Of course, it makes sense because nonviolence/ahimsa towards animals is an ideal in Hinduism, and especially Jainism, so it would have carried over to Buddhism. The Greeks had various philosophers who were vegetarians- Pythagoras didn't eat meat, and Socrates probably didn't either. Vegetarianism sort of died out for a time in the Christian West however. In Judeo-Christianity, animals are on earth for man's use, although it's not always clear what that entails. However, there are animal sacrifices made to God. The same happens in Islam, of course, as Muslims recently celebrated the feast of the sacrifice. But, the Buddhist writings are clear about animal killing as a sin, which begs the question- can Buddhists eat meat that is provided for them? This is especially interesting because monks are supposed to live off alms and charity- what do they do when someone donates meat?
The article seems to suggest they would be okay with eating meat in such a situation. Apparently, Gautama Buddha did eat meat on occasion. His official word to his monks:
"Monks, I allow you fish and meat that are quite pure in three respects: if they are not seen, heard or suspected to have been killed on purpose for a monk. But, you should not knowingly make use of meat killed on purpose for you." So, if you go to the store and buy meat, is that acceptable? It was not killed on purpose for you- and actually in many cultures that still happens- you have to pay someone to slaughter the animal for you. In industrial cultures, of course, all responsibility has been removed- the meat shows up as if by magic. Most of us don't see, hear, or suspect the animal was killed for us.