Nadir, but after the flood, God said this to Noah,
Gen 9:3 And everything that moves and lives shall be food for you: even as the green herbs have I delivered them all to you: 4 Saving that flesh with blood you shall not eat.
This is reiterated in the New Testament. But in any case, I agree with you and the posters here, the monks who in their ascetic life give up meat entirely have chosen a commendable discipline. I believe the general discipline enjoined on the lay members of the Eastern Catholic Churches is stricter than that on those of the Latin rite.
It is good to make frequent sacrifices and to abstain even from what is lawful, and above what the law of the Church requires, for if made in the right spirit and for the love of God, we are sure to advance in holiness. But this is a far cry from modern neo-pagan radical enviromentalists groups and their reasons for advocating the same thing.