One of the many misconceptions Satanists like myself are constantly having to correct is the topic of animal sacrifice. We do not practice ritualistic sacrifice. Satanists value life, and the though of taking one in the act of worship (not that we worship anything besides ourselves) is abhorrent to us. Many of us, if not all of us, are animal lovers, and hold a cherished bond with the animals in our lives (A lot of us seem to have an affinity for cats, especially black ones. Go figure.). The issue of animal sacrifice is pretty much settled for Satanists.

But. I’ve been thinking. Many Satanists, myself included, eat meat. An animal has to die in order to get that meat; an animal’s life must be sacrificed so that I can eat. Does that count as animal sacrifice? I can think of a few vegans who would say yes. I myself am not sure. I don’t see myself giving up meat anytime soon. I like hamburgers a little too much for that. But, if this is something I or any other Satanist is genuinely concerned about, there are a few options we can take without resorting entirely to veganism.

To start with, we can reduce the amount of meat in our diet without completely eliminating it. Vegetarian meals and vegan meals have a bad reputation of tasting bland and being poor substitutions for their meaty counterparts. But they don’t have to be. There are plenty of vegetarian and vegan recipes that not only taste good, but are easy to make.

Another thing we can do is know where our meat is sourced. Buying locally sourced meat is not only better for your local economy, but the animals are also typically butchered more ethically than they are in large, corporate owned farms.

Going along with that, you can also cut down on your fast food intake. It’s hard to know where fast food restaurants really get their meat from, and in any case, cutting fast food from your diet is probably better for your health anyway.