It is not the intention here to attempt to persuade readers to become vegetarians. Instead, this is an objective answer to those who want to know the advantages of vegetarianism.
A vegetarian is one who eats no animal products. Some people call themselves vegetarians but still eat fish and chicken; be assured those two species still belong to the animal kingdom—they have flesh and blood just like a cow or a human or a deer. Also he or she uses a minimum of leather, only where necessary.
There are three issues to consider in regard to vegetarianism. They are: nutritional, spiritual, and moral.
Nutritionally, the alkaline-based digestive system of humans will not properly break down substantial acid substances, the greatest of which is meat. (Also, the amount of cholesterol in meat is unhealthy.)
Colon cancer is rampant! This is caused by the slow evacuation and the putrefaction in the colon of the remains of meat. Lifelong vegetarians never suffer from such an illness.
The type and amount of oils in meat are unhealthy and they turn rancid upon the death of the animal. The flesh and blood also began to putrefy as soon as the animal is killed.
Many meat eaters believe that meat is the sole source of protein. However, the quality of this protein is so poor that little of it can ever be utilized by humans because it is incomplete and lacks the correct combination of amino acids, the building blocks of protein.
Studies show that the average American gets five times the amount of protein needed. It is a common medical fact that excess protein is dangerous, the prime danger being that uric acid (the waste product produced in the process of digesting protein) attacks the kidneys, breaking down the kidney cells called nephrons. This condition is called nephritis; the prime cause of it is overburdening the kidneys.
More usable protein is found in one tablespoon of tofu or soybeans than the average serving of meat!
Have you ever seen what happens to a piece of meat that stays in the sun for three days? Meat can stay in the warmth of the intestine for at least four days until it is digested. It does nothing but wait for passage. Often, it usually stays there for much longer, traces remaining for up to several months. Colonic therapists always see meat passing through in people who have been vegetarians for several years, thus indicating that meat remains undigested there for a long time. Occasionally this has been documented in twenty year vegetarians!
The environmental conditions of the intestine are perfect for an enormous array of organisms to breed. Note also that the "friendly" bacteria normally found in the intestines are not powerful enough to attack the meat substance since it is not their purpose — instead the opposite occurs. Some organisms that breed on the decaying animal substance also attack those intestinal bacterials.
Some vegetarians claim they are more satisfied after they eat. The reason for this is that there are fewer ketones (protein-digestive substances) formed when vegetable protein is digested. For many, ketones cause a trace amount of nausea which one normally interprets as a decreased desire for food due to this uncomfortable and slight degree of queasiness. Although the body calls for more food, the taste buds tolerate less. This is the danger of the popular high-protein diet substances on the market. This abnormally high level of ketones is called ketosis and refers to the state of starvation that the body incurs due to the inability of the appetite to call for nutrition. The high amount of complex carbohydrates required to overthrow this condition is never recognized by most Americans who eat the wrong type of carbohydrates. Also, when the blood ketone level is too high, it results in abnormally acidic blood, called acidosis.
Tigers or lions who eat meat and grow strong on it have acid-based digestive systems. Also, their intestines are in a straight run of about five feet long, not twisted and turned, layer over layer, compacted into a small area like the human intestine, which is twenty feet long.
Frequently, when certain animal carcasses are found to have cancerous growths in the butchering and trimming process, they are simply carved out by the butcher before it hits the market. How safe is this for human consumption?
Everybody knows about the hormones and other substances which are fed to animals. But did you know that in some places they also feed the large animals concrete to add weight and salability?
Some farmers have started to implement a new system (still in its infancy and hopefully a doomed one) in which they feed the larger animals their own freeze-dried, unsterilized feces. Just imagine the money that could be saved on costly feed!
Did you also know that up until recently one-third of all chickens were leukemic and were still allowed to be sold? Today, however, powerful chemicals are fed daily to the chickens to attempt to control chicken leukemia. As a matter of fact, since as far back as 1950, arsenic has been the standard chemical given to poultry within the entire industry. A farmer just cannot afford not to use arsenic! So the chicken eater consumes this arsenic legally...and it accumulates without ever being expelled!
Poultry is often frozen for up to two years. Cold temperatures do not kill all species of bacteria. Worse than this, as it is shipped and stored, most frozen meat is thawed and refrozen many times. This is almost unavoidable.
Meat eaters suffer more frequently from various types of food poisoning than non-meat eaters — so much so that statistics show that every American has had food poisoning on at least one occasion. When you've felt ill, out-of-sorts, had diarrhea, or were just a little sick to your stomach, no doubt you had not the slightest idea that you had been poisoned by scavengers living off the dead carcass you just ate.
Next there is the subject of fish. Fish do not have a waste system to expel or handle toxins, and any fish that inhabits the waters near where fisheries do their fishing, especially in the Eastern part of the country, are swimming in polluted waters. When you eat fish, you're eating toxins. The FDA only examines 20% of all fish being sold.
There are said to be one hundred irradiation facilities being set up commercially around the country. Some are already commencing their operation. All sausages and many fruits and vegetables are now being irradiated. The scientific research on its effects is inconclusive and it will take several years until its dangers are recognized and it can be legislated out of the food industry. The purpose of irradiation is to destroy the odor of bacterial action on meat when it turns bad; thus you will no longer be able to smell a piece of meat to see if it has putrefied! Irradiation is legal and the government has recently turned down a bill that would require a visible symbol on the package indicating to the consumer that the food has been irradiated. This means meat will stay on the shelves (according to the industry) five times longer than it does now.
The reason this new process was invented is because there is so much nuclear waste that there is nothing else to do with it! So the nuclear industry came up with this "useful" suggestion of selling their discard to the food industry (a repeat of the aluminum industries scheme with its waste product fluoride).
Meat is costly and it is the most wasteful source of resources. When one removes meat from his or her diet, a whole new world of eating opens up. Cooking and preparing vegetarian style is no more time consuming than cooking meat. It costs less than half as much to eat vegetarian as it does to eat meat. There are excellent, nutritious, and easy to prepare vegetarian dishes that are Italian, Chinese, Indian, Mid-Eastern, French, Spanish, etc.
Additionally, one can enjoy many other foods that he has never tasted because of the meat rut. Most consumers have eaten no more than five or six varieties of beans and legumes — less than 10% of what is available and grains, including different appetizing types of wheat, nuts, and seeds. And they can be prepared very creatively!
Other peas, lentils, vegetables, and cereals, commonly found in every grocery or delicatessen, are usually neglected. These can provide exciting alternatives to the usual meats. The rules for cooking these are always the same, but the individual touch comes in their use and preparation. So learning to cook one new food item means you understand how to cook all the other food items in that category.
The spiritually aspiring person attempts to work on his - or her - self. The purpose of spiritual growth is to move away from the animal nature into the more human nature that God intended for us to have. Meat eating inhibits this. Again, the same science — that sometimes attempts to ignore the existence of a force higher than man — also has proved, in the laboratory, that aggression levels are much higher in meat eaters than non-meat eaters! The animal instincts become more powerful every time you eat meat.
When animals are slaughtered, fear and aggression enzymes are shot into their cells from their glands and other organs, just as in humans, and are part of the dead carcass that goes on to the food store. They remain in the meat until the consumer ingests those same enzymes, which are molecularly very similar to those found in humans.
Most spiritual people believe in the aura. Kirilian photography shows us that a force field remains around dead or amputated tissue. You adopt that animal aura when you eat a dead animal. Is it not personal evolution that the spiritual aspirant is interested in? If so, meat eating is urgently prohibited.
Meat is the most inefficient form of food to produce. One fact for those who are not familiar with the waste required to produce meat: It takes 10,000 gallons of water to produce one pound of steak (for feed, washing, etc.). That could pose quite a threat to the dwindling and endangered water supplies.
The moral aspect goes along with the spiritual one, in which one must question the necessity and the method as well as the karma of killing animals. However, everyone has their own mores which they must determine for themselves. It is not the purpose of this article to force a specific moral behavior on anyone.
Advantages of Vegetarianism
A vegetarian is one who eats no animal products. Some people call themselves vegetarians but still eat fish and chicken; be assured those two species still belong to the animal kingdom—they have flesh and blood just like a cow or a human or a deer. Also he or she uses a minimum of leather, only where necessary.
There are three issues to consider in regard to vegetarianism. They are: nutritional, spiritual, and moral.
Nutritionally, the alkaline-based digestive system of humans will not properly break down substantial acid substances, the greatest of which is meat. (Also, the amount of cholesterol in meat is unhealthy.)
Colon cancer is rampant! This is caused by the slow evacuation and the putrefaction in the colon of the remains of meat. Lifelong vegetarians never suffer from such an illness.
The type and amount of oils in meat are unhealthy and they turn rancid upon the death of the animal. The flesh and blood also began to putrefy as soon as the animal is killed.
Many meat eaters believe that meat is the sole source of protein. However, the quality of this protein is so poor that little of it can ever be utilized by humans because it is incomplete and lacks the correct combination of amino acids, the building blocks of protein.
Studies show that the average American gets five times the amount of protein needed. It is a common medical fact that excess protein is dangerous, the prime danger being that uric acid (the waste product produced in the process of digesting protein) attacks the kidneys, breaking down the kidney cells called nephrons. This condition is called nephritis; the prime cause of it is overburdening the kidneys.
More usable protein is found in one tablespoon of tofu or soybeans than the average serving of meat!
Have you ever seen what happens to a piece of meat that stays in the sun for three days? Meat can stay in the warmth of the intestine for at least four days until it is digested. It does nothing but wait for passage. Often, it usually stays there for much longer, traces remaining for up to several months. Colonic therapists always see meat passing through in people who have been vegetarians for several years, thus indicating that meat remains undigested there for a long time. Occasionally this has been documented in twenty year vegetarians!
The environmental conditions of the intestine are perfect for an enormous array of organisms to breed. Note also that the "friendly" bacteria normally found in the intestines are not powerful enough to attack the meat substance since it is not their purpose — instead the opposite occurs. Some organisms that breed on the decaying animal substance also attack those intestinal bacterials.
Some vegetarians claim they are more satisfied after they eat. The reason for this is that there are fewer ketones (protein-digestive substances) formed when vegetable protein is digested. For many, ketones cause a trace amount of nausea which one normally interprets as a decreased desire for food due to this uncomfortable and slight degree of queasiness. Although the body calls for more food, the taste buds tolerate less. This is the danger of the popular high-protein diet substances on the market. This abnormally high level of ketones is called ketosis and refers to the state of starvation that the body incurs due to the inability of the appetite to call for nutrition. The high amount of complex carbohydrates required to overthrow this condition is never recognized by most Americans who eat the wrong type of carbohydrates. Also, when the blood ketone level is too high, it results in abnormally acidic blood, called acidosis.
Tigers or lions who eat meat and grow strong on it have acid-based digestive systems. Also, their intestines are in a straight run of about five feet long, not twisted and turned, layer over layer, compacted into a small area like the human intestine, which is twenty feet long.
Frequently, when certain animal carcasses are found to have cancerous growths in the butchering and trimming process, they are simply carved out by the butcher before it hits the market. How safe is this for human consumption?
Everybody knows about the hormones and other substances which are fed to animals. But did you know that in some places they also feed the large animals concrete to add weight and salability?
Some farmers have started to implement a new system (still in its infancy and hopefully a doomed one) in which they feed the larger animals their own freeze-dried, unsterilized feces. Just imagine the money that could be saved on costly feed!
Did you also know that up until recently one-third of all chickens were leukemic and were still allowed to be sold? Today, however, powerful chemicals are fed daily to the chickens to attempt to control chicken leukemia. As a matter of fact, since as far back as 1950, arsenic has been the standard chemical given to poultry within the entire industry. A farmer just cannot afford not to use arsenic! So the chicken eater consumes this arsenic legally...and it accumulates without ever being expelled!
Poultry is often frozen for up to two years. Cold temperatures do not kill all species of bacteria. Worse than this, as it is shipped and stored, most frozen meat is thawed and refrozen many times. This is almost unavoidable.
Meat eaters suffer more frequently from various types of food poisoning than non-meat eaters — so much so that statistics show that every American has had food poisoning on at least one occasion. When you've felt ill, out-of-sorts, had diarrhea, or were just a little sick to your stomach, no doubt you had not the slightest idea that you had been poisoned by scavengers living off the dead carcass you just ate.
Next there is the subject of fish. Fish do not have a waste system to expel or handle toxins, and any fish that inhabits the waters near where fisheries do their fishing, especially in the Eastern part of the country, are swimming in polluted waters. When you eat fish, you're eating toxins. The FDA only examines 20% of all fish being sold.
There are said to be one hundred irradiation facilities being set up commercially around the country. Some are already commencing their operation. All sausages and many fruits and vegetables are now being irradiated. The scientific research on its effects is inconclusive and it will take several years until its dangers are recognized and it can be legislated out of the food industry. The purpose of irradiation is to destroy the odor of bacterial action on meat when it turns bad; thus you will no longer be able to smell a piece of meat to see if it has putrefied! Irradiation is legal and the government has recently turned down a bill that would require a visible symbol on the package indicating to the consumer that the food has been irradiated. This means meat will stay on the shelves (according to the industry) five times longer than it does now.
The reason this new process was invented is because there is so much nuclear waste that there is nothing else to do with it! So the nuclear industry came up with this "useful" suggestion of selling their discard to the food industry (a repeat of the aluminum industries scheme with its waste product fluoride).
Meat is costly and it is the most wasteful source of resources. When one removes meat from his or her diet, a whole new world of eating opens up. Cooking and preparing vegetarian style is no more time consuming than cooking meat. It costs less than half as much to eat vegetarian as it does to eat meat. There are excellent, nutritious, and easy to prepare vegetarian dishes that are Italian, Chinese, Indian, Mid-Eastern, French, Spanish, etc.
Additionally, one can enjoy many other foods that he has never tasted because of the meat rut. Most consumers have eaten no more than five or six varieties of beans and legumes — less than 10% of what is available and grains, including different appetizing types of wheat, nuts, and seeds. And they can be prepared very creatively!
Other peas, lentils, vegetables, and cereals, commonly found in every grocery or delicatessen, are usually neglected. These can provide exciting alternatives to the usual meats. The rules for cooking these are always the same, but the individual touch comes in their use and preparation. So learning to cook one new food item means you understand how to cook all the other food items in that category.
The spiritually aspiring person attempts to work on his - or her - self. The purpose of spiritual growth is to move away from the animal nature into the more human nature that God intended for us to have. Meat eating inhibits this. Again, the same science — that sometimes attempts to ignore the existence of a force higher than man — also has proved, in the laboratory, that aggression levels are much higher in meat eaters than non-meat eaters! The animal instincts become more powerful every time you eat meat.
When animals are slaughtered, fear and aggression enzymes are shot into their cells from their glands and other organs, just as in humans, and are part of the dead carcass that goes on to the food store. They remain in the meat until the consumer ingests those same enzymes, which are molecularly very similar to those found in humans.
Most spiritual people believe in the aura. Kirilian photography shows us that a force field remains around dead or amputated tissue. You adopt that animal aura when you eat a dead animal. Is it not personal evolution that the spiritual aspirant is interested in? If so, meat eating is urgently prohibited.
Meat is the most inefficient form of food to produce. One fact for those who are not familiar with the waste required to produce meat: It takes 10,000 gallons of water to produce one pound of steak (for feed, washing, etc.). That could pose quite a threat to the dwindling and endangered water supplies.
The moral aspect goes along with the spiritual one, in which one must question the necessity and the method as well as the karma of killing animals. However, everyone has their own mores which they must determine for themselves. It is not the purpose of this article to force a specific moral behavior on anyone.
Recently, there has been a renewed interest in vegetarian diets. Today there are
countless books, cookbooks, and magazine articles promoting vegetarian diets and
providing guidance for those who wish to follow a meatless diet.
In the past, many viewed vegetarianism as strange and faddish but appropriately
planned vegetarian diets are now recognized by many, including the American
Dietetic Association, as being nutritionally adequate, and providing healthful
benefits in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases (1).
Choosing a nonvegetarian lifestyle has a significant health and medical cost.
The total direct medical costs in the United States attributable to meat
consumption were estimated to be $30-60 billion a year, based upon the higher
prevalence of hypertension, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, gallstones, obesity
and food-borne illness among omnivores compared with vegetarians (2).
A large body of scientific literature suggests that the consumption of a diet of
whole grains, legumes, vegetables, nuts, and fruits, with the avoidance of meat
and high-fat animal products, along with a regular exercise program is
consistently associated with lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood
pressure, less obesity and consequently less heart disease, stroke, diabetes,
cancer, and mortality (1,3, 4). In African-Americans, the frequent consumption
of nuts, fruits and green salads was associated with 35-44 percent lower risk of
overall mortality (5).
