Reasons to be a vegetarian and 10 arguments against eating meat

[Samia]

So is this post a subtle hint that you really don1t need a reason ? As the commercials say " Just Do It ! "

 

 

:outta:

[krsna]

 

So is this post a subtle hint that you really don1t need a reason ? As the commercials say " Just Do It ! "

 

 

 

:outta:

[krsna]

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<HR>While it is certainly best to avoid an argument with the aggressive meat-eater, a lively discussion provides them useful information and could help save the environment, their health and solve the world's hunger problem—maybe even result in a "convert." But be forewarned, these carnivores may regard nonmeat-eaters as a timid lot who munch "rabbit food," and whose diet doesn't have the substance to make them strong, productive human beings. The following presentation explains the devastating effects of meat-eating both on individuals and on our planet. It is based on a poster entitled, "How to win an argument with a meat-eater," published by Earthsave, of Felton, California, giving facts from Pulitzer Prize nominee John Robbins' book, Diet for a New America.

 

The facts you need to change opinion

 

1. The Hunger Argument: Much of the world's massive hunger problems could be solved by the reduction or elimination of meat-eating because the needs of livestock pasture drastically cuts into the acres of land which could otherwise be used to grow food. Additionally, vast quantities of food which could feed humans is fed to livestock raised to produce meat.

This year alone, twenty million people worldwide will die of malnutrition. One child dies of malnutrition every 2.3 seconds. One hundred million people could be adequately fed using the land freed if Americans reduced their intake of meat by a mere 10%. Eighty percent of the corn and 95% of the oats grown in the US is eaten by livestock. The percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock is calculated by experts as 90%. One acre of good farmland can produce 40,000 pounds of potatoes, or 250 pounds of beef. Fifty-six percent of all US farmland is devoted to beef production, and to produce each pound of beef requires 16 pounds of edible grain and soybeans, which could be used to feed the hungry.

 

2. The Environmental Argument: Many of the world's massive environmental problems could be solved by the reduction or elimination of meat-eating, including global warming, loss of topsoil, loss of rain forests and species extinction. Trees, and especially the old-growth forests, are essential to the survival of the planet. Their destruction is a major cause of global warming and top soil loss. Meat-eating is the number one driving force for the destruction of these forests. Two-hundred and sixty million acres of US forestland have been cleared for crop land to produce the meat-centered diet. Fifty-five square feet of tropical rain forest is consumed to produce every quarter-pound of rain forest beef. An alarming 75% of all US topsoil has been lost to date. Eighty-five percent of this loss is directly related to livestock raising. Another devastating result of deforestation is the loss of plant and animal species. Each year 1,000 species disappear due to destruction of tropical rain forests for cattle grazing and other uses—driven by US demand. The rate is growing yearly.

 

3. The Cancer Argument: Those who eat flesh are far more likely to contract cancer than those following a vegetarian diet. The risk of contracting breast cancer is 3.8 times greater for women who eat meat daily compared to less than once a week; 2.8 times greater for women who eat eggs daily compared to once a week; and 3.25 greater for women who eat processed butter and cheese two to four times a week as compared to once a week. The risk of fatal ovarian cancer is three times greater for women who eat eggs three or more times a week as compared with less than once a week. The risk of fatal prostate cancer is 3.6 times greater for men who consume meat, eggs, processed cheese and milk daily as compared with sparingly or not at all.

 

4. The Cholesterol Argument: The average cholesterol consumption of a meat-centered diet is 210 milligrams per day. The chance of dying from heart disease if you are male and your blood cholesterol intake is 210 milligrams a day is greater than 50%.

It is strange but true that US physicians are as a rule ill-educated in the single most important factor of health, namely diet and nutrition. As of 1987, of the 125 medical schools in the US, only 30 required their students to take a course in nutrition. The average nutrition training received by the average US physician during four years in school is only 2.5 hours. Thus doctors in the US are ill-equipped to advise their patients in minimizing foods, such as meat, that contain excessive amounts of cholesterol and are known causes of heart attack. Heart attack is the most common cause of death in the US, killing one person every 45 seconds. The male meat-eater's risk of death from heart attack is 50%. The risk to men who eat no meat is 15%. Reducing one's consumption of meat, processed dairy products and eggs by 10% reduces the risk of heart attack by 10%. Completely eliminating these products from one's diet reduces the risk of heart attack by 90%.

