Are Peter Jackson's Elves vegetarian?

Question

In Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, we see an Elven table set with only plant food.

"Where's the meat?"

Tolkien's Elves apparently aren't exclusively vegetarian, but are Peter Jackson's?

I've edited it to reflect that you're now aware of the other question and would like an answer to the (sub)question about Peter Jackson's depiction of the elves. You may note that your downvotes are now upvotes — Valorum, Jul 29 '20 at 13:54
The answer is the same, Peter Jackson didn’t create his own Elves, there exists only Tolkien’s Elves. I’m not sure how you think these are different @Valorum — Edlothiad, Jul 29 '20 at 13:56
@Edlothiad - The elves in Peter Jackson's adaptation may be vegetarian. By comparison, the elves in Tolkien's original story are not. The question of whether Jackson made them vegetarian in his films is valid and moderately interesting — Valorum, Jul 29 '20 at 14:01
actually @Edlothiad - didn't he [Jackson] create his own Elves, in that Tauriel was a new character not written by Tolkien? — NKCampbell, Jul 29 '20 at 14:30
The Elves in Peter Jackson's adaptation aren't vegetarian until the point where it is explicitly stated by someone related to the films or in the films themselves that they are vegetarian. It is an adaptation, up until the point that they make a change they inherit all the attributes of the original. As for your question, @NKCampbell yes he created an elf, not his own race of Elves, nor did he create his own story. — Edlothiad, Jul 29 '20 at 14:32
@Edlothiad nor did he create his own story . . . eh, you've actually watched the hobbit movies, right? Because there were so many damn embellishments the story I've loved since childhood was effectively lost, and there was something else entirely showing on the screen. — Binary Worrier, Jul 29 '20 at 15:07
@BinaryWorrier you're welcome to hate on the films, but they are an adaptation. The story is and was set by Tolkien, there are some creative differences some more glaring than others, and certainly quite questionable. Your opinion doesn't alter the fact he didn't create his own story. — Edlothiad, Jul 29 '20 at 17:55

score 11 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 29 '20 at 18:48

11

Jackson decided that the elves of Elrond's court were vegetarians, according to the film's production team, WETA Workshop.

We [WETA] discuss what kinds of foods the Elves would serve in Rivendell with Food Stylist Deborah Logan. Creating a dietary guide that dictated which ingredients and food preparation were appropriate. Elrond's court were vegetarians and favoured food straight from the gardens, so there were things like edible flowers, exotic leafy greens, interesting fruit and small cakes. We imagined they didn’t need much to sustain them, much to the horror of their Dwarf dinner guests.

In contrast, the heart of Bilbo's home, the pantry, was bursting with food. Hobbits are passionate about their food. Every shelf was stacked deep with it, even under the furniture. At least until the Dwarves arrived. Produce was literally dripping off the walls. We had huge wheels of cheese, herbs and meat.

_{^{The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Chronicles IV: Cloaks & Daggers}}

answered Jul 29 '20 at 18:48

Valorum

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This seems to contradict the props of the first film, where Aragorn carries an "Elvish hunting knife" (you have to search for it it's quite the wall of text) given to him by Celeborn produced by Daniel Falconer. This would suggest they were known to hunt. Although I'm unable to find a source for the movie magazine #2. – Edlothiad Jul 29 '20 at 19:04
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@Edlothiad - It's perfectly plausible that they hunt for other reasons than to collect the animals to eat. They might be hunting to cull predators, to use the animal's carcasses for produce (skin, hides, bones, etc) and/or to trade with the human settlements downstream. – Valorum Jul 29 '20 at 19:06
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@Edlothiad If it was given to him by Celeborn then it's from Lothlorien, not Rivendell, and so the diet of Rivendell is not relevant to its provenance. Just because Elrond's court is vegetarian that doesn't necessarily imply that all elves are vegetarian. – Mike Scott Jul 29 '20 at 19:08
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Also the book notes that 'Elrond's Court' are vegetarian, but they certainly aren't the only Elves in middle-earth, nor are the only Elves that Aragorn has come into contact with. It's possible that other tribes of Elves love eating meat. – Valorum Jul 29 '20 at 19:08
A valid point, @Valorum. Although a slight contradiction in ideology if the Elves were vegetarian it would seem strange for them to hunt animals for other reasons. Especially given the nature of the Elves is to be quite sustainable. While it's certainly possible that in Rivendell things were done differently, the makeup of the leadership is quite similar being Noldorin/Sindarin. It is also said the Silvan elves that lived there learnt from the Sindar which would make it strange imo for Lorién and Rivendell to be so different. Rivendell being made of refuges from Eridaor. – Edlothiad Jul 29 '20 at 19:22
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@Edlothiad - I'm not sure if that's the case. Forest management requires you to keep the plants and animals in balance. That includes occasionally killing off predators or culling herbivores. You don't need to eat them, you can just leave them for the forest to reclaim – Valorum Jul 29 '20 at 19:24
Regardless it would be strange for the Elves to need to kill off animals, especially given Galadriel's possession of a ring that provides the power to retain the greatness of the old days. Things would've remained balanced, without the Elves having to interfere. If they were vegetarian that is... This is also untrue in the real world. The food chain when uninterrupted works to balance itself. – Edlothiad Jul 29 '20 at 19:25
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the drunken passed out elves in the barrel scene in the second film seem to have plates of meat and cheese at their table fwiw – NKCampbell Jul 29 '20 at 19:33
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@NKCampbell - I'm looking at the Bluray of that scene. I see bread and wedges of cheese, but nothing that's clearly meat. – Valorum Jul 29 '20 at 20:41

Are Peter Jackson's Elves vegetarian?

1 Answers1