A vegetarian diet is distinguished from an omnivorous diet by its content of
dry beans and lentils. These take the place of meat and fish as the major source
of protein. And there are so many different kinds of beans you can choose from -
kidney, lima, pinto, cranberry, navy, Great Northern, garbanzo, soy beans, and
black-eyed peas. These can be served with rice, added to soups, stews, and
salads or a variety of casseroles, and made into different ethnic dishes.
Tofu, or soy bean curd, can be used in dips and spreads, or served with pasta or
stir-fried vegetables. Soy protein contains isoflavones, such as genistein and
daidzein, that act as phytoestrogens and inhibit tumor growth, lower blood
cholesterol levels, decrease the risk of blood clots, and diminish bone loss.
These benefits clearly translate into a lower risk of heart disease, stroke,
cancer and osteoporosis (6).
A major report published by the World Cancer Research Fund in 1997
recommended we lower our risk of cancer by choosing predominantly plant-based
diets rich in a variety of vegetables and fruits, legumes and minimally
processed starchy staple foods, and to limit the intake of grilled, cured and
smoked meats and fish. These methods of preparing meat produce polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons and heterocyclic amines which are carcinogenic (11).
Over 200 studies have revealed that a regular consumption of fruits and
vegetables provides significant protection against cancer at many sites. People
who consume higher amounts of fruits and vegetables have about one-half the risk
of cancer, especially the epithelial cancers (7). The risk of most cancers was
20-50% lower in those with a high versus a low consumption of whole grains (8).
About three dozen plant foods have been identified as possessing
cancer-protective properties. These include cruciferous vegetables (broccoli,
Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower), umbelliferous vegetables and herbs
(carrots, celery, cilantro, caraway, dill, parsley), other fruits and vegetables
(citrus, tomatoes, cucumber, grapes, cantaloupe, berries), beans (soybeans),
whole grains (brown rice, oats, whole wheat), flaxseed, many nuts, and various
seasoning herbs (garlic, scallions, onions, chives, ginger, turmeric, rosemary,
thyme, oregano, sage, and basil)(9).
These foods and herbs contain of host of cancer-protective phytochemicals such
as carotenoids, flavonoids, isothiocyanates, isoflavones, ellagic acid,
glucarates, curcurmins, liminoids, lignans, phenolic acids, phthalides, saponins,
phytosterols, sulfide compounds, terpenoids, and tocotrienols. These beneficial
compounds alter metabolic pathways and hormonal actions that are associated with
the development of cancer, stimulate the immune system, and have antioxidant
activity (10).
Regular fruit and vegetable consumption reduces the risk of ischemic heart
disease. A recent survey of 47,000 Italians found that persons in the highest
tertile of vegetable consumption had a 21and 11% reduced risk of myocardial
infarction and angina, respectively, compared with those in the lowest tertile
of vegetable consumption (12).
A British study found that daily consumption of fresh fruit was associated with
a 24 percent reduction in mortality from heart disease and a 32 percent
reduction in death from cerebrovascular disease, compared with less frequent
fruit consumption. Daily consumption of raw salad was associated with a 26
percent reduction in mortality from heart disease (13).
In another study, lifelong vegetarians had a 24 percent lower incidence and
lifelong vegans (those who eat no eggs or dairy products) had a 57 percent lower
incidence of coronary heart disease compared to meat eaters (14). Healthy
volunteers who consumed a vegetarian diet (25% of calories as fat) that was rich
in green, leafy vegetables and other low-calorie vegetables (tomatoes,
cucumbers, carrots, bell peppers, celery, green beans, etc.), fruits, nuts,
sweet corn and peas experienced after two weeks decreases of 25, 33, 20 and 21
percent in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and total/HDL
cholesterol ratio, respectively (15).
Various factors exist in fruits and vegetables that provide possible protection
against cardiovascular disease. These factors include folic acid, dietary fiber,
potassium, magnesium, carotenoids, phytosterols, flavonoids, and other
polyphenolic antioxidants. Typically, vegetarian diets are also somewhat lower
in saturated fat and cholesterol. Vegetarians typically have lower blood
cholesterol levels. Plant diets rich in soluble fiber (such as found in dry
beans, oats, carrots, squash, apples, and citrus) are useful for lowering serum
cholesterol levels.
The many flavonoids in fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains, have extensive
biological properties that reduce the risk of heart disease. Flavonoids are
among the most potent antioxidants. They protect LDL cholesterol from oxidation;
inhibit the formation of blood clots; and have hypolipidemic effects and
anti-inflammatory action (16). European studies found that those who had the
highest consumption of flavonoids had 60 percent less mortality from
heart disease and 70 percent lower risk of stroke than the low flavonoid
consumers (17,18).
The yellow-orange and red carotenoid pigments in fruits and vegetables are
powerful antioxidants that can quench free radicals and protect against
cholesterol oxidation. Persons with high levels of serum carotenoids have a
reduced risk of heart disease. The recent EURAMIC study found that a high intake
of lycopene (the red pigment in tomatoes, pink grapefruit, and watermelon) was
associated in men with a 48 percent lower risk of a myocardial infarction
compared with a low intake of lycopene (19). Cholesterol synthesis is suppressed
and LDL receptor activity is augmented by the carotenoids beta-carotene and
lycopene, similar to that seen with the drug fluvastatin (20).
Anthocyanin pigments, the reddish pigments found in fruits, such as
strawberries, cherries, cranberries, raspberries, blueberries, grapes, and black
currants, are very effective in scavenging free radicals, inhibiting LDL
cholesterol oxidation and inhibiting platelet aggregation. Various terpenoids in
fruits and vegetables, and tocotrienols in nuts and seeds facilitate lower blood
cholesterol levels, by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase (21). Garlic, onions and
other members of the Allium family, contain a variety of ajoenes,
vinyldithiins, and other sulfide compounds that have antithrombotic action and
may lower blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels.
A number of studies have shown that legumes lower blood cholesterol levels,
improve blood sugar control, and lower triglyceride levels. Since beans are good
sources of soluble fiber, vegetable protein, saponins, phytosterols and
polyunsaturated fat, consuming a diet rich in legumes will lower risk of heart
disease.
In the Nurses' Health Study, the highest consumption of whole grains was
associated with about a 35-40% reduction in risk of heart disease, stroke, and
type 2 diabetes. In the Adventist Health Study a regular consumption of whole
wheat bread was associated with a 40 to 50% reduced risk of fatal and non-fatal
heart disease.
Epidemiological studies have consistently reported that frequent nut
consumption is associated with a 30-60% reduction in the risk of coronary heart
disease (22). A number of clinical trials have demonstrated the effectiveness of
diets containing almonds, pecans, peanuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, macadamia
nuts, or walnuts to significantly lower LDL cholesterol levels by 7 to 16
percent, without much change in HDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels (22).
While nuts are high in fat, they are naturally low in saturated fat and most are
quite rich in monounsaturated fat. Nuts also contain a number of vitamins,
minerals and other substances important for cardiovascular health, such as
potassium, magnesium, vitamin E, folic acid, copper, and dietary fiber. In
addition, most nuts contain phytosterols, tocotrienols, and protective
polyphenolics such as ellagic acid and flavonoids (23).
Data from two prospective studie supports a protective relationship between
fruit and vegetable consumption and risk of ischemic stroke (24). Cruciferous
and green leafy vegetables and citrus fruits were the most protective. Data from
the NHANES study revealed that consuming fruit and vegetables three or more
times a day compared with less than once a day was associated with a 27% lower
incidence of stroke, a 42% lower stroke mortality, a 27% lower cardiovascular
disease mortality, and a 15% lower all-cause mortality (25). In the Adventist
Health Study, non-vegetarians had a risk of fatal stroke that was 20-30% higher
than the vegetarians. Data from population studies and human trials provide
evidence that vegetarian dietary patterns lower blood pressure (26). Lower
systolic blood pressures in elderly vegetarians has been reported to be best
accounted for by their lower body weight (27). Vegetarians living in northern
Mexico, were found to have lower body weights, higher potassium and lower sodium
intakes, and lower mean blood pressures than non-vegetarians (28).
Higher consumption of nuts (29) and whole grains (30) has been associated with
lower rates of diabetes. In a large prospective study, fruit and vegetable
intake was found to be inversely associated with the incidence of diabetes,
particularly among women (31). Men and women who reported seldom or never eating
fruit or green leafy vegetables had higher mean HbA1C levels than
those who had more frequent consumption (32). An increased consumption of fruit
and vegetables appears to contribute to the prevention of diabetes.
The consumption of a generous supply of whole grains, legumes, nuts, fruits
and vegetables provides protection against chronic diseases such as cancer,
cardiovascular disease and diabetes. A plant-based diet is rich in its content
of health-promoting factors such as the many phytochemicals.
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Vegetarian Diets During Pregnancy |
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Introduction Pregnancy is a time of increased nutritional needs, both to support the rapidly growing fetus and to allow for the changes occurring in the pregnant woman's body. Throughout pregnancy, recommended intakes of vitamins and minerals are higher than for the non-pregnant state. For example, the recommendation for folic acid is 50 percent higher (1) and the recommendation for iron is doubled (2) in pregnancy. Vegetarian and vegan diets can easily meet these nutrient needs (3). Weight Gain. It is important that all pregnant women have adequate weight gain. Weight gain recommendations vary depending on the prepregnancy weight and needs of the woman, therefore energy needs vary as well. A general trend is to have little weight gain (less than 5 pounds) for the first 12 weeks. Then, in the second and third trimesters, a weight gain of a pound or two a week is suggested. Current weight gain recommendations (4) are applicable to vegetarians. The recommendations for weight gain are listed in Table 1. Table 1. Recommended Weight Gain During Pregnancy*
*Adapted from (4). Most pregnant vegetarians, both lacto-ovo and vegan, gain an adequate amount of weight (5-7). Birth weights of infants of vegetarian women have frequently been shown to be similar to those of infants of non-vegetarians and to birth weight norms (5,7-12). For example, a small study by King et al found that infants born to vegetarian women had a mean birth weight 200 grams higher than infants born to omnivorous women (5). A study examining vegan women found that the average birth weight was 3342 grams (about 7 pounds, 5 ounces). Interestingly, for each additional year these women were vegan, birth weight increased by 42 grams (6). Some studies done outside the US reported birth weights of infants born to vegetarian women were lower than infants with non-vegetarian mothers (13-16). Generally this is found in women following restrictive vegetarian diets, such as macrobiotic diets (14,15). These low weights have been attributed to low maternal weight gain and lower maternal intakes of energy, iron, folate or vitamin B-12 (13-16). Energy In order to meet the weight gain recommendations for pregnancy, extra dietary energy is required. The total energy cost of a pregnancy is estimated to be around 55,000 calories over the 280 days of pregnancy (4,17). Assuming that caloric intake does not increase during the first month of pregnancy, an additional 200 to 300 calories per day should meet energy needs (2,4,18). Since caloric needs increase only about 15% and nutrient needs increase up to 50%, a nutritionally dense diet in pregnancy is needed to meet nutrient needs within the caloric recommendations. Vegetarians should be counseled, just like all clients, that excessive intake of low nutrient vegetarian foods such as candy and sweets should be avoided. Women who were underweight or who are having difficulty gaining weight should be counseled to choose nutritious foods with a higher caloric density. Suggestions include milk shakes (soymilk or cow's milk blended with fruit and tofu or yogurt), nuts and nut butters, dried fruits, soy products, and bean dips. Small, frequent meals and snacks can help increase food intake. Protein Protein is needed during pregnancy to support the rapid growth of the fetus and placenta. Protein is also used in the growth of maternal tissue (4). Current recommendations suggest an increase in protein of 10 grams more than the non-pregnant state for adult women (2). Ten grams of protein is the amount found in 2 cups of soy milk, 3-1/2 ounces of extra-firm tofu, 3 ounces of tempeh or one large bagel. This amounts to a total of only 60 grams of protein per day; in one study vegan and vegetarian women were consuming that amount even before they were pregnant (20). Iron Iron needs are high during pregnancy because of both the increase in the mother's blood volume and the blood formed for the fetus. Despite compensatory mechanisms such as cessation of menstruation and increased iron absorption, the iron requirement of pregnancy is quite high and the diet needs to be especially rich in iron. Pregnant vegetarians should choose high iron foods like whole grains, legumes, tofu, and green leafy vegetables daily and consume them with foods rich in vitamin C to increase the bioavailability of the iron. Iron supplements of 30 mg daily during the second and third trimester are commonly recommended (2, 4). Higher dose iron supplements can induce side effects such as constipation, nausea and heartburn. Supplement doses of 38 to 65 mg of iron per day may reduce zinc absorption (21). Researchers are currently studying whether taking iron supplements less frequently than daily is as effective as daily iron supplementation. A study in Indonesia showed that weekly iron supplementation offered similar health effects compared to daily supplementation and the compliance was higher in the group of women supplemented weekly (22). Therefore an alternative to daily supplementation may be suggested for women experiencing side effects such as constipation that they attribute to iron supplementation. Iron deficiency anemia is not uncommon during pregnancy, in both vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Several studies of pregnant vegetarians have suggested that dietary iron intakes were close to recommended levels (19) and that rates of anemia were low (6), although Drake et al found that dietary supplements were needed to meet iron recommendations in 34 lacto-ovo vegetarians (12). All pregnant women, including vegetarians, should be checked for iron-deficiency anemia and consider supplementation if they are unable to meet their needs through diet alone. Calcium Calcium is needed in pregnancy for synthesis of fetal bones and teeth. Approximately 25 to 30 grams of calcium are transferred to the fetus, primarily in the third trimester (4). Historically, women have been advised to substantially increase their calcium intake during pregnancy in order to meet the fetus's needs without compromising their own bone density. Current research shows that calcium absorption is increased in pregnancy, resulting in a generally positive calcium balance (23, 24). The Institute of Medicine has concluded that, as long as calcium intake prior to pregnancy was adequate for maximizing bone accretion, dietary calcium does not need to be increased in pregnancy (24). The calcium recommendation for pregnant women age 19 and older is 1000 mg a day (24). Adolescents may have an increased need for calcium to support their own bone development and may benefit from a higher calcium intake (25). The current recommendation is for 1300 mg of calcium daily for pregnant adolescents (25). Calcium intakes of lacto-ovo vegetarian women are often close to levels recommended for pregnancy while calcium intakes of vegan women are generally lower (26). Pregnant women whose diets do not contain adequate calcium should add calcium-rich foods to their diet or use supplemental calcium (4). This appears to be especially important in adolescents. Vegetarians who consume dairy products get calcium from milk and cheese. Many women may be surprised to learn that the many foods thought of as a serving of dairy, such as pudding, hot chocolate and cottage cheese, are not excellent sources of calcium. For example, it would take 3 servings of a ready-to-eat pudding to equal the calcium in one cup of cow’s milk. Numerous brands of soy and rice milk, fruit juices, cereals and waffles are fortified with calcium. Plant sources of well-absorbed calcium include soybeans; dark green leafy vegetables like collard greens, kale, and turnip greens; and calcium-precipitated tofu. Vitamin D Vitamin D plays an important role in maintenance of maternal calcium absorption. Its role in placental transport of calcium is not clear nor is its role in fetal vitamin D status. Vitamin D status of vegetarians can vary based on sunlight exposure and dietary choices (27-30). While it is well known that vitamin D can be made from exposure to the sun, the modern lifestyle of work and leisure spent mostly indoors and the use of sunscreens to prevent skin cancer may not guarantee sufficient UV light exposure for adequate vitamin D synthesis. As an illustration: 42% of adults less than 65 years of age, without known risk factors for hypovitaminosis D, admitted to a general medical ward in a Boston hospital were found to be vitamin D deficient (31). Therefore a dietary source of vitamin D is highly recommended. For lacto-vegetarians vitamin D-fortified cow's milk can used to meet vitamin D requirements. Clients may need to be reminded that other dairy products like cheese are not fortified with this essential nutrient. Some cereals and soy milk are fortified with vitamin D and many multivitamins contain the recommended level of 10 mcg (400 IU) of vitamin D. Many calcium supplements contain vitamin D as well. Supplements of vitamin D-2 (ergocalciferol) and vitamin D-3 (cholecalciferol) are utilized equally well by the mother and fetus (32). Folate The central nervous system develops in the fetus during the first weeks of gestation. By day 23 the neural tube that will become