MORE REASONS TO BE A VEGETARIAN

Having tasted anything and everything that walks, crawls and flies, man has only one kind of meat to develop a taste for. That of his own species. Sounds impossible? Never put it beyond him!

Vegetarianism is not the exclusive preserve of any particular ethnic group or sect. While traditional vegetarians have developed a taste for meat, those who swore by meat for centuries (western countries) are now looking east for vegetarianism and peace and calm. It has become a movement in the West, particularly in the USA.

Choice is more conscious rather than being based on cultural traditions of ethnic groups (Brahmins, Gujaratis, Jains, etc.). Today, more than ever before, health and well-being determine food habits.

Vegetarianism is become the in-thing – a way of life.

A cow feeds on grain stock that can be used to feed ten humans. Also, for every 20 kilograms of plant protein that it consumes, a cow can offer only one kilogram of meat protein. If we renounce meat, more of our burgeoning population can be better fed with healthy vegetarian protein.

This is a condition that contributes to cardiac disorders. Incidence of blood pressure is far higher in meat eaters than vegetarians. In fact, vegetarian diets are prescribed in the treatment programme of cardiac disorders.

Vegetarian diets bring about phenomenal improvements in blood sugar conditions. Osteoporosis (weakening of bones), gallstone, obesity and constipation are other diseases for which vegetarian diet can be a healthy supplement to the medications.

A diet rich in fibber, fruits, vegetables, grains and beans has an easing effect on the gastrointestinal tract. A vegetarian meal besides being healthy increases strength and stamina. That only meat can contribute to strength is a fallacy. In tests conducted on athletes, there was only one non-vegetarian to every six vegetarians who successfully completed them. Murray Rose, one of the greatest Olympic swimmers of all time, was a vegetarian.

The ferocity and aggression of a carnivorous lion collapses before the strength and stamina of the herbivorous elephant.

Vegetarianism is also prescribed for spiritual upliftment in most faiths, because that alone can ensure tranquillity, peace, meditation and self-awareness – all, so important to offer prayers.

If you are a non-vegetarian, do not attempt at turning a vegetarian overnight. It will not work. On the contrary, it may create an aversion to vegetarianism altogether, because of the psychological aspect to the change. The process should be conscious, slow and gradual. You must allow the body to adapt itself to the different food supply.s.

Abrupt and self-imposed dietary changes can cause psychological imbalances. The body will treat the new type of food as a “foreign body” and discard it. Once this happens, it would be difficult to get he body to accept food changes. Therefore, the change should be gradual.

First give up red meat, i.e. mutton, beef, pork, lamb, venison, etc. Once the body gives up its craving for red meat, abstain from poultry. Finally, you can remove fish from your diet. Even if this takes a few months, it is worth the wait. You will then not have any problem sticking on to the vegetarian food till the end.

Whatever nutrition you had been getting from non-vegetarian food can easily be substituted with vegetables.

In the first phase, when you give up meat, you can increase intake of legumes (lentils, kidney beans, etc.) along with grains. Reduce the intake of sugar.

Green leafy vegetables can replace nutritional values of poultry.

Finally, dairy products can replace fish. However, fats and oils must be avoided.

At times, banned antibiotics are given to animals to increase their body weight. This often results in deadly diseases being transmitted o humans who consume such infected meat. Pigs in particular and animals in general are known carriers of parasites, which are easily passed on to humans. The quality of meat coming from slaughterhouses is questionable. This is further compounded at the retail outlets. The floors are dirty and blood-strewn. Flies that carry deadly diseases swarm the carcasses, further endangering the already decomposing meat. Consumption of such meat can result in gastrointestinal disorders, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Treatment for these diseases becomes exceedingly difficult, because the antibiotics given to the animals may cause allergies to the humans who consume the meat. This can lead to serious complications of antibiotic resistance.

Poultry farming has become a thriving industry in India. The supply factor being more than the demand, the cost of poultry is affordable. As in the case of animals, birds are also fed with synthetic drugs, which are obviously transmitted to humans who consume such meat. The sanitary conditions prevalent in bird meat stores are no better than those that obtain in abattoirs.

Frozen meat can contain bacteria that can survive freezing; and improper cooking will not kill the resident bacteria, thus exposing consumers to grave risks of ill-health.

Since more than 70% of the earth’s surface is covered with water, fish eating came easily to man. Since it (fish) is sourced from a natural habitat – water – it is comparatively less exposed to artificial dangers induced by man. However, contamination of fish takes place at the point of catch. Trawlers stay for days on the high seas filling their holds. Because fish is an easily perishable commodity, maintaining the catch can be difficult and contamination can be extensive.

When pressure is exerted in handling the nets, the intestinal contents of fish are forced out through the mouth because they have no sphincter muscle at the anal opening. This, added to the piling of huge quantities on the deck and the inadequate storage facilities can cause severe contamination.

Nowadays, toxic chemicals and metal wastes such as mercury and cadmium are dumped in the oceans. Therefore, the incidence of harmful contamination of marine life is on the increase.

Protein, which takes care of the repair and replacement of the tissues, is required only in smaller quantities in relation to other nutrients. Whereas, in animal protein, the source of fuel is fat, in the case of vegetable protein, the source of fuel is carbohydrates. Of the two, carbohydrates are far superior to fats for the health of the people.

Calcium from plant foods strengthens the bones of vegetarians; and they are less prone to osteoporosis. Bone loss slows down or stops after 70 years of age in vegetarians, while it continues in meat-eaters. Incidences of hip fracture in aged people, is less frequent among vegetarians.

Though fish is the least harmful of all non-vegetarian foods, Salmonella poisoning is very common in unhygienically packed fish.

With so many harmful effects of non-vegetarian foods having been detailed; and the evidence in favour of a vegetarian diet having been adequately established, do you need to be convinced to convert to vegetarianism?

Start your transformation today! Start your chapter. Just gather your friends and eat vegetarian food and inform us that you have started your chapter.