by Swami AvdhutanandaEx Acharya- Chinmaya Mission-Sikkim
EXCLUSIVE ARTICLE FOR SIKKIM CHAMBER OF COMMERCE E NEWSLETTERToday the world is facing several crises. We have food crisis, water crisis, health crisis, economic crisis, fuel crisis, environmental crisis etc. Experts all over the world are engaged in research to find solutions to deal with it. Some of the experts have already come up with some solutions to tackle these crises. We see the implementation of these solutions in some regions of the world. But we are still a long way off from overcoming these crises.As an inhabitant of planet earth, each individual has a responsibility to help overcome the crises facing our planet. As an individual, how can we contribute in our own small way in overcoming these crises? One way is by investigating what we eat and how it impacts our health and the world around us. Our diet is directly as well as indirectly linked with some of the major crises facing the world, including food, water, health and environment. Throughout the article below we have some useful statistics on global dietary trends and how it impacts the world along with positive options to help us arrive at our own decision regarding our diet.First some hard statistics:What's eating meat and having milk and dairy products got to do with climate change, one may ask—a lot, actually. It can be argued that man has consumed meat and dairy products for countless generation throughout known history and long before. It therefore seems a little presumptuous to consider that meat and milk is an unnatural food. One can argue in circles while trying to justify one or the other opinion.FOOD AND WATER CRISIS:PETA India says that the world is already growing enough crops to feed every human being, but food that could be used to nourish starving people is instead fed to billions of chickens, pigs, and cows who are slaughtered for their flesh.PETA, which stands for People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, says, “In addition to being extremely cruel to animals, meat production is also staggeringly inefficient: It takes up to 16 pounds of grain to produce just 1 pound of meat; 4 pounds of grain to produce a pound of chicken.” An acre cultivated in spinach yields 26 times more protein than it does for beef.According to a report in NZPA (New Zealand Press Association), each litre of milk produced causes the emission of greenhouse gases equivalent to 940g of carbon dioxide, meaning New Zealand’s leading dairy Fonterra’s 15 billion litres of milk would produce nearly 15 million tonnes of carbon. On the farm, 59 percent of those emissions are methane, 17 percent are carbon dioxide, and 24 percent are nitrous oxide. Processing and manufacturing accounts for 10 percent of total emissions, and distribution accounts for 5 percent of total emissions.A report by the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has stated that 18 per cent of greenhouse gases are coming from animal agriculture—meat and dairy—used in making burgers. The environmental impacts are especially grave in places where livestock graze freely.Cattle grazing is subsidized on public lands in the U.S. The market rate is about $6.40 to $9.50 per month per cow; many government permit holders pay less than $2. According to U.S. Congressman Dick Armey of Texas, our nation's “farm cartel” government policy is simply “Welfare to the rich.” Cattle grazing destroyed most of the lush ecosystems in North America. Grazing is the primary cause for the loss or endangerment of plant species in the U.S.Specific products that are concentrated, such as the iron-binding protein called lactoferrin, which sells for 500,000 dollars a tonne, can require up to 14,000kg of milk to make a single kilo of lactoferrin and will have a huge carbon footprint. PETA also points out that although biofuel production is blamed for skyrocketing food prices worldwide, “humans’ wasteful addiction to eating animal flesh” is a far bigger culprit. While 100 million tons of grain will be used to produce biofuel this year, “a staggering 760 million tons will be used to feed animals farmed who are destined for the dinner table,” according to the organization. “Eating meat—more than anything else—takes desperately needed grain away from the world's poorest people,” PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk said. The world's cattle alone (not including other livestock) consume food enough for 8.7 billion people while only 5 million tons of grain could adequately feed the 15 million children throughout the world who starve to death every year. By feeding grain to livestock, we lose 90% of the protein, 96% of the calories, 99% of its carbohydrates, and 100% of the fiber.Meat industry apologists claim that livestock do not compete for edible food with humans because they live on forage humans cannot eat. In truth, 70% of all the grain produced in the U.S. and Western Europe is fed to livestock. David Pimentel and his colleagues at Cornell University, New York, have set out a number of strategies, which could potentially cut fossil energy fuel use in the food system by as much as 50 per cent.The first suggestion they have put forward is that individuals eat less, especially considering that the average American consumes an estimated 3,747 calories a day, a staggering 1200-1500 calories over recommendations.Traditional American diets are high in animal products, and junk and processed foods in particular, which by their nature use more energy than that used to produce staple foods such as potatoes, rice, fruits and vegetables. According to researchers, by just reducing junk food intake and converting to diets lower in meat, the average American could have a massive impact on fuel consumption as well as improving his or her health.Agricultural engineers discovered that the energy cost of producing poultry, pork and other meats was over 10 times that of any plant food.The researchers have also suggested that moving towards more traditional, organic farming methods would help because conventional meat and dairy production is extremely energy intensive. Considering factory housing, irrigation, trucking, refrigeration, and petrochemical fertilizer, vast amounts of energy—about a gallon of gasoline—is required for every pound of grain-fed beef. Similarly, in crop production, reduced pesticide use, increased