Here is a bit of interesting trivia
High level Buddhist monks actually have no problem eating animal since they've got the ability to bless the spirit of the animal they've eaten so it will have a better next life (but have to be really high level monk though, not the type that normally can be found in a temple)

Also depends on what Buddhism it is too. Vegetarianism is prevalent in the Mahayana Buddhism (Chinese regions mostly), but in Theravada Buddhism (Sri Lanka, Thailand, the Indian and South East Asian regions mostly), a monk is supposed to be removed from desires and can thus only eat what is offered to him, and only for sustenance. Besides a few exceptions (e.g.- human flesh), he can otherwise eat anything else; as long as he does it for sustenance and not desire.

SoPM totally contradicts this.