Futility Of A Vegan Diet
I read with great interest a wonderful article titled “The Human Nature Of Meat Eating” in The Sunday Leader of January 23, and agree with the writer but was disgusted with all those who condemn meat eating by humans. I have never written an article but would add my two cents in this instance.
Most of the time so many have advocated that meat eating should be banned altogether and this is highlighted during the festive season of a minority religion in Sri Lanka. For the last 1000 years this minority group has co-existed with the majority Buddhist and Hindu Tamils in a peaceful manner. We all know in every religion there are black sheep so I do not want to go any further about any religion.
If meat eating was such a sensitive topic then our past leaders would have condemned it. However due to cheap political gain, the sensitivity of this topic keeps popping up only during the festive season. As a practicing Buddhist, I cannot force my opinion on others and neither can they force their opinion on me. As far as I am concerned, Buddhism does not mention that meat eating should be banned. Buddhism and Hinduism are derived mostly from the teachings of the Vedas. Though Hindu Scriptures permit its followers to have non-vegetarian food, many Hindus mostly adopted the vegetarian system because they were influenced by the Jains.
Therefore some religions have adopted pure vegetarianism as a dietary law because they are totally against the killing of living creatures. In the past, people thought plants were lifeless. Today it is a universal fact that even plants have life. Thus their logic of not killing living creatures is not followed through even by pure vegetarianism.
Due to the advancement of science we are made to understand that even plants can feel pain, but the cry of the plant can’t be heard by humans. This is due to the fact of the inability of the human ear to hear sounds that are not in the audible range i.e. 20 Hertz to 20,000 Hertz. Recent research shows that plants can even feel happy and sad.
Using our common sense, if every human being was a vegetarian, it would lead to overpopulation of cattle in the world, since their reproduction and multiplication is very high. In fact if all of us become non-vegetarians then the present non-vegetarians would be losers since the prices of meat would rise.
How do we balance this act?
R. Cooray
Kandy
Mr Cooray,
Social Evolution will determine that Meat Eating was done by our ancesters in about 25 years time.
Please allow people to make their choice in eating vegetarian or non vegetarian. The present ministers have only one agenda i.e. to stsy in the power and good books of the President. The urumaya only wants to ditsurb the harmony for their polictical advantage.
It is our religious duty to educate the people not to consume non veg foods. Of course let their be no compulsion. This is one way to bring down the price of Meat , Poultry , Fish and eggs and even KFC :)
We must make sure specially those who make the loudest noise all meat products should be abolished never enjoy it. We must put some sort of moral police on their tail to watch guard 24/7
Personally, I’m a vegetarian. I’m also a Buddhist, and I realize that Buddhism does not condemn eating meat. I consider myself an animal lover, though I’m ashamed to say, I only started being vegetarian when I was 19. Previously, I also supported the argument about plants being alive as well, but now I realize that, it was nothing but another excuse to put off being a vegetarian. I still do believe that plants are very much alive, because I’m a nature lover as well, yet I believe, that we all have to do something to lesson the pain we cause for mother nature. Even if it’s just something small like becoming a vegetarian.
And as this article states, “it would lead to overpopulation of cattle in the world”. I disagree, the only reason that cattle over populate would be because we raise them for slaughter.
I was never very religious, but as so called, “conscious” beings we claim ourselves to be, we should realize how much pain we cause a cow or a pig or a chicken, when they are slaughtered for our gluttony…
“if every human being was a vegetarian, it would lead to overpopulation of cattle in the world”
GET REAL FOR CHRIST’S SAKE! The only reason that cattle will over populate is because humans breed them order to fill up their overgrown stomach’s. How dare you talk about animals in such a way! As if they’re nothing but insignificant Bean bags! True Vegetarianism is not about being perfect, coz plants are alive as well, at least we minimize the pain we cause without fattening our girths up!
Animals have a right to live happily as well! Without being bred for slaughter!