Gurbani says to be kind towards all beings.
The unnecessary killing of animals for one’s taste buds, when it is not essential for human survival, goes against this:
ਅਠਸਠਿ ਤੀਰਥ ਸਗਲ ਪੁੰਨ ਜੀਅ ਦਇਆ ਪਰਵਾਨੁ ||
“Be kind to all beings—this is more meritorious than bathing at the sixty-eight sacred shrines of pilgrimage and the giving of charity.”
(Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 136)
ਦੂਖੁ ਨ ਦੇਈ ਕਿਸੈ ਜੀਅ ਪਤਿ ਸਿਉ ਘਰਿ ਜਾਵਉ ||
“Do not cause any being to suffer, and you shall go to your true home with honour.”
(Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 322)
ਮਨਿ ਸੰਤੋਖੁ ਸਰਬ ਜੀਅ ਦਇਆ ||
“Let your mind be content, and be kind to all beings.”
(Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 299)
ਹਿੰਸਾ ਤਉ ਮਨ ਤੇ ਨਹੀ ਛੂਟੀ ਜੀਅ ਦਇਆ ਨਹੀ ਪਾਲੀ ||
“Cruelty has not left your mind; you have not cherished kindness for other living beings.”
(Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1253)
The meat-eater has to pay the karmic debt for eating meat
ਕਬੀਰ ਖੂਬੁ ਖਾਨਾ ਖੀਚਰੀ ਜਾ ਮਹਿ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤੁ ਲੋਨੁ ||
ਹੇਰਾ ਰੋਟੀ ਕਾਰਨੇ ਗਲਾ ਕਟਾਵੈ ਕਉਨੁ ||੧੮੮||
“O Kabeer! The dinner of lentils and rice is excellent, even if it is (just) flavoured with salt. Who would cut their throat, to have meat with their bread?”
(Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1374)
ਕਬੀਰ ਭਾਂਗ ਮਾਛੁਲੀ ਸੁਰਾ ਪਾਨਿ ਜੋ ਜੋ ਪ੍ਰਾਨੀ ਖਾਂਹਿ ||
ਤੀਰਥ ਬਰਤ ਨੇਮ ਕੀਏ ਤੇ ਸਭੈ ਰਸਾਤਲਿ ਜਾਂਹਿ ||੨੩੩||
(Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1377)
People who eat ਭਾਂਗ which here means chicken, eat fish, and drink alcohol, their pilgrimage, fasting, and other religious actions go in vain. If the meaning of ‘ਭਾਂਗ‘ is taken to be ‘marijuana’, even then the mention of fish has come in this verse. This is such a clear command that indulging in these things leads to the destruction of good deeds, and the person ends up in hell. Therefore, it is necessary to abstain from consuming meat.
The metaphor of eating a ‘murdaar’ (carcasses) is used negatively for condemned behaviour
ਲਬੁ ਕੁਤਾ ਕੂੜੁ ਚੂਹੜਾ ਠਗਿ ਖਾਧਾ ਮੁਰਦਾਰੁ ||
“Greed is a dog; falsehood is a filthy street-sweeper. Cheating is eating a dead carcass.”
(Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 15)
ਹਕੁ ਪਰਾਇਆ ਨਾਨਕਾ ਉਸੁ ਸੂਅਰ ਉਸੁ ਗਾਇ ॥
ਗੁਰੁ ਪੀਰੁ ਹਾਮਾ ਤਾ ਭਰੇ ਜਾ ਮੁਰਦਾਰੁ ਨ ਖਾਇ ॥
“To take what rightfully belongs to another, is like a Muslim eating pork, or a Hindu eating beef. Our Guru, our Spiritual Guide, stands by us, if we do not eat those carcasses.”
(Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 141)
That is why Guru Nanak Dev Ji refused to eat the dainty dishes offered by Malik Bhago because he considered the food obtained through falsehood and injustice as equivalent to eating carcasses (murdaar).
Vaheguru’s Light is within all beings
(Animals are ‘sentient beings’, i.e. have the ability to feel pain and have emotions)
ਜਉ ਸਭ ਮਹਿ ਏਕੁ ਖੁਦਾਇ ਕਹਤ ਹਉ ਤਉ ਕਿਉ ਮੁਰਗੀ ਮਾਰੈ ||੧||
“You say that the One Lord is in all, so why do you kill chickens? ||1||”
(Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1350)
ਘਟ ਘਟ ਮੈ ਹਰਿ ਜੂ ਬਸੈ ਸੰਤਨ ਕਹਿਓ ਪੁਕਾਰਿ ||
“The Dear Lord abides in each and every heart; the Saints proclaim this as true.”
(Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1427)
Using tyranny or using force to obtain food you eat is unlawful.
ਕਬੀਰ ਜੋਰੀ ਕੀਏ ਜੁਲਮੁ ਹੈ ਕਹਤਾ ਨਾਉ ਹਲਾਲੁ ||
ਦਫਤਰਿ ਲੇਖਾ ਮਾਂਗੀਐ ਤਬ ਹੋਇਗੋ ਕਉਨੁ ਹਵਾਲੁ ||੧੮੭||
“Kabeer, to use force is tyranny, even if you call it legal. When your account is called for in the Court of the Lord, what will your condition be then? ||187||”
(Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1374)
ਕਬੀਰ ਜੀਅ ਜੁ ਮਾਰਹਿ ਜੋਰੁ ਕਰਿ ਕਹਤੇ ਹਹਿ ਜੁ ਹਲਾਲੁ ||
ਦਫਤਰੁ ਦਈ ਜਬ ਕਾਢਿ ਹੈ ਹੋਇਗਾ ਕਉਨੁ ਹਵਾਲੁ ||੧੯੯||
“Kabeer, they oppress living beings and kill them, and call it proper. When the Lord calls for their account, what will their condition be? ||199||”
(Guru Granth Sahib ji - Ang 1375)
Choosing to kill animals for food when you have an alternative available is clearly using tyranny and force. Animals want to live, and don’t choose to die.
Eating meat makes the mind impure
ਜੇ ਰਤੁ ਲਗੈ ਕਪੜੈ ਜਾਮਾ ਹੋਇ ਪਲੀਤੁ ||
ਜੋ ਰਤੁ ਪੀਵਹਿ ਮਾਣਸਾ ਤਿਨ ਕਿਉ ਨਿਰਮਲੁ ਚੀਤੁ ||
“If one’s clothes are stained with blood, the garment becomes polluted. Those who suck the blood of human beings—how can their consciousness be pure?”
(Guru Granth Sahib ji – Ang 140)
ਬਾਬਾ ਹੋਰੁ ਖਾਣਾ ਖੁਸੀ ਖੁਆਰੁ ||
ਜਿਤੁ ਖਾਧੈ ਤਨੁ ਪੀੜੀਐ ਮਨ ਮਹਿ ਚਲਹਿ ਵਿਕਾਰ ||੧|| ਰਹਾਉ||
“O Brother! The pleasures of those foods lead to ruin; eating which, the body becomes diseased (i.e. unhealthy), and wickedness and corruption enter into the mind. ||1||Pause||”
(Guru Granth Sahib ji – Ang 16)