Vegetarian Asatru?

[Chakra]

Is there any follower of Asatru that is a vegetarian?

 

[Sees]

I am 98% vegan for the past couple years and have been an Ásatrúar since mid 90's. It's not a common thing, for sure

Indigenous, folk, cultural diet usually being related to the whole puzzle. Northern traditions being least likely to develop diets free of meat and most likely the earliest to develop love/need of dairy. Think of frozen tundra and rough winters.

 

[Chakra]

Yes, I understand that the original founders of this religion ate meat to survive. I was just wondering if there are any followers of Asatru living in the "modern" world that don't eat innocent animals and are fine with a simple vegetarian/vegan meal.

Thanks for your reply!

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Why do you ask?

We're allowed to eat whatever we please. So you'll possibly find ethical vegans to meat-loving hunters.

 

[Chakra]

No reason.

 

[Jainarayan]

Yes, I understand that the original founders of this religion ate meat to survive. I was just wondering if there are any followers of Asatru living in the "modern" world that don't eat innocent animals and are fine with a simple vegetarian/vegan meal.

Thanks for your reply!

My guess is that there probably are many Asatruars who are vegetarian for any number of reasons. It may be for no reason other than their own health issues, or they feel that there is enough non-animal food in this day and age. There are Asatruars who don't drink alcohol. I read that during a sumbel it's perfectly acceptable to kiss the drinking horn (or cup) as it's passed, instead of drinking. Meaning that it's perfectly acceptable to not do the same things the ancestors and the gods did, e.g. eating meat and/or drinking alcohol. No pressure one way or another. To put pressure on someone to do something actually violates the codes the Norse lived by.

 

[Riverwolf]

Incidentally, the documentary Germanic Tribes: Barbarians Against Rome says that according to the information contained in their bones, Germanic Tribes (at least on the Continent) didn't eat a whole lot of meat. They mostly ate fruits and some vegetables, probably due to the high danger of hunting. (And the environment wasn't as harsh there as in Scandinavia).

...so much for the idea that a vegetarian diet leads to a gentle, peaceful demeanor.

 

[Chakra]

Incidentally, the documentary Germanic Tribes: Barbarians Against Rome says that according to the information contained in their bones, Germanic Tribes (at least on the Continent) didn't eat a whole lot of meat. They mostly ate fruits and some vegetables, probably due to the high danger of hunting. (And the environment wasn't as harsh there as in Scandinavia).

Thanks.

...so much for the idea that a vegetarian diet leads to a gentle, peaceful demeanor.

I don't mean to start an argument, but this makes no sense. First of all, the Germanic tribes were not vegetarian and even if they were, they were vegetarian because they were forced to be, as you said. I don't think they used reason and compassion to reach the conclusion that vegetarianism is the better diet. It's possible that they would act violently towards animals if they had the chance. Therefore, please don't make comments like this.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who answered my question.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Thanks.


I don't mean to start an argument, but this makes no sense. First of all, the Germanic tribes were not vegetarian and even if they were, they were vegetarian because they were forced to be, as you said. I don't think they used reason and compassion to reach the conclusion that vegetarianism is the better diet. It's possible that they would act violently towards animals if they had the chance. Therefore, please don't make comments like this.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who answered my question.

Asatru is a tribal religion. Tribal religions are more about living in harmony with the environment, seeing the sacred in all things and developing proper relationships. Eating meat isn't viewed as something inherently bad. It's viewed as being a part of Nature and we're animals just the same. There's no real idea of a hierarchy with humans up top and non-human animals below us. Humans, like all other animals, adapt their diet to the one that is most suitable to their environment.

 

[Riverwolf]

I don't mean to start an argument, but this makes no sense. First of all, the Germanic tribes were not vegetarian and even if they were, they were vegetarian because they were forced to be, as you said. I don't think they used reason and compassion to reach the conclusion that vegetarianism is the better diet. It's possible that they would act violently towards animals if they had the chance. Therefore, please don't make comments like this.

I was simply making a side comment about a philosophy that I, personally, disagree with. If you find the comment was out of line(i.e., that it violates the rule that DIRs are not for bashing other religions, which I do not feel I was doing), report it. Don't tell me not to make it.

That said, if I offended you, as was not my intention, I apologize.

 

[Jainarayan]

It's possible that they would act violently towards animals if they had the chance.

That statement implies that they were the kind of people that would pull the wings off butterflies for the fun of it. That's quite slanderous against an entire group of people. Most indigenous peoples were very much aware of what animals meant, thanked the spirit of the animal for providing sustenance for the people and slaughtered it in the most humane way possible. The northern peoples were very much in tune with nature and respected it. They would not have gone hunting for sport or used methods that would prolong the suffering of the animal. If they killed an animal, it was because they had to, not because they were sociopaths and enjoyed it.

 

[Riverwolf]

That statement implies that they were the kind of people that would pull the wings off butterflies for the fun of it. That's quite slanderous against an entire group of people. Most indigenous peoples were very much aware of what animals meant, thanked the spirit of the animal for providing sustenance for the people and slaughtered it in the most humane way possible. The northern peoples were very much in tune with nature and respected it. They would not have gone hunting for sport or used methods that would prolong the suffering of the animal. If they killed an animal, it was because they had to, not because they were sociopaths and enjoyed it.

Many of the Tribes may have been Warrior Cultures (to use a modern term), but that just means they fought with each other. Not with the natural world around them.

Besides, the Northern Folks didn't look at life and death the way we do today.

 

[Jainarayan]

Yes, they did indeed have a different outlook. If anything I think they had a higher respect for life than we do. I could be romanticizing this but I think it was in their best interest for survival to put a higher value on each others' lives. We tend to look at everything through the lens of our own cultures.

 

[EyeofOdin]

You might be hard pressed to find some as vegetarianism is most common among liberals and progressives and the Germanic Heathen community tends to lean to the right, not that there aren't any out there at all, of course haha.

 

[Riverwolf]

You might be hard pressed to find some as vegetarianism is most common among liberals and progressives and the Germanic Heathen community tends to lean to the right, not that there aren't any out there at all, of course haha.

Strange, 'cause I'm well on the left side, but not vegetarian. ^_^

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Strange, 'cause I'm well on the left side, but not vegetarian. ^_^

Same. I'm a revolutionary leftist and I eat meat and love leather.

 

[Jainarayan]

I'm kind of libertarian. I tried being vegetarian a few times, but it never worked.

 

[EyeofOdin]

Strange, 'cause I'm well on the left side, but not vegetarian. ^_^

I said that vegetarians are more commonly liberal rather than conservative. I never said that all liberals are vegetarians.

 

[Riverwolf]

I said that vegetarians are more commonly liberal rather than conservative. I never said that all liberals are vegetarians.

Never meant to imply that. Just making an offhand comment. ^_^

...and in hindsight, an entirely unnecessary comment at that. Must've been tired.

 

[Queenspeak]

I am a vegan Heathen. In my experience this is rare. There are no dietary rules in this religion and individuals are allowed to explore meaning and diet according to their own conscience. Incidentally, I find nothing wrong with the food cultivation of my ancestors, but today's world poses new and different questions.

While indigenous cultures (including the Germanic and Scandinavian peoples) all depended to some degree on the animals they lived with for their very survival, I do not believe my ancestors would have approved of factory farms. I believe that animal agriculture of today angers the God/desses Freyr, the Landvaettir, Nerthus, and Jord.