the spinal cord has closed. A lack of folate can keep the neural tube from closing properly, resulting in neural tube defects (NTDs). Since neural tube development is complete before most women are aware that they are pregnant, the current recommendation is that all women of child-bearing years should get at least 400 mcg of folate per day. Folate derives from the Latin word folium, which means "foliage," and is found in particularly high concentrations in dark green, leafy vegetables. Vegetarian diets tend to be rich in folic acid compared to non-vegetarian diets (26). The Food and Nutrition Board suggests an intake of 600 mcg of folic acid during pregnancy (1). The FDA has also mandated the fortification of grain products like bread with folic acid (140 mcg folic acid/100 g of the food item). Vitamin B-12 The recommended level of vitamin B-12 in pregnancy is 2.6 mcg per day (1). Vitamin B-12 is needed during pregnancy for normal cell division and protein synthesis. It appears that maternal stores of vitamin B-12 may not be available to the fetus (33), therefore a maternal dietary source should be assured. Vitamin B-12 is found in animal products such as milk and eggs. Vegans can easily meet vitamin B-12 needs with the use of foods fortified with vitamin B-12, such as breakfast cereals, some soymilks, and Red Star brand T6635 nutritional yeast (also called Vegetarian Support Formula). Foods which have been previously proposed as good sources of vitamin B-12 such as tempeh, sea vegetables, and algae have been shown to be unreliable and therefore inappropriate sources (34-35). In addition these foods may contain vitamin B-12 analogues (substances which mimic vitamin B-12 but which actually block vitamin B-12 absorption). Zinc The recommended intake of zinc increases by 50 percent during pregnancy (2). Mild zinc deficiency has been related to complications of labor and delivery including prolonged or inefficient first stage labor (cervical dilation) and protracted second stage labor (pushing) and premature rupture of the membranes (the sac of fluid that cushions the infant) (36). Many women in the US, both omnivores and vegetarians, do not consume diets that meet the RDA for zinc during pregnancy. Several studies have examined vegetarians' zinc status during pregnancy. One found that although vegetarians' diets were slightly lower in zinc than those of non-vegetarians, their blood and urine zinc levels were similar (5). In another study, vegetarians' zinc intakes were similar to intakes of non-vegetarians (11). Since zinc status is difficult to assess and zinc is an essential nutrient for growth and development, pregnant vegetarians should emphasize good food sources of zinc. Although legumes, nuts and whole grains are good sources of zinc, the availability of the zinc is lower than found in animal products due to the phytic acid content. Zinc availability is increased when grains are sprouted or eaten as yeast-raised bread, as both of these food preparation techniques destroy phytate (37). Complications of Pregnancy Nausea Nausea and vomiting, also called morning sickness, are a concern of many pregnant women, vegetarians included. Eating low fat, high carbohydrate foods, which are digested fairly quickly, eating often, avoiding foods with strong smells, and eating those healthful foods that are tolerated are some coping mechanisms. The health care provider should be contacted if a pregnant woman is unable to eat or drink adequate amounts of fluids for 24 hours. Aversions and cravings Food aversions are extremely common in pregnancy and are believed to be due to a heightened sense of smell, possibly caused by hormonal changes (38). Dietetics professionals can offer suggestions for foods to replace those that are no longer attractive to the client. Because many foods served at room temperature or colder have less of an odor than heated foods, some women may tolerate some foods served raw that they will not eat when cooked. For example, broccoli may be tolerated if served raw with a dip and cabbage may be acceptable in cole slaw. Contrary to popular belief, food cravings are not a sign of a need for a certain nutrient or food. This seems obvious when the most commonly reported foods to be craved are sweets (39, 40). Interestingly, one of the most common foods that women become averse to eating during pregnancy is meat. Therefore women may become vegetarian or nearly vegetarian during pregnancy simply due to a food aversion. Constipation Constipation is a common complaint in pregnancy. The higher fiber diet of vegetarian women may be an asset in avoiding constipation. If a woman feels her constipation is a side effect of iron supplementation, increasing high vitamin C fruits may serve a dual purpose of counteracting the constipating effect and enhancing iron absorption. Assurance of adequate fluid intake is also helpful in preventing and alleviating constipation. Preeclampsia Preeclampsia, or pregnancy induced hypertension with proteinuria, is a potentially serious complication of pregnancy. One study has examined the rate of preeclampsia in a community of vegans in Tennessee between 1977 and 1982. Of 775 vegan pregnancies, there was only one case of preeclampsia (8). This is a much lower rate than that seen in the general population. Since the cause of preeclampsia is still not well understood, it is unclear what factors explain the lower rate of preeclampsia experienced by vegans in this study. Food Guide The Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group has produced a food guide for pregnant vegetarians, presented in Table 2 (41). These guidelines are an average suggestion and should be adjusted to meet the needs of the individual. Some women will need more calories to support adequate weight gain in pregnancy, especially women expecting twins or triplets, adolescents and women who entered pregnancy underweight. In this case, additional servings of foods can be added and fats such as oil and salad dressing used to increase calories. Other women, such as women beginning pregnancy obese or women who are very short in stature, may choose lower calorie selections from each of the groups. Table 2. Meal Planning Guidelines for Pregnant Vegetarians
Conclusion A vegetarian diet planned in accord with current dietary recommendations can easily meet the nutritional needs of pregnancy (3). Potential benefits of a vegetarian diet in pregnancy include adequate folate status at conception and a possible reduced risk of pre-eclampsia (6). References 1. Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes for Thiamin, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Vitamin B-12, Pantothenic Acid, Biotin, and Choline. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1998. 2. Food and Nutrition Board. Recommended Dietary Allowances. 10th ed. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1989. 3. Messina V, Burke K. The American Dietetic Association. Position on Vegetarian Diets. J Am Diet Assoc. 1997; 97:1317-21. 4. Institute of Medicine Subcommittee on Nutritional Status and Weight Gain During Pregnancy. Nutrition During Pregnancy. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1990. 5. King JC, Stein T, Doyle M. Effect of vegetarianism on the zinc status of pregnant women. Am J Clin Nutr. 1981; 34: 1049-55. 6. Carter JP, Furman T, Hutcheson HR. Preeclampsia and reproductive performance in a community of vegans. South Med J. 1987; 80: 692-97. 7. Ward RJ, Abraham R, McFadyen IR, et al. Assessment of trace metal intake and status in a Gujerati pregnant Asian population and their influence of the outcome of pregnancy. Br J Obstet Gynecol. 1988;95:676-82. 8. Dwyer JT, Palombo R, Thorne H, et al. Preschoolers on alternate life-style diets. J Am Diet Assoc. 1978;72:264-70. 9. O'Connell JM, Dibley MJ, Sierra J, et al. Growth of vegetarian children: The Farm study. Pediatrics. 1989; 84:475-81. 10. Thomas J, Ellis FR. The health of vegans during pregnancy. Proc Nutr Soc. 1977;36:46A. 11. Abu-Assal MJ, Craig WJ. The zinc status of pregnant women. Nutr Rep Int. 1984; 29:485-94. 12. Drake R, Reddy S, Davies J. Nutrient intake during pregnancy and pregnancy outcome of lacto-ovo-vegetarians, fish-eaters and non-vegetarians. Veg Nutr. 1998; 2:45-52. 13. Sanders TAB, Reddy S. The influence of a vegetarian diet on the fatty acid composition of human milk and the essential fatty acid status of the infant. J Peds. 1992:120:S71-S77. 14. Dagnelie PC, van Staveren WA, van Klaveren JD, et al. Do children on macrobiotic diets show catch-up growth? Eur J Clin Nutr. 1988; 42:1007-16. 15. Dagnelie PC, van Staveren WA, Vergote FJVR, et al. Nutritional status of infants aged 4 to 18 months on macrobiotic diets and matched omnivorous control infants: a population-based mixed-longitudinal study. II. Growth and psychomotor development. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1989;43:325-38. 16. McFadyen IR, Campbell-Brown M, Abraham R, et al. Factors affecting birthweights in Hindus, Moslems, and Europeans. Br J Obstet Gynecol. 1984;91:968-72. 17. Durnin JVGA. Energy requirements of pregnancy: an integration of the longitudinal data from the five-country study. Lancet.. 1987;2:1131-33. 18. Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization/United Nations University. Energy and protein requirements. WHO Tech. Rep. Series No. 724. Geneva: WHO, 1985. 19. Finley DA, Dewey KG, Lonnerdal B, et al. Food choices of vegetarians and nonvegetarians during pregnancy and lactation. J Am Diet Assoc. 1985;85:678-685. 20. Carlson E, et al. A comparative evaluation of vegan, vegetarian, and omnivore diets. J Plant Foods. 1985;6:89-100. 21. Hambidge KM, Krebs NF, Sibley L, et al. Acute effects of iron therapy on zinc status during pregnancy. Obst Gynecol. 1987;4:593-96. 22. Ridwan E, Shultink W, Dill D, et al R. Weekly iron supplementation in pregnancy. Am J Clin Nutr. 1996;63:884-90. 23. Prentice A. Maternal calcium requirements during pregnancy and lactation. Am J Clin Nutr. 1994;59(suppl):477S-83S. 24. Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board. Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Vitamin D, and Fluoride. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1997. 25. Chan GM, McMurry M, Westover K, et al. Effects of increased dietary calcium intake upon the calcium and bone mineral status of lactating adolescent and adult women. Am J Clin Nutr. 1987; 46: 319-23. 26. Messina M, Messina V. The Dietitian's Guide to Vegetarian Diets. Issues and Applications. Gaithersburg, MD: Aspen Publishers, Inc., 1996. 27. Webb AR, Kline L, Holick MF. Influence of season and latitude on the cutaneous synthesis of vitamin D3: Exposure to winter sunlight in Boston and Edmonton will not promote vitamin D3 synthesis in human skin. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1988; 67:373-78. 28. Matsuoka LY, Ide L, Wortsman J, et al. Sunscreen suppresses cutaneous vitamin D synthesis. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1987; 64:1165-68. 29. Dent CE, Gupta MM. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin-D levels during pregnancy and in vegetarian and non-vegetarian Asians. Lancet. 1975;2:1057-60. 30. Maxwell JD, Ang L, Brooke OG, Brown IRF. Vitamin D supplements enhance weight gain and nutritional status in pregnant Asians. Br J Obstet Gynecol. 1981; 88: 987-91. 31. Thomas MK, Lloyd-Jones DM, Thadhani RI, Shaw AC, Deraska DJ, Kitch BT, Vamvakas EC, Dick IM, Prince RL, Finkelstein JS. Hypovitaminosis D in medical inpatients. N Engl J Med. 1998;338:777-83. 32. Markestad T, Aksnes L, Ulstein M, et al. 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D of D-2 and D-3 origin in maternal and umbilical cord serum after vitamin D2 supplementation in human pregnancy. Am J Clin Nutr. 1984; 40: 1057-63. 33. Lubby AL, Cooperman JM, Donnfeld AM, et al. Observations on transfer of vitamin B12 from mother to fetus and newborn. Am J Dis Child. 1958; 96: 532-33. 34. Herbert V. Vitamin B12: Plant sources, requirements, and assay. Am J Clin Nutr. 1988; 48: 852-58. 35. Specker BL, Miller D, Norman EJ, et al. Increased urinary methylamlonic acid excretion in breast-fed infants of vegetarian mothers and identification of an acceptable dietary source of vitamin B-12. Am J Clin Nutr. 1987; 47: 89-92. 36. Caulfield LE, Zavaleta N, Shankar AN, et al. Potential contribution of maternal zinc supplementation during pregnancy to maternal and child survival. Am J Clin Nutr. 1998;68 (suppl):499S-508S. 37. Kannan S. Factors in vegetarian diets influencing iron and zinc bioavailability. Issues in Vegetarian Dietetics. 1998;7:1, 7-8. 38. Erick M. Hyperolfaction as a factor in hyperemesis gravidarum. Considerations for nutritional management. Perspect Appl Nutr. 1994; 2:3-9. 39. Pope JF, Skinner JD, Carruth BR. Cravings and aversions of pregnant adolescents. J Am Diet Assoc. 1992;92:1479-82. 40. Hook EB. Dietary cravings and aversions during pregnancy. Am J Clin Nutr. 1978;31:1355-62. 41. Vegetarian Diets in Pregnancy. A publication of Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group, 1996. |
Health and Nutrition
Studies of human evolution have shown that our ancestors were vegetarian by nature. The structure of the human body is not suited for eating meat. This was demonstrated in an essay on comparative anatomy by Dr. G. S. Huntingen of Columbia University. He pointed out that carnivores have short small and large intestines. Their large intestine is characteristically very straight and smooth. In contrast, vegetarian animals have both a long small intestine and a long large intestine. Because of the low fiber content and high protein density of meat, the intestines do not require a long time to absorb nutrients; thus, the intestines of carnivores are shorter in length than those of vegetarian animals.
Humans, like other naturally vegetarian animals, have both a long small and large intestine. Together, our intestines are approximately twenty-eight feet (eight and a half meters) in length. The small intestine is folded back on itself many times, and its walls are convoluted, not smooth. Because they are longer than those found in carnivores, the meat we eat stays in our intestines for a longer period of time. Consequently, the meat can putrefy and create toxins. These toxins have been implicated as a cause of colon cancer, and they also increase the burden on the liver, which has the function of getting rid of toxins. This can cause cirrhosis and even cancer of the liver.
Meat contains a lot of urokinase protein and urea, which add to the burden on the kidneys, and can destroy kidney function. There are fourteen grams of urokinase protein in every pound of steak. If living cells are put into liquid urokinase protein, their metabolic function will degenerate. Furthermore, meat lacks cellulose or fiber, and lack of fiber can easily create constipation. It is known that constipation can cause rectal cancer or piles.
The cholesterol and saturated fats in flesh also create cardiovascular disorders. Cardiovascular disorders are the number one leading cause of death in the United States, and now in Formosa.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death. Experiments indicate that the burning and roasting of flesh creates a chemical element (Methylcholanthrene) which is a powerful carcinogen. Mice given this chemical develop cancers, such as bone tumors, cancer of the blood, cancer of the stomach, etc.
Research has shown that infant mice fed by a female mouse having breast cancer will also develop cancer. When human cancer cells were injected into animals, the animals also developed cancer. If the meat which we eat daily comes from animals that originally have such disorders, and we take them into our body, there is a good chance we will also get the diseases.
Most people assume that meat is clean and safe, that there are inspections done at all butcheries. There are far too many cattle, pigs, poultry, etc. killed for sale every day for each one to actually be examined. It's very difficult to check whether a piece of meat has cancer in it, let alone check every single animal. Currently, the meat industry just cuts off the head when it has a problem, or cuts off the leg which is diseased. Only the bad parts are removed and the rest is sold.
The famous vegetarian, Dr. J. H. Kellogg said, "When we eat vegetarian food, we don't have to worry about what kind of disease the food died of. This makes a joyful meal!"
There is yet another concern. Antibiotics as well as other drugs including steroids and growth hormones are either added to animal feed or injected directly into the animals. It has been reported that people eating these animals will absorb these drugs into their bodies. There is a possibility that antibiotics in meat are diminishing the effectiveness of antibiotics for human use.
There are some people who consider the vegetarian diet not sufficiently nourishing. An American surgical expert, Dr. Miller, practiced medicine for forty years in Formosa. He established a hospital there, where all the meals were vegetarian, for staff members as well as the patients. He said, "The mouse is one kind of animal which can support its life with both a vegetarian and non-vegetarian diet. If two mice are segregated, with one eating flesh and the other vegetarian food, we find that their growth and development are the same, but that the vegetarian mouse lives longer and has greater resistance to disease. Furthermore, when the two mice got sick, the vegetarian mouse recovered quicker." He then added, "The medicine given to us by modern science has improved greatly, but it can only treat illnesses. Food, however, can sustain our health." He pointed out that, "Food from plants is a more direct source of nutrition than meat. People eat animals, but the source of nutrition for the animals we eat is plants. The lives of most animals are short, and animals have nearly all the diseases that mankind has. It is very likely that the diseases of mankind come from eating the flesh of diseased animals. So, why don't people get their nutrition directly from plants?" Dr. Miller suggested that we only need cereals, beans and vegetables to get all the nourishment we need to maintain good health.
Many people have the idea that animal protein is 'superior' to plant protein because the former is considered a complete protein, and the latter is incomplete. The truth is that some plant proteins are complete, and that food combining can create complete proteins out of several incomplete protein foods.
In March 1988 the American Dietetic Association announced that: "It is the position of the ADA that vegetarian diets are healthful and nutritionally adequate when appropriately planned."
It is often falsely believed that meat eaters are stronger than vegetarians, but an experiment conducted by Professor Irving Fisher of Yale University on 32 vegetarians and 15 meat-eaters showed that vegetarians had more endurance than meat eaters. He had people hold out their arms for as long as possible. The outcome from the test was very clear. Among the 15 meat-eaters, only two persons could hold out their arms for fifteen to thirty minutes; however, among the 32 vegetarians, 22 persons held out their arms for fifteen to thirty minutes, 15 persons for over thirty minutes, 9 persons for over one hour, 4 persons for over two hours, and one vegetarian held his arms out for over three hours.
