Thanks Rock! I've been going over all episodes trying to find out where they mentioned he was a veggie (I always got distracted from my mission)

I made my first Californian friends in the early 1980's, in college; at the time, there was an easily identifiable subspecies, the Californian Health Food Nut. When the series came out and that aspect of the character started to be developed, I simply assumed that Mac was intended to be one. It seemed to be part of the overall theme of MacGyver being good-as-James-Bond-but-really-the-opposite: didn't drink or smoke, didn't drive a sports car or carry a gun, said ouch when hit, didn't need to chase the girls , fixed his own meals, ate healthy food when he had the chance to choose and ate whatever was available when the pickings were slim.

It really contributed to the feeling that the character was grounded in reality and human vulnerability -- and it was a good theme for comic moments, especially between MacGyver and Pete.

I don't think MacGyver is a vegetarian he ate lizard in the episode the guntlet
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smiliejavascript:emoticon(':sak:')
smiliejavascript:emoticon(':rofl:')
smilie

this should be proof enough that mac is just a healthy eater I got this from MacGyver online MacGyvers menu
FOOD


EPISODE
Alfalfa sprout sandwich Eraser
Apple Heist
Last Stand
A prisoner of Conscience
total of 3 occasions up to--)
Bayou Blackened Red Fish (burnt) Family Matter
Bean curd Eraser
Bread Children of Light (opens for Mei Jan)
The Stringer (gives to Sam)
Broiled Chicken (refered to eating as a child) Golden Triangle
Carrot Target MacGyver (opening gambit)
Cheeseburgers (asked if anyone wanted to order) Family Matter
Chewing gum Hellfire
Chicken - Phillipe's Jack in the Box
Chili Thief of Budapest
Chinese food, egg rolls in Out in the Cold.
Chocolate bar Pilot, Bushmaster
Chocolate ice cream Thief
Coffee Pilot
Last Stand
Twice Stung
Silent World
total of 7 occasions up to--)
Eggnogg (non-alcoholic) Phoenix under Siege
Egg roll Enemy Within
Out in the Cold
Second chance
Fish Final Approach
Ghost ship
Target MacGyver
Ginger ale The Eraser
h'orderve The Heist - during the 'exhibition scene'
Indian food Silent World
Lizard The Gauntlet
Milk Slow Death
The Eraser
Split Dicision (was all drunk by Earl Dent)
Mountain Trout with wild mushrooms and pinenuts Final Approach
Orange Runners
The Widowmaker
Orange juice Prodigal
Runners
Pan cakes
"my world famous" - cooked by MacGyver Runners
Pizza -Hawaiian with pineapple The Wall. (Didn't eat it though)
Popcorn Deadly Silents & Soft touch
Popsicle (orange flavor) The Secret of Parker House.
Prison food The Escape
Proteïn shake The Negotiator
Rations (Jerky &bread) Bushmaster
Rattlesnake (that takes care of lunch!) Final Approach
Red wine (didn't like it though) The Heist
Roast lamb sandwich Slow Death
Roast lizard The Gauntlet
Salad Runners
Sandwich - unknown type food (Phil's Diner) DOA:MacGyver
Salad (with housedressing) The Endangered.
Smoothie
(oj, strawberries, another berry, banannas,protien powder) The Stringer
Soda/cola of some kind Prodigal
Soup (unknown flavour) Harry's Will.
Stew Trumbo's world (opening gambit)
Strawberries GX-1
Stuffed olives The Eraser
Tea (hot) stringer
Tofu Out in the Cold (cooked)
The Stringer (refered to by Sam)
Tomato juice Heist
High Control
Trail mix GX-1
Virgin Mary w/ celery tomato juice with tobasco) The Heist
Water Trial of tears
Yogurt The Eraser, Runners (in fridge)

Um, Charley, this is MacGyver Online -- I believe that's our own list, which was compiled by the people on this forum: especially Lothithil, who has been doing comprehensive lists by season.

Speaking of which, Lothi, we still need your lists for the last two seasons! There was a great kitchen scene in "The Stringer", but I don't remember him eating anything else that season except for popcorn in "Deadly Silents".

Beth

*looks up guiltily from her Stargate marathon*

Oh! I guess I better get back to work!

WHATS WITH THE MOUSE!

Even if he did have "convictions" about meat consumption, I think he was down-to-earth about it enough to eat meat when he was in the wild and had to survive, or when he was in company that would've felt awkward. My best friend's gf is a vegetarian, and there's definitely tension when we all BBQ. A lot of people just try to avoid meat as much as they can, unlike some flaming vegetarians who would dramatically starve to death before they'd eat meat to survive. Obviously, Mac wasn't like that.

mouse?

