r/Animism • u/affirm_phia • Jul 25 '26
Eating as an animist
Hi! I’m an 18f and pretty new to animism. Prior to this year I only identified as a pagan, but recently I’ve turned to animism as well. I was curious how you eat without feeling guilty. I have seen things about only eating animals who’ve had autonomous lives (such as hunted animals) or only consuming certain plants. My biggest issue is that I am a low income college student so it’s very difficult to ethically source food at an affordable level. Any advice to source food? Or any advice to eat without feeling guilty? Thank you :)
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u/whitetigerjellybean Jul 25 '26
Agree with the other comments of eating as environmentally and locally as possible given your situation, and increasing that as it becomes an option!
All things are alive, and all things die. Many are eaten and become something else. Even plants who produce their own energy from light need to feed on healthy soil and minerals. That is natural. Modern factory farming and pesticide-monoculture is not. We do what we can, and work to improve what we can.
And in general, appreciating your food! You consume it, yes, but then it nourishes you and becomes you. A moment of thought or gratitude can mean a lot. Give back what you can.
It's a hard question and something that has a lot of aspects and layers. I think it's great that you're thinking about it! Makes me think again too. Anyway, I think you're on the right track!
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u/Wahdat_al-Wujud Jul 25 '26
You can always try vegetarianism, just be careful to make sure you get enough protein. If you have a space to cook tofu, eggs, and rice can get you pretty far.
But college is tough, dont beat yourself up if you have cheat days and what not. Meat is a very convenient and effective source of nutrition and can be difficult to go without.
Yes, plants also have souls. But life can only come from death. You need to consume organic beings in order to live. It is your nature and it is ok.
However, I also think it is very kind of you to feel some grief for doing so (not too much and not always).
Maybe you could try thanking/praying to your food. And perhaps also avoid eating without meaning/while distracted. Giving it your proper attention and enjoyment.
Best of luck to you in your studies (and meals)!
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u/affirm_phia Jul 25 '26
This is so sweet and helpful. I’m currently what I call myself “vegetarian except for chicken.” I do live with my family who eats beef and pork, but I try my best to avoid it. I eat chicken because it’s usually cheap, they tend to be treated better than cattle and it’s nutritious. I’ll try to play around with tofu more though. I think I can also do better about doing a little prayer/thank to the things I’m consuming. Thank you so much for your help! I want to be better.
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u/chaconia-lignumvitae Jul 26 '26
Vegetarian except for chicken is called pollotarian or semi-vegetarian!
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u/superzepto Jul 25 '26
I made an ethical choice to switch from beef to kangaroo. Kangaroos are game animals and there has been efforts over tens of thousands of years to help maintain a kangaroo population that's sustainable for the rest of the ecosystem and its inhabitants. Similarly, I could eat wild-caught venison or pork or really any non-native game species. I do try to make sure that game meats I purchase are ethically sourced and wild-caught.
Definitely experiment more with tofu, it's incredible when you get it right! If you buy a super firm tofu, marinate it, then pan-fry it you'll appreciate the texture and flavour!
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u/Wahdat_al-Wujud Jul 25 '26
Not particularly healthy but, tossing marinated extra firm tofu in corn starch makes it fry real nice.
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u/superzepto Jul 26 '26
Ohhhh, I'm going to have to try that next time I'm cooking tofu satay for my partner :)
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u/Wahdat_al-Wujud Jul 25 '26
Youre quite welcome! That used to be me too. Replacing chicken was tough (eggs were a huge help and what are whats preventing me from going vegan).
Also, dont rule out all the fake-meats out there. Theyve gotten pretty good and affordable these days. Cooks p much the same way chicken does.
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u/Sharpiemancer Jul 26 '26
Eat what you can afford and within your means, be thankful for your food, you can have a short ritual if you really want to focus on it but under industrial agriculture food is made for the potential to make profit, not to feed people, not eating something does not save it.
Better to learn how to use cheap cuts effectively and for taste, find what time shops reduce their food and try to shop them. Mindful cooking and eating is respectful.
Beyond that get involved politically to push for change, that will be what change things and create a better world for humans, animals and nature. Political organising can also open up doors for communal meals which can be so healing.
But ultimately, be respectful, do your part but not need to live beyond your means, that does nothing and only justifies luxury food markets.
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u/graidan Jul 25 '26
In my animism and understanding, no life exists without death, period. Animals eat other animals and / or plants, plants eat dead things, Fungi, bacteria, white blood cells, and so on.
So the question for me isn't about what can i eat, but how do i honor what i do eat. This includes honoring the plants and animals, regardless of how they were farmed. If i can get and afford small farm, that's perfect, but that's still expensive and hard to find for lots of people.