Many long distance track athletes keep a vegetarian diet for the time preceding competitions. Dr. Barbara More, an expert in vegetarian therapy, completed a one hundred and ten mile race in twenty-seven hours and thirty minutes. A woman of fifty-six years of age, she broke all the records held by young men. "I want to be an example to show that people who take a whole vegetarian diet will enjoy a strong body, a clear mind, and a purified life."
Does the vegetarian get enough protein in his diet? The World Health Organization recommends that 4.5% of daily calories be derived from protein. Wheat has 17% of it's calories as protein, broccoli has 45% and rice has 8%. It is very easy to have a protein rich diet without eating meat. With the additional benefit of avoiding the many diseases caused by high fat diets such as heart disease and many cancers, vegetarianism is clearly the superior choice.
The relationship between over consumption of meat, and other animal source foods containing high levels of saturated fats, and heart disease, breast cancer, colon cancer and strokes has been proven. Other diseases which are often prevented and sometimes cured by a low fat vegetarian diet include: kidney stones, prostate cancer, diabetes, peptic ulcers, gallstones, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, gum disease, acne, pancreatic cancer, stomach cancer, hypoglycemia, constipation, diverticulosis, hypertension, osteoporosis, ovarian cancer, hemorrhoids, obesity, and asthma.
There is no greater personal health risk than eating meat, aside from smoking.
Ecology and the Environment
Raising animals for meat has its consequences. It leads to rain forest destruction, global heatrising, water pollution, water scarcity, desertification, misuse of energy resources, and world hunger. The use of land, water, energy, and human effort to produce meat is not an efficient way to use the earth's resources.
Since 1960, some 25% of Central America's rain forests have been burned and cleared to create pasture for beef cattle. It has been estimated that every four ounce hamburger made from rain forest beef destroys 55 square feet of tropical rain forest. In addition, raising cattle contributes significantly to the production of three gases which cause global warming, is a leading cause of water pollution, and requires a staggering 2464 gallons of water for the production of each pound of beef. It only takes 29 gallons of water to produce a pound of tomatoes, and 139 gallons to produce a one pound loaf of whole wheat bread. Nearly half of the water consumed in the United States goes to the growing of feed for cattle and other livestock.
Many more people could be fed if the resources used to raise cattle were used to produce grain to feed the world's population. An acre of land growing oats produces 8 times the protein and 25 times the calories, if the oats are fed to humans rather than to cattle. An acre of land used for broccoli produces 10 times the protein, calories and niacin as an acre of land producing beef. Statistics like these are numerous. The world's resources would be more efficiently utilized if the land used for livestock production was converted to raising crops to feed people.
Eating a vegetarian diet allows you to "tread more lightly on the planet." In addition to taking only what you need and reducing excess, it will feel better when you know that a living being doesn't have to die each time you eat a meal.
World Hunger
Nearly one billion people suffer from hunger and malnutrition on this planet. Over 40 million die each year of starvation, and most of them are children. Despite this, more than one third of the world's grain harvest is diverted from feeding people to feeding livestock. In the United States, livestock consume 70% of all the grain produced. If we fed people instead of livestock, no one would go hungry.
Animal Suffering
Are you aware of the fact that more than 100,000 cows are slaughtered every day in the United States?
Most animals in Western countries are raised on "factory farms." These facilities are designed to produce the maximum number of animals for slaughter at the minimum expense. Animals are crowded together, disfigured and treated like machines for the conversion of feed into flesh. This is a reality that most of us will never see with our own eyes. It has been said that, "One visit to a slaughterhouse will make you a vegetarian for life."
Leo Tolstoy said, "As long as there are slaughterhouses there will be battlefields. A vegetarian diet is the acid test of humanitarianism." Although most of us do not actively condone killing, we have developed the habit, supported by society, of eating meat regularly, without any real awareness of what is being done to the animals we eat.
The Company of Saints and Others
From the beginning of recorded history we can see that vegetables have been the natural food of human beings. Early Greek and Hebrew myths all spoke of people originally eating fruit. Ancient Egyptian priests never ate meat. Many great Greek philosophers such as Plato, Diogenes, and Socrates all advocated vegetarianism.
In India, Shakyamuni Buddha emphasized the importance of Ahimsa, the principle of not harming any living things. He warned His disciples not to eat meat, or else other living beings would become frightened of them. Buddha made the following observations: "Meat eating is just an acquired habit. In the beginning we were not born with a desire for it." "Flesh eating people cut off their inner seed of Great Mercy." "Flesh eating people kill each other and eat each other ... this life I eat you, and next life you eat me ... and it always continues in this way. How can they ever get out of the Three Realms (of illusion)?"
Many early Taoists, early Christians and Jews were vegetarians. It is recorded in the Holy Bible: "And God said, I have provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruit for you to eat; but for the wild animals and for all the birds I have provided grass and leafy plants for food." (Genesis 1:29) Other examples forbidding the eating of meat in the Bible: "You must not eat meat with blood in it, because the life is in the blood." (Genesis 9:4) "God said, Who told you to kill the bullock and the she goat to make an offering to me? Wash yourselves from this innocent blood, so I may hear your prayer; otherwise I will turn my head away because your hands are full of blood. Repent yourselves so I may forgive you." St. Paul, one of Jesus' disciples, said in his letter to the Romans, "It is good neither to eat flesh nor to drink wine." (Romans 14:21)
Recently, historians have discovered many ancient books that have shed new light on the life of Jesus and His teachings. Jesus said, "People who have animals' flesh become their own tombs. I tell you honestly, the man who kills will be killed. The man who kills living things and eats their meat is eating the meat of the dead men."
Indian religions also avoid the eating of flesh. It is said that, "People can't get flesh without killing things. A person who hurts sentient beings will never be blessed by God. So, avoid taking flesh!" (Hindu Precept)
The holy scripture of Islam, the Koran, forbids the "eating of dead animals, blood and flesh."
A great Chinese Zen Master, Han Shan Tzu wrote a poem which was strongly against flesh eating: "Go quickly to the market to buy meat and fish and feed them to your wife and children. But why must their lives be taken to sustain yours? It's unreasonable. It will not bring you affinity with Heaven, but make you become dregs of Hell!"
Many famous writers, artists, scientists, philosophers, and eminent men were vegetarians. The following people have all embraced vegetarianism with enthusiasm: Shakyamuni Buddha, Jesus Christ, Virgil, Horace, Plato, Ovid, Petrarch, Pythagoras, Socrates, William Shakespeare, Voltaire, Sir Isaac Newton, Leonardo Da Vinci, Charles Darwin, Benjamin Franklin, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Emile Zola, Bertrand Russell, Richard Wagner, Percy Bysshe Shelley, H. G. Wells, Albert Einstein, Rabindranath Tagore, Leo Tolstoy, George Bernard Shaw, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Schweitzer, and more recently, Paul Newman, Madonna, Princess Diana, Lindsay Wagner, Paul McCartney, and Candice Bergen, to name a few.
Albert Einstein said, "I think the changes and purifying effects that a vegetarian diet have on a human being's disposition are quite beneficial to mankind. Therefore, it is both auspicious and peaceful for people to choose vegetarianism." This has been the common advice of many important figures and sages throughout history!
Now we will see some of the questions which arise in our mind usually and find the answers for such questions below:
Q. Eating animals is killing living beings, but isn't eating vegetables a kind of killing, too?
M: Eating plants is also killing living things and will create some karmic hindrance, but the effect is very minimal. If one practices the Quan Yin Method for two and a half hours every day, one can get rid of this karmic effect. As we have to eat in order to survive, we choose food which has the least consciousness and suffers the least. Plants consist of 90% water, thus their level of consciousness is so low that it hardly feels any suffering. Furthermore, when we eat many vegetables we don't cut their roots, but rather we help their asexual reproduction by cutting branches and leaves. The end result can actually be beneficial to the plant. Therefore, horticulturists say that pruning vegetation helps them grow large and beautiful.
This is even more evident with fruit. When fruit ripens, it will attract people to eat it by its fragrant smell, beautiful color and delicious taste. It is in this way that fruit trees can achieve their purpose of propagating their seed over a wide area. If we do not pick and eat them, the fruit will become overripe and will fall to the ground to rot. Its seed will be shaded from sunlight by the tree above them and will die. So, eating vegetables and fruit is a natural tendency, which brings to them no suffering at all.
Q. Most people have the idea that vegetarians are shorter and thinner, and flesh eaters are taller and bigger. Is this true?
M: Vegetarians are not necessarily thinner and shorter. If their diet is balanced, they can also grow tall and strong. As you can see, all big animals like elephants, cattle, giraffes, hippopotamuses, horses etc. eat only vegetables and fruit. They are stronger than carnivores, very gentle and beneficial to mankind. But flesh eating animals are both very violent and of no use. If human beings eat many animals, they will also become affected with animal instinct and quality. Flesh eating people are not necessarily tall and strong, but their life span is very short on the average. Eskimos are almost totally flesh eating, but are they very tall and strong? Do they have a long life? This I think you can understand very clearly.
Q. Can vegetarians eat eggs?
M: When we eat eggs we are also killing beings. Some say that commercially available eggs are unfertilized, so eating them is not killing living things. This is only seemingly correct. An egg remains unfertilized only because the appropriate circumstances for its fertilization have been withheld, so the egg can not complete its natural purpose of developing into a chicken. Even though this development has not occurred, it still contains the innate life force needed for this. We know that eggs have innate life force; otherwise, why is it that ova are the only type of cells which can be fertilized? Some point out that eggs contain the essential nutrients, protein and phosphorus, essential for human bodies. But protein is available from bean curd, and phosphorus from many kinds of vegetables such as potatoes.
However, as life does not exist in unfertilized eggs, modern thinking of such eggs is of vegetarian; but one should be sure of buying such eggs only for any vegetarian food.
We know that from ancient times till now, there have been many great monks who did not eat meat or eggs and still had a long life span. For instance the Ying Guang Master ate only a bowl of vegetables and some rice each meal, and yet he lived up to the age of eighty. Furthermore, egg yolks contain a lot of cholesterol, which is a major cause of cardiovascular disorders, the number one killer in Formosa and America. No wonder we see that most patients are egg eaters!
Q. Man raises animals and poultry, such as pigs, cattle, chickens, ducks, etc. Why can't we eat them?
M: So? Parents raise their children. Do parents have the right to eat their children? All living things have the right to live, and no one should deprive them of this. If we have a look at the laws in Hong Kong, even killing oneself is against the law. So, how much more unlawful would killing other living beings be?
Q. Animals are born for people to eat. If we don't eat them, they will fill the world. Right?
M: This is an absurd idea. Before you kill an animal, do you ask it if it wants to be killed and eaten by you or not? All living beings desire to live and are afraid to die. We don't want to be eaten by a tiger, so why should animals be eaten by humans? Human beings have only existed in the world for several tens of thousands of years, but before mankind appeared, many species of animals had already existed. Did they overcrowd the earth? Living things maintain a natural ecological balance. When there is too little food and space is limited, this will cause a drastic reduction in population. This maintains the population at an appropriate level.
Q. Why should I be vegetarian?
M: I am vegetarian because the God inside me wants it. Understand? Eating meat is against the universal principle of not wanting to be killed. We ourselves don't want to be killed, and we ourselves don't want to be stolen from. Now, if we do that to other people, then we are acting against ourselves, and that makes us suffer. Everything that you do against others makes you suffer. You can not bite yourself and you shouldn't stab yourself. In the same way you should not kill, because that is against the principle of life. Understand? It would make us suffer, so we don't do it. It doesn't mean we limit ourselves in any way. It means we expand our life to all kinds of life. Our life will not be limited within this body, but extended to the life of animals and all kinds of beings. That makes us grander, greater, happier, and limitless. Okay?
Q. Would you speak on vegetarian eating and how this can contribute to world peace?
M: Yes. You see, most of the wars that happen in this world are due to economic reasons. Let's face it. The economic difficulties of a country become more urgent when there is hunger, lack of food, or a lack of equal distribution of food among different countries. If you took the time to read magazines and research the facts about the vegetarian diet, then you would know this very well. Raising cattle and animals for meat has caused our economy to go bankrupt in all aspects. It has created hunger throughout the world, at least in the third world countries. It's not I who is saying this. It is an American citizen who did this type of research and wrote a book about it. You can go to any book shop and read about vegetarian research and food processing research. You can read "Diet For a New America" by John Robbins. He is a very famous ice cream millionaire. He gave it all up in order to be a vegetarian, and to write a vegetarian book against his family tradition and business. He lost a lot of money, prestige and business, but he did it for the sake of Truth. That book is very good. There are many other books and magazines which can give you a lot of information and facts about the vegetarian diet and how it can contribute to world peace. You see, we bankrupted our food supply by feeding cattle. You know how much protein, medicine, water supply, manpower, cars, trucks, road construction and how many hundreds of thousands of acres of land have been wasted before a cow is good enough for one meal. Understand? All these things could be distributed equally to underdeveloped countries, then we could solve the hunger problem. So now, if a country is in need of food it probably invades the other country just to save its own people. In the long run, this has created a bad cause and retribution. Understand? "As you sow, so shall you reap." If we kill someone for food, we will be killed for food later, in some other form the next time, the next generation. It's a pity. We are so intelligent, so civilized and yet most of us do not know the cause of why our neighboring countries are suffering. It is because of our palate, our taste, and our stomach. In order to feed and nourish one body we kill so many beings, and starve so many fellow human beings. We aren't even talking about the animals yet. Understand? Then this guilt, consciously or unconsciously, will weigh down upon our conscience. It makes us suffer from cancer, tuberculosis and other kinds of incurable diseases, including AIDS. Ask yourself, why does your country, America, suffer the most? It has the highest rate of cancer in the world, because the Americans eat a lot of beef. They eat more meat than any of the other countries. Ask yourself why the Chinese or communist countries don't have that high a rate of cancer. They don't have as much meat. Understand? That is what the research says, not I. Okay? Don't blame me.
Q. What are some spiritual benefits that we get from being vegetarians?
M: I'm glad you asked the question in this manner, because it means you only concentrate on, or care about, spiritual benefits. Most people would care about health, diet and figure when they ask about the vegetarian diet. The spiritual aspects of a vegetarian diet are that it is very clean and nonviolent. "Thou shalt not kill." When God said this to us, He did not say do not kill human beings, He said do not kill any beings. Didn't He say that He made all animals to befriend us, to help us? Did He not put the animals in our care? He said, take care of them, rule over them. When you rule over your subjects, do you kill your subjects and eat them? Then you would become a king with nobody else around? So now you understand when God said that. We must do it. There is no need to question Him. He spoke very clearly, but who understands God except God? So now you have to become God in order to understand God. I invite you to be God-like again, to be yourself, to be no one else. To meditate on God doesn't mean you worship God, it means that you become God. You realize that you and God are one. "I and my Father are one," didn't Jesus say so? If He said He and His father are one, we and His father can also be one, because we are also children of God. And Jesus also said that what He does we can even do better. So we may be even better than God, who knows? Why worship God when we don't know anything about God? Why use blind faith? We must first know what we are worshipping, just like we must know who the girl is we're going to marry before we marry her. Nowadays, it's customary that we don't marry before we date. So why should we worship God with blind faith? We have the right to demand that God appears to us, and to make Himself known to us. We have the right to choose which God we would like to follow. So now you see that it is very clear in the Bible that we should be vegetarians. For all health reasons, we should be vegetarians. For all scientific reasons, we should be vegetarians. For all economic reasons, we should be vegetarians. For all compassionate reasons, we should be vegetarians. As well, to save the world, we should be vegetarians. It is stated in some research that if people in the West, in America, eat vegetarian only once a week, we would be able to save sixteen million starving people every year. So be a hero, be vegetarian. For all of these reasons, even if you don't follow me, or don't practice the same method, please be a vegetarian for your own sake, for the sake of the world.
Q. If everyone eats plants, will it create a food shortage?
M: No. Using a given piece of land to grow crops provides fourteen times as much food as using the same piece of land to grow fodder to feed animals. Plants from each acre of land provide 800,000 calories of energy; however, if these plants are used to raise animals which are then eaten as food, the animals' meat can only provide 200,000 calories of energy. That means that during the process 600,000 calories of energy are lost. So the vegetarian diet is evidently more efficient and economical than the meat diet.
Q. Is fish all right to eat for a vegetarian?
M: It's all right if you want to eat fish. But if you want to eat vegetarian, fish is not a vegetable.
Q. Some people say that it is important to be a good hearted man, but it is not necessary to be a vegetarian. Does this make sense?
