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Vegetarianism

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Are you one of those growing number of people who have decided
that meat eating is wrong whichever way you look at it – either
morally, ethically, economically, spiritually or for health
reasons? If the answer is no, consider the following facts:

Moral and Ethical reasons

In 2000 in the UK 700 million
innocent animals were slaughtered to satisfy the human palate.
Mankind goes on perpetrating these obscenities on the defenceless
creations of God and yet expects peace and happiness for itself.
Gandhiji said the following about cow protection but the same
sentiments apply to all animals – “Cow protection to me is
infinitely more than mere protection of the cow. The cow is
merely a type of all that lives. Cow protection means protection
of the weak, the helpless, the dumb and the deaf. Man becomes
then not the lord and master of all creation, but he is its
servant.” The next step in the progress of human
civilisation has to be the liberation of animals from the tyranny
of mankind.

Economic reasons

When around 10 million people
are starving in the world today, most of the fertile land in the
USA and other European countries is used to grow crops to feed
animals, which are in turn consumed by human beings. This is an
absolutely wasteful way of feeding ourselves; e.g. for every 16
pounds of grains fed to cattle only one pound of meat is produced.
It is estimated that a 10% reduction in meat production will
result in enough grain to feed 10 million people.

Health and nutritional reasons

Most of the modern killer
diseases are associated with the over-consumption of fats, mainly
animal derived. As early as 1961, the Journal of the American
Medical Association said: 90 – 97% of heart disease can be
avoided by a vegetarian diet. Meat is suspected of causing a host
of cancers such as cancer of the stomach, cancer of the breast,
cancer of the bowels, leukaemia and many others. Death by food
poisoning is also an ever present threat to meat-eaters. The high
level of cholesterol in eggs means that they must be avoided
completely if one wants to avoid heart disease. Nutritionally
speaking, vegetables, fruits, nuts and grains are an excellent
source of protein and are easier to assimilate than those of meat.

Spiritual reasons

For every single action that we
perform there is a reaction. If we cause pain and suffering to
other living beings, then in this life and in the next, we will
in turn suffer the consequences of our impious activities. In the
Vedas it is mentioned that one who kills a cow will suffer the
same fate for as many lives as there are hairs on the cow he
killed. The reactions of karma equally affect those who kill,
deliver, sell, prepare, cook, serve and eat the meal. There is no
escape from the stringent laws of nature for anyone who aids and
abets the animal slaughter industry. Indeed all the major
religions advocate the ideals of vegetarianism:

The Annushasen
Parva, Mahabharat says “Undoubtedly all
those human beings who prefer meat to several forms of
food are like vultures.”
The Manusmrti says “All supporters of meat eating are sinners.”
It further states, “One whose meat I eat will eat my
flesh in the next life.”
The Christian Faith also
says in Genesis (1.29) “Behold, I
have given you every herb-bearing tree in which the fruit
of the tree-yielding seed, it unto you shall be for meat.”
Guru Nanak,
Founder of the Sikh Faith, said “My disciples do not
take meat and wine.”
Lord Buddha said, “Meat is food for sub-human beings”.
The Acharang Sutra of the Jain Faith said, “All creatures desire self-preservation,
hence no creature should be slaughtered.”
Gandhiji said “I do feel that spiritual progress does demand
at some stage that we should cease to kill our fellow
creatures for the satisfaction of our bodily wants.”

Features of different entities’ diets:

Meat eater	Plant eater	human
Licks and drinks	Sucks and drinks	Sucks and drinks
Sharp, pointed front teeth to tear flesh	No sharp, pointed teeth	No sharp, pointed teeth
Has claws	No claws	No claws
Intestinal tract only three times body length, so that rapidly decaying meat can pass out of body quickly	Intestinal tract 10-12 times body length. Fruits do not decay as rapidly as meat so can pass more slowly throuogh body	Intestinal tract 10-12 times body length. Fruits do not decay as rapidly as meat so can pass more slowly throuogh body
Small salivary glands in the mouth (not needed to pre-digest grains and fruits)	Well developed salivary glands, needed to pr24 September, 2008 #EndDate –>oped salivary glands, needed to pre-digest grains and fruits
Acid saliva. No enzyme ptyalin to pre-digest grains	Alkaline saliva. Much ptyalin to pre-digest grains	Alkaline saliva. Much ptyalin to pre-digest grains
No flat back molar teeth to grind food	Flat back molar teeth to grind food	Flat back molar teeth to grind food
They can see during night	Cannot see during night	Cannot see during night
Can kill the prey without aid of weapons	Do not kill to eat	Cannot generally kill without the aid of weapon
They can digest raw meat easily	Do not eat meat	Cannot digest raw meat easily
Behaviour is generally voracious	Behaviour is not generally voracious	Becomes voracious by eating meat
Do not eat grass	Do not eat meat	Should not eat meat
No skin pores. Perspires through the tongue to cool body	Perspires through millions of skin pores	Perspires through millions of skin pores

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