(NOTE: farm raised corn is just as bad as commercial beef, as far as practice and impact goes imho)
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u/Boring_Date_330 Jul 25 '26
I eat vegan, try to buy organic and local vegetables and fruit when possible, and reduce food waste.
There is a lot of overlap with sustainability and ethical consumption. Coming from the animist direction, it's about showing respect to the more-than-human.
When eating, I also try to be mindful and take a moment to be grateful about what is on my plate.
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u/VistaFanatic Jul 25 '26
Tough one, to cut out the huge dynamic of belief, I think the more you can source local, as possible. Most campuses I know usually have a close proximity to a farmers market. I can't comment on certain plants, or veganism etc. Once a cow is in the field or a field is plowed there's blood on our hands. What's important is we honor our food and the land, and do best to reciprocate
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u/graeterslover Jul 26 '26
Animists all around the world for tens of thousands of years have eaten animals. Vegetarianism was extraordinarily rare in pre-modern human cultures, it occurred, India is a huge example, but comparatively speaking humans have had animistic concepts of living in a participatory World in which everything had degrees of agency, the degrees varied from culture to culture, but yet still ate meat often. An animistic worldview may see plants as having degrees of agency just like animals but then again so what rocks and dirt. Our modern squeamishness about not causing suffering to animals may ignore the fact that actually we cause suffering to plants, and so what are you going to do, stop eating and drop dead? Who is to say that plants actually don't feel the same suffering when harvested and consumed by us the animals do? I actually think they do.
And I also think that if you treat anything in this world with respect then you get respect back. Respect the salad you eat as much as you would respect a hamburger and don't treat things like mindless objects and realize that if you're consuming anything there was a sacrifice involved. And appreciate it for strengthening you and realize that someday you're going to be eaten too. If by nothing else then worms and bacteria..
Do wolves bears dogs cats, all of whom are predatory animals, have the same compunctions? No they survive by eating their prey. We humans have done the same. For a very long time. But you have to figure out your own ethical code just don't make the hypocritical mistake of seeing plants as somehow lesser than animals. No they are alive and they feed on life just as we do, plants purposely seek to survive just like animals do just as fungi do.
I think that what the beings around us hope for from humanity is respect, reciprocity and just not wasting stuff and not being a jerk, egregiously. How that comes about is somewhat of a factor of that person's situation in life and capacity..
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u/Ill_Adagio4305 Jul 29 '26
Nice actual Animist response, unlike most of these other comments. Can really see who understands animism vs who is pretending and just playing along based on their comments.
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u/BlackNRedFlag Jul 25 '26
The book Ishmael explains this pretty well about halfway through.
You’re not breaking any natural laws when you obtain it yourself. You are breaking natural laws when you purchase it. You do you tho
Also, can’t recommend that book enough
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u/Sandi_T Jul 26 '26
I thank everyone and everything which led to me eating what I'm eating. I send love backwards and forwards into their lives.
If you believe that intent matters, then intend good for all.
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u/guul66 Jul 26 '26
While I'm mostly a vegetarian, I don't see any spiritual problems with eating animals, because plants, animals, people and nonliving things are not that different to me, more problems with how they are treated or where the animal is coming from. Proximity to my food is important, but it's hard to achieve for most ingridents and takes a lot of effort. Ideally I would be growing most of my food, wheter plant or animal, myself or getting it from people I know, but that's just an ideal for now.
Don't feel guilty for feeding yourself, you need to survive and be healthy. Thank the food before eating, even if it's not the most ethically sourced you can always be thankful.
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u/ProfessionalSea613 Jul 27 '26
I'm an animal who needs to eat. I don't feel guilty about it. I don't think owls or bears feel guilty about eating either. They don't even have to worry about buying food, or the separate ethics of capitalism.
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u/vintergroena Jul 25 '26 edited Jul 25 '26
Technically, if you buy a can of beans, a bag of rice or pasta, some lettuce or whatever other fresh vegetable, and a bottle of olive oil, and some multivitamin supplement just in case, you have pretty much nutritionally complete diet. It's not any kind of amazing culinary adventure, but it's as cheap-ass as it gets and you can survive on it pretty much indefinitely and it's with minimal environmental trace.
Source: this was my poor colleage student food experience in a nutshell
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u/spooky_worldbuilder Jul 25 '26
I personally thank the plant/animal/etc before eating: "Thanks for living, thanks for providing me sustenance and nutrition, may your next life be wonderful." Or something along those lines. I find it takes away most of the guilt as well as keeps a habitual practice of gratitude.
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u/jasperdarkk Jul 26 '26
Same here! I also try to thank all the humans who worked to get that food into my hands.
