--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The beginning of mindful eating is the…" description: "\"The beginning of mindful eating is the realization that eating meat is not about the meat-eater; it is about the animals who are tormented and killed.\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac5/norm-phelps-44318_animal_the-beginning-of-mindful-eating-is-the-r_3101753.jpg" --- # The beginning of mindful eating is the realization that… ![“The beginning of mindful eating is the realization that eating meat is not about the meat-eater; it is about the animals who are tormented and killed.” quote by Norm Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac5/norm-phelps-44318_animal_the-beginning-of-mindful-eating-is-the-r_3101753.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac5/norm-phelps-44318_animal_the-beginning-of-mindful-eating-is-the-r_3101753.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac5/norm-phelps-44318_animal_the-beginning-of-mindful-eating-is-the-r_3101753.jpg) > “The beginning of mindful eating is the realization that eating meat is not about the meat-eater; it is about the animals who are tormented and killed.” [Norm Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-phelps/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mindful eating involves recognizing the moral impact of consuming animal products on sentient beings. **In simple terms:** Eating meat has ethical implications. Key Takeaway Consider compassionate food choices. Themes ethics diet animal welfare mindfulness Mood reflective empathetic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - restaurant menus - personal diet planning - activism campaigns Key Concepts Moral philosophy conscious consumption Questions to Reflect On - How does awareness of animal suffering affect your diet? - What alternatives align with your values? A Different Perspective Changing habits can be socially and culturally challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Buddhist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buddhist/) [Eating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating/) [Eating meat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eating-meat/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Realization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realization/) ## Related quotes > [“CHANGE 6: MINDFUL EATING THE CHANGE: Practice eating mindfully.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/change-6-mindful-eating-the-change-practice-eating-mindfully/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The problem is not in the food... The problem lies in the mind. It lies in our lack of awareness of the messages coming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-chozen-bays/the-problem-is-not-in-the-food-the-problem-lies-in-the-mind-it-lies/) [Jan Chozen Bays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-chozen-bays/) > [I think if you're trying to be mindful of eating well on the road, it can be difficult no matter what. Your choices at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-aries/i-think-if-you-re-trying-to-be-mindful-of-eating-well-on-the-road-it/) [Austin Aries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-aries/) > [When practiced to its fullest, mindful eating turns a simple meal into a spiritual experience, giving us a deep appreciation of all that went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/when-practiced-to-its-fullest-mindful-eating-turns-a-simple-meal-into/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [Mindful eating is a way to become reacquainted with the guidance of our internal nutritionist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-chozen-bays/mindful-eating-is-a-way-to-become-reacquainted-with-the-guidance-of/) [Jan Chozen Bays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-chozen-bays/) > [“5. Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I vow to cultivate good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/5-aware-of-the-suffering-caused-by-unmindful-consumption-i-vow-to/) [Thích Nhất Hạnh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/th-ch-nh-t-h-nh/) > [For fear of causing terror to living beings, Mahamati, let the Bodhisattva who is disciplining himself to attain compassion, refrain from eating flesh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/for-fear-of-causing-terror-to-living-beings-mahamati-let-the/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [By eating meat we share the responsibility of climate change, the destruction of our forests, and the poisoning of our air and water. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/by-eating-meat-we-share-the-responsibility-of-climate-change-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The eating of meat extinguishes the seed of great compassion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautama-buddha/the-eating-of-meat-extinguishes-the-seed-of-great-compassion/) [Gautama Buddha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautama-buddha/) > [When we hunt or fish, we deliberately kill a defenseless being who wishes us no harm. This is a direct violation of the First…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-phelps/when-we-hunt-or-fish-we-deliberately-kill-a-defenseless-being-who/) [Norm Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-phelps/) > [When virtuous mental attitudes, like mindfulness, respect, and compassion, are invoked to justify nonvirtuous acts like hunting, fishing, and eating animal products, the mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-phelps/when-virtuous-mental-attitudes-like-mindfulness-respect-and/) [Norm Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-phelps/) > [Veganism