Veganism in Halacha

Q. Vegan-style has become popular in America. Is there any Halachic basis for choosing a vegan diet?

A. According to Halachah, it is permissible to consume meat, fish, eggs or milk just like any other food. Nonetheless, the Ramban writes that the Torah admonition (Vayikra 19:2) of “Kedoshim tihiyu” (you shall be holy) teaches that one should eat with moderation and not be a glutton. However, there were some Rabbonim who advocated in favor of vegetarianism, although the halacha does not require this course. Most notably, Rav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook believed that vegetarianism is an ideal for mankind that will eventually be realized, though Rav Kook was personally not a vegetarian. Vegans go one step further than vegetarians, and do not consume anything that came from an animal, such as milk and eggs. There are two noted Rabbinic sources that discuss a vegan diet. Sefer Beis Hillel (YD 81:5) writes that there are individuals who do not eat anything that came from an animal because of moral sensitivity. Nonetheless, they may eat honey because it is not a secretion from the bee. Rather bees collect nectar and convert it into honey. Shar Efrayim (Teshuvos Shar Efrayim 69) discusses an individual who made a neder (pledge) to abstain from anything that came from an animal as a method of penitence.

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.