use of manure, cover crops and crop rotations improve energy efficiency. Finally, changes to methods of food processing, packaging and distribution could also help to reduce fuel consumption.Although well-established energy-saving considerations in lighting, heating and packaging materials all have their part to play, the researchers again highlight individual responsibility as having the biggest impact. They contend that the most dramatic reduction in energy used for food processing would come about if consumers reduced their demand for highly processed foods. This would also help cut down food miles and its related fuel cost as US food travels an average of 2,400 km before it is consumed. This study argues strongly that the consumer is in the strongest position to contribute to a reduction in energy use. According to a report in National Geographic News, the threat to food and environment was highlighted in a study by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which estimate that Asian demand for food and livestock fodder will double in 40 years.Asia’s growing economy and appetite for meat will require a radical overhaul of farmland irrigation to feed a population expected to swell to 1.4 billion by 2050, scientists warned at Stockholm’s World Water Week recently. At current crop yields, East Asia would need 47 percent more irrigated farmland and to find 70 percent more water, the study found. South Asia would have to expand its irrigated crop areas by 30 percent and increase water use by 57 percent. Given existing agriculture pressure on water resources and territory, that’s an impossible scenario, according to the study authors. Scientists urge modernization of existing large-scale irrigation systems, most of which were installed in the 1970s and 1980s.It’s estimated that India, the world’s largest consumer of underground water, has 19 million unregulated groundwater pumps. Groundwater in northern India is receding by as much as a foot (0.3 meter) a year due to rampant water extraction, most of it for crop irrigation, according to a study. More than 109 cubic kilometres of groundwater were drained from the region between 2002 and 2008, according to the satellite image-based study led by scientists with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “Governments’ inability to regulate this practice is giving rise to scary scenarios of groundwater over-exploitation, which could lead to regional food crisis and widespread social unrest,” said Tushaar Shah of IWMI. As for China, the country’s per capita “water footprint” for food production has almost doubled since 1985, according to Junguo Liu of the Beijing Forestry University. “A switch from traditional rice and noodles to a meatier diet is behind the change,” Liu said. “Changes in food consumption are the major cause of worsening water scarcity in China,” he added. By cutting the production and consumption of red meat, it is possible to act against climate change, reduce cardiovascular and cancer deaths.Total water requirements for food production in China are predicted to rise by 40 to 50 percent in the next 30 years, he further added. “Where do you get such a big amount of water? It is a really big question and a big challenge,” he said. “If other developing countries follow China toward a Western diet, the global water shortage becomes even more serious.Our dwindling water supply is directly tied to meat consumption. Over half of the water in the U.S. irrigates land for livestock feed and fodder. It takes about 2,500 gallons of water to produce a single pound of meat. According to Newsweek, “The water that goes into a 1,000 pound steer could float a destroyer.” In contrast, it takes only 25 gallons of water to produce a pound of wheat. Meat would cost over $35/lb. if the water used by the meat industry were not subsidized by the U.S. government.The great Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies the nation's bread basket with water, is being pumped dry, mostly for growing grain to feed livestock. It spans over 8 Midwestern states with an area three times the size of New York State. This natural reservoir from the last Ice Age may be gone in 30 years.Desertification, now affecting 29% of the earth's landmass, is largely due to the demands of livestock production around the world. Meat-eating countries, such as the U.S., drive continued increases due to conversion of land, which has been sustainably farmed for centuries being converted to beef production for export.How will kicking wealthy countries’ addiction to meat help feed starving people? Kenneth Mellanby, author of “Can Britain Feed Itself?” found that a vegan diet produced by means of conventional agriculture would require only 3m hectares of arable land (around half Britain’s current total). Even if the UK reduced its consumption of meat by half, a mixed farming system would need 4.4m hectares of arable fields and 6.4 million hectares of pasture. A vegan Britain could make a massive contribution to global food stocks.ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS: GREEN HOUSE GASES (GHG)Over a billion cattle populate the earth, with a combined weight greater than the entire human population. They are sustained unnaturally in these numbers to satisfy demand for their flesh. They are a primary cause for the destruction of the environment. Beef cattle return only 1 pound of meat for every 16 pounds of grain and soybeans they are fed, causing huge inefficiencies in food utilization, while millions of people go hungry.U.S. livestock produces 20 times the excrement of the human population. Their waste no longer serves to fertilize pastures a little at a time, since they spend much or all of their lives in factory sheds or feedlots. Wastes are often simply flushed away dangerously raising ammonia and nitrate levels in our drinking water. Becoming vegan helps to clean up water more than any other single action.A 2006 United Nations report found that cattle rearing generated more greenhouse gases than transportation. “For the world's higher-income populations, greenhouse-gas emissions, from meat eating warrant the same scrutiny as do those from driving and flying,” according to the authors of a study in the medical journal Lancet. Those authors from Britain, Australia and Chile, found that with global meat and milk production being on course to