India, Bhumi's last stand?

[theist]

I have noticed the argument centering around if cow protection is really vedic or not arising alot lately. I often wonder who is behind this question. Animal slaughter profiteers maybe? Muslims? I don't know.

 

But the arguement is not so important as it might at first seem. The problem of animal slaughter is a current one. It dangers are visible here and now. Rather if you hold some special reverance for the cow or not is besides the point when you look upon the devastation to the environment that is causes and how it directly contributes to food shortages.

 

From PETA.org Home > Vegetarianism >

 

 

Veganism Is Good for the Planet

 

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Raising Animals for Meat Ruins the Environment

 

 

Going vegetarian is an important way to help India and the Earth.

 

Every year, the population in India grows by 17 million people. Famine is widespread and increasing as the population rises. According to The Hunger Project, one-third of the world's hungry people live in India. Each animal bred and raised to be killed for meat eats 10 acres' worth of vegetables and cereals. Those 10 acres could feed 100 people for more than one year. World hunger is directly related to the breeding and killing of animals for slaughter. Here are more examples:

 

An acre of land can 'grow' 165 pounds of beef or 20,000 pounds of potatoes? Harvard nutritionists have estimated that reducing meat production by just 10 percent will free up enough grain and vegetables to feed 60 million people.

 

 

Meat production takes a toll on India's water supply as well. It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce a pound of meat but only 25 gallons to produce a pound of wheat. A totally vegetarian diet requires 300 gallons of water per day, while a meat-based diet requires more than 4,000 gallons of water per day.

 

 

The annual water requirement for Al-Kabeer (480,000,000 litres of potable water), an abattoir in Hyderabad, has caused an acute shortage of drinking water in the entire area around the plant, and most villagers have to trek 10 to 15 kilometres a day to obtain water for their homes.

 

 

Raising animals for meat is also a major contributor to topsoil depletion since forest land is cleared for cattle-grazing. Loss of trees leads to loss of valuable, nutrient-rich topsoil, increases the risk of flooding and drought and causes climatic imbalances. Loss of topsoil and a drying-out of the land leads to desertification. Already in India, deforestation and desertification can be found over wide areas.

 

 

Intensive animal farming and slaughterhouses are major sources of water pollution through blood and animal excreta, which contains nitrates, antibiotics, parasites, heavy metals and pesticides. Totally untreated waste is often dumped into streams, rivers and groundwater. Colonies near Delhi slaughterhouses that depend on handpumps for their drinking water have reported that blood often comes out of the pumps.

The best thing we can do to help end hunger and improve the environment is to go vegetarian!