M: If one is truly a good hearted person, then why does he still eat another being's flesh? Seeing them suffer so, he should not be able to bear to eat them! Flesh eating is unmerciful, so how can this be done by a good hearted man? Master Lien Ch'ih once said, "Kill its body, and eat its meat. In this world there is no one more cruel, malevolent, atrocious and evil than this man." How can he ever claim that he himself has a good heart? Mencius also said, "If you see it alive, you can't bear to see it die, and if you hear it groaning you can not bear to eat its meat; so the real gentlemen keep far from the kitchen." Human intelligence is higher than that of animals, and we can use weapons to make them unable to resist us, so they die with hatred. The kind of man who does this, bullying small and weak creatures, has no right to be called a gentleman. When animals are killed, they are terribly stricken with agony, fear and resentment. This causes the production of toxins that stay in their meat to harm those who eat it. Since the frequency of the vibration of animals is lower than that of mankind, they will influence our vibration, and affect the development of our wisdom.
Q. Is it all right just to be a so-called "convenient vegetarian?" (Convenient vegetarians do not strictly avoid meat. They would eat vegetables out of a mixed vegetable and meat dish.)
M: No. For example, if food is put into a poisonous liquid and then removed, do you think it will become poisonous or not? In the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, Mahakasyapa asked Buddha, "When we beg and are given vegetables mixed with meat, can we eat this food? How can we clean the food?" Buddha replied, "One should clean it with water and separate the vegetables from the meat, then one can eat it." From the above dialogue we can understand that one can not even eat vegetables which are mixed with meat unless one first cleans them with water, not to mention eating meat alone! Therefore, it is very easy to see that Buddha and his disciples all kept a vegetarian diet. However, some people slandered Buddha by saying that He was a 'convenient vegetarian', and that if alm-givers gave meat, He ate meat. This is truly nonsense. Those who say so have read too little of the scriptures, or don't understand the scriptures they have read. In India, over ninety percent of the people are vegetarians. When people see mendicants in yellow robes they all know they should offer them vegetarian food, not to mention that most of the people have no meat to give anyway!
Q. A long time ago, I heard another Master say, "Buddha ate a pig's foot and then got diarrhea and died." Is this true?
M: Absolutely not. It was because of eating a kind of mushroom that Buddha died. If we translate directly from the language of the Brahmans, this kind of mushroom is called the "pig's foot", but it is not a real pig's foot. It's just like when we call a kind of fruit "longan" (In Chinese this literally means the "dragon's eye"). There are many things that by name are not vegetables but actually are vegetarian foods, such things as the "dragon's eye." This mushroom in Brahmanic language is called "pig's foot" or "pig's joy." Both have a connection with pigs. This kind of mushroom was not easy to find in ancient India and was a rare delicacy, so people offered it to Buddha in worship. This mushroom can not be found above the ground. It grows under the ground. If people want to find it they must search with the help of an old pig which likes very much to eat this kind of mushroom. Pigs detect it by their smell, and when they discover one, they use their feet to dig in the mud to find and eat it. That was why this kind of mushroom is called the "pig's joy" or "pig's foot." Actually these two names refer to the same mushroom. Because it was translated carelessly and because people did not truly understand the derivation, the following generations have been caused to misunderstand and mistake Buddha for a "flesh devouring man" This is really a regrettable thing.
Q. Some meat lovers say that they buy meat from the butcher, so it's not killed by themselves. Therefore, it is all right to eat it. Do you think this is right?
M: This is a disastrous mistake. You must know that butchers kill living beings because people want to eat. In the Lankavatara Sutra, Buddha said, "If there was no one eating meat, then no killing would happen. So eating meat and killing living beings are of the same sin." Because of the killing of too many living beings, we have natural disasters and manmade calamities. Wars are also caused by too much killing.
Q. Some people say that while plants can't produce poisonous things like urea or urokinase, fruit and vegetable growers use lots of pesticides on the plants, which are bad for our health. Is that so?
M: If farmers use pesticides and other highly toxic chemicals like DDT on crops, it can lead to cancer, infertility and diseases of the liver. Toxins like DDT can diffuse into fat, and are usually stored in animal fat. When you eat meat, it means that you take in all these highly concentrated pesticides and other poisons stored in animals' fat, which have accumulated during the growth of the animal. These accumulations can be as much as thirteen times that in fruit, vegetables or grains. We can clean the pesticide sprayed on fruit surfaces, but we cannot remove the pesticides deposited in animal fat. The accumulating process occurs because these pesticides are cumulative. So consumers at the top of the food chain are the most harmed. Experiments at the University of Iowa showed that of the pesticides found in human bodies almost all came from eating flesh. They discovered that the pesticide level in the bodies of vegetarian people is less than half that in meat eaters. Actually, there are other toxins in flesh besides pesticides. In the process of raising animals, much of their food consists of chemicals to make them develop faster or to change their meat color, taste or texture, and to preserve the flesh, etc. For example, preservatives produced from nitrates are highly toxic. On July 18, 1971, the New York Times reported, "The great hidden dangers to health for meat eaters are the invisible pollutants in meat such as bacteria in salmon, remnants of pesticides, preservatives, hormones, antibiotics and other chemical additives." Besides the above, animals are injected with vaccines, which may remain in their flesh. In this respect, the protein in fruit, nuts, beans, corn and milk are all more pure than the protein of meat, which has 56% water insoluble impurities. Research shows that those manmade additives can lead to cancers, other diseases or deformed fetuses. So it is even proper for pregnant women to eat a pure vegetarian diet to ensure the physical and spiritual health of the fetuses. If you drink lots of milk, you can get enough calcium, from beans you can get protein, and from fruit and vegetables you get vitamins and minerals.
Vegetarianism in India
The word " Vegetarian " was coined by the Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom in about 1847. It is a derivation of the Latin word ‘ vegetari ‘ which means to enliven.
Vegetarian, the belief in and practice of eating exclusively vegetable foods and abstaining from any form of animal food. Food plays a major role and forms the essence in the practice of Religion in India.
Each religion has its own rules when it comes to food preparation and eating, which is mostly governed by cultural and religious history. Majority of Indians are vegetarian. The rise of vegetarianism in India goes back to more than 500 BC, when India saw the rise of Buddhism and Jainism. These religions preached the principle of ahimsa or "non-violence."
During the ancient Aryan Vedic period meat was consumed after animal sacrifice to the Gods. This slowly changed with the rise of Jainism and Buddhisim, since their founders advocated the principle of ahimsa or ''non-violence''. The Brahman priests, who used to exploit the people and advocated animal sacrifices as offerings in the name of religion, also began to preach Vegeterianism since it gained much popularity in India. They began to embrace Vegeterianism by following a vegetarian diet themselves. However due to this constant exploitation of the people, these Brahmin priests soon began losing their status and respect in the society, which once placed them in the highest strata.
Saints like Kabir, Tulsi Sahib, Mira Bhai, Sant Tukaram always encouraged and preached Vegeterianism to their followers. And of recent, even Mahatma Gandhi, encouraged vegeterianism. .Mahatma Gandhi became a vegetarian in England influenced by Leo Tolstoy and Howard Williams' book The Ethics of Dietin which Tolstoy's essay on vegetarianism appeared as a preface in the book.
By 1908 vegetarianism had become an organized global movement gaining popularity when the International Vegetarian Union was founded in Germany.
Factors involved in Vegetarianism in India today are : (1) Religious or ethical beliefs; and (b) Income considerations or poverty
Rural Indian food in India is often vegetarian. Food items like roots, cereals, pulses, wheat, rice, form the main portion of the diets. Many Indians, being farmers, find it cost-economical to stick to a vegeterian diet.
Hindu scripture speaks in favour of vegetarianism. The roots of vegeteriansim in India are found in the Vedas, Upanishads, Dharma Shastras, Yoga Sutras and most sacred texts of Hindus.
The purchaser of flesh performs himsa
(violence) by his wealth; he who eats flesh does so by enjoying its taste; the
killer does himsa by actually tying and killing the animal. Thus, there are
three forms of killing: he who brings flesh or sends for it, he who cuts off the
limbs of an animal, and he who purchases, sells or cooks flesh and eats it -all
of these are to be considered meat-eaters.
~Mahabharata,
He who desires to augment his own flesh by
eating the flesh of other creatures lives in misery in whatever species he may
take his birth.
~Mahabharata,
Those who are ignorant of real dharma and,
though wicked and haughty, account themselves virtuous, kill animals without any
feeling of remorse or fear of punishment. Further, in their next lives, such
sinful persons will be eaten by the same creatures they have killed in this
world.
~ Shrimad Bhagavatam
One should never do that to another which
one regards as injurious to one's own self. This, in brief, is the rule of
dharma. Yielding to desire and acting differently, one becomes guilty of adharma.
~Mahabharata
Those high souled persons who desire
beauty, faultlessness of limbs, long life, mental & physical strength and
memory should abstain from any acts of injury.
~Mahabharata
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From : The Tirukural.
How can he practice true compassion Who
eats the flesh of an animal to fatten his own flesh?
Riches cannot be found in the hands of the
thriftless. Nor can compassion be found in the hearts of those who eat meat.
Goodness is never one with the minds of
these two: one who wields a weapon and one who feasts on a creature's flesh.
Life is perpetuated by not eating meat.The
clenched jaws of hell hold those who do.
If the world did not purchase and consume
meat, there would be none to slaughter and offer meat for sale.
Perceptive souls who have abandoned passion
will not feed on flesh abandoned by life.
Greater than a thousand ghee offerings
consumed in sacrificial fires is to not sacrifice and consume any living
creature.
All that lives will press palms together in prayerful adoration of those who refuse to slaughter and savor meat.
It is the principle of the pure in heart
never to injure others, even when they themselves have been hatefully injured.
What is virtuous conduct? It is never destroying life, for killing leads to
every other sin.
Harming others, even enemies who harmed you
unprovoked, assures incessant sorrow. The supreme principle is this: never
knowingly harm any one at any time in any way.
What is the good way? It is the path that reflects on how it may avoid killing any living creature. Refrain from taking precious life from any living being, even to save your own life.
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From : Vedas and Agamas
One who partakes of human flesh, the flesh of a horse or of another animal, and deprives others of milk by slaughtering cows, O King, if such a fiend does not desist by other means, then you should not hesitate to cut off his head. ~ Rig Veda Samhita
Those noble souls who practice meditation and other yogic ways, who are ever careful about all beings, who protect all animals, are the ones who are actually serious about spiritual practices. ~ Atharva Veda Samhita
If we have injured space, the earth or heaven, or if we have offended mother or father, from that may Agni, fire of the house, absolve us and guide us safely to the world of goodness
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How do vegetarians meet their needs for protein?
Many meatless alternatives to animal sources of protein exist, including grains and cereals, wheat-gluten, beans, peas and lentils, nut, seeds, avocados, seaweeds and vegetables. Especially useful are soybeans and foods made from soybean such as tofu (beancurd), tempeh (soycake), and soymilk.
While some vegetable proteins are low in certain amino acids, these deficiencies are easily compensated for when eating two meatless protein – alternatives together. Combining proteins is more difficult than eating beans and rice together, or putting peanut butter between two slices of wheat bread. But combining vegetable proteins is not even necessary for meeting protein needs since human protein needs are not, in face, that high in the first place.
What about vitamins and minerals? Does a vegetarian diet provide all essential nutrients?
Vegetarians with a varied diet have little trouble meeting their nutrition needs. Non-animal sources of vitamins and minerals are readily available in foods. In fact, vitamins B12 and D are the only two nutrients which may have to be supplemented by eating such special cultured (fermented) food as miso, saurkraut, soysauce, and nutritional (brewer’s) yeast. Black mushrooms, brown rice, sprouts, spirulina, barley and wheat grass juice, and some seaweeds are also suppliers of these nutrients.
Are there health advantages to vegetarianism?
Of course! In fact, it’s the only healthy way to eat! A meatless diet is higher in roughage and lower in saturated fats than an animal-based diet. Thus vegetarians are less likely to suffer from heart disease, high cholesterol, obesity, arthritis, and many forms of cancer.
A vegetarian enjoys better health by his/her avoidance of the various drugs, chemicals, pesticides and dyes commonly found in meat. Half the nation’s supply of antibiotics is now fed to food-animals. Drugs like penicillin and tetracycline are becoming routinely ingested by factory-farmed animals on a daily basis. Some scientists believe this practice undermining the effectiveness of these drugs to treat human illness.
The vegetarian diet also offers a health advantage to the many people in our world who suffer from hunger and malnutrition. It takes ten or more pounds of plant protein to produce one pound of meat protein in grain-fed livestock. By our adopting a vegetarian diet and eating plant protein directly, the world’s food supplies can be extended further to feed a much large population. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know there were no starving children anywhere in the world? This can be accomplished with vegetarianism.
This consideration for other human being has led some people to adopt a vegetarian diet, although most ethical arguments for vegetarianism focus on the treatment of animal.
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Vegetarianism today is practiced by nearly a billion people, including 10 million Americans and 1.6 million Britons. Most people become vegetarian by conscience. European geniuses--Leonardo Da Vinci, Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein--were vegetarian by conscience.
As the health and ecological sciences have recently discovered, vegetarianism is man's best and natural diet. The intestinal length of carnivores (meat-eating animals) is three times the body length to allow for quick removal of flesh wastes that putrefy in the intestines. Man's intestinal length, like other herbivores, is six times his body length and is designed for digesting vegetables, grains and fruits. Carnivores don't chew their food. Herbivores, including man, chew their food and have a similar pH value in their saliva. Our digestive system is closest to fruit-eating primates.
1. The noblest reason for vegetarianism is reverence for all beings.
2. Our digestive system is not suitable for digesting meat. It is closest to fruit-eating primates.
The meat industry injects and feeds livestock with some 2,700 drugs to sustain and fatten them. Those drugs are passed to the meat-eater. Meat itself is directly linked to arterial and heart disease and cancer, man's major killers. Powerful hormonal secretions are released by livestock at the moment of slaughter. These are absorbed by meat-eaters and directly affect their mental and emotional tranquility. Conversely, medical evidence demonstrates that a balanced vegetarian diet provides all the right kinds of protein, minerals, amino acids and nutrients that the body requires. In 1961, the Journal of the American Medical Association stated that 97% of heart disease can be prevented by vegetarianism. Current studies show the vegetarian diet as cancer-preventative. Brussels University proved vegetarians perform physical tests two to three times longer than non-vegetarians and recover from fatigue five times faster.
The World Health Organization states that 45 grams of protein eaten per day is ideal for tissue regeneration. This is easily acquired through grains, legumes, vegetables and dairy products. Meat-eaters ingest over 100 grams, an unhealthy overdose. Meat protein is poor quality. The Max Planck Institute reported that vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts and grains are excellent sources of complete proteins and are easier to metabolize.
One quarter of the world's vital rain forests have been destroyed to create pasture for beef cattle. Deforestation is changing global weather and could lead to polar melting, desertification of the major food-producing regions and oxygen reduction. Meat-eating is the engine behind this environmental destruction. The rain forests could be gone early in the 21st century. Further, beef cattle are consuming 85-90% of the Western world's grain. The average meat-eater uses five times the food resources of a vegetarian because cattle require fifteen pounds of vegetable protein for every pound of flesh protein. An acre of grain produces five times as much protein as that of beef pasture; legumes & leafy vegetables from ten to fifteen times as much. The world hunger problem would be vastly improved by converting all pasture land to farming use.
1. A good, balanced vegetarian diet provides excellent nourishment for mind and body, including more than adequate amounts of protein.
2. Vegetarianism is good for our planet, while meat-eating is not.
All foods can be roughly grouped into one of three categories, known by the Sanskrit words, tamas, rajas and sattva. These are three basic qualities or rates of vibration by which in the ancient Hindu science of Ayurveda all things are classified. Simply stated, the sattvic tendency is ascending, superconscious, and connotes orderliness and sublimity. The rajasic tendency is expanding, intellectual, and connotes activity and restlessness. The tamasic tendency is descending, instinctive, and connotes inertia and stagnation. Tamasic foods, such as meat, fermented or stale foods and overripe fruits, imbue the astral and physical body with heaviness and inertia and arouse the instinctive nature. Overeating is also tamasic.
Rajasic foods, such as hot or spicy foods, strong herbs, onions, garlic, coffee and tea, fish, eggs and salt, invigorate the heat of the physical and astral bodies. Too much rajasic food will over-stimulate the body and excite the passions, making the mind restless and uncontrollable. Eating in a hurry also creates a rajasic vibration in the body and mind. Sattvic foods, such as natural fruits and vegetables, help refine the astral and physical bodies, allowing the superconscious forces to flow and permeate and invigorate the entire being.
Especially as a brahmachari or a brahmacharini, it is best to try to eat plenty of sattvic foods, to be moderate in the intake of rajasic foods and avoid the tamasic ones. The traditional Saivite diet naturally provides this important balance and is based on these Ayurvedic principles.