double by mid-century, the methane and nitrous oxide being released (that includes cattle flatulence and gases from manure) is significant. Livestock occupy nearly a third of the land on earth. Greenhouse gases, especially methane emissions, by cattle breeding for meat and dairy products, is responsible for about 22 percent of all emissions around the world. By comparison, the entire world’s cars, trains, planes and boats account for a combined 13%. Methane contributes to global warming by trapping 25 times more solar heat than carbon dioxide.Simply switching from steak to salad could cut as much carbon as leaving the car at home a couple of days a week. That’s because beef is such an incredibly inefficient food to produce and cows release so much harmful methane into the atmosphere, said Nathan Pelletier of Dalhousie University in Canada.The livestock sector is estimated to account for 22% of global greenhouse gas emissions and beef is the biggest culprit. Even though beef only accounts for 30% of meat consumption in the developed world it’s responsible for 78% of the emissions. “That’s because a single kilogram of beef produces 16 kilograms carbon dioxide equivalent emissions: four times higher than pork and more than ten times as much as a kilogram of poultry. If people were to simply switch from beef to chicken, emissions would be cut by 70%,” Pelletier said.Another part of the problem is people are eating far more meat than they need to. “Meat once was a luxury in our diet,” Pelletier said. “We used to eat it once a week. Now we eat it every day.”If meat consumption in the developed world was cut from the current level of about 90kg a year to 53kg a year, livestock related emissions would fall by 44%.Cow dung, left to decompose naturally, emits two particularly potent greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs)—nitrous oxide and methane. Nitrous oxide warms the atmosphere 310 times more than carbon dioxide; methane does so 23 times more, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The study said that stabilizing cattle emissions would require a 10% cut in global meat consumption. There would likely be other benefits, such as lower rates of heart disease, colorectal cancer and obesity, and preservation of the habitat for all kinds of species.Similarly, the 2008 “State of the World” report from the Worldwatch Institute calls meat and seafood “the global diet’s most costly ingredients.” A huge problem in wealthy nations is that even when people cut down or give up meat for health reasons, they often substitute increasingly endangered fish near the top of the oceanic food chain such as swordfish, tuna or shark or create a demand for shrimp and salmon that overwhelms the environments they are being raised in. Demand for ocean fish contributes to over 200,000 deaths of marine mammals and birds caught in fishing nets every year.“Eating less of these foods,” the report said, “is a sort of investment in the future, since it will mean saving family farms, improving range land, reducing water pollution and, in the case of wild fish, preserving a catch that is increasing scarce.”A meat-eating American needs 3-1/4 acres of cultivated farmland per year; vegetarians only require 1/6 acre per year. Livestock production accounts for twice the pollution of industrial sources in the U.S.The planet's entire petroleum reserves would be exhausted in a just over a decade if the whole world adopted the technology used in the U.S. to produce the standard American meat-centered diet.Trees are being cut at an alarming rate to clear land for meat production. If tomorrow people in the U.S. switched to vegetarian diet, 200 million acres could be returned to forest.Each pound of feedlot beef can be equated with 35 pounds of eroded topsoil, at an estimated cost of $44 billion a year. Two hundred years ago, American topsoil averaged 21 inches. Today, it's only about 6 inches. Each year an area the size of Connecticut is lost to topsoil erosion. Livestock production is responsible for about 85% of this erosion.Indian economist, Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), who is a vegetarian, said diet change was important in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and environmental problems associated with rearing cattle. “In terms of immediacy of action and the feasibility of bringing about reductions in a short period of time, it clearly is the most attractive opportunity”, he said.As head of the IPCC since 2002—he has been re-elected for a second term recently—Pachauri has presided over and directed research into various aspects of climate change. One of the findings of the Nobel Peace prize-winning IPCC was that meat consumption would begin to double by 2050, implying that the volume of methane emitted by cattle and sheep would double, too, further aggravating the global warming problem.He pointed out that cattle rearing also contributed to climate change through habitat loss. Though critics disagree, individual action could play a significant role in meeting the climate change challenge. One such individual action—besides energy conservation and minimizing use of private transport—is to avoid eating meat as far as possible. So, Pachauri's suggestion that the world should be biting into meat a little less seems a good idea. But the world is not a monolith. As in emissions, for which the rich countries are much more responsible than the poor ones, so with meat. Some eat it; others gobble it.A citizen of UAE eats nearly 100 kg of poultry products per person annually. India might be famous for its tandoori chicken, but an average Indian just eats 2.1 kg of poultry products per person per year according to the US Department of Agriculture. An average American chews upon 46 kg of chicken in a year and a Chinese 8.7 kg. The story is the same for beef. An average Indian consumes 1.6 kg of beef and buff products while an average American eats 41.7 kg every year and a Brazilian 37.6 kg.The high consumption of meat in the western world is driven by an intensive industry that ensures the meat is on the table of the rich, sometimes moving it across continents to suit changing tastes, preferences and fashion. Lands that used to grow other staple foods have been diverted to grow the stock that helps feed a population thirsting for meat.At the expense of their own hungry