39–47 |doi=10.1016/j.appet.2011.09.009 |pmid=21983048 |s2cid=10495322 |url=https://research.vu.nl/en/publications/54385240-11c1-41fd-86a4-25c10ac6f23a }}</ref>

=== Gender ===

Unlike most other foods, meat is not perceived as [[gender-neutral]]; it is associated with men and [[masculinity]]. Sociological research, ranging from African tribal societies to contemporary [[barbecue]], indicates that men are much more likely to participate in preparing meat than other food.<ref name=Buscemi/> This has been attributed to the influence of traditional male [[gender role]]s, in view of what [[Jack Goody]] calls a "male familiarity with killing", or as [[Claude Lévi-Strauss]] suggests, that [[roasting]] (meat) is more violent than [[boiling]] (grains and vegetables).<ref name=Buscemi/> In modern societies, men tend to consume more meat than women, and men often prefer [[red meat]] whereas women tend to prefer chicken and fish.<ref name=Buscemi/>