Do Ponies Eat Meat?

[TS Lightner 269]

So while we haven't really seen obvious consumption of meat, do we know for sure if ponies eat meat or not?

About the only evidence I know of, both for and against, are the following.

• In "A Bird in the Hoof", the sandwich next to Applejack has what appears to be meat in it.
  
  
   
• In "Over a Barrel", a line in Pinkie's song is "Both our diets, I should mention Are completely vegetarian"
• In "A Canterlot Wedding Pt: 1", Rainbow Dash is eating a sandwich that has what appears to be meat in it (look very closely between the tomatoes and the cheese).
  
  
   
• The 'hot dogs' in the show seem to be only roasted carrots.
• Ponies have been shown to catch fish (this one could just be for sport).
• Applejack keeps pigs, but for what reason?  Keeping them for fertilizer seems rather inefficient, especially since there's waste from the cows that could be used.
• They can throw up and eat things like chocolate, which already says they have a digestive system much closer to a pony's, rather than that of a real horse.

Now that's not to say that they don't eat vegetables and fruits more than meat, as I would assume they still have a heightened taste for plant foods.  Also, the first two pieces of evidence are from Season 1, which was a bit rough-running on continuity.  Interestingly enough, "A Bird in the Hoof" is the episode immediately after "Over a Barrel", so the line of Pinkie Pie's would have already been said, yet a piece of meat was put in anyways.

But, that in mind, what do you guys think?
Is there more proof that they eat meat but we just don't often see it, or is there more proof that they are are herbivores (or at the very least, vegetarian omnivores)?

I'm kind of curious on this, since I'm not sure whether to publish a fanfic with several instances of ponies eating meat (ham, bacon, beef stroganoff), or just change them to other things.

Edited March 18, 2019 by Virtual Click

[Misty Shadow 7,078]

Another good argument against this that can be seen in the confirmed to be canon with the show Equestria Girls is how everyone is shown to be eating veggie burgers despite being human. In my latest fanfic, I assumed them to be vegetarians and got this funny comment...

>“EMBER!” Twilight and Starlight yelled simultaneously, enraged. “What you’re doing is MURDER! Killing innocent animals like that is EVIL!”
-But Fluttershy feeding fishes to ferrets is alright ?
There are carnivorous species in their world, did they ''conveniently'' forget that fact ?

So yeah, make them vegetarians. 

[SharpWit 2,472]

2 hours ago, Virtual Click said:

• Ponies have been shown to catch fish (this one could just be for sport).
• Applejack keeps pigs, but for what reason?  Keeping them for fertilizer seems rather inefficient, especially since there's waste from the cows that could be used

There is some need for fish, as some of the animals kept as pets by Ponies are carnivorous, and Griffons might even import them for food as Equestria has more infrastructure and available wealth for maintaining a fishing fleet that can meet the demands of the Griffon Kingdom.

Cow manure is great, however cows require space to graze and are sentient in MLP, as are Sheep and Goats to a degree it would seem. An arrangement could be made for cows to deposit their waste at collection sites, but that seems somewhat degrading. Their diet is also limited to mostly varieties of grass. Pigs on the other hand/hoof, haven't been shown to be sentient from what I can remember, and they will eat just about anything you give them, which makes them great for useful waste conversion, which an apple farm that makes products from at least a fair portion of its crops would have a lot of.

There's bound to be visual errors when you have an omnivorous species producing imagery with little thought to diet, especially in those earlier days.

There is a place in Equestria for meat/animal product production, but I would say they are vegetarian.

I think the biggest question to ask is how do they produce leather? Do they do the dirty work themselves, import the material from places it wouldn't be an issue, or do they go so far as to raise the animals themselves and export them? It's a mystery.

[Jedishy 3,542]

I am going to side with what has already been said here. They seem to use animal products but not meat itself. Anything that appears to be meat could be tofu or other false meat. Though that would lead to the how do they know what it tastes like question but maybe they dont and its just a flavored bit of tofu that happens to look like our meat products. 

 

On 3/18/2019 at 12:04 PM, SharpWit said:

how do they produce leather?

My guess would be synthetic leather or maybe using the animal as much as possible after death by natural means? 

[sweetolebob18 724]

Sister Hooves Social, Rarity makes fried eggs + they're used in baking cakes

So, some ponies at least AREN'T Vegans.

But, to some folks eggs don't count. 

IRL, pigs can be used to hunt truffles (& maybe other things in EQ), but it is possible that ponies sell meat to Griffons

+ food for some pets (Dogs & cats, for instance), & maybe Dragons and Diamond Dogs

[Jedishy 3,542]

2 hours ago, sweetolebob18 said:

IRL, pigs can be used to hunt truffles (& maybe other things in EQ), but it is possible that ponies sell meat to Griffons

 

You know this is a good point. I bet truffles would fetch a pretty penny ( bit? ) in Equestria too. 

[The Historian 515]

In the show, I'd assume vegetarian since they're basically just ponies. But if you're talking an anthropomorphic world, I'd say they're more like humans and are omnivores.

[Ayvid_Reader 77]

I would say both pony versions and human versions are vegetarian. Read the spoiler for my thought process. There may be actual spoilers since I break down a few episodes as vaguely as I can. I stay in season 1 only though since it would take too long to do as much for all the seasons.

Spoiler

 

From the very beginning we are told (and accept) that these ponies eat apples. A lot of them. Not just in apple form either. They are baked, smothered, fried, anything you can think of. In  episode 3 (an episode mostly about Twilight missing lunch imo) we see her order a daffodil and daisy sandwich after just eating some petals off a flower. Then Spike asks about rubies, finds out there isn't any, and orders hay fries (now I'm not sure if they eat potatoes).

In episode 6, Snips and Snails bring Trixie the oat smoothie she ordered. In the same episode towards the end we see milk being used as a food item. Episode 7: Dragonshy, they don't fear the dragon will eat their livestock, however, they do fear their food will be an issue in the future due to his snoring. In episode 10: Swarm of the Century, food is referenced quite often in the form of various baked goods; an unnamed snack; a garden with what appears to be tomatoes, turnips, some leafy veggie, and carrots; Fluttershy saying they will eat all the food in town (clearly no meat is being eaten); a cherry pie; an apple;and to go drink cups. Episode 11 they talk (sing really) about their food is getting low on supply and they can't grow in the cold. 

We know from episode 16: Sonic Rainboom that they don't eat rainbows. Episode 21: Over a Barrel teaches us that buffalo will feed dragons turquoise and ponies some mushy stuff. We also see the return of the apple in fruit form and baked goods form. Episode 22: A Bird in the Hoof shows us various foods and only the one sandwich you've shown looks to have meat. Episode 24: Owl's Well that Ends Well, Spike lists that he packed apples, bananas, fruit punch, and his freshly baked triple-decker, nut-crazy vanilla cream cookies.

 

 

Well I'll stop now lol. Hope it wasn't too much.

[TS Lightner 269]

Darn...
I was actually hoping more people would argue for meat, especially since it almost feels more correct to me that they would.

But I guess there's some things you can't add, even in a fanfiction.

[Scootaloo9074090 500]

I think the ponies are omnivores and they are sapient  afterall

 

[They call me Loyalty 1,941]

Why do you think there are no more human beings anymore?

[Props Valroa 26,013]

They are omnivores that mainly prefer plants but they are capable of eating meat.

[Sonic Shimmer 4,116]

They’re mostly vegetarian.

Mostly.

Spoiler