populations; exporters in poor countries produce luxury foods such as meat to sell to rich countries. Meat is much more profitable than subsistence crops of rice, beans and vegetables.As head of the inter-governmental panel on climate change Pachauri has recommended that the world needs to take drastic action so that global average temperatures are to be maintained at just 2 degrees over the current. That demands a huge cut of emissions from the rich countries that have caused more than 70% of the GHG gas emissions.Dr Pachauri, who accepted a half-share in this year's Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the IPCC, has long advocated vegetarianism as a way of fighting climate change.CRUELTY TO ANIMALS:Over 7 billion farm animals die or are slaughtered in the U.S. every year for the production of flesh, mostly in highly mechanized factory-like systems using unprecedented, largely unregulated methods of brutality, danger, and cruelty.There are virtually no laws against cruelty to animals raised for food in the U.S.Pigs in today's factory farms are often stacked two and three decks high in space just big enough to fit in. They stand on metal or concrete slats, which painfully cripple the legs of half of them before slaughter. Their entire lives are lived this way. Pigs have a similarly high intelligence and sensitivity as the family pet dog.All natural instincts are restricted in today's pig factories. Driven insane, bored, and frustrated, these naturally intelligent, playful creatures are driven to gnawing and biting on other pigtails and hind ends. A mauled pig may die from an attack and then be eaten by his attackers. Mauled pigs cannot be sold, a definite problem to the producer. How do they respond? Pigtails are amputated and animals are kept in total darkness except for feeding.To crank up pork production, piglets may be taken away from their mother soon after birth. They are then provided with a mechanical teat, without which they would die from the emotional loss. The forced weaning allows the sow to end her lactating period, so she can become pregnant again.In the barnyard of the past, a sow gave birth to 6 piglets a year. Today's factory farms are working towards 45! Frankenstein methods include hormone injection for greater fertility, artificial insemination, “embryo transfers” where embryos are surgically removed, and implanted into other sows—all in the name of greater meat production at reduced cost. Similar methods are employed in the beef industry.At most stockyards so called “downers” may lie suffering for days until they are dragged by chain to their slaughter. The tragedy is that an animal can legally be kept in agony, sick or with broken bones simply because alive it will fetch a higher price for a rancher.John Robbins, author of Diet for a New America, says that a dairy cow living in today's modern milk factory “is bred, fed, medicated, inseminated and manipulated to a single purpose—maximum milk production at minimum cost. Today's factory cow is fed dangerous levels of hormones to produce two to three times more milk than normal. She lives with an unnaturally swelled up and sensitive udder, is kept inside a stall her entire life, is milked up to 3 times a day, and is kept pregnant nearly all of the time with her young taken from her almost immediately after birth. “Contented” is the characteristic most often attributed to the cow. However, cows in factories are fed tranquilizers to calm their frazzled nerves.” After about four years, when the hormones no longer work, the spent cow becomes hamburger. Slaughter ends the agony of mostly solitary, intense confinement, in which our friend has never seen a blade of grass. A cow’s natural lifespan is 20 years.Male cattle in the beef industry are castrated to make them more docile and to promote a fattier (more profitable) animal. Anesthetics are seldom used. Grotesque methods of reproduction are employed on animal farms. One method of animal procreation employs so called “teaserbulls” (cattle) or “sidewinders” (boars) to identify females in heat. Their penises are surgically re-routed to come out of the sides of their bodies so that they cannot reproduce directly. These mutilated, frustrated studs exist only to identify fertile females. The cows or sows are artificially inseminated.The male calf born to a dairy cow is taken immediately after birth to a veal factory and locked up, immobile, for his entire life. He is fed a diet without iron or roughage to produce tender milky white meat. He is injected with growth hormones and antibiotics to keep him alive. He is kept in darkness except for feeding. Veal fetches a premium price. Those who consume milk and dairy products are responsible for torture and slaughter of these calves as well as torture of cows and greenhouse gases produced by them.Chicken feed is routinely laced with hormones and antibiotics to allow agribusiness the efficiency of massive flocks under intensive confinement. Only with massive drugs, a practice begun in the fifties, can such cruel and brutal conditions be maintained. These hormones and antibiotics make their way into those who eat their flesh causing hormonal imbalances and antibiotic resistance.“Redskins” are chickens on the conveyer belt to death, which missed both the brine-filled electrified stunning trough and also the knife that was to cut their throats and bleed their bodies. Their deaths occurred in the scald tank where feathers are loosened before plucking. Piles of them are thrown aside every day.To produce foie gras, duck and geese are force-fed huge quantities of grain three times a day through a feeder tube. This painful process lasts 28 days before slaughter, often causing stomachs sometimes to burst. Diseased livers, which swell to several times normal size by this process, are considered a delicacy, which sells for about $12 an ounce. About 8,000 tons are produced worldwide each year.The typical egg factory may hold 80,000 hens per warehouse with 4 or 5 layer hens squeezed into a 12" x 18" cage. Poultry producers de-beak their chicks with hot-knife machines to prevent the crazed birds from killing each other in response to their intense confinement.Egg factories all over the US weed out male chicks and dispose of them en masse in plastic bags and barrels where they are crushed and suffocated. A half a million chicks a day are disposed