Is it wrong to eat meat if you’re aware of inhumane practices in the industrial farming industry? — Hungry but Conscientious
Dear Hungry but Conscientious, to ask whether it is wrong to eat meat in light of industrial farming practices is to confront how our eating shapes our relationship to Creation. This is not merely a question of diet but of how we live in harmony — or discord — with creatures, the land and our neighbours.
How we treat animals reflects the condition of our humanity. So the question is not whether eating meat is inherently wrong, but whether it can be done in a way that honours the dignity of animals, respects the integrity of Creation and acknowledges the moral responsibilities of humans. Industrial farming often fails this test when animals are subjected to cruelty, ecosystems are degraded and workers are exploited. Such industrial farming thrives on disconnection, treating animals as commodities, the land as a resource to be consumed and workers as tools in a profit-driven apparatus.
These practices deny the dignity of animals and human beings alike while violating the moral “good” of Creation (Genesis 1:31). Such industrial practices not only degrade animals but also harden our moral sensibilities, distancing us from the call to “tend and keep” Creation (Genesis 2:15). Of course, for those in urban environments or with modest means, the ethics of eating meat — or food in general — becomes more complex and the possibility of eating rightly is constrained further. So how should we respond?
Abstaining from meat can be a conscientious response. To abstain is to reject complicity in harmful systems, to protest the violence inflicted on animals and the land, and to cultivate a more mindful relationship with Creation. Yet abstaining is not the only faithful option.
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Eating meat rightly demands intention and care. Such intention might entail prioritizing plant-based dietary practices. But if meat is desired, care might entail supporting farming practices that respect animals and the land as gifts, such as certified small-scale, sustainable systems where animals are raised lovingly and killed humanely. Care can also mean consuming meat reverently (with gratitude and humility accompanying the gravity of eating animals for nourishment).
Ultimately, the question of eating meat concerns not just what is permissible but what fosters the flourishing of Creation. To eat conscientiously — with intention and care — is to live in a way that reflects hope for a reconciled world, honouring the inter-connectedness of all living things and our Creator’s purposes.
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Ashley Moyse is a Canadian ethicist, theologian and assistant professor of medical ethics at Columbia University in New York City.
Do you have an ethical dilemma? Send it to general@broadview.org.
This article first appeared in Broadview’s April/May 2025 issue with the title “Is Eating Meat Wrong?”
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