 

5. The Natural Resources Argument: The world's natural resources are being rapidly depleted as a result of meat-eating. Raising livestock for their meat is a very inefficient way of generating food. Pound for pound, far more resources must be expended to produce meat than to produce grains, fruits and vegetables. For example, more than half of all water used for all purposes in the US is consumed in livestock production. The amount of water used in production of the average cow is sufficient to float a destroyer (a large naval ship). While 25 gallons of water are needed to produce a pound of wheat, 5,000 gallons are needed to produce a pound of California beef. That same 5,000 gallons of water can produce 200 pounds of wheat.

Thirty-three percent of all raw materials (base products of farming, forestry and mining, including fossil fuels) consumed by the US are devoted to the production of livestock, as compared with two percent to produce a complete vegetarian diet.

 

6. The Antibiotic Argument: Another danger of eating meat is the fact that large amounts of antibiotics are fed to livestock to control staphylococci (commonly called staph infections). The animals being raised for meat in the United States are diseased. The livestock industry attempts to control this disease by feeding the animals huge quantities of antibiotics. Of all antibiotics used in the US, 55% are fed to livestock. But this is only partially effective because the bacteria that cause disease are rapidly becoming immune to the antibiotics. The percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin, for example, has grown from 13% in 1960 to 91% in 1988. These antibiotics and/or the bacteria they are intended to destroy reside in the meat that goes to market. The response of the European Economic Community to the routine feeding of antibiotics to US livestock was to ban the importation of US meat.

In February, 2001, Cornell University reported, "Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease, has now been officially identified in a dozen European countries including the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Portugal, Switzerland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands. As a result, beef sales have fallen by as much as 50% in parts of Europe." It was the common practice of feeding cows ground-up sheep brains and parts infected with the related disease of scarpie which is believed to have started the mad cow epidemic.

 

7. The Pesticide Argument: Unknown to most meat-eaters, US-produced meat contains dangerously high quantities of deadly pesticides. The common belief is that the US Department of Agriculture protects consumers' health through regular and thorough meat inspection. In reality, fewer than one out of every 250,000 slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues. That these chemicals are indeed ingested by the meat-eater is proven by the following facts:

a. Ninety-nine percent of the milk of US meat-eating mothers, contains significant levels of DDT. In stark contrast, only 8% of US vegetarian mother's milk contains significant levels of DDT. This shows that the primary source of DDT is the meat ingested by the mothers.

b. The breast milk of meat-eating mothers has 35 times more chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides than the milk of nonmeat-eating mothers.

c. The average breast-fed American infant contains nine times the permissible level of the pesticide Dieldrin.

 

8. The Ethical Argument: Many of those who have adopted a vegetarian diet have done so because of the ethical argument, either from reading about or personally experiencing what goes on daily at any one of the thousands of slaughterhouses in the US and other countries, where animals suffer the cruel process of forced confinement, manipulation and violent death. Their pain and terror is beyond calculation. Most slaughterhouse workers are not on the job for long and have the highest turnover rate of all occupations. It also has the highest rate of on-the-job injury.

In the US alone, 660,000 animals are killed for meat every hour. The average per capita consumption of meat in the US, Canada and Australia is 200 pounds per year! The average American consumes in a 72-year lifetime approximately eleven cattle, three lambs and sheep, 23 pigs, 45 turkeys, 1,100 chickens and 862 pounds of fish!

 

10. The Physiological Argument: The final and most compelling argument against meat-eating is that humans are physiologically not suited for a carnivorous diet. The book Food for the Spirit, Vegetarianism in the World Religions, summarizes this point of view as follows. "Many nutritionists, biologists and physiologists offer convincing evidence that humans are in fact not meant to eat flesh." The book gives seven facts in support of this view:

1. Physiologically, people are more akin to plant-eaters, foragers and grazers, such as monkeys, elephants and cows, than to carnivora such as dogs, tigers and leopards.

