So if John was an Essene which is by no means certain the vegetarian theologians maintain that he made Jesus one too by baptizing him. That's quite a stretch. So is the vegetarian theologians' second argument. The Gospels identify the two other major Jewish sects of the day, the Sadducees and Pharisees, as opponents of Jesus. But the Gospels don't mention the Essenes, therefore Jesus must have been an Essene.
Vegetarianism goes unmentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
And since the Essenes were purists, Borg points out, it's likely they would have slaughtered a lamb at Passover. And while PETA is right about the Essenes rejecting animal sacrifice, it wrongly attributes this stance to compassion for God's lesser creatures. When the Essenes split from the Jewish establishment they rejected all rituals performed in the temple by the priests, of which animal sacrifice was only one. Jesus socialized with lepers. The Essenes rejected even healthy Jews.