Adam was in fact not permitted to eat meat (Gen. 1:30); but Noah and
his descendants were given permission to eat animals after they are
killed and their blood removed (Gen. 9:3-4). The Torah permits Jews
to eat some types of animals and birds (the kosher ones), provided
they are killed properly; kosher slaughter is a very painless process.
As Maimonides (Hilchos Deos 3:1) puts it, "A person should abstain only
from those things that the Torah prohibits; he should not forbid to
himself things that are permitted". Within the framework of the Torah,
there are many ways to beautify and enhance our religious observances;
we shouldn't go so far as to avoid things that the Torah explicitly permits.
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