Jains generally avoid foods that involve harm to living beings or harm to many lives at once.

Common foods Jains do not eat include:

• Meat, fish, and eggs
• Root vegetables and tubers, such as:

- potato - onion - garlic - carrot - beetroot - radish - ginger - turmeric root - yam - sweet potato

• Foods made by killing or harming animals
• Honey, because it involves injury to bees
• Alcohol and intoxicants
• In many Jain traditions, fermented foods may also be avoided, especially during stricter observance

Some Jains also avoid:

• Eating after sunset
• Green leafy vegetables on certain days or during special vows, depending on tradition and level of observance

The exact diet can vary between Digambar and Shwetambar traditions and also by personal vows. The core principle is ahimsa, non-violence.