Is Pope a 'Nope' on Eating Meat?
Photo: Buda Mendes, Getty
Some animal rights activists believe Pope Francis’s recent comment about animals going to heaven could sway people from eating meat, but it will probably do little to prevent the meat-eating faithful from tucking into a full rack of baby-backs, packing in a porterhouse, or gobbling down a turkey leg.
“I don’t see our customers having a problem with that,” said Mike Emerson, a pit master and co-owner of the popular Pappy’s Smokehouse in St. Louis, Mo. “It’s all a matter of personal choice.”
Pope Francis recently made his comments in St. Peter’s Square while he was trying to console a boy who was saddened by the death of his dog. “One day, we will see our animals again in the eternity of Christ. Paradise is open to all of God’s creatures,” he said, according to an article in The New York Times.
Academics and experts on Catholicism said the Pope’s comments were made as a casual, pastoral statement and not as Catholic doctrine. But the remarks did spark fresh debate on whether animals possess souls and go to heaven, giving some animal activists hope that they could change people’s eating habits.
According to USA Today, the Pope himself is not a vegetarian, but favors a very simple diet. The paper reported that among his favorites is the raw vegetable dish bagna cauda.
Christine Gutleben, senior director of faith outreach at The Humane Society of the United States, told the Times, “If the pope did mean that all animals go to heaven, then the implication is that animals have a soul,” she said. “And if that’s true, then we ought to seriously consider how we treat them. We have to admit that these are sentient beings, and they mean something to God.”
Dan Arnold, president of SuckleBusters, a Coppell, Texas-based maker of award-winning BBQ seasonings and sauces, said the comments are unlikely to influence his meat-eating customers. Cooking and eating meat, he and others noted, have been closely tied to religious rituals and celebrations for thousands of years.
“The first barbecues were actually animal sacrifices that sent pleasing aromas to the gods, so we can only imagine that we’ll have barbecue in heaven,” Arnold said. “If animals do make it to heaven, I’m good with that.”
Some pundits have also wondered if the Pope’s comments will hurt the beef, pork, poultry, and seafood industries. Dave Warner, director of communications for the National Pork Producers Council, told Yahoo Food the remarks shouldn’t have a noticeable impact on the pork industry, adding that he did not receive any calls from concerned council members.
“Nothing Pope Francis said is at odds with eating animals,” Warner said. “He didn’t say anything about the rightness or wrongness of eating meat…as long as (animals) receive humane care and aren’t mistreated.”
Besides, some meat eaters said their version of heaven has plenty of steakhouses, seafood shacks and BBQ joints.
“If heaven is a truly special place then, yes, there will be BBQ in heaven,” said Emerson.