of. They may also be ground up while still alive for use as animal feed.If you have ever had a pet, you know that animals have feelings, that they are intuitive, sensitive creatures. The production of animals for the consumption of their muscle and organ tissues is less than human. If we are going to create a heaven on earth, these atrocities must end.If animals were to have their God and devil, then, the way we have treated our friends in furs and feathers, they would definitely depict the devil in human form. “As we sow, so shall we reap.” “Thou shalt not kill.” “For every action there is a reaction.” “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” “Whatever we do to the creatures of the earth, we do to ourselves.” In many ways and in many cultures, the same message has been delivered. We must gently live with others if we want gentle reactions. Inflicting pain and death brings the reaction of premature pain and death. More antibiotics are used in animal production than for humans. Animal drug sales are in the billions. Drugged animals in factory sheds are supposed to have their drugs stopped at a certain time before slaughter. Withdrawal schedules are often lax. Troughs of old, drug-laden feed are not removed when withdrawal should begin. Since animals are often fed animal waste and flesh, drug and pesticide residues accumulate. There are 20 - 30 thousand animal drugs currently in use in the US. Roughly 90% have not been approved by the FDA.European countries have banned nearly all imports of American beef because of the routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock. Antibiotics for medical use are becoming ineffective because excessive use of antibiotics, especially in the meat industry, creates super bugs that are resistant to all known antibiotics. It is predicted that we are about to embark upon an era in which antibiotics are useless.Today's animals are packed indoors and kept alive with drugs and vitamin injections. The battle against infection and death in the factory farm shed is a constant concern. Misting animals with insecticides has become routine. In the chicken factories, birds are fed chemicals to control flies, which are so potent, they stay active even in their droppings, still able to kill larvae.USDA poultry inspectors are expected to inspect about 90 birds per minute on a fast moving conveyor. An impossibility. They are forced to allow unsafe poultry to get the USDA's stamp of approval.HEALTH:Everyone wants to have a long, healthy life. Meat is associated with cholesterol and degenerative diseases. Plus, the rich sauces that accompany meat make matters worse. No wonder more and more people are choosing to be vegetarian.Non-vegetarian families run a greater risk of suffering from chronic diseases than their vegetarian counterparts, suggests a survey conducted by Lucknow University (LU) students.The survey covered 1,000 upper-middle class families of Lucknow in which it was observed that the non-vegetarians are more prone to diabetes, cancer, asthma, arthritis and other chronic diseases,” said LU's Institute for Public Health and Affairs (IPHA) director Manoj Dixit.Referring to the survey conducted by his students, Dixit said: “We observed that the rate of chronic diseases in non-vegetarian families was over 11 percent while in vegetarian families it was nearly seven percent.”Significantly, the survey also observed that out of 1,000 families, there were 180 such non-vegetarian families whose every member was affected by a chronic disease, said Sanjeev Pandey, IPHA faculty member.Meat and dairy product centered diets are linked to many types of cancer as well as heart ailments, diabetes, obesity, gallbladder disease, hypertension and more deadly diseases and disorders.The National Cancer Research Institute of the US found that women who eat meat on daily basis are almost four times more likely to get breast cancer than those who eat no meat.Meat contains approximately 14 times more pesticides than plant foods; dairy products contain five-and-a-half times more pesticides than plant foods. By reducing the consumption of meat, dairy products and eggs by 50% the risk of heart attack is reduced by 45%. By following a vegan diet (no animal products including dairy) the risk of heart attack is reduced by 90%.Meat and dairy products raise the acid level in human blood, causing calcium to be excreted from the bones to restore the body’s natural pH balance. This calcium depletion results in osteoporosis. Contrary to the common belief that dairy products are necessary to prevent osteoporosis, consumption of dairy products actually increases the likliness of this crippling disease. Although fibre seems to help limit fat deposits, a meat-laden diet does just the opposite—it actually can cause an increase in body fat, especially in the belly, one of the worst places for it to accumulate in terms of both our health and our self-image. In one cross-sectional study, meat-eaters had the highest body mass indexes (BMIs), the height-weight ratio that’s the gold standard for separating healthy weights from weights that are too high or too low. Fish-eaters and vegetarians had lower BMIs than people who regularly ate meat, and vegans tended to have the lowest indexes of all. One possible explanation is that high-protein diets may change the hormonal make-up of the body, altering body chemistry in a way that increases fat around the abdomen. Whatever the reason, the point is clear: We have yet another reason to up our intake of fibre-rich fruits, veggies, and whole grains—a smaller waist.The protein question: It’s ironic, really, that the trend towards vegetarianism should be fuelled by concerns of health. It might be due to the fact that not long ago, vegetarians felt at a disadvantage because their diet apparently lacked protein.For the sake of health, they believed that they would have to eat at least eggs if not any other meat. “It was believed that a vegetarian diet made people weak, that they did not have the stamina that people who ate meat did,” says nutritionist and Brunch columnist Dr Shikha Sharma.