2. For example, carnivora do not sweat through their skin; body heat is controlled by rapid breathing and extrusion of the tongue. Vegetarian animals, on the other hand, have sweat pores for heat control and the elimination of impurities.

3. Carnivora have long teeth and claws for holding and killing prey; vegetarian animals have short teeth and no claws.

4. The saliva of carnivora contains no ptyalin and cannot predigest starches; that of vegetarian animals contains ptyalin for the predigestion of starches.

5. Flesh-eating animals secrete large quantities of hydrochloric acid to help dissolve bones; vegetarian animals secrete little hydrochloric acid.

6. The jaws of carnivora only open in an up and down motion; those of vegetarian animals also move sideways for additional kinds of chewing.

7. Carnivora must lap liquids (like a cat); vegetarian animals take liquids in by suction through the teeth.

 

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More reasons for not eating meat:

Reason 1

 

 

Dharma

 

Vedic Scripture proclaims ahimsa, nonhurtfulness, is a primary religious obligation in fulfillment of dharma, divine law.

 

 

Reason 2

 

 

Karma

 

By involving oneself in the cycle of inflicting injury, pain and death, even indirectly by eating other creatures, one must in the future experience in equal measure the suffering caused.

 

 

Reason 3

 

 

Consciousness

 

By ingesting the grosser chemistries of animal foods, one introduces into the body and mind anger, jealousy, fear, anxiety, suspicion and a terrible fear of death, all of which are locked into the flesh of the butchered creatures.

 

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Reason 4

 

 

Health

 

Vegetarians are less susceptible to all the major diseases that afflict contemporary humanity. Thus they live longer, healthier, more productive lives. They have fewer physical complaints, less frequent visits to the doctor, fewer dental problems and smaller medical bills.

 

 

Reason 5

 

 

Environment

 

In large measure, the escalating loss of species, destruction of ancient rain forests to create pasture lands for livestock, loss of topsoil and the consequent increase of water impurities and air pollution have all been traced to the single fact of meat in the human diet.

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Saints and Scriptures Speak on Vegetarianism

<HR>Vedas, shastras and sutras alike decry the killing and eating of animals

<HR>Scriptures of all Hindu denominations speak clearly and forcefully on nonkilling and vegetarianism. The roots of noninjury, nonkilling and nonconsumption of meat are found in the Vedas, Dharma Shastras, Tirumurai, Yoga Sutras, Tirukural and dozens of other sacred texts of Hinduism. Perhaps nowhere is the principle of nonmeat-eating so fully and eloquently expressed as in the Tirukural, written in the Tamil language by a simple weaver saint over 2,000 years ago.

 

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

 

Protect both our species, two-legged and four-legged. Both food and water for their needs supply. May they with us increase in stature and strength. Save us from hurt all our days, O Powers!

 

 

Rig Veda Samhita 10.37.11

 

O vegetable, be succulent, wholesome, strengthening; and thus, body, be fully grown.

 

 

Rig Veda

 

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 19.48.5

 

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

 

The ignoble ones who eat flesh, death's agents bind them fast and push them quick into the fiery jaws of hell (Naraka, lower consciousness).

 

 

Tirumantiram

 

In waves of ahimsa, all living beings cease their enmity in the presence of such a person.

 

 

Yoga Sutras 2.35

 

Ahimsa is not causing pain to any living being at any time through the actions of one's mind, speech or body.

 

 

Sandilya Upanishad

 

Having well considered the origin of flesh and the cruelty of fettering and slaying of corporeal beings, let one entirely abstain from eating flesh.

 

 

Manu Samhita

 

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, Anu. 115.40

 

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, Anu. 115.47

 

Those high-souled persons who desire beauty, faultlessness of limbs, long life, understanding, mental and physical strength and memory should abstain from acts of injury.

