For many people, the act of stopping at a fast food joint, for a quick bite of a hamburger is commonplace. Rarely does the thought cross one’s mind that what is being eaten, was once alive, like us, breathing and feeling. The end-product is so expertly dressed and processed, that linking it to a gentle, brown-eyed cow gazing peacefully in a meadow, or a chirpy, bright-eyed, soft furred chick, is almost impossible, if not repugnant.
The past few decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in the world’s consumption of meat, fuelled by several myths and few facts about the potency of meat eating. Only now have some forward looking thinkers, doctors and researchers, with the courage to buck a multi billion dollar industry, begun to take a hard look at the efficacy of meat eating as opposed to the incredible damage it does to the nation’s health, wealth, environment and moral fiber. Let us examine some of them briefly:
Is
meat the only source of protein?
No. There are several vegetable products like tofu, soybean,
lentils (to name a few) that are a rich and easily digestible
source of proteins with no harmful side effects. In fact, meat
provides proteins far exceeding the body requirements, This
causes what is known as “protein intoxication”, in
which the renal system of the body have to work extra hard to
flush the excess proteins from our body. This not only puts an
enormous strain on the kidneys, but also causes lethargy and
energy depletion in the body.
Are
we anatomically suited for meat eating?
The human anatomy is not at all suited for meat consumption. The
fact that our digestive juices have only 1/20th of the acid
compared to that in carnivores, allows many harmful bacteria and
viruses, abundantly present in the flesh of dead animals, to
survive. Our intestinal tract is three times longer than that of
carnivores, which leads the semi-digested meat to rot and fester
inside our bodies, providing a fertile breeding ground for the
existing and new parasites. The metabolism of our body is not
suited to digest meat based fatty acids, which results in
creation and deposit of cholesterol inside our arteries.
What
does meat do to our body?
It causes killer diseases. Modern scientific research has
conclusively established the link between several killer diseases
and a meat based diet. Heart attacks due to cholesterol buildup,
renal failures due to protein intoxication, colon cancer, ulcers,
chronic heartburn, poisoning from meat contaminated with virus
and bacteria – all these have been clearly identified as
being caused by eating meat. In addition to this, the
commercializing of the meat industry has resulted in a frantic
race to get the most meat per animal. To achieve this, the animal
is pumped with hundreds of drugs, chemicals and antibiotics, all
aimed at fattening the animals to the fullest in their short,
misery filled lives. When the meat of these animals is consumed,
so are all these chemicals and drugs, creating havoc in the body
of the consumer.
Then
why are we living longer?
Statistical analysis has indicated that people are now living
longer than they used to a hundred years ago, when meat eating
was a limited luxury. However, this increased longevity has been
caused by factors other than a meat eating. Primary amongst them
is advances in the medical research, technological advances and
greater accessibility to health related resources. And, are we
actually living longer, or simply surviving longer? The intense
technological treatment simply prolong the inevitable result of
killer diseases, when a person should be actually relishing and
enjoying a vibrant, active life.
Are
there enough veggies for everybody?
Meat production is very wasteful. Its takes 16lbs of grains to
produce 1lb of meat. Less than half of the carcass of the animal
is actually consumed, the rest is waste. Currently 80% of all the
grains grown in the country are used for livestock feed.
Switching to a meat free diet will immediately solve the global
problem of food scarcity and hunger. Re-deploying the millions of
acres used to grow live stock feed will result in an abundant
supply of fresh, healthy vegetables for all varieties.
Why
are veggies expensive?
Clearly the numbers do not add up. If meat production is so
expensive then why is relatively cheaper to have a full meal of
meat as opposed to fresh vegetables. The fact is that we are all
paying for the meat industry through our tax dollars. The meat
industry and its ancillaries are heavily subsidized by the
government, in terms of direct grants, free inspections, funded
subsidies etc. All these millions of tax dollars will be freed up
with the decline of the meat industry. Once the economies of
scale kick in the fresh vegetable production and distribution
industry, its cost will plummet to a mere fraction of what they
are now.
How
does meat eating effect our consciousness?
Eating the carcasses of innocent, dead animals gradually hardens
one’s feeling of tenderness and mercy. We know that
carnivores are aggressive, merciless and hostile, not only to
their preys but also to one another. Similarly, eating meat
excites the baser instincts in man, making him easily susceptible
to violence, passion, anger and aggression. Whereas the animals
are able to expend these baser instincts in their hunts and
defense, man living in a controlled environment has to suppress
all these within themselves, till the pent-up emotions become too
strong to deal, resulting in violent, uncontrolled emotional
blowups.
Is
it religious to eat meat?
No religion in the world condones meat eating. The most ancient,
Vedic scriptures, clearly recommend against meat eating, pointing
out the severe karmic reactions one would have to suffer because
of it. In fact, all major religions fully endorse a diet of
vegetable and herbs, recommending meat eating only as the last
resort in a matter of survival.
Then
why eat meat?
There is no sound viable reason for meat eating. It is bad for
the body, for the mind, for the environment, for the economy and
for the consciousness. We are inflicting unimaginable miseries on
innocent animals who bear no enmity to us. We en-cage them,
fatten them on drugs and chemicals, forcing them to lead lives of
physical and mental anguish, and then mercilessly slaughter them.
All for our sense-gratification.
As you well wishers at the Hare Krishna temple, we humbly beg you to seriously consider the potential risks of meat eating and weigh them against the abundant benefits of a vegetarian diets. With the proper ingredients and guidance, several tasty vegetarian preparations, pleasing to the tongue, healthy to the body and purifying to the consciousness can be prepared and relished. We strongly recommend the following books, and would be glad to supply them to the interested readers:
1.
The Higher Taste by Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
2. Mad Cowboy by Howard Lyman
3. Diet for Transcendence by Steven
4. Vegetarian Cooking by Kurma Das