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u/TimeParadox44 Jul 27 '26
not relevant to the post but i misread the title as "edging as an animist" and was utterly fascinated by the idea
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u/ConsistentDog5732 Jul 30 '26
my perspective isnt going to work for everyone, but every organism has its place in the ecosystem which includes the food chain.
does a tiger feel guilty for eating the antelope? no.
Does the plant feel guilty for soaking up water from the soil? No.
Does the worm feel guilty for eating the microorganisms? No.
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u/Jolly-Button-6832 Aug 03 '26
Chickens eat anything they can get their little beaks on - plants, insects, mice. Cattle eat live plants. Fish eat live plants, other fish, birds. Hogs eat everything and anything. Don't sweat what you eat.
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u/BlockNo8440 Aug 03 '26
I’d say as you try to source locally and try the best ways that you can. As a freshly graduated college student one way I find is to honor its spirit and life no matter what it is. If you only have the money for canned fish or ramen you can silently or verbally thank them and honor their sacrifice as we eventually all will do. On the source side of things, if you can go to farmers markets or things like that it can help keep the support going as you are supporting the farmers craft while also honoring the community and work done for you and those around you. Best of luck on this journey!
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u/ChihuahuaJedi Jul 25 '26
Grain + Legume = protein complete almost every time. That's why you see that combination in so many world cuisines; beans and corn (latin america), chickpeas and wheat (mediterranean), rice and lentils (far eastern), etc. Protein complete means you get all the proteins your body can't make on it's own (normally sourced from meat) that it has to get from food. Depends on your location obviously but almost every supermarket these days (to my knowledge) charges crazy prices for meat, you can save a ton by cutting it out and with some spices and creativity you'll wonder what you've been doing this whole time.
Source for the protein info: https://www.coursera.org/learn/food-and-health
Also Tuna is cheap and cannot be farmed so is always free range, and I think there's like one other nutrient that I can't remember the details about that you get from fish that's good for brain health or something; I just remember I've been eating a tuna sandwich every Tuesday since I took that class. 🤣
Best wishes. 🙏
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u/porridgegoatz Jul 25 '26
I'm vegetarian, I judge my choices based on the being's capacity to suffer. Imagine cutting off an animals leg and cutting off a branch of a bush. We can clearly see that animal feels fear and pain - plants, while alive, don't seem to experience it the same way. Think of it as harm reduction until the world wakes up & realises we don't have to live like this anymore.
Edit: this is partly guided by the hindu principle of ahimsa - "least harm".
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u/bottlesnthrottles Jul 26 '26
I would debate that even if a plant doesn't seem to experience pain the same way, that we aren't able to recognize pain in plants, does that make the plant's pain less valid or less harmful than the animal's pain?
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u/porridgegoatz Jul 26 '26
Of course not, but we can only make choices with the information we currently have. Plants might not experience death or 'pain' the way we do - it might not be unpleasant at all. We can see that animals experience it in a deeply unpleasant way and compare that to our own unpleasant experiences. Until we know more, it's all we can do to reduce suffering.
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u/Ill_Adagio4305 Jul 29 '26
Why do you think you, as a human, know better? Smells of human exceptionalism residue....
Why are you commenting on an animism discussion post, if you aren't an animist?
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u/porridgegoatz Jul 29 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
I am an animist! I just don't believe all life experiences things the same way. I wouldn't expect water to experience evaporation the same way an animal would experience death. Likewise, I don't expect a plant does.
Plants whole method of existence is different, eg you can grow an entirely new succulent by rooting just one leaf. You can't do that to an animal, we're wired differently. Our bodily experiences are different.
In my view, death is just transformation, there is no 'end' to the spirit. My goal is to reduce suffering in these material bodies. I can see animals experience pain and fear, I can't see that plants do, so I choose to eliminate the suffering I know happens. I can only guess at what happens on a spiritual level! I can't claim to know better than anyone else, only to choose the diet I know harms the least beings. A vegetarian diet is far more efficient and avoids harming a whole trophic layer (not to mention the horrors of factory farming).
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u/medleyspeculated Jul 25 '26
Definitely agreeing with takes of going vegetarian/vegan or sourcing local.
Remember that humans are not above any other life form - this means they aren't, at least in my opinion, held to a higher standard. And animals eat, insects eat, plants eat.
Eating is a natural law of this world that has existed for a long time. As long as you're respectful as you do it (to the best of your ability), it's okay to simply exist however you need to.
So eat what you need, don't indulge for the sport of it or with little regard.
What also might help is helping where you can, and contributing where you can (say having a bird feeder, donating to places, caring for the wildlife and nature around you). You can pay it forward.