Kosher dietary traditions don’t call for vegetarianism. However, some modern Jewish communities find that the two are naturally compatible. Knowing the basics of kosher laws and the history of vegetarianism in Judaism offers a better understanding of how the two can work together.

What Is Kosher Eating?

Writing for The Spruce, Giora Shimoni explains how kosher practices work. Kashrut, the Hebrew term for Jewish dietary laws, is specified in the Torah and clarified by the Talmud. Kashrut focuses on the foods considered fit for eating. These dietary laws are rather specific, but it’s useful to know some of the basics:

• Pork, shellfish, reptiles, and rabbits are never eaten.
  • Split-hoof cud-chewing animals such as cows, goats, and deer can be eaten.
  • Fish with fins and removable scales may be eaten.
  • Most birds of prey are not kosher.
  • Milk and eggs from kosher animals can be consumed.

Preparation is another key to kosher eating. Since consuming blood is forbidden, animals must be slaughtered and thoroughly processed to drain it out. Also, meat and dairy should never be cooked or consumed together.

A Quick History of Jewish Vegetarianism

In a piece for The Forward, Canadian rabbi Micah Streiffer explains meat-eating in Jewish contexts as a compromise: “a departure from that ideal state in the Garden of Eden” where God provided plants for food with no sowing, tilling, or other major agricultural labor required. For this compromise to work, there needed to be rules governing what, how, where, when, and why animals would be killed. Kashrut, Streiffer adds, places these limits. Animals must be humanely slaughtered, and blood must not be consumed since it is seen as a critical life force.

Streiffer is one of many contemporary supporters of vegetarian kosher eating. He’s also a member of Jewish Veg, an organization that promotes plant-based diets as “an expression of Jewish values.” In its rabbinic statement, the group proposed that food production methods that involve cruelty to animals could not be considered kosher in modern times. Other advocacy groups include Shamayim Jewish Animal Advocacy, Concern for Helping Animals in Israel, and Vegan Friendly.

Kosher vegetarianism was also promoted before modern times. Another article from Jewish Veg mentions several Jewish scholars like Abraham Ibn Ezra, Maimonides, and Moses Cassuto who came to similar conclusions as their modern counterparts. Rabbi Isaak Hebenstreit posited than God allowed meat-eating after the great flood because no plant life remained for Noah and his family.

Conveniences and Ecological Benefits

Rabbi Streiffer points out that going vegetarian eliminated a few major problems he encountered while keeping kosher as a meat-eater. For instance, he doesn’t need to check to see how meat was slaughtered or confirm that his dishes don’t mix meat and dairy. There are also several fish species such as sturgeon that have fins and scales but aren’t kosher, so kashrut-keeping vegetarians can cross that off their list of concerns.

In an article for My Jewish Learning, Rabbi Arthur Green points to ecological arguments for keeping vegetarian kashrut. Earth’s resources are limited, so using land for crops would be more efficient than for grazing livestock. Statics from Global Agriculture support his assertion: Around 80% of agricultural land is used for grazing or producing livestock feed. Meat production is also one of the biggest factors contributing to global CO2 emissions, with major meat and dairy companies outpacing oil companies like Exxon and BP.

In Practice and Spirit

Many religions have dietary laws or moral codes concerning food. Vegetarian eating is common among Hindus, Buddhists, Rastafarians, Seventh-day Adventists, and some Neopagans. Modern Jewish vegetarians cite both practical and spiritual reasons for their version of kosher eating: reducing animal cruelty, preserving natural resources, and the Torah’s depiction of a kinder, gentler existence in humanity’s earliest era.