Vegetarianism
The Mennonite church has no official stand on vegetarianism and practices vary widely among members. Many Mennonite farmers have made their living from raising farm animals and especially in the past were able to do so in ways that animals were able to live in relative peace and freedom. Those who are vegetarian do so from a mixture of concern for animals, for diet/nutrition, for the environment (growing crops being a more efficient way of using the land for food), and as a natural extension of their peace witness. A Mennonite congregation in England states, “This is not an article of faith for us, but we have discussed and agreed that our shared lunches and meals at church should be vegetarian.” While there are many individual vegetarians among Mennonites, declaring shared congregational meals to be vegetarian is an exception.