 

 

Mahabharata 18.115.8

 

How can he practice true compassion who eats the flesh of an animal to fatten his own flesh?

 

 

Tirukural Verse 251

 

Riches cannot be found in the hands of the thriftless. Nor can compassion be found in the hearts of those who eat meat.

 

 

Tirukural Verse 252

 

Goodness is never one with the minds of these two: one who wields a weapon and one who feasts on a creature's flesh.

 

 

Tirukural Verse 253

 

If you ask, "What is kindness and what is unkind?" it is not killing and killing. Thus, eating flesh is never virtuous.

 

 

Tirukural Verse 254

 

Life is perpetuated by not eating meat. The clenched jaws of hell hold those who do.

 

 

Tirukural Verse 255

 

If the world did not purchase and consume meat, there would be none to slaughter and offer meat for sale.

 

 

Tirukural Verse 256

 

When a man realizes that meat is the butchered flesh of another creature, he must abstain from eating it.

 

 

Tirukural Verse 257

 

Greater than a thousand ghee offerings consumed in sacrificial fires is to not sacrifice and consume any living creature.

 

 

Tirukural Verse 259

 

All that lives will press palms together in prayerful adoration of those who refuse to slaughter and savor meat.

 

 

Tirukural Verse 260

 

My opinion is well known. I do not regard flesh food as necessary for us at any stage and under any clime in which it is possible for human beings ordinarily to live. I hold flesh-food to be unsuited to our species."

 

 

Mahatma Gandhi 1869 -1948

 

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[niranjan]

Thank you very much for this most excellent post.

[Guest guest]

well, almost all the super athletes in sports eat all types of meats. don't know of any vegetarians amongst them. all of the modern famous scientists, engineers, politicians, business leaders, and warriors eat meat. Even 50% (so close) of indians are regular meat eaters. ancient india--they were vegetarians according to vedas but we don't know enough about that culture.

 

perhaps vegetarianism, it is good for spiritual purposes as one would not be as violent against other souls.

 

but pretty much the scientific evidence points to meat-eating for a healthy material life. I'll agree it is unethical to kill other animals for food; we shouldn't slaughter their tri-guna machine for some ugly food. Firstly, humans shouldn't go into animal territory and act like an animal there. IF it comes into my zone then alright i can kill it now because it's very practical to kill it. I think meat has a bunch of muscle building nutrients? It's on America's food science food pyramid unfortunately for God's sake. Even half of PETA is almost meat-eating possibly.

 

only thing is, we don't have sharp teeth for eating meat like animals. but that's fine it's soft now with machines. One thing is for sure. DO NOT GO VEGAN. I don't know how long they'll survive.

 

anyway, we have a bunch of different multivitamins tablets. so we discard the meat and go vegetarian. problem with meat-eating is that we can do very serious aparadha on that diet. blame KFC & McD & BK, Pizza Hut & Taco Bell & Gold'n Plump. Damn, nothing compares to this team. That's just chicken scrap.

[Guest guest]

"In the US alone, 660,000 animals are killed for meat every hour. The average per capita consumption of meat in the US, Canada and Australia is 200 pounds per year! The average American consumes in a 72-year lifetime approximately eleven cattle, three lambs and sheep, 23 pigs, 45 turkeys, 1,100 chickens and 862 pounds of fish!"

 

real stuff. i think the world needs a machine for the of these very toxic wastes after digestion is completely finished.

 

what the hell is it going to help make?

glass windows? bullets? body armor?

[Guest guest]

is this 100% comparable to WWII atrocities?

[krsna]

 

Thank you very much for this most excellent post.

 

<TABLE class=nospace><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD colSpan=2><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="50%"></TD><TD vAlign=top width="50%"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD><TABLE class=contentpaneopen><TBODY><TR><TD class=contentheading width="100%">Meat-eaters Kill People </TD><TD class=buttonheading align=right width="100%"></TD><TD class=buttonheading align=right width="100%"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=contentpaneopen><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top align=left width="70%" colSpan=2></TD></TR><TR><TD class=createdate vAlign=top colSpan=2></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top colSpan=2>

Eighty percent of starving children live in countries that actually have food surpluses; the children remain hungry because farmers use the surplus grain to feed animals instead of people.