But we also want to avoid becoming fanatical in diet. Those whose diets include meat should not necessarily become vegetarians all of a sudden. Any such changes, if desired, should be made gradually to allow the body to adjust slowly and without upsetting the family. The type of work that you do is also important to consider if you are thinking of adjusting the ratio of sattvic and rajasic foods in your diet. Those who do more physical types of work may need to eat more foods in the rajasic category.
1. Purity of food brings purity of mind.
2. Eat a balanced diet, relying mainly on sattvic foods.
3. Avoid becoming fanatical; blend transparently with the customs of your family.
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The Buddha's great compassion encompasses all sentient beings. According to the Buddha, all sentient beings are equal as far as their true nature is concerned. He was an advocate of vegetarianism. Refraining from killing of any sentient beings is the first step of cultivation. It becomes evident when practicing the Buddha's teachings that respect for life and well-being of others cannot help but create inner peace.
| A Buddhist
Perspective on Vegetarianism |
|
I have been a strict vegetarian for more than four years now. When I first gave up meat, quite a few of my friends and relatives expressed concern; most people seem to have the idea that vegetarian food lacks adequate nutrients. And being vegetarian can be a more than minor inconvenience with the amounts of meat and fish that people now eat. Chinese have a traditional notion that foods that are "warming" in nature, like meat, are important for building up physical strength; so in the minds of some of the older generation, one could not possibly get all the nutrition one needed form the "cool" bean greens, white radishes, and so forth that vegetarians favor. In their book, the only things that strengthen the body are foods like tiger phallus, snake blood, stewed chicken and crab in wine. Before taking the big step, I didn't give nutrition, convenience, or building up physical strength a second thought, since my reason for becoming vegetarian had nothing to do with any of these. I became vegetarian because of my belief in Buddhism. Why do Buddhists advocate vegetarianism? The main reason is "mercy", and because we "cannot bear to eat the flesh of living creatures." And our belief in karma tells us that we must eventually suffer the consequences of our evil actions. A Buddhist sutra says: "The bodhisattva fears the original action; the myriad of living creatures fear the consequences." This means that the bodhisattva knows the seriousness of the consequences and does not do evil things; neither does he think about the causes of bad consequences. Finally, I also believe that a vegetarian diet better enables one to keep a pure body and mind and this purity is an important foundation of self-cultivation. My conversion to vegetarianism was based on these three considerations. "Mercy" is an important way of learning to be a better person. Being without mercy is simply incompatible with being a Buddhist. Having a merciful and compassionate heart will show up in all aspects of one's life; but the simplest and most direct way is to follow a vegetarian diet. Think of the intense pain of accidentally stepping on a nail is. So how can one have the heart to eat the flesh of creatures who have suffered the pain of being slaughtered, skinned, dismembered, and cooked? Being unable to bring ourselves to eat the flesh of these poor creatures is an expression of mercy. The pain of creatures on the road to our table is not some fanciful concoction; it is excruciatingly real. Let us cite the cooked live shrimp and crab that are so popular today as an example. Meeting their end by being cooked in water is like being sent to a boiling hell. Their desperate but doomed efforts to crawl or jump out betray the unbearable pain they experience. Finally they give their life in sorrow as they turn bright red. What a painful end! Frogs are put through even more suffering than shrimp and crabs. From the first made in their bodies to the time they are swallowed they go through the equivalent of eight different hells: 1. decapitation; 2. skinning; 3. removing the legs; 4. slitting of the belly; 5. frying or boiling; 6. salt, sugar and seasoning; 7. chewing; and 8. digestion and excretion. Anyone who put himself in take place of a frog would be unable to ever stomach another one. Among the different kinds of suffering the human race can experience, the most intense is certainly that of war. Documentaries of the Nanking massacre and the Nazi holocaust leave few people unmoved and dry-eyed-and most indignant. But humans can go for years or decades without war; animals face suffering and death every day. For meat eaters, every banquet means the death of hundreds and thousands of animals. Is this any different from human war? Preventing the suffering of living creatures by not using their flesh to satisfy our tastebuds and hunger is the minimal expression of compassion we can offer. We choose not to kill out of kindness, and not to eat out of compassion. I felt deeply moved upon reading two stories on the theme of mercy; they will be etched forever in my memory. One is recorded in the book "Record of Protecting Life": When a scholar named Chou Yu was cooking some eel to eat, he noticed the one of the eels bending in its body such that its head and tail were still in the boiling point liquid, but its body arched upward above the soup. It did not fall completely in until finally dying. Chou Yu found the occurrence a strange one, pulled out the eel, and cut it open. He found thousands of eggs inside. The eel had arched its belly out of the hot soup to protect its offspring. He cried at the sight, sighed with emotion, and swore never to eat eel. This story tells us that the myriad living creatures are not without feeling and intelligence. Another story in recorded in Buddhist sutra. A king of heaven was stalemated in a war with a demon, and neither side emerged as winner. As the king of heaven was leading his soldiers back, he saw the nest of a golden-winged bird in a tree by the roadside. "If the soldiers and chariots pass by here, the eggs in the nest will certainly fall to the ground and be scattered," he thought to himself. So he led his thousand chariots back the same road by which they came. When the demon saw the king of heaven returning, he fled in terror. The sutra's conclusion was that "if you use mercy to seek salvation, the lord of heaven will see it." This story tells us that mercy may not seem like much at first glance, but it is in fact extremely powerful. The Buddhist sutras frequently mention "the power of mercy," from this we know that mercy is indeed a potent force. If a Buddhist wants to learn to use this strength of mercy, he must be like the king of heaven in this story, and be ready to change the route of a thousand chariots rather than let a nest full of bird eggs fall to the ground. The Surangama Sutra tells us that "if we eat the flesh of living creatures, we are destroying the seeds of compassion." That is, if we do not eat the flesh of living creatures, we are cultivating and irrigating the seeds of compassion," and to "cultivate a compassionate heart," I chose to become a vegetarian; and this is my main reason for doing so. In Buddhist teaching, volume upon volume has been written regarding cause and consequence, but the basic concept is a simple one. "Good is rewarded with good; evil is rewarded with evil; and the rewarding of good and evil is only a matter of time." Viewed from this concept, we will have to pay for every piece of flesh we eat with a piece of flesh, and with a life for every creature's life that we take. Viewed over the long term, eating meat is an extremely frightening prospect. Before their death, living creatures experience not joy, and not fear, but anger; not complaint, but hatred and resentment. And who receives the "reward" for taking these lives? It would be difficult to try to prove the existence of this concept of cause and consequence, and it may even sound a bit farfetched. However, in terms of this life, the negative consequences of eating meat include arterial sclerosis, heart disease, high blood pressure, encephalemia, stroke, gall stones, cirrhosis of the liver and cancer. In all these diseases, a link has been established to animal fat and cholesterol. So the consequences of eating meat are in fact immediate and in clear view. But even if you could still make it from day to day eating meat, the other advantages of being vegetarian-promotion of good health and being free from worry about future negative consequences-to me fully justify the decision to be vegetarian, and constitute my second main reason for doing so. My third reason is to "purify body and mind." This one might seem to escape logical explanation. An American vegetarian physician summed it up well when he said that "It's good not having to worry about he conditions under which your food died." This statement points out that animals are not always healthy themselves, and before death, they secrete toxic substances. When we eat the flesh of animals, we also ingest disease-carrying microorganisms and toxins. According to the Encyclopedia Brittanica, our bodies contain uric acid and other toxic waste products which turn up in our blood and body tissues. Compared to the 65% impure moisture content of beef, protein obtained from nuts, beans and legumes is markedly purer. Vegetarian food is indeed much cleaner than meat, and it also retains its freshness better than meat. Vegetarian food is in every case cleaner and purer than meat with comparable nutritious value. We know that meat spoils easily, and fish and shrimp begin to become putrid after being left out for just half an hour. Meat and meat products begin to decay after one hour. Vegetables, on the other hand, can usually e kept for three to five days. Although beans become rancid relatively quickly, the deterioration is very easy to detect and recognize. One problem with vegetable foods today is contamination by pesticides; but even so, they are still much cleaner than meat. A person who habitually eats pure food keeps his body and mind in a pure state; this follows of course, and is beyond argument. Another question that vegetarians are frequently asked is, "Why can't you eat scallions, chives, onions, and garlic?" This again relates back to purity. The Surangama Sutra says: "All living creatures seek the 'three kinds of wisdom,' and should refrain from eating the 'five pungent.' These five pungent foods create lust when eaten cooked, and rage when eaten raw." It goes on to say that "Even if someone can recite twelve sutras from memory, the gods of the ten heavens will all disdain him if he eats pungent foods in this world, because of his strong odor and uncleanliness, and will give distance themselves far from him." This means that pungent foods arouse lust, and give one an explosive temper and one's body a bad odor. These foods are unclean, and if a person's body and mind are not clean, how can he succeed at purifying himself through Buddhism? This is why yet another sutra says: "That which has blood and flesh will be rejected by the gods and not eaten by the saints; all in heaven distance themselves far from one who eats meat; his breath is always foul...meat is not a good thing, meat is not pure, it is born in evil and spoils in merit and virtue; it is rejected by all the gods and saints!" In recent years, I have spent much time thinking about what I eat; in fact I don't have many great insights on vegetarianism. However, the three reasons I just stated are sufficient to make me feel confident about my choice. Issues like whether a vegetarian diet is more nutritious, whether there is great merit in following a vegetarian diet, whether it can promote world peace, and so forth, are all secondary. What I strongly believe is that if a person wants to take joy in the Buddhist way and enter into the mercy and knowledge of the Buddha, he must begin at the dining table. There is a British promoter of vegetarianism named Dr. Walsh who once said that "To prevent human bloodshed one must start at the dinner table." Turning back to Taiwan today, one banquet takes a thousand lives; clothing oneself requires minks and silk spun by worms; shoes are made from alligator skin and leather; and lust and luxury are carried to extremes. To begin one's enlightenment of mercy and cause of consequence at the dinner table in this kind of an environment is perhaps more than a little difficult. The prospects for long-term peace and prosperity here are indeed cause for concern. |
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Jesus and Vegetarianism
For many vegetarians, Jesus’ message implies compassion toward all creation. How can we justify the torture and slaughter of billions of animals each year for food? And how can we tolerate such obvious cruelty in a religion whose founder preached mercy and compassion? Yet most modern churches reject vegetarianism with hardly a thought; vegetarianism is an idea which is at best tolerated, and at worst condemned as heresy.
Was Jesus a vegetarian? This issue is too complex to be answered with just a few Bible verses. In fact, it cannot be fully answered in a short article; my book, The Lost Religion of Jesus, has a more complete answer. The New Testament takes contradictory stands on this issue, sometimes seeming to condemn and sometimes seeming to support vegetarianism. Jesus feeds bread and fish to the multitude (Mark 6: 34-44) — seeming to approve of eating fish. But Jesus also speaks of compassion toward animals (Matthew 12:10-12, Luke 12:6-7, 13:15-16) — seeming to hint at vegetarianism. The same can be said of many other views in the Bible as well; one can defend almost any point of view one wants with appropriate Bible verses. But that leaves us with the question, where does the truth lie?
I. Vegetarianism in Early Christianity
There were many vegetarians in early Christianity, both in the leadership and among ordinary Christians. Augustine, while not vegetarian himself and while vehemently arguing against the idea that Christians must be vegetarians, nevertheless states that those Christians who “abstain both from flesh and from wine” are “without number” (On the Morals of the Catholic Church 33). His “heretical” Manichean opponents were entirely vegetarian. But the Christian vegetarians to whom Augustine is referring are clearly orthodox, indicating a widespread acceptance of vegetarianism both among heretics and the orthodox.
Many leaders of the early church were vegetarian. Eusebius says that James the brother of Jesus was a vegetarian, and in fact was evidently raised as a vegetarian (Ecclesiastical History 2.23). Why would Jesus’ parents have raised James as a vegetarian, unless they were vegetarian themselves and raised Jesus as a vegetarian as well? Eusebius also states that all the apostles abstained from meat and wine (Proof of the Gospel 3.5). Other famous early Christians who were vegetarian, based on statements made by them or about them, included Origen, Clement of Alexandria, Basil the Great, John Chrysostom, Arnobius, Tertullian, and Jerome.
II. The Controversy Over Vegetarianism
The letters of Paul give clear evidence of a controversy over vegetarianism. Paul believes that it is not necessary to be a vegetarian in order to be a Christian.
“As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions. One believes he may eat anything, while the weak man eats only vegetables,” says Paul (Romans 14:1-2). Paul counsels patience between the meat-eaters and the vegetarians. But there is nothing wrong with eating meat as such — “Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience” (I Corinthians 10:25).
Paul won this battle in the early church; while many Christians were vegetarian, most churches taught that it was not necessary to be vegetarian. However, some early Christians, such as the Jewish Christians, rejected Paul; they were vegetarian and thought that vegetarianism should be required of all Christians. It is these Jewish Christians who were in conflict with Paul over the vegetarian issue.
III. Who were the Jewish Christians?
For the Jewish Christians, Jesus did not come to found a new religion; his message was about simple living and nonviolence. Jesus did not overturn the Jewish law, but preached a return to the Jewish law (as he saw it) — a law which commanded simple living and nonviolence. For the Jewish Christians, Jesus was a prophet who was loyal to the law; but upon examining the Jewish law, Jesus reached radical conclusions. The Jewish Christians therefore believed in simple living, pacifism, and vegetarianism.
We know about the Jewish Christians — and among them, the Ebionites, the chief Jewish Christian group — on the basis of early church documents. The most useful of these are the Clementine Homilies, the Recognitions of Clement (two Jewish Christian writings) and the Panarion of Epiphanius (an attack on Jewish Christianity which, however, gives insight into their beliefs).
The Jewish Christians called themselves “the poor” — the term “Ebionites” is derived from a Hebrew word which means “the poor.” They traced their poverty back to the primitive Christian community described in Acts 4:32-35 — a community which shares all of their possessions in common. Thus, although no one owns any private property, because the community cares for everyone “there was not a needy person among them” — just as in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says “You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24).
The Jewish Christians were also pacifists. The Recognitions speaks at several points of opposition to war and killing (1.70-71, 2.36, 3.42), echoing the statements of other early Christians, both Jewish and gentile, who were opposed to war, as well as the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are the peacemakers” (Matthew 5:9), “Do not resist one who is evil” (Matthew 5:39), and “Love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44).
The Jewish Christians were vegetarians. They opposed meat-eating and the sacrifice of animals in the temple. There are frequent passages in both the Homilies and Recognitions which attack animal sacrifice; the Homilies state that God did not want animals killed at all (3.45), and condemns those who taste or eat meat at all (7.4, 7.8). This opposition to animal sacrifice and support of vegetarianism is one of the most distinctive features of Jewish Christianity — mentioned by Epiphanius as well as in the Homilies and Recognitions.
Why did the Jewish Christians make such an issue over animal sacrifice? We must remember that in ancient times the temple in Jerusalem was not like a modern synagogue or church — it was the place where the Jews brought animal sacrifices, and thus resembled a butcher shop or slaughterhouse more than a modern place of worship. The priests in the temple were able to keep much of the meat from the sacrificed animals and thus benefitted economically from this practice. For the Ebionites, this was a religious sanction to kill animals, which had no place in their religion. Jesus says (Matthew 9:13 and 12:7), “I require mercy, not sacrifice,” a saying which the Homilies and Recognitions cite as well. The Ebionite gospel quoted Jesus as saying, “I have come to abolish the sacrifices, and if you cease not from sacrificing, my wrath will not cease from you” (Panarion 30.16.5).
One of the problems which the Jewish Christians had was that, since they remained Jewish and therefore loyal to the law, they had to explain the passages in the “Old Testament” (the Jewish scriptures) which seemed to justify war-making and animal sacrifice. They argued that these commands were not truly in the law given to Moses, but were added by scribes who came after Moses. So we see that Jewish Christianity involved vegetarianism, but a lot more as well. It was a truly radical viewpoint — which eventually became heretical both to orthodox Judaism and to orthodox Christianity.
IV. The Confrontation in the Temple
The Jewish Christians are alone in early Christianity in placing heavy emphasis on the rejection of animal sacrifice. Yet the historical Jesus was clearly opposed to animal sacrifice, as we can see from one of the key events in Jesus’ life — the last week of his life, leading up to his crucifixion. According to all of the gospels, Jesus went into the temple and disrupted the animal sacrifice business:
And Jesus entered the temple of God and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. He said to them, “It is written: ‘my house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.” (Matthew 21:12-13; parallels at Mark 11:15-17, Luke 19:45-46, John 2:13-17)
Who were the ones who bought and sold in the temple, and why were they selling pigeons? The animals which are being sold are sacrificial animals, and it is these dealers in animals whom Jesus is angry with. The primary practical effect of this confrontation was to disrupt the animal sacrifice business — chasing out the animals to be sacrificed, or those who were selling them to be sacrificed. “Cleansing the temple” was an act of animal liberation.