I think he's referring to this...

... what those in 'the business' call a "wild-take" LOL!

vegetarian.. native american for bad hunter

Not our Mac

Very true!

I know this thread is basically dead, however, I came across it by accident and felt the need to correct some statements.

It has been stated multiple times that the mention of Mac being a vegetarian was only mentioned at the end of the walking dead.

In "Strictly Business" (hope that is the right episode) when Murdoc prepares Mac his last meal (with the cherub and bow/arrow on the table).

Mac walks in and Murdoc points to the huge meals with his hand out and asks: "Do you like it?" Murdoc proceeds to thank Mac for saving his sister and then says:

"Don't look so grim, sit down and try the food, it's vegetarian."

The fact the writers took the time to purposefully point this out twice in a very obvious way leads me to believe Mac is indeed a vegetarian, but for health reasons and that he is sensible about it and would eat meat to save his life or to not be overly rude.

Hi Hideair, welcome to the site.

Isn't that just another way of saying he's a healthy eater? He chooses non-meat food whenever possible, but if the circumstances dictate or require it, he'll still eat and probably enjoy a well cooked piece of meat.

And lets not forget that in the episode Jack in the Box, he's eating a leg of chicken and agrees that it was good.

I think the term vegetarian has changed in meaning from what it use to be as well, which doesn't help us any. back in the 80's and 90's it was more of a loose term to refer to "healthy eaters" who didn't eat red meat, but now with the change in eating habits and food types the general meaning has tightened up. So the problem become that we're applying the modern meaning to an old TV show.

I have to politely differ with that -- speaking as someone who was hanging out with Californians and other odd types at that time: no, the meaning and usage of the word has not changed, except insofar as more people now identify themselves as sub-types. Back then, it meant you didn't eat meat, including no fish. I don't remember anyone in the US using the term "vegan" until the mid-90's, but ovo-lacto was a recognised sub-type long before then.

Hideair, if you look through more of the threads you'll find more information we've collected on Mac's eating habits, including the fact that they changed over time. Lothi has been compiling a comprehensive list of all of Mac's known dishes.

Mac's behaviour fit the very common type of the California Health Food Nut, a well-established species with a less rigid diet than the full-blown vegetarians.

I believe that MacGyver only ate meat when the situation required him to. Otherwise he would eat veggies.

His diet sounds similar to mine--mostly vegetarian, eating meat only on occasion.

Ahahaha- best use of a smiley I've seen in quite some time, well played

I always had a problem with that line by Mama Loraine. I believe she meant it as "I told my God's that you were a vegitarian even though you're not." Thus, making it a funny comment. Murdoc's comment could have been him taking a guess on MacGyver since he's known to eat healthy.

I truely think MacGyver, like me, tries to eat healthy whenever possible but has a nice burger,steak, chicken when he gets a craving. i think he's practical and knows that the body tells you things for a reason. As long as he typically takes the healthy route then he's doing fine. Besides, a little bit of red meat is healthy. Everything in it's proper dose right?

This forum has been dead for a while.

Huh?

Troll? haha, I think he means thread. Or at least, I hope so.

As for the vegetarianism, I agree that it seems highly probable that he ate very healthy but was not actually a vegetarianism. Come to think of it, I think I've made this point before. Even if he were supposed to have been a vegetarian or semi-vegetarian, he still was not the bleeding heart type that in dire circumstance would still refuse meat, i.e., he and Kate Connoly and the lizard. Further, he seems like the type who would eat something if it were extended to him by someone else rather than refusing it. Which, I personally agree with, if it's already dead, then not consuming it really isn't going to reverse that.
I try to eat healthy and have as many vegetarian meals as possible but it is definitely difficult. Society is structured in a way that makes it seem unavoidable to eat meat. Few people really stop and question the ethics of it or the health effects. I'll not go into why I think it is a good idea for quite a few reasons, but I will say Mac exhibited a social conscience about everything else, and I'm sure animal consumption was something we was self-aware of. I also can relate, however, to the fact that it is a tough act to pull to be exclusively vegetarian, and maybe not entirely healthy if done wrong.

To me, it's odd to think of Mac as NOT being vegetarian. He clearly cares a lot about animals, so he seems like the type who would be appalled by the animal abuse that goes on in the food industry, and would probably do his best to avoid supporting it by buying the food. That's why a lot of people become vegetarian. It's not all about eating healthy. My girlfriend, for example, is vegetarian because it goes against her conscience to feel like she's supporting an industry that abuses animals. It's not really about her health, as much as it is about her love for animals, and I can imagine Mac feeling the same way.

