Vulcan Diet

[T'Girl]

Vulcan don't eat meat, but why? Is it because their culture and beliefs cause them to refrain? Or is it that physically their bodys can't digest flesh?

While not actual pacifists, Vulcan's do think of themselves as a peaceful people, their spirituality may be akin to the Dharmic religions (Buddhist, Hindu, Sikhs, Jainism) that holds to vegetarianism. But consider another possibility, the Vulcan don't eat meat because they can't. Humans Beings are omnivores, we can eat just about anything our stomachs can breakdown, which is a nice survival attribute. Herbivores can't digest meat, they get no nutrition from it. Although they can eat a small number of things we can't.

What do you think?

 

[iguana_tonante]

I voted for cultural vegetarians. My impression was that Vulcan philosophy placed very high emphasis on preserving life, so it would be logical to limit consumption to vegetables. It could be also a consequence of the mind-meld ability: it could stand to reason that Vulcans can feel and experience the suffering of animals, and that would make them unwilling to kill them for food if possible.

I don't think they are biological herbivores for two reasons: first, Spock ate meat with Zarabeth without any ill consequences, and commented that he liked it. Second, Vulcan biology and behaviour actually seems quite predatory, so I wouldn't be surprised if ape-like creatures on Vulcan would turn out to be even more carnivorous than Earth chimpanzees and bonobos.

 

[Timo]

To be sure, "Vulcans don't eat meat" sounds like it should be in that "TOS myths" thread. Where on screen do we hear that such a thing would be true?

Spock is ashamed of eating "animal flesh" in "All Our Yesterdays", but that could be a semantics issue: he may have considered Zarabeth's cooking non-kosher for a variety of reasons, even if he is not opposed to eating meat as such. Nowhere else does Spock display a penchant towards vegetarianism, although the Kzinti disparagingly call him a "leaf-eater" in TAS "Slaver Weapon".

Tuvok was known for enjoying his burritos. T'Pol liked to eat breadsticks with knife and fork, but she never said she'd refuse meat products. The diets of other Vulcans were not made explicit. Indeed, I doubt the words "vegetarian" or "vegan" have ever been used in the Vulcan context on screen...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Finn]

^Well established on Enterprise. And Tuvok never ate meat IIRC.

 

[Timo]

Tuvok didn't comment on his diet much - which is amazing, considering who cooked for him. And he did load up on burritos in "Future's End".

Where in ENT would the vegetarianism have been established?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Finn]

^More than once. T'Pol mentioned it several times and Tucker was shocked to see that radical group of Vulcans eating meat.

Carbon Creek, the one where T'pol and Archer went to Detroit, Most of the times, it was an offhand comment time to time.

I forgot about that burrito thing Though they do come without meat...

 

[Timo]

Ah, thanks for the pointers - I withdraw my argument.

...And try a new one. Those examples prove that T'Pol prefers a vegetarian diet and doesn't like meat-eaters, and that our human heroes think that all (or at least most) Vulcans are like that. Perhaps the former is true but the latter is not?

We really don't know what Spock or Tuvok or Sarek or Selar or Saavik or Taurik ate; typically, it's either not described or shown, or is shown and/or described but is a fictional food. T'Pol states her vegetarian leanings; the others have not made such statements. Unless we count Spock's "All Our Yesterdays" exclamation of self-disgust - but then again, Spock is one of yer typical Trek aliens, an outcast who learned being a member of his species by taking a letter course, and is probably overdoing it. Being vegetarian might be a classic virtue that basically nobody practices.

...At least Spock never stooped to following the apparently unfounded stereotype that Vulcans should be pacifists!

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Admiral Shran]

I say cultural vegetarians. It's clearly not a biological thing, since Spock ate meat in All Our Yesterdays and the V'tosh ka'tur in ENT: Fusion ate it as well.

 

[DevilEyes]

I voted cultural vegetarians, and that some of them eat meat - we've seen Vulcans who reject even the suppression of emotions which seems very important in Vulcan culture, so it's possible that there are some Vulcans who eat meat, even if it's rare.

^More than once. T'Pol mentioned it several times and Tucker was shocked to see that radical group of Vulcans eating meat.

Ah, I forgot about that. Well, that confirms it, I was right to vote for options 2 and 3.

 

[scotpens]

It's established in The Making of Star Trek that Vulcans -- at least, the "normal" majority -- are cultural vegetarians. I'm paraphrasing from memory here:

The idea of eating animal carcasses, cooked or not, is revolting to Spock . . . Even his vegetable diet is limited to the simplest of vegetable life forms . . . Vulcans may hunt for the skill involved in tracking but centuries ago ceased to kill the animals they track.

 

[The Trekster]

I'd love to know what the vulcans thought of as a logical diet. Surely they had the science to know exactly what and how much they needed to eat to make their bodies perform at peak efficiency. And I would also gather that vulcans wouldn't shirk anything if it were logical for their health.

Don't you think?

 

[Jetfire]

Cultural Vegetarians.