is simply letting compassion guide our choice of food. As such, it is a basic Buddhist practice that ought to be expected of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-phelps/veganism-is-simply-letting-compassion-guide-our-choice-of-food-as/) [Norm Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-phelps/) > [Not eating meat really keeps me trim…meat, and what's usually served with it, is a big calorie packer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-wilde/not-eating-meat-really-keeps-me-trim-meat-and-what-s-usually-served/) [Olivia Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-wilde/) > [Almost always when I told someone I was writing a book about "eating animals", they assumed, even without knowing anything about my views, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/almost-always-when-i-told-someone-i-was-writing-a-book-about-eating/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [Eating meat is the most disgusting thing I can think of. It's like biting into your grandmother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-morrissey/eating-meat-is-the-most-disgusting-thing-i-can-think-of-it-s-like/) [Steven Morrissey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-morrissey/) ## More by Norm Phelps > [Veganism is simply letting compassion guide our choice of food. As such, it is a basic Buddhist practice that ought to be expected of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-phelps/veganism-is-simply-letting-compassion-guide-our-choice-of-food-as/) [Norm Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-phelps/) > [When virtuous mental attitudes, like mindfulness, respect, and compassion, are invoked to justify nonvirtuous acts like hunting, fishing, and eating animal products, the mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-phelps/when-virtuous-mental-attitudes-like-mindfulness-respect-and/) [Norm Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-phelps/) > [It is a feeble compassion that pulls up short where self-interest begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-phelps/it-is-a-feeble-compassion-that-pulls-up-short-where-self-interest/) [Norm Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-phelps/) > [The Buddha's teaching leads us to the realization that we must always strive to harm no sentient being, human or nonhuman, whether or not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-phelps/the-buddha-s-teaching-leads-us-to-the-realization-that-we-must-always/) [Norm Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-phelps/) > [ If we are not able to bring the churches, the synagogues, \[and\] the mosques around to the animal rights view, we will never make… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-phelps/if-we-are-not-able-to-bring-the-churches-the-synagogues-and-the/) [Norm Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-phelps/) > [Farmed animals are not future Buddhas donating their flesh out of compassion for those of us who have developed a craving for it. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-phelps/farmed-animals-are-not-future-buddhas-donating-their-flesh-out-of/) [Norm Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-phelps/) > [Buddhism cannot be true to itself until Buddhists resolve their ambivalence toward nonhuman animals and extend the full protection of their compassion to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-phelps/buddhism-cannot-be-true-to-itself-until-buddhists-resolve-their/) [Norm Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-phelps/) > [When we hunt or fish, we deliberately kill a defenseless being who wishes us no harm. This is a direct violation of the First…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-phelps/when-we-hunt-or-fish-we-deliberately-kill-a-defenseless-being-who/) [Norm Phelps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-phelps/) [Explore all 9 Norm Phelps quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-phelps/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) Mak\_786 > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The beginning of mindful eating is the realization that eating meat is not about the meat-eater; it is about the animals who are tormented and killed.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Norm Phelps" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-phelps/the-beginning-of-mindful-eating-is-the-realization-that-eating-meat/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-phelps/the-beginning-of-mindful-eating-is-the-realization-that-eating-meat/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac5/norm-phelps-44318_animal_the-beginning-of-mindful-eating-is-the-r_3101753.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac5/norm-phelps-44318_animal_the-beginning-of-mindful-eating-is-the-r_3101753.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac5/norm-phelps-44318_animal_the-beginning-of-mindful-eating-is-the-r_3101753.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The beginning of mindful eating is the realization that eating meat is not about the meat-eater; it is about…” — Norm Phelps", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Norm Phelps", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norm-phelps/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The beginning of mindful eating is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-phelps/the-beginning-of-mindful-eating-is-the-realization-that-eating-meat/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norm-phelps/the-beginning-of-mindful-eating-is-the-realization-that-eating-meat/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```