 

• Number of people worldwide who will die as a result of malnutrition this year: 20 million
  
• Number of people who could be adequately fed using land freed if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10%: 100 million
  
• Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by people: 20
  
• Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 80
  
• Percentage of oats grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 95
  
• Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90
  
• How frequently a child dies as a result of malnutrition: every 2.3 seconds
  
• Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on an acre: 40,000
  
• Pounds of beef produced on an acre: 250
  
• Percentage of U.S. farmland devoted to beef production: 56
  
• Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce a pound of edible flesh from feedlot beef: 16

Our Environment

A vegetarian saves more than 100 animals and 1 acre of trees every year.

 

• Fossil fuels needed to produce meat-centered diet vs. a meat-free diet: 3 times more
  
• Percentage of U.S. topsoil lost to date: 75
  
• Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly related to livestock raising: 85
  
• Number of acres of U.S. forest cleared for cropland to produce meat-centered diet: 260 million
  
• Amount of meat imported to U.S. annually from Central and South America: 300,000,000 pounds
  
• Percentage of Central American children under the age of five who are undernourished: 75
  
• Area of tropical rainforest consumed in every quarter-pound of rainforest beef: 55 square feet
  
• Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests for meat grazing and other uses: 1,000 per year

Our Health

Children who grow up getting their nutrition from plant foods rather than meats have a tremendous health advantage. They are less likely to develop weight problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, and some forms of cancer.

 

• Most common cause of death in the U.S.: heart attack
  
• How frequently a heart attack kills in the U.S.: every 45 seconds
  
• Average U.S. man's risk of death from heart attack: 50 percent
  
• Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat: 15 percent
  
• Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat, dairy or eggs: 4 percent
  
• Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of meat, dairy and eggs by 10 percent: 9 percent
  
• Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption by 50 percent: 45 percent
  
• Amount you reduce risk if you eliminate meat, dairy and eggs from your diet: 90 percent
  
• Average cholesterol level of people eating meat-centered-diet: 210 mg/dl
  
• Chance of dying from heart disease if you are male and your blood cholesterol level is 210 mg/dl: greater than 50 percent

Our Natural Resources

You save more water by not eating a pound of beef than you do by not showering for an entire year.

 

• User of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the U.S.: livestock production
  
• Amount of water used in production of the average cow: sufficient to float a destroyer
  
• Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of wheat: 25
  
• Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of California beef: 5,000
  
• Calories of fossil fuel expended to get 1 calory of protein from beef: 78
  
• To get 1 calory of protein from soybeans: 2
  
• Percentage of all raw materials (base products of farming, forestry and mining, including fossil fuels) consumed by U.S. that is devoted to the production of livestock: 33
  
• Percentage of all raw materials consumed by the U.S. needed to produce a complete vegetarian diet: 2

Pesticides

According to leading scientists and the EPA, up to 95 percent of our dioxin exposure comes from red meat, fish, and dairy products. Even small amounts of dioxin can cause cancer, depressed immune response, nervous system disorders, miscarriages, and birth deformities.

 

• Percentage of U.S. mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 99
  
• Percentage of U.S. vegetarian mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 8
  
• Contamination of breast milk, due to chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides in animal products, found in meat-eating mothers vs. non-meat eating mothers: 35 times higher
  
• Amount of Dieldrin ingested by the average breast-fed American infant: 9 times the permissable level

 

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[krsna]

<CENTER>

 

</CENTER>

Every day, several times a day, every living being, in whichever part of

the world he may be, enjoys a universal ritual - eating.

 

Most people decide what they eat based mainly on taste, cost, habit,

nutrition and convenience. But for those who are a little more thoughtful, here

are some other points worth considering.

<CENTER>

A FEW FACTS??