Jesus calls the temple a “den of robbers,” an allusion to Jeremiah 7:11; but this passage in Jeremiah follows only after Jeremiah describes murder, adultery, and blatant idolatry (Jeremiah 7:9), and ends by denying that God ever required sacrifices, anyway (7:22). If, of course, the animal sacrifice cult was a fraud--as the Ebionites believed--then the extortion of animals from the populace on religious pretenses was indeed literal robbery and a matter considerably more serious than the figurative “robbery” involved in overcharging.
The final result was that the Romans crucified Jesus. Pilate, the Roman governor, would hardly have crucified someone just because of a Jewish theological dispute. But if someone were causing a riot or disturbance in the temple precincts, this demanded Roman action. It is much more plausible that Jesus objected to the practice of animal sacrifice itself, and that his disruption of the temple business during the volatile Passover week was the immediate and most important cause of his death. It was this act, and its interpretation as a threat to public order, that led immediately to Jesus’ crucifixion.
V. The Jewish Christian understanding of Jesus
Why should we believe that the Jewish Christians had the best understanding of Jesus? There are several reasons. First and most importantly, Jesus was a Jew. In the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), Jesus nowhere indicates that he is founding a new religion. When asked what we must do to gain salvation, he replies, “If you would enter life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). The commandments which Jesus says are the greatest are to love God and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40). This is exactly how Jewish Christianity saw Jesus: as building an ethic of compassion and sharing on the basis of the Jewish law. Who would have the best understanding of Jesus? Would it not be those of his own followers who, like Jesus, considered themselves Jews?
Secondly, Jesus and the primitive church were in a conflict with the temple priests. The most certain piece of historical knowledge we have about Jesus is that he was crucified, and he was undoubtedly killed after disrupting the animal sacrifice business in the temple. Jesus wants the temple destroyed; the priests in the temple want Jesus and the Jesus movement destroyed. Even after Jesus’ death, the priests keep up the struggle, hoping to either silence or kill the apostles (Acts 4-7). Why would Jesus have risked his life for something not essential to his message?
The Jewish Christians are virtually alone among early Christians in understanding why Jesus died. Jewish Christianity describes Jesus as if this attack on the temple was part of a deliberate plan. Jesus has come to abolish the temple sacrifices (Recognitions 1.54) — thus explaining perfectly both his own motivations and the motivations of those who sought to destroy him and his movement.
Vegetarianism was abandoned because of the popularity of the letters of Paul among early Christians. The early leadership of the church (James, Peter, and John) was Jewish, but they quickly got into a divisive battle with Paul (Galatians 1-2 and Romans 14). In the second century, the teachings of Paul became increasingly popular among Christians. The Jewish Christians detested Paul, considering him an apostate. But by the second century Jewish Christians were already in the minority and eventually Paul’s letters were accepted as part of the New Testament, masking the fact that in his day Paul was a highly controversial figure. Since Paul said vegetarianism was optional, the church followed his stand on this issue. Later editors of the New Testament further distorted and confused Jesus’ views on animals.
Jesus believed in simple living and nonviolence, and felt that this was part of the law of God. Jesus was undoubtedly vegetarian, since this was the original teaching of Jewish Christianity. Jesus did not bring a new theology, but rather a radical understanding of the law. For Jesus, the law commands nonviolence; we are not to shed blood, whether the blood of humans in warfare or the blood of animals in meat consumption or animal sacrifice. Jesus risked and gave his life to disrupt the wicked and bloody animal sacrifices in the temple. But the religion of Jesus has been lost from modern Christianity.
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Ahimsa, animal rights and spirituality
Ahimsa, or ‘Dynamic Compassion’ is a principle of non-harming and non-violence. Human behaviour that violates this ethical principle is seen, not only as morally wrong, but also as its original perspective as negative karma that reverts back onto the person responsible for the harm or violence done.
Possibly the most famous exponent this century was Mahatma Gandhi who was profoundly influenced by and propagated the Jain doctrine of Ahimsa. The first Jain spiritual father lived between 599 and 527 BC. He exhorted his followers to “regard every living being as thyself and hurt no one.” It was this statement that Gandhi acknowledged as pivotal to human ethics and it led him to adopt the principle of the harmless life. Ahimsa says that we have no right to inflict suffering and death onto another living creature and, that if harmlessness were the keynote of our lives, then this would do more to produce harmonious conditions than any other discipline.
Throughout the industrial revolution, the Western world is increasingly institutionalized violence towards both human and non-human species. Intensive agricultural practice (factory farming), in terms of the large number of sentient beings involved, is probably the most glaring example. For decades there has been an ongoing campaign for the abolition of battery egg production because of the cruelty to the caged hens. These animals have been deprived o their most fundamental needs such as soil and grass and are exposed to artificial light to deceive them into laying more eggs that they would do under natural conditions. Kept in these conditions the birds become aggressive because of their increased requirements for food and water and the interruption of their natural pecking order. Heat build-up in egg factories further aggravates this situation. The hens are de-beaked without the use of painkillers and unwanted male chicks are simply disposed of by gassing or suff9cation.
Anyone concerned about the welfare of animals must often feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of negativity that assaults their sensibility on a daily basis. It is precisely at these times of disillusionment where corruption, inhumanity and chaos is ever evident that Gandhi’s influence should ring true. He did not treat every setback as an occasion to give up. He repeatedly emphasized that a person is only defeated when he/she ceases to struggle. He himself returned time and time again with new vigour into the fray.
The ultimate goal is to make the principle of Ahimsa permeate the whole of our society. This involves not only following a healthy vegetarian diet but also treating all beings with empathy and kindness in recognition of the fact that their sentience in the final analysis is no different to our own. One of the most basic laws of ecology is that every living thing exists for a reason forming part of a greater whole. For the student of Ahimsa, the concept of the environment and the earth as one body closely resonates with every aspect of reverence for life.
Our lack of understanding and the pain we directly or indirectly cause animals reflects a deep spiritual disorder in the collective psyche of our species. In the West we have been conditioned to think that big is better than small, that strong is better than weak, that fast is better than slow and that physical strength is greater than moral or spiritual strength. Gandhi wrote that, “Ahimsa is the highest duty. Even if we cannot practice it in full, we must try to understand its spirit and refrain as far as humanly possible from violence.” Perhaps inner strength requires that we endure being branded as ‘emotional’ or ‘irrational’ when we are motivated by our sense of compassion.
A major hurdle to overcome is not so much our lack of care but rather our ignorance of the plight of the animals. Fifty years ago things were very different. The farm’s trade was ‘animal husbandry’, their duty being to provide care. With factory farming animal husbandry has given way to animal science to the detriment of animal welfare. Today’s farm animals are kept in extremely over-crowded conditions and deliberately keep as immobile as possible. Applied science has found an artificial way to hasten a broiler chicken’s growth to such an extent that the vast majority of them have trouble walking or are crippled by not being able to bear their own body weight. Newborn calves are separated from their mothers and many dairy cows rest no more than three months between pregnancies. After their calf-bearing years are over, they are slaughtered to provide cheap hamburger meat. In intensive piggeries, sows sleep on bare concrete and it is not uncommon for them to be kept in small crates for their entire lives.
The challenge of Ahimsa is enormous. It encourages an active inner state of being rather than merely a passive state of refraining from violence. The intention to hurt another living being is apprehensible to the principles of Ahimsa for it is in this absence of conscious integration of compassion that we currently find ourselves. We acknowledge this situation intellectually yet we are sufficiently culturally desensitized to ignore it, allowing it to continue by default. Early peoples recognized the individual specialness of animals. They transformed our lives with their kinship, antics and even their sense of humour. These humans were at peace with the animals and spoke their language. Animals formed their totems, became their familiars and their teachers. It is that lost instinctive tie to the rhythms and patters of nature that Ahimsa exhorts us to regain.
One philosopher that has not ignored the subject of the treatment of animals is E.F. Schumacher. He observed that “there have been no sages or holy men/women in our or anybody’s history who were cruel to animals or who looked upon them as nothing but utilities and innumerable are the legends and stories which link sanctity as well as happiness with a loving kindness towards these creatures.” Modern visionaries can trace the beginning of the beef industry to the loss of the sense of the sacredness of ourselves, of others, of animals and of the earth. This loss mirrors itself as the callous and cruel exercise of power over other creatures more helpless than ourselves. There is no compassion in a science, philosophy or doctrine that ignores our interdependence with other species.
Compassion suffers miserably at the hands of big business. Per Singer’s
excellent book, Animal Liberation, established that we already hold the high
moral ground as our cause is just. Ahimsa training requires that we confront our
indifference and lack of moral courage and acknowledge that animals have a
silent dignity all of their own that we have violated.
Cornering the linchpin of our own ignorance is not an easy task. When the
mystic Gurdjieff arrived in the West at the turn of the century with his message
that “Man is asleep. Man is a machine”, he was misunderstood. Fortunately, as we
approach the new millennium, we are more willing to reassess our values.
Vegetarianism and Ahimsa are rapidly becoming a rational and ethical requirement
for modern day living.
Perhaps, however, the last work should go to the animals, but since they do not speak our language they must rely on us to speak for them.
We need another and a wiser and perhaps a more mystical concept of animals. Remote from universal nature, and living by complicated artifice, man in civilization surveys the creatures through the glass of his knowledge and sees thereby a feather magnified and the whole image in distortion. We patronize them for their incompleteness, for their tragic fate of having taken form so far below ourselves. And therein we err, we greatly err. For the animals shall not be measure by man. In a world older and more complete, gifted with extension of the senses we have lost or never attained, living by voices we shall never hear. They are not brethren, they are not underlings. They are other nations, caught with ourselves in the net of life and time, fellow prisoners of the splendour and travail of the earth. – Henry Beston
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Jewish Ethics and Mandatory Vegetarianism
Vegetarianism and Other Jewish Mandates
Dr. Schwartz, a college mathematics professor, prominent Jewish author, and leading vegetarian activist, illustrates how animal-centered diets "impinge" on the Jewish mandates of animal welfare, human health, the environment and conservation, and efficient agricultural production which may have related ramifications, such as armed conflict . He has recently concluded, therefore, that "committed Jews" have an obligation to investigate the impact of animal-based diets on Jewish mandates, and he "hopes" that they will choose a diet consistent with "rachamim" (compassion) . I share Dr. Schwartz's "hope" that "compassionate" and "committed" Jews voluntarily "choose" vegetarian diets, but with the theoretical exception of humane-certified meat and animal byproducts, Jewish ethics should require strict vegetarianism to avoid violations of tsa'ar ba'alei chayim.
This does not mean that animal welfare supercedes these other Jewish mandates. These other Jewish mandates, however, can arguably be fulfilled through incomplete vegetarianism and means other than diet. To the contrary, tsa'ar ba'alei chayim requires a complete abstention from factory-farm products. Furthermore, practical considerations are impediments to a mandatory vegetarianism based on the Jewish mandates to preserve human health and the environment and to foster efficient agricultural production. To base mandatory vegetarianism on these mandates would open a Pandora's box to unfeasible and unnecessary chumras in aspects of life other than diet.
A. Health
Jewish ethics requires that we protect our health . Scientific studies suggest that substantial benefits are associated with a vegetarian diet and a variety of chronic conditions and diseases with consumption of animals and their byproducts . Therefore, it seems logical to conclude that we are obligated to reduce our ingestion of these harmful foods to a minimum level .
Based on health considerations alone, the average person can supplement a vegetarian diet with lean poultry, egg whites, low-fat dairy, and fish. Such a diet, while arguably healthy, does not comport with tsa'ar ba'alei chayim. Because there is no evidence that an otherwise vegetarian diet supplemented by animal-products undermines health, we cannot rest mandatory vegetarianism on health considerations. At best, health factors mandate a reduction or minimization, but not elimination, of an animal-based diet.
Dr. Schwartz recently "start[ed] thinking about the argument that committed Jews are not only permitted, but are obligated to be vegetarians." However, after a succinct list of "points" and "comparisons" illustrating that vegetarianism promotes animal welfare, human health, the environment and resource conservation, and reduces starvation and the violent conflict the erupts as a result of inadequate nutrition, he concludes we should not state that committed Jews are obligated to be vegetarians . He is reluctant to declare that Jewish ethics obligates vegetarianism, in relevant part, because:
[T]here may be a problem in terms of the all-or-nothing nature of that assertion. Someone might argue that, because of the Jewish mandate to take care of our health, we should never have a piece of cake .
I respectfully disagree that the "all-or-nothing" dilemma on health is an impediment to a mandatory vegetarianism based on tsa'ar ba'alei chayim.
A ban of pastries at any and all times would be an unnecessary chumra because the "problem" of cake's divergence from the Jewish mandate of health is solved through a proximate causation requirement: the practices under evaluation must contribute substantially and with sufficient directness to cognizable harm. There is no evidence that an occasional piece of cake undermines the average person's health. More significantly, Dr. Schwartz's hypothetical "somebody" does not raise the issue of tsa'ar ba'alei chayim. The "all-or-nothing" dilemma vanishes when the choice is between having an occasional slice of veal, which is derived from a calf slaughtered after a prolonged period of tortuous confinement, rather than cake.
While neither an occasional slice of cake, nor veal, will undermine human health, the latter will cause unjustified pain to calves. In other words, there is a direct causal link between the occasional consumption of veal and tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, but not between the occasional consumption of cake and health problems.
Furthermore, genetics and a variety of environmental factors influence when indulgence in "junk food" becomes a significant health risk for a particular person. Therefore, an ethical or religious rule that requires more than good faith is difficult to fashion, impractical to self-enforce and, absent an unqualified prohibition, will not afford fair notice as to whether a particular action, e.g., a slice of cake, constitutes a violation.
In contrast, these problems are generally non-existent for mandatory Jewish vegetarianism based on tsa'ar ba'alei chayim. The rule would be simple to fashion: avoid products connected to unjustified abuse of animals. There would also be minimal practical difficulties with self-regulation and notice because unlike health, a simple and unqualified prohibition against inhumane animal products is warranted.
B. Environmental Concerns
Environmental principles of Judaism include human "stewardship" over the earth and bal tashchit, i.e., the prohibition against waste of resources . These principles have been cited in opposition to animal-based diets . Animal-based diets support industries that contribute substantially more harm to the environment than their vegetarian replacements would. Therefore, the argument continues, vegetarianism preserves the environment.
I accept vegetarianism as a means to reduce the negative effects of animal-centered diets on the environment. As with health concerns, however, it is not a self-sufficient basis for mandatory vegetarianism. Sources on the environmental impact of the animal-products industry: (1) tend to be exaggerated or omit the environmental harm caused by vegetarian farms; (2) consider neither alternative management schemes that would reduce harm to acceptable levels or threats unrelated to diet; (3) and presume non-existent connections between environmental harm in the Third World and Western consumption of animal products .
To fulfill the Jewish mandate to preserve the environment, consumers can limit consumption to amounts consistent with reasonable protection of air, ecosystems and rain forests. Bal tashchit does not preclude the prudent use of resources for convenience. To the contary, convenience is insufficient to justify violations of tsa'ar ba'alei chayim.
For example, Dr. Schwartz's related objection to mandatory vegetarianism is the potential objection that "because of the Jewish mandate to preserve the environment, we should never use a car except in cases of emergency or absolute necessity." As with the ban on pastries, this would be unendurable and unnecessary chumra. The Jewish mandate to preserve the environment should not, and realistically, cannot, require a complete ban on unnecessary activities that contribute to pollution, whereas tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, in contrast, indeed should require a complete ban on practices that cause non-essential pain to animals.
Further, abstention from products connected to violations of animal welfare is not an unendurable chumra due to sufficient vegetarian alternatives. Torah authorities have not - nor should they - declare non-emergency use of a vehicle a violation of the Jewish mandate to protect the environment. Even opponents of strict vegetarianism, such as Rabbi Tendler, however, have forbidden white veal . Were the objection rephrased, "because of the Jewish mandate of tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, we should never consume non-humane certified animal products, except in cases of emergency or absolute necessity," I would agree.
C. World Hunger
Jewish ethics supports action to reduce world hunger. According to a Talmudic expression, "Providing charity for poor and hungry people weighs as heavily as all the other commandments." About 70% of the grain produced in the United States and 40% in other parts of the world feed livestock raised for slaughter . Supporters of vegetarianism claim, therefore, that abstention from animal-based diets would dramatically increase the food supply and therefore reduce world hunger. There are, however, several limitations to this argument.
