Vegetarian today ... Cow Tomorrow -- The Sinner's Venom !!

                                    "Mary had a little lamb  ... and it was very tasty!!”

 Disclaimer :  I have nothing against Vegetarians ! In fact half my family (in-laws) and some of my closest pals are vegetarians. I love them all dearly. I do believe that every individual has a choice to practise any diet form, just like individuals differ in choice of music, clothes or even cinema!

What I am actually against is when group of individual becomes judgemental and assumes a very high moral ground and looks down upon another group of people, purely because, they don’t subscribe to one particular diet philosophy.  Nearly every meat-eater like me, would have had at least one unfortunate encounter with a righteous vegetarian at some point. Usually, it’s just moments before you are about to stuff your saliva-engulfed mouth with a juicy chicken leg or kebab!  Regardless of the location, there’s a good chance you were forced to endure a long-winded treatise about animal suffering that compared your own dietary habits to cannibalism!!!  

‘Saint’ DK is a very dear friend, and I agree with a lot that he says in his last post. I, however, cannot stomach the fact that, I have been subtly termed a ‘mass murderer’ purely because I enjoy meat! (That ‘stomach-being-a-graveyard’ comment really got my goat)!

I am hence going to present plain facts. Drawn from various researched documents, and mind you none of this have any affiliations to any meat corporation or the like! I would like intersperse these with my sense of logic and reasoning and put an end to this debate.. Once and for all ! 

So here goes.. listed below are some points that have always been contentious ! 

 Morality and Ethics : This is often the first line of attack !

Most vegetarians (especially, the ones on the cusp of Sainthood!!), argue that God’s creatures shouldn’t be sacrificed simply to appease our hunger pangs or cravings for juicy kebabs (back to that graveyard comment- Shit  ... can’t get it out of my mind!!). While, I do see their point of view, to some extent, I also strongly feel, this rationale also reeks of hypocrisy.

 Now , though the vegetarians, make a huge hue and cry about slaughtering animals for food, they find it perfectly acceptable to tear carrots out of the earth or shove a zucchini into a high-speed blender. Mercilessly chopping up coriander or parsley, or plucking out leaves, buds, roots and even flowers out of plants is not considered deviant behaviour! Like it or not, plants are also living organisms that respond to stimuli like light, gravity and touch. In fact, some groups even believe plants can feel pain. Take the Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology, for instance. This Swiss group recently came out in defence of our leafy green friends in a report on “the dignity of the creature in the plant world.”

My second point of contention is, meat-eaters are vehemently urged to quit eating meat. The logic being, if we all decided to quit eating meat, fewer animals would die. WHAT ABOUT LEATHER ?? Where does that come from? Plants?? Most vegetarians do not even consider the fact that some animal must have died for them to wear that shiny shoe, or belt or even the purse/wallet!! Hypocrisy, I tell you!

 This brings up the point that when animals are slaughtered - nothing is left to waste. There are animal by-products in gelatine, lipstick, even in car tyres.

Health : The claims that Vegetarian Food is Healthier

The argument that vegetarian way of life is healthier also makes little sense. Although I certainly won’t discredit the many benefits of a vegetarian diet, there’s enough data and research to prove that a well-balanced omnivorous diet is a far healthier choice. It does not take a rocket scientist to know that a purely vegetarian diet might not have enough  Vitamin D, B12 and iron , which if not supplemented makes one dangerously anaemic! Vegetarians also typically miss out on omega-3 fatty acids ( I know , some will say flaxseeds and almonds.. but the quantity does not match up to the quantity available in a single portion of salmon or cod!)  These unsaturated acids have been proved to slow the progression of atherosclerosis, reduce triglyceride levels, act as anti-inflammatory agents, and potentially help with depression and some personality disorders.

Also, I would hereby also look at big alternate source of protein for vegetarians – soya proteins!  Now these have been heralded as the best protein fix for the Vegetarians and now they are available in different, hold your breath, meat flavours ---- Called mock meats!

  I merely googled what went into the making of the most popular soya product – tofu, specifically turkey flavoured Tofu!   This is what I found….. “Water, vital wheat gluten (????), organic tofu (water, organic soybeans, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride), expeller pressed non-hexane extracted isolated soy protein, expeller pressed canola oil, spices, sea salt, onion powder, evaporated cane juice, pepper, natural vegetarian flavours, natural smoke flavour, granulated garlic, xanthium gum, konjac flour, carrageenan. “  I rest my case here!