 

NUTRITION

 

</CENTER>

Let us compare the nutrition values of some common vegetarian foods and

some common flesh foods:

<CENTER>

Vegetarian foods (100 gm)

</CENTER>

<TABLE cellPadding=7 width=590 border=1><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="12%">Sr. No.</TD><TD vAlign=top width="54%">Name of food stuff</TD><TD vAlign=top width="33%"><CENTER>Medical calories</CENTER></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="12%"><CENTER>1</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="54%">Cashewnut</TD><TD vAlign=top width="33%"><CENTER>596</CENTER></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="12%"><CENTER>2</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="54%">Coconut</TD><TD vAlign=top width="33%"><CENTER>444</CENTER></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="12%"><CENTER>3</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="54%">Groundnut</TD><TD vAlign=top width="33%"><CENTER>549</CENTER></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="12%"><CENTER>4</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="54%">Cheese</TD><TD vAlign=top width="33%"><CENTER>348</CENTER></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="12%"><CENTER>5</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="54%">Ghee</TD><TD vAlign=top width="33%"><CENTER>900</CENTER></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

<CENTER>

Flesh foods (100 gm)

</CENTER>

<TABLE cellPadding=7 width=590 border=1><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="12%"><CENTER>Sr. No.</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="54%">Name of food stuff</TD><TD vAlign=top width="33%"><CENTER>Medical calories</CENTER></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="12%"><CENTER>1</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="54%">Egg</TD><TD vAlign=top width="33%"><CENTER>173</CENTER></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="12%"><CENTER>2</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="54%">Fish</TD><TD vAlign=top width="33%"><CENTER>91</CENTER></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="12%"><CENTER>3</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="54%">Mutton</TD><TD vAlign=top width="33%"><CENTER>194</CENTER></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="12%"><CENTER>4</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="54%">Pork</TD><TD vAlign=top width="33%"><CENTER>114</CENTER></TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="12%"><CENTER>5</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="54%">Beef</TD><TD vAlign=top width="33%"><CENTER>114</CENTER></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

<CENTER>

ANATOMY

</CENTER>

Let us compare some of the physiological features of flesh eaters, plant

eaters & human beings:

<TABLE cellPadding=7 width=590 border=1><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width="12%" height=21><CENTER>Sr. No.</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="29%" height=21>Features of flesh eaters</TD><TD vAlign=top width="29%" height=21>Features of Plant eaters</TD><TD vAlign=top width="29%" height=21>Features of human beings</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="12%" height=21><CENTER>1</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="29%" height=21>Intestinal tract only 3 times body

length, so rapidly decaying meat can pass out of body quickly</TD><TD vAlign=top width="29%" height=21>Intestinal tract 10-12 times body

length, fruits do not decay as rapidly, so can pass more slowly through

body</TD><TD vAlign=top width="29%" height=21>Intestinal tract 12 times body

length</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="12%" height=21><CENTER>2</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="29%" height=21>Small salivary glands in the mouth

( not needed to predigest grains and fruits )</TD><TD vAlign=top width="29%" height=21>Well developed salivary glands,

needed to predigest grains & fruits </TD><TD vAlign=top width="29%" height=21>Well developed salivary glands

needed to predigest grains & fruits</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="12%" height=21><CENTER>3</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="29%" height=21>Acid saliva; no enzyme ptyalin to

predigest grains</TD><TD vAlign=top width="29%" height=21>Alkaline saliva; much ptyalin to

predigest grains</TD><TD vAlign=top width="29%" height=21>Alkaline saliva;

Much ptyalin to predigest grains.

</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width="12%" height=21><CENTER>4</CENTER></TD><TD vAlign=top width="29%" height=21>No flat back molar teeth to grind

good</TD><TD vAlign=top width="29%" height=21>Flat back molar teeth to grind

food</TD><TD vAlign=top width="29%" height=21>Flat back molar teeth to grind

food</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Clearly the human body is not made for a non-vegetarian diet.