“However, that today has been disproved.” Disproved how? Well, says Dr Sharma, that theory was based on received wisdom that had never been scientifically tested. “It was passed on to us by our European colonisers,” she says, “And we accepted it at face value.” That's true, agrees Dr S C Manchanda, former head of cardiology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, and now senior consultant cardiologist at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi.Since he left AIIMS, Dr Manchanda has researched the vegetarian diet and finds it lacking in nothing, including protein. A vegetarian diet lacks nothing provided that it is varied. Soya contains all the essential amino acids. So if one is vegetarian, one has to eat a variety of foods in combination to get all the nutrients one needs. This is best served by meals consisting of a variety of different vegetables, pulsess and wholegrains in small quantities, all on a single platter, comprising a single meal. “You can’t blame the Europeans really, because for them, ‘vegetarian’ meant salad or boiled vegetables, and that will never give you all the nutrients you need,” Dr Manchanda says.However, while animal protein does give you all the protein that is required at one go, research has shown that it is also responsible for degenerative diseases such as osteoporosis, cancer etc. Of course, meat is also a high source of cholesterol, which can be bad for your heart.Non-veg vs Veg protein:More than 50 percent of the dry weight of our body is protein. We therefore need to eat foods that contain a protein structure nearly identical to our bodies. The protein found in meat and dairy is far from having the ideal protein structure. This structure is further distorted by cooking. A meat and dairy-eating body overworks to adapt to these foreign protein sources, and learns how to extract and reform necessary nutrients. The unused portions, wastes, are then stored in the body as fat and other toxic residues. When the work becomes overwhelming for the body, it begins to degenerate, causing a breakdown of the immune system and structural damage to organs and body tissue. It makes much more sense to ingest protein that resembles the protein structure in our body. Wheatgrass juice protein is the optimal form of protein.According to the World Health Organisation, about eight to 15 per cent of the calories we consume every day should be protein; however, in India the recommended protein intake is 10 to 20 per cent. Meat contains no essential nutrients that cannot be obtained in higher quality directly from plant sources. A vegan diet lacks nothing.Vegetable protein has several advantages over animal protein aside from the fact that it is not linked with degenerative diseases. For one, it includes fibre, which helps reduce cholesterol levels in the body, and for another, it contains strong anti-oxidants. Also, heart disease, hypertension, obesity, adult-onset diabetes, kidney diseases and many cancers would virtually disappear if people switch over to vegetable protein.Many argue that only non-veg food contains all the essential amino acids. This is due to ignorance. Shadow-dried and powdered Moringa Oleifera (drumstick tree) leaves contains 20 types of amino acids, including all the essential ones which non-veg food contains. The protein content of these leaves is twice that of milk and its quality rivals that of milk and eggs. Apart from these amino acids, it also contains vitamin A, B, B1, B2, B3, B6, C, E, K, Omega-6 fatty acid, folate, several minerals, 46 types of anti-oxidants, 36 anti-inflammatory compound—all natural. It also has essential oils and fibres. Scientific research confirms that the leaves of drumstick tree are a powerhouse of nutritional value. Its fruit, flower, leaves, seeds, oil are all edible. Most importantly, it grows wildly in Asia and Africa and the poorest of the poor can have access to it. Moringa Oleifera is truly a “miracle” tree offering hope; nutritionally, medicinally and economically to devastatingly poor third world countries. It has just recently begun being used as a supplement in a juice form and in powdered leaf tablets. Wheat grass also is similarly highly nutritious.Soya bean is a remarkable food that has been used by the Chinese and other oriental people for centuries. More than 40% of soya bean is pure protein minus the toxins. This is more than twice that of meat and four times that of eggs, wheat and other cereals. Many also argue that only non-veg food, including dairy products, contain vitamin B12. This is again due to ignorance. Cheaper and non-toxic sources of vitamin B12 are soyabean (in any form), legumes, lentils, banana, nuts of all types, sunflower seeds, yeast extracts, wheat grass, seaweed etc. Vegans can consume these liberally to prevent vitamin B12 deficiency.The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and the Food and Nutrition Board recommend eating only 2.5% to 6% of one's calories as protein to satisfy health requirements. It's nearly impossible to get below 9% with a vegetarian diet. Typical Americans eat 28% of their calories as animal protein and an additional 12% as non-animal protein. High protein intake is the primary cause of osteoporosis.All non-veg food is toxic. Pork is the most toxic non-veg food followed by beef, mutton, eggs, chicken and fish. About 30% of all pork products are contaminated with toxoplasmosis, a disease which is caused by parasites. It can be passed on to consumers. The USDA does not inspect for trichinosis in pork, which must be thoroughly cooked before eating. About 4% of Americans have trichinella worms in their muscles. The latest disease that has come from pig is swine flu. Unnatural cattle feed has resulted in mad cow disease. Detection of salmonella is not required by the USDA. Not a single plant in the country inspects for it. CBS’s “60 Minutes” found half of the chickens they randomly purchased to be contaminated. Bird flu has also spread all over the world. Fish concentrate toxic chemicals. Consumer Reports (Feb., ‘92) notes that the incidence of unacceptable levels of PCB’s and mercury were found in certain species of fish. Ingesting PCB’s is considered a primary cause for the sperm count in American men to be 70% of what it was 30 years ago. Half the world’s fish catch is fed to cattle, which concentrates the poisons. Nearly half the fish tested by Consumers Union were found to be contaminated by bacteria from human or animal feces. The suspected cause is poor sanitation practices. Meat of any kind is harmful to our body structure.Chicken feathers, guts, and waste water, which normally