The lizard that he ate with Kate is a bit different for two reasons:

1. He killed the lizard himself. It wasn't like buying a burger and wondering how badly the cow was treated before it became a burger. Again, it's similar with my girlfriend-- although she personally wouldn't want to kill an animal, she would feel better doing that, knowing the animal died quickly and painlessly, rather than thinking it was badly abused in a slaughterhouse somewhere.

2. More importantly-- That scene was during the first season, and Mac wasn't QUITE as "perfect" he was in later seasons. He had a bit more edge and a bit more of a devil-may-care attitude.

if you watch every episode, you definitely get the impression he was a vegetarian. whether it be the other characters offering him vegetarian fare, like already mentioned above, or when mac was layed up in the house boat in some episode and pete offered to go get him some "tofu", there is always bean curd in his fridge, he eats sprout sandwiches, or a piece of fruit, eggs, smoothie shakes, pizza.

he never made a meat dish for himself, other than survival episodes, but it appeared that he would eat it abroad - like in the thailand episode with colton finding out he has a kid, mac ate some sort of street food that obviously is meat on a stick - or if somebody went out of their way to make it for him.

he was a vegetarian, but not a strict one. he was realistic about it and adapted to his environment when needed.

Isn't that just another way of saying he was a healthy eater rather than being an actual vegetarian?

Isn't that just another way of saying he was a healthy eater?

sure, i guess. he was obviously a health nut.

is it possible to be a vegetarian but occasionally eat meat? as in macs case when he was eating lizard with kate out in the jungle? i think it is, like i said he wasnt strict, it appeared he was vegetarian about 99% of the time in the show.

anybody who travels a lot knows what it can do to your diet, seeing as mac was traveling all the time there is almost no way he could be choosy with his food on the road. like in the pic you posted on page 1 of him eating a chicken wing, IN JAIL, in 'Jack in the Box' episode. his choice there is to either starve or eat meat.

he appears to at least be a full on vegetarian when at home with his tofu, bean curd, and smoothie shakes.

I don't know for sure, but I always thought vegetarians were quite strict about not eating meat; Like they refused to eat it no matter what, and isn't there usually something about killing and eating animals mixed in with vegetarianism? Clearly MacGyver had no problem with doing that when he had to.

I think we can all agree that he certainly wasn't a "true" or strict vegetarian, which is why I prefer to say he was just a healthy eater. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said he was realistic. He choose not to eat meat when he had the choice, but had no problem catching food (meat) to eat while camping or any other situation where vegetarian wasn't really an option.

Interesting side note:
The kinds of meat caught and eaten while camping/hiking (fish,small lizards etc) are probably the healthiest forms of meat you can get - Low fat, high protein (fish is also high in Omega oils which are very good for you. So MacGyver would be in a no lose situation.

I agree with you Rocky. It would be inaccurate to call him a vegitarian under any definition. Healthy eater? Absolutely! I think too many people want to be called a vegitarian because they think it's the cool thing to be but don't live by the definition. I think MacGyver would never consider himself one. I could picture him calling himself a "vegitarian want to be" or a "vegitarian in training".

Doesn't Mac in Family Matters attempt to make a Bayou Blackened Catfish or something but manages to burn it horribly and then mentions take-out Burgers? I think Mac ate sensibly and his tastes do change, much like anyone's does. I have weeks where red meat doens't do much for me and I'll eat tofu and chicken instead. I like a wide variety of foods and I believe Mac does as well. I know in Silent World, he took Pete out for Indian and that could be vegetarian or have meat (chicken/goat/lamb). Just my 2 cents worth.

Just because people in the series call Mac a vegetarian (and in fact only Mama Lorraine calls him that, Murdoc just serves a veggie dinner) doesn't mean MacGyver is one. Watching MacGyver episodes, I never thought of him as a vegetarian.

It wasn't until I stumbled upon this thread I found out there is a lot of debate on the issue. What I don't understand is why. Mac is, as Rockatteer states, a healthy eater, and a practical one at that: when he has to survive he kills and eats bush meat. And yep, I agree with Rock, wild animals are the most healthy. If it were possible, I would only eat those. It's the best organic food you can imagine. The animals have lived freely, and are not manipulated in any way to make them bigger/fatter etc.

By the way, in various parts of the world I have eaten snake, rat, alligator, lizard (well, iguana, which I hated because I adore those animals, but it would have been rude not to eat it, it was specially caught and prepared for me) and they all tasted like chicken.