 

<CENTER>

HEALTH

</CENTER>

Due to their unnatural diet meat-eating human beings are far more

susceptible to diseases and disorders as compared to their vegetarian

counterparts. Comprehensive investigations by groups such as the National

Academy of Sciences have linked meat eating to cancer, and the Journal of

American Medicine reports: “90-97% of heart disease could be prevented by a

vegetarian diet.”

 

<CENTER>

ENVIRONMENT

</CENTER>

Meat eating also has hazardous effects on the environment, such as forest

destruction, agricultural inefficiency, soil erosion and desertification, air

pollution, water depletion and water pollution.

 

<CENTER>

WORLD HUNGER

</CENTER>

Consider the following data. One thousand acres of Soyabeans yield 1124

pound of usable protein. One thousand acres of rice yield 938 pound of usable

protein. One thousand acres of corn yield 1009 pound of usable protein. One

thousand acres of wheat yield 1043 pound of usable protein. Now consider: this

one thousand acres of Soyabeans, corn, rice or wheat, when fed to a steer, will

yield only about 125 pounds of usable protein.

These and other findings point to a disturbing conclusion: meat eating is

directly related to world hunger. A few statistics are as follows -

 

• If all the Soyabeans and grains fed yearly to U. S. livestock were set
  aside for human consumption, it would feed 1.3 billion people.
  
• It takes 16 pounds of grains and Soyabeans to produce 1 pound of
  feedlot beef. Therefore about 20 vegetarians can be fed on the land that it
  takes to feed 1 meat eater.
  
• Feeding the average meat eater requires about 4,200 gallons of water
  per day, versus 1,200 gallons per day for lacto-vegetarian diet.
  
• While it takes only 25 gallons of water to produce a pound of wheat, it
  takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce a pound of meat.
  
• Harvard nutritionist Jean Mayer has estimated that reducing meat
  production by just 10 percent would release enough grain to feed 60 million
  people.

 

In summary, millions will continue to die of thirst or

starvation, while a privileged few consume vast amounts of proteins wasting land

and water in the process. Ironically, this same meat is their own bodys’ worst

enemy.

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A FEW QUOTES??

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“Truly man is the king of beasts, for his brutality exceeds them. We live

by the death of others. We are burial places! I have since an early age abjured

the use of meat.”

 

 

Leonardo Da Vinci

 

 

“When a man wants to murder a tiger, he calls it sport; when a tiger wants

to murder him, he calls him ferocity.”

 

 

George Bernard Shaw

 

 

“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.”

 

 

Albert Einstein

 

 

“I do feel that spiritual progress does demand at some stage that we

should cease to kill our fellow creatures for the satisfaction of our bodily

wants. “

 

 

M. K. Gandhi

 

 

“The flesh eating is simply immoral, as it involves the performance of an

act which is contrary to moral feeling- killing. By killing man suppresses in

himself, unnecessarily, the highest spiritual capacity- that of sympathy and

pity towards living creatures like himself and by violating this his own

feelings become cruel.”

 

 

Leo Tolstoy

 

 

“Flesh eating is unprovoked murder.”

 

 

Benjamin Franklin

 

 

“As long as man massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he

who sows the seeds of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love.”

 

 

Pythagoras

 

 

“A dead cow or sheep lying in a pasture is recognized as carrion. The same

sort of a carcass dressed and hung up in a butcher’s stall passes as food.”

 

 

J. H. Kellogg.

 

 

 

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THE VEDIC PERSPECTIVE

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The Bhagavad Gita states that foods such as milk products, grains, fruits,

and vegetables increase the duration of life and give strength, health,

happiness, and satisfaction. Conversely, foods such as, meat, fish and fowl are

putrid, decomposed and unclean. They cause numerous hazards to physical

health.

The Srimad Bhagavatam, the summum bonum of all Vedic literature, states

that meat-eating is one of the four pillars of sinful life. Apart from bringing

severe sinful reactions, meat-eating also dulls the human intellect thus

rendering it incapable of understanding the higher dimensions of life. Therefore

real spiritual life, nay real human life, can not begin unless a human being

stops killing his younger brothers, innocent animals, just for the satisfaction

of his tongue.