would be discarded, are routinely “recycled” back to the hen houses as feed. Industry experts believe this unclean slaughtering, processing, and forced cannibalism, leads to the rampant salmonella epidemics in poultry plants. Ignoring true causes, the U.S. government recommends food irradiation to “sanitize” contaminated birds. Food irradiation causes potentially carcinogenic changes to proteins.The Bureau of Labor (US) lists poultry processing as one of the most hazardous occupations. Workers often contract diseases from sick animals. The meat packing industry suffers injuries10 times the national average, primarily nerve and tendon damage from repetitive motion (up to 8,000 times an hour).Nearly all toxic chemical residues in the American diet (95% to 99%) come from animal sources.Why Vegan?The main reason for becoming vegan is self-preservation. The consumption of animal products causes the pH of the body to become acidic, leading to cellular degeneration and the onslaught of disease. This has been confirmed in hundreds of scientific studies all over the world. An acidic pH in the body is the primary precurser to all disease. When we choose a vegan lifestyle, we not only help ourselves, but we help the planet as well.On a vegan diet, one is far less likely to get a bacterial infection such as E coli, camphylobacter and salmonella. Vegetarians get fewer of stomach, bladder, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma cancers.The lowest levels of clot-promoting fibrinogen are found in vegans who eat no animal products at all, not even eggs and milk. This is due to the fact that compounds in fruits and vegetables lower fibrinogen, while animal fat and cholesterol increase it. According to latest research a gluten-free vegan diet full of nuts, sunflower seeds, fruits and vegetables offer protection against strokes for people with rheumatoid arthritis.A 24-year-long American study has offered the strongest evidence yet to show that a diet rich in vegetables, low on animal protein and moderate intake of low-fat dairy products cuts chances of heart attack in middle-aged women by nearly a quarter.The study, which followed over 88,000 otherwise-healthy nurses, found that those who followed the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet—fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk and plant-based protein—over meat had 24% less chances of suffering a heart attack and 18% less likely to have a stroke than women who consume more meat.Women in the study were in their mid-30s to late 50s when the research began in 1980. Reporting this finding in the latest edition of the journal “Archives of Internal Medicine”, scientists from Simmons College, Boston, said that even though the study only followed women, men too would benefit equally by following a similar dietary regime.No Human is a CarnivoreIf you've ever watched a carnivore eat. You know instantly that humans are not carnivores. Carnivores stalk their prey. They attack, usually biting through the neck and ripping the throat to shreds. After killing, they rip open the belly with their sharp teeth and devour the entrails. They lap up the blood. Finally, they chew the bones, crushing them in their powerful jaws. We are not carnivores. To help end the controversy over whether humans are carnivores, consider that it is not common for a person to stalk a wild animal, catch it by sinking claws into its body, bite its neck, and feel comfort in the taste of fresh warm blood and uncooked flesh. No human could eat like a carnivore eats, except perhaps, the totally insane.The only way humans can eat animals is to disguise what they are really doing... get someone else to kill the animal, then drain and dispose of its blood, slice the muscles into pieces that are unrecognizable, grind the internal organs to make “sausages”, cook it, smother it with sauces and seasonings to cover-up a strong nauseating odour, especially if it is dried meat or fish... all in an effort to keep from experiencing the reality of what a carnivore does and is. We are not carnivores.Ideally our diet should be more than 50% uncooked. Some nature therapists advocate 70 to 80% uncooked food in the daily diet. Cooking and processing destroys many of the nutrients in the food. Whereas there are no options in non-vegetarian food, which is easy and safe to consume raw, including eggs; there are plenty of healthy options among vegetarian foods which can be easily and safely consumed raw or uncooked preserving its nutrient values. All fruits, dry fruits, nuts, various bean sprouts and many seeds can be consumed as it is without any cooking or processing. Many of the vegetables can be consumed uncooked. Shadow-dried and powdered leaves of moringa oleifera (drumstick tree) are a powerhouse of nutrition. It should be taken uncooked. This powder is not only nutritious, it is also a medicine for many diseases. Compared to having bread or roti made out of wheat flour which needs cooking, having fresh wheat grass juice is a much healthier option. It is not only highly nutritious like moringa oleifera; it is also a therapy for more than 350 diseases.The debate, in fact, now rages around whether human beings are genetically built to eat meat at all. In spite of what our biology textbooks tell us at school—that an examination of our dental plates shows that we have all kinds of teeth, some of which are suitable for cutting and tearing, some of which are good for chewing, thus proving that we have always been omnivorous (that is, we can eat everything)—Dr. Manchanda and Anju Venkat of Mumbai's Health Awareness Centre, which advocates a vegetarian diet, believe that humans were not built to eat meat.“All food is species-specific, that is, all creatures are built to eat only certain types of food,” says Anju Venkat. “For bees, its honey, cows have four stomachs to be able to digest grass; carnivores eat herbivores and so on. But the digestive system of human beings is not designed for meat.” How is this so? A comparative study of some of the aspects of anatomy and physiology of carnivores, herbivores and humans has shed light on the following: 1) Carnivores have sharp claws for holding the prey. Herbivores don’t. Humans also don’t.2) Carnivores cool their body by sticking their tongues out. Herbivores sweat through their skin. Humans also sweat through their skin. 3) Carnivores lick water, whereas herbivores suck water. Humans also suck water.4) Carnivores have predominantly sharp canine teeth. Herbivores have predominantly molar teeth. Humans also have predominantly molar teeth. 