The Baha’i writings do not specifically forbid meat or require vegetarianism. However, it is safe to say that vegetarianism is strongly encouraged. The Baha’i writings state:

“The food of the future will be fruit and grains. The time will come when meat will no longer be eaten. . . . our natural food is that which grows out of the ground. The people will gradually develop up to the condition of this natural food.”

“To blessed animals the utmost kindness must be shown, the more the better. Tenderness and loving-kindness are basic principles of God’s heavenly Kingdom. Ye should most carefully bear this matter in mind.”

“It is not only their fellow human beings that the beloved of God must treat with mercy and compassion, rather must they show forth the utmost loving-kindness to every living creature. For in all physical respects, and where the animal spirit is concerned, the selfsame feelings are shared by animal and man. . . . The feelings are one and the same, whether ye inflict pain on man or on beast.”

“Train your children from their earliest days to be infinitely tender and loving to animals.”– Keith Akers