The first is the doubtful assumption that, in a world of universal
vegetarianism, the massive amounts of grain currently harvested for livestock
will continue to be produced for human consumption. Secondly, despite the
inefficiency of animal agriculture, the current food supply is more than
adequate to nourish the world's population . We currently produce enough grain
alone to feed each person 3,500 calories per day. In virtually all famished
regions of the world, there is a surplus of food; ironically, many famished
nations are leading agricultural exporters . The problem, rather, is
distribution, caused by poverty, inadequate infrastructure, armed conflict and
government corruption . Therefore, increased grain and vegetable production will
not necessarily reduce world hunger.
There are, in addition, alternatives to vegetarianism to increase the food
supply. About one-fifth of America's annual food supply is wasted at a rate of
130 pounds of food per person which, like animal-based diets, also diverges from
the mandate of bal taschit. The value of this waste is estimated at $31
billion each year. Close to 50 million people could be fed by those lost
resources, more than twice the number of people in the world who die of
starvation each year . To the extent that additional food would help, there are
alternatives to vegetarianism to reduce, if not eliminate, world hunger.
Logically, chumras other than vegetarianism, for example, minimization of
waste, would also have to be enacted were world hunger the basis for mandatory
vegetarianism.
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| Judaism and
Vegetarianism |
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It is interesting to note that legislation was once introduced by Mordecai Ben Porat in the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) proposing to outlaw meat-eating! Can you imagine any other country that had enough political support to venture such a bold proposal? Unfortunately, the legislation did not pass; unfortunate because this would indeed have been an interesting social experiment and Israel could indeed stand head and shoulders above all nations in its respect towards animals. The recent chief rabbi of Israel, Scholomo Goren, is a strict vegetarian and so was the first chief rabbi of the modern state of Israel, Abraham Isaac Kook. Kook's successor, the late Isaac ha-Levi Herzog, wrote:
There are several Jewish organizations currently working to promote vegetarianism. "The International Jewish Vegetarian Society" publishes a five page quarterly called the JEWISH VEGETARIAN, and has offices or chapters worldwide included the U.S. Canada, Australia, Britain, Israel, etc. There is also the "Jewish Vegetarians" in Baltimore who say:
Roberta Kalechofsky, head of Micah Publications and Jews for Animal Rights, in Marblehead, Massachusetts, publishes various works on Judaism and animal welfare. Among these is her HAGGADAH FOR THE LIBERATED LAMB, which serves as a guide for "a vegetarian (Passover) Seder that celebrates compassion for all creatures". Here are just a few more interesting statements and quotes from the Jewish tradition that are of relevance here. According to Rabbi Sidney Jacobs, author of the THE JEWISH WORD BOOK:
From THE NINE QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK ABOUT JUDAISM by Dennis Prager and Rabbi Telushkin:
According to Rabbi Simon Glazer's GUIDE TO JUDAISM:
From the ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA:
According the ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, 1974:
According to the UNIVERSAL JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA, 1939.
According to Professor Richard Schwartz (author of JUDAISM and VEGETARIANISM):
According to the CODE OF JEWISH LAW:
According to the medieval Hebrew work SEFER CHASIDIM:
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During the ninth month of the Islamic Calendar, Muslims worldwide celebrate the major holi day of their religion; Ramadan. Occuring around January, Ramadan marks the period when the religion's founder, the Prophet Mohammed, received the holy words from Allah (God) and put them down into the Koran in the 7th Century AD.
During this period, adult Muslims must fast from dawn until dusk for 29-30 days to stir universal compassion and spiritual renewal for all.
According to scholars the Prophet Mohammed, although not a vegetarian, did prefer to eat vegetarian foods and had a great love and compassion for animals. His favourite foods consisted of yogurt with butter or nuts, cucumbers with dates, pomegranates, grapes and figs. He was known to have quoted: "Where there is an abundance of vegetables, a host of angels will descend on that place."
Like most of the world's religions (except Jainism), modern Islam does not fully support vegetarianism, although certain Muslim sects such as the Shi'ites and Sufis have vegetarian followers. Throughout the African, Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian parts of the Islamic World, meat is a rarity, making vegetarianism a necessity and not a choice.
During Ramadan, Muslims begin the day with a pre-dawn meal (sehri) of porridge, bread or fruit. When sundown approaches, they slowly break their fast with something simple like bread and cheese or fruit, followed by a big dusk meal (iftar) like a hearty soup or stew. When the new moon is sighted, Ramadan ends in a huge feast for family and friends, lasting for several days, called Eid-ul-Fitr.
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The following points are based on Jewish teachings, but they can easily be adapted to other religious perspectives. 1. While Judaism mandates that people be very careful about preserving their health and their lives, animal-centered diets have been linked to heart disease, several forms of cancer, stroke, and other degenerative diseases. 2. While Judaism stresses that people are to share their bread with hungry people, 70% of the grain grown in the united States is fed to animals destined for slaughter, as 20 million people die annually because of hunger and its effects. 3. While Judaism teaches that 'the earth is the Lord's' and that people are to be partners with God in preserving the world and seeing that the wasteful use of food, land, water, energy and other resources, and contribute substantially to soil erosion and depletion, air and water pollution, the destruction of tropical rain forests and other habitats, and potential global warming. 4. While Judaism emphasises compassion for animals, animals are raised for food today under cruel conditions, in crowded cells, where they are denied fresh air, exercise and any emotional stimulation. 5. While Judaism stresses that people must seek and pursue peace and that violence results from unjust conditions, animal-centred diets, by wasting valuable resources, help to perpetuate the widespread hunger and poverty that eventually lead to instability and war. In summary, in view of strong Jewish mandates to preserve health, help feed the hungry, protect the environment, conserve resources, be compassionate to animals, and seek and pursue peace, and the very negative effects animal-centred diets have in each of these areas, I hope that Jews and others who take religious values seriously will seriously consider switching to vegetarian diets. |
An important element of almost all the great religions is compassion towards living creatures. This principle finds expression in the principle of 'Ahimsa' or 'Non-Violence'. The great sage Patanjali in his eightfold path of yoga has given the topmost priority to Ahimsa as the first 'Yama' to be observed by people interested in spirituality or the attainment of Godhead or realisation of the self. Likewise, the Vedas, Gita and the other great scriptures of the world all emphasise in one form or another the importance of Ahimsa. Ahimsa is only possible with a vegetarian way of life, and anyone who eats non-vegetarian food cannot be considered, in the true sense, as someone who believes in Ahimsa so having true compassion towards all living creatures. The spiritual traditions of compassion and Ahimsa led to Article 51A (g) of the Indian Constitution which enjoins on every citizen to have the fundamental duty to show compassion towards all living creatures.
Another aspect of spirituality as made clear in Taittiriya Upanishad spells out the chronology of creation of mankind by showing clearly that the cosmos had the reverse of the sound energy from 'OM' (the pranav) which came out of the throat of Brahma by the decree of the Spiritual Soul or Parmatama and this was gradually transformed to matter, air and gases from which came fire and gradually water, earth and plants. This matter was ultimately converted to plants by a cascade of creations and, ultimately, Mankind. Thus humans owe their creation and birth to plants. In essence, plants could be termed mankind's great great ......grand father.
'Anna' does not refer to any non-vegetarian food at all. Similarly, 'Anna' does not mean rice or wheat alone but all plant products eaten by human beings like rice, wheat, maize, sugar, vegetables, fruit etc. but 'Anna' or food does not mean animal food at all.
It cannot be gainsaid that every activity is proceeded by thoughts and thoughts, good or bad, are a result of the food we eat. If we eat 'satvik' food our thoughts become 'satvik' and we tend to become more kind, considerate and compassionate towards living creatures. That is why in 'Chandogya Upanishad' it has been said, 'Ahar shudhow sat vashudhow satwa shudhow dhruwa smriti', which means that if food is pure, the thoughts become pure and the memory is better. And, if thoughts become pure, they give rise to pure action.
Another aspect which requires a little clarification is the argument of some people that plants also have life so eating plants or vegetables may be considered as non vegetarian but this is not true.
This is because of the lack of proper understanding about the nature of creatures and consciousness. All creatures are generally classified into two groups (1) one organ creatures known as 'sthavar' and two, three, four or five organ creatures known as 'Tras'.
One organ creatures are those which do not have any blood or meat or bone in them. All plants, fruits and vegetables come into this category. The level of consciousness in such creatures is the lowest and all scriptures clearly ordain that eating one-organ plants or fruits does not result in killing and is not considered as violence. The food produced by killing two, three, four or five -organ creatures alone results in violence and killing and is considered as 'non-vegetarian'.
The level of consciousness is gradually higher and higher in creatures from two to five-organ. It is well recognised that food is the source of the body's chemistry and what we eat affects our consciousness, emotions and experimental pattern. Thus, if a person wants to live in higher consciousness, in peace and happiness and love for all creatures, then one must not eat meat, fish, shell fish, fowl or eggs. If one takes animal foods, one introduces anger into one's mind and body as well as jealousy, fear, anxiety and terrible fear of death, all of which are locked into the flesh of butchered creatures. That is why vegetarians or 'shakaharis' live in higher consciousness and non-vegetarians or 'Mansaharis' abide in lower consciousness.
Besides, vegetarian food is the only ideal food for human kind from the point of view of health, nutrition and environment as proven by scientific facts.
The above arguments are strengthened by the scriptural injunctions and sayings of great sages and men of the world, some of whom are quoted below:-
"One who partakes of human flesh, the flesh of a horse or of another animal
and deprives others of milk by slaughtering cows, O King, if such a fiend does
not desist by other means, then you should not hesitate to cut off his head."
- Rig Veda Samhita, 10.87.16
"But ...meat eating in any form, in any manner, and in any place is
unconditionally and once and for all prohibited ...Meat eating I have not
permitted to anyone, I do not permit, I will not permit".
- Lord Buddha in the Lankavatara Sutra
"When a man realizes that meat is the butchered flesh of another creature, he
must abstain from eating it."
- Tirukural, 257
"You must not use your God given body for killing God's creatures, whether
they are human, animal or whatever."
- Yajur Veda Samhita 12.32
"Persons who want to advance in the eternal spiritual path are advised to
give up all violence towards other living entities by body, words or mind. There
is no religion superior to this."
- Srimand Bhagavatam 7.15.8
"For whosoever eateth the fat of the beast of which men offer an offering
made by fire unto the Lord, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from
his people. And ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of
beast, in any of your dwellings."
- Leviticus 7:23-27
"Vegetarian food leaves a deep impression on our nature. If the whole world
adopts vegetarianism, it can change the destiny of mankind."
- Albert Einstein
"Animals are our friends.....and I don't eat my friends."
- George Bernard Shaw
"I do not regard flesh food as necessary for us. I hold flesh food to be
unsuited to our species. We err in copying the lower animal world if we are
superior to it. The only way to live is to let live."
- Mahatma Gandhi
Thus it has been established that any person who is interested in calling himself a true religious person or a spiritual person and has true faith in God or Soul must take only vegetarian food and should never, under any circumstances, take non vegetarian food.
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Vegetarianism
Mental Benefits
There are many mental illnesses and disease that are related to the consumption of meat. Take Alzheimer for example. According to the American Alzheimer Association, between 6 and 8% of the population over 60 has Alzheimer's disease, and the rate has been increasing steadily. Several scientific literatures have affirmed that Alzheimer correlates with the consumption of meat and dairy. A review of studies published in Preventive Magazine two years ago sheds important light on a central risk factor in Alzheimers -- high levels of a blood substance called homocysteine.
Homocysteine is an amino acid. Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. The only source of homocysteine for use in our bodies is that which the liver forms after the ingestion of another amino acid, methionine. Methionine is found in protein foods. Animal protein contains two to three times the amount of methionine as does plant protein. Homocysteine levels can be lowered very effectively by avoiding meat and dairy consumption. In fact, a recent study performed at Harvard Medical School showed that subjects who adopted a vegan diet had their homocysteine levels drop between 13% and 20% in just one week.
A 1993 study found that subjects, who ate meat, including poultry and fish, were more than twice as likely to become demented as their vegetarian counterparts. [Neuroepidemiology, 12:28-36, 1993]
Depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia can be connected to meat consumption. The amount of tryptophan (An amino acid necessary for normal growth in infants and for nitrogen balance in adults.) in the foods that are eaten has only a small influence upon the amount of tryptophan that enters the brain. The most important factor determining the total amount of tryptophan that does enter the brain is the concentration of other large-molecule amino acids concurrently present in the blood. Large-molecule amino acids, among them tryptophan, compete with each other to enter "gates" between the circulating blood stream and the relatively confined brain fluids. A high-protein meal (full of meats, dairy foods, and eggs) provides many other amino acids that compete with tryptophan for entry into the brain; the end result is less tryptophan passing into the brain and a decrease in the synthesis of serotonin (a phenolic amine neurotransmitter that is a powerful vasoconstrictor and is found especially in the brain, blood serum, and gastric mucosa of mammals). Conversely, a low-protein, carbohydrate-rich diet (full of starches, vegetables, and fruits) results in the highest levels of serotonin in the brain, because fewer large-molecule amino acids are competing with tryptophan to enter the brain. For most this means less hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, and insomnia-provided they eat a vegetarian diet.
In some people anxiety, depression, and fatigue are caused by allergic reactions to foods. The most common causes of food allergies are dairy products, followed by eggs. These reactions are often subtle and difficult to recognize until the offending food has been eliminated, either by accident or by intention, and then, later, when the body is challenged with the suspect food, a recognizably adverse reaction occurs.
A serious psychological disease caused by foods in some people is schizophrenia. In hospital-based studies, some patients have been identified who react with dramatic behavioral changes to milk products and animal products. Some people with schizophrenia have actually been cured of their disease by changing their diet, (eliminating meat and dairy) and including more natural foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
I recall an Herbalist saying, “Tell me what a person eats and I shall tell you what sort of person he or she is and what type of character and behavior they hold.” No doubt, there are other factors also that determine a person's personality and behavior, but food also has a great effect on one's mind. Experience tells me that one's diet is closely connected with one's thoughts and conduct. So anyone who wishes to purify their thoughts and to elevate their character must partake in a vegetarian diet. If we eat live food, we will be helping our mind and emotions to remain in a state of peace and self-control. Pure food enables one to feel light and fresh and the mind opens out to the pure life and beauty of the world. The mind becomes undisciplined, wild, agitated or fickle when the diet is exciting, intoxicating or inebriating (intoxicant), the character constantly declines and the result is tension, depression, sorrow and disquiet.
Finally, the subject of meat consumption linked to brain disease has firmly come to the front of my research with the issue of “mad cow” disease. While scientist debate whether it is due to a mysterious prion or a virus, health-conscious advocates and nutritionist are using the scandal to point out numerous disadvantages of the typical animal-based Western diet as well as the corrupt manner in which the meat-producing industry is manufacturing its products. Specifically, it is imagined that ‘mad cow’ disease results from contaminated animal feed which has been fortified with ground up intestines, brains, spinal cords, bones, and other parts from cows, chickens and sheep – in effect turning herbivores into cannibalistic carnivores.4
With “mad cow” disease (also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy – BSE), which is being linked to a correspondingly similar brain disorder in humans known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the symptoms are attributed to microscopic holes in the brain.
So how did cows get mad cow disease, known by its medical name as "bovine spongiform encephalopathy," or "BSE"? For several decades, cattle feed had included a cheap protein supplement made from the carcasses of other animals, including sheep and cows. BSE probably arose when sheep infected with scrapie or cows with BSE were turned into feed. The feed then infected other cows that ate it, and when those animals died, they were fed back to more cows, creating a rapidly escalating epidemic. It was a kind of cattle cannibalism. And for two years after BSE was known, infected cattle were still allowed into England's food supply, raising fears that people might get BSE. To assess that risk, the British government called upon the scientific community. The scientific community noticed several behaviors, which has been related to the effects of people who ate beef from cows with “mad cows” disease. Some of those behaviors were hallucination, disorderly conduct, hyperactivity rudeness, agitation, and neglectfulness. With all this information, I see why Oprah stated to millions of Americans that she will never eat another hamburger again.
A vegetarian diet produces higher levels of behavior than a diet containing meat when all types of caloric intake are equal. Vegetarians were shown in one university study to score higher on examinations than meat eaters. Vegetarians also showed less frustration and lower levels of irascibility than meat eaters.
(Bulletin of the Psychosomatic Society 10:35-36, July 1977)
Vegetarianism is a cause that addresses several key major social issues: ethics, the environment, and health – mental, spiritual and emotional as well as physical. As Albert Einstein wrote: "Nothing will benefit human health or increase the chances for survival of life on earth as the evolution to a vegetarian diet. It is my view that the vegetarian manner of living, by its purely physical effect on the human temperament, would most beneficially influence the lot of mankind."
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