What about Deuteronomy 12:20 where God tells us we may freely eat as much meat as our heart desires?

In Deuteronomy 12:20 it says if you crave meat, eat as much as you want. But if someone loves mercy more than the satisfaction of the lusts of the flesh, then “as much as you want” will be none. A similar account is in Numbers 11 where Israel complained of the manna and craved meat, so God told them to eat quail “until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it” (Numbers 11:20). Then when they did so, it says, “while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the Lord burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague” (Numbers 11:33). So there are certainly still consequences and it in no way suggests that God wants or even is ok with the meat-eating. The key parts of the passage are “crave meat” and “as much as you want.” The takeaway is to desire the things of God rather than those of the flesh and to want what God wants (mercy) rather than what the flesh wants (to eat flesh).