The Environment:  I have been bombarded with these issues also!

Raising farm animals, and cultivation of meats are deemed environmentally harmful! I do not deny that at all. However, on the same topic, let us also look into the cultivation of fruits and vegetables. Consider this: the vast majority of non-organic farms still use pesticides and insecticides that kill off just as many beneficial organisms as pests, thereby leaving nature’s delicate balance in disarray. These dangerous chemicals also frequently leach into water supplies where they can cause harmful neurological effects when consumed by humans and animals alike. Speaking of water, the cultivation of vegetables requires vast amounts of it, which in turn can cause water shortages and, in extreme cases, drought. Fruit and vegetable farms also harm the environment through the burning of agricultural waste and the production of oxide emissions from nitrogen fertilizer.

While we’re on the topic of air pollution, it should be noted that vegetarians also produce more gas than meat-eaters. The problem lies in the human body's inability to fully digest the complex carbohydrates in the vegetarian diet, resulting in higher production of gases like hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane. This again is a substantiated study !! So next time you get a noseful in a crowd, look very hard at the vegetarian in the group!! Just kidding !

 In our modern age, it’s taken as read that eating meat is a bigger planet killer than chowing down on tofu. But that’s not always the case. For example, compare organically reared animals with industrially produced tofu. The quantities of land needed are greater, the treatment and harvesting of the soya involves more fossil fuels, and the end product often has to be shipped great distances if you live somewhere like Britain—where the climate is really, really bad for growing meat substitutes. Simply put: that tasteless tofu burger you’re forcing down to preserve our planet’s future may actually be more atmosphere-frying than the delicious hunk of beef being eaten by that smug bastard across the table from you. (Source: Listverse.com)

 Physiologically and Natural indicators !

My argument for meat eaters begins at the beginning, Evolution. Man was a natural hunter, who hunted for his food. So physiologically and temperamentally, our bodies have been built for consuming meat.  We don’t have the teeth of vegetarian animals - our incisors and canines are the teeth of meat eaters. Without these teeth our ancestors would not have survived. Moreover, If we were made to eat only plants, wouldn't we have multiple stomach compartments, like cows? Our stomach's production of hydrochloric acid, something not found in herbivores. HCL activates protein-splitting enzymes. Further, the human pancreas manufactures a full range of digestive enzymes to handle a wide variety of foods, both animal and vegetable.

Researchers at Oxford University recently followed 35,000 individuals aged 20 to 89 for a period of five years and discovered that vegans are 30% more likely to break a bone than their vegetarian and flesh-eating peers. A subsequent study conducted by Sydney’s Garvan Institute for Medical Research found that vegetarians had bones 5% less dense than meat-eaters. This can be attributed to the fact that many vegetarians and vegans consume very little calcium due to the limitations of their diet. ( source Askmen.com)

Traditions and Social issues :  Another hot topic of debate

DK vented out against Turkey being consumed at Christmas and Goats being slaughtered at Id.  He also raised a valid questions pertaining to the origin of the practise and its current ramifications. He also spewed venom at the Halal process of slaughtering. I agree halal is cruel and maybe, even inhuman. I also believe that, it is an escape psychology of humans to rid them of the guilt of slaughter, by giving halal a spiritual and humane connotation.  I completely agree with him on that score. (You see we do agree on issues too!) .

All I want to register here is the fact that, we do a lot of wasteful and harmful things in the name of tradition. Like, colours and bhaang for Holi, crackers at Diwali, rakhi at raksha bandhan, popcorns and revadis at lohri  (not to mention the wood burnt for bonfire ) etc etc.. A lot of temples use milk to bathe the deity! Millions of Rupees are wasted, not to mention the environmental hazards involved.  The question is are we going to shun all these?

Where do we draw the line? Who takes the morality call? What is right and what is wrong? Which side would one take? The Vedic Scrip

 

tures or the science books? The modern consciousness or traditional values? The KFCs or the Vaishno Bhojanalayas ? … THE SAINT OR THE SINNER ? 

My answer, very simple, predictably. Between a Juicy Chicken Pasanda Kebab and a Paneer Pasanda kebab, I will inevitably gravitate towards the Chicken!! Absolutely sure which way DK will go too!!