Meat-eating is part of my culture

Last reviewed: August 7, 2026

Quick Answer

Cultural traditions are not inherently ethical. Many harmful practices were once traditional. Cultures evolve, and we can honor heritage while updating harmful practices.

Supported by 3 cited sources

What People Usually Mean

"Eating meat is part of my culture/tradition, so questioning it disrespects my heritage."

Key Points

1Many harmful practices were traditional (slavery, foot binding, human sacrifice)
2"It's my culture" cannot justify any practice
3Heritage is about values and community, not just specific ingredients
4Industrial animal agriculture is largely a Western/colonial export

Evidence Summary

Addressing this thoughtfully:

Culture matters, but doesn't determine ethics:

Traditions change as our understanding evolves
Questioning practices is how cultures grow

But cultural relativism has limits:

We evaluate traditions by their impacts
Cultures themselves contain dissent and evolution

What vegans are NOT saying:

That all cultural food practices are equivalent
That you should abandon your heritage
That Western food systems are superior
That change must happen overnight

What vegans ARE saying:

Harm to sentient beings is a moral consideration
Traditions can be honored while evolving
Cultural foods often have plant-based variations
The ethics apply to all cultures, including Western ones

Evolving traditions:

Every culture has evolved its practices:

Many cultures have rich plant-based culinary traditions
Traditional "meat" dishes can be adapted
New traditions can be created

Addressing power dynamics:

Traditional hunting/fishing often had less impact than factory farming
Food justice requires addressing access, not just ethics
Change should come from within communities

Evidence quality: Based on anthropological research and ethics of cultural traditions.

Common Objections

"Veganism is colonialism when directed at Indigenous communities"

This is a serious critique that deserves honest engagement. Western vegan activism has sometimes been insensitive to Indigenous food sovereignty, and colonialism did devastate Indigenous food systems.

However, Dr. Margaret Robinson, a Mi'kmaq scholar, argues that her veganism is rooted in Mi'kmaq values, not imposed upon them. Traditional Mi'kmaq stories show "regret at animal death and ceremonies to show gratitude, respect, and responsibility." Robinson argues that the Mi'kmaw concept of "all my relations" supports veganism when one can survive without requiring animal death.

A. Breeze Harper (Sistah Vegan, 2010) argues that Black and Indigenous veganism can itself be a tool of decolonization — reclaiming pre-colonial plant-based food traditions disrupted by colonialism.

The critical distinction is between subsistence hunting by Indigenous peoples and industrial animal agriculture. Invoking Indigenous hunting to justify a non-Indigenous person's supermarket meat purchases is itself a form of cultural appropriation.