5) Carnivores can tear and chew raw meat, even through thick skin, as well as digest it. Herbivores cannot do so. Humans also cannot do so. Human beings have no sharp needle-like teeth to puncture flesh as do carnivores; humans have flat back teeth to grind plant food unlike carnivores. Some people argue that since humans also have canine teeth it is meant to tear meat. But even herbivores have canines, which imply that canines are required to tear vegetables as well. Besides, canines in humans and herbivores aren’t curved and sharp like those of carnivores and omnivores to enable them to tear raw meat through thick skin. 6) Ideally our diet should be more than 50% raw or uncooked. Some nature therapists advocate 70 to 80% uncooked food in the daily diet. Cooking and processing destroys many of the nutrients in the food. Whereas there are no options in non-vegetarian food, which is easy and safe to consume raw or uncooked, including eggs; there are plenty of healthy options among vegetarian foods which can be easily and safely consumed uncooked preserving its nutrient values.7) Carnivores have acidic saliva because non-vegetarian food high in protein needs an acidic medium to break down. Herbivores have alkaline saliva. Humans also have alkaline saliva. 8) The saliva of humans and herbivores contain digestive enzymes that the saliva in carnivores and omnivores lack.9) Stomachs of carnivores and omnivores secrete large quantities of hydrochloric acid needed to digest meat. The pH value of their stomach acidity is less than or equal to one. In fact stomach acids of crocodiles can even dissolve iron nail. Stomachs of herbivores do not secrete such large quantities of hydrochloric acid neither do that of humans. The pH value of their stomach acidity is 4 to 5.10) Carnivores have very large livers to instantly throw out all the toxins found in meat; herbivores have small livers. Humans also have small livers. 11) A natural carnivore’s bowel is relatively short (2-3 times the length of its torso) and smooth inside to allow quick elimination of meat, which putrifies quickly. Herbivores have long intestine. A human’s bowel is 12 times the length of the torso and deeply twisted and puckered. In the long convoluted human digestive tract, meat putrifies and becomes toxic to the body. 12) Carnivores can see in the dark to enable them to hunt. Herbivores can’t see in the dark. Humans also cannot see in the dark.13) Carnivores have short lifespan. Herbivores have comparatively longer lifespan. Humans also have longer lifespan. Eskimos, through absolute necessity, eat an exclusive diet of only meat and nothing else and they seem to exist quite happily on it. However, what is rarely appreciated is that they do not generally live for more than thirty years. Furthermore, the occurrence of heart ailments and arteriosclerosis is very high among these people.All this proves that we were never build to eat meat. We took to meat only in times of vegetable and grain shortage or in the places where there is no vegetation or only very sparse inedible shrubs, like Greenland or deserts.The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a group of 3,000 physicians, introduced the New Four Food Groups: fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. Meat, poultry, fish, nuts, seeds, and oils are termed “optional” foods, not considered necessary for health.Vegetarian Diet: Detoxifies: A veggie diet contains dietary fibre (bottle gourd, pumpkins, spinach, cabbages), which flushes toxins out of the body. A diet containing only eggs, fish and mutton is a poor source of fibre.Stronger bones: Gorging on meat can lead to protein overload. This can tax our kidneys, cause uric acid problem, interfere with the absorption of calcium and prompt the body to extract existing calcium from the bones. Such calcium excretion is rare amongst vegans. Easy digestion: Complex carbohydrates in vegetarian foods are digested gradually providing a steady source of glucose. Conversely, meats rich in fat and proteins are difficult to digest. Healthy skin: Eating beetroot, tomato, pumpkin and bitter gourd can clear off blemishes. Guava, apples, pears and peaches, eaten along with their peel, promise a glowing complexion.Weight management: Avoiding meat is the simplest way to reduce fat intake. Instead, eating whole grains, legumes, vegetables, nuts, and fruits, lowers cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and obesity.Easy on the teeth: Our molars are more suitable for grinding grains and vegetables than tearing flesh. Digestion begins with the saliva, which can only digest complex carbohydrates present in plant foods.Phyto-nutrients: Diabetes, cancer, kidney disease, stroke and bone loss are partially preventable with a good intake of phytonurtients. As these are present only in vegetarian diet, the non-vegetarians are at a loss. A vegetarian diet helps prevent diabetes, often relieves the symptoms, and can even eliminate the need for insulin treatments. It is often a quick cure for ulcerative colitis.Spinach has 14 times the iron content of sirloin steak. Animal products are deficient in vitamin C, which is needed for iron absorption.Veggies for Virility: Real men eat meat, right? Wrong. Far from macho, meat makes one less of a man. Here's medical evidence that vegans make better lovers. All bodily organs depend on blood supply. When arteries to the heart get jammed, the ticker stops. Similarly it’s with the male genital organ. When its arteries start to clog, one experiences erectile dysfunction. Once the obstruction worsens it leads to impotence. In America, where they live on steak and hamburger, one in four over 60-year-old men have at least one major arterial blockage. Turning from red to white meat won't help either, both chicken and fish have plenty of cholesterol and fat. Turning veggie on the other hand, can reverse arterial blockage, restoring one’s libido, plus providing looks to match since the average man who turns veggie becomes 10% leaner.Not only are plant foods themselves low in calories, but their natural starches stimulate two natural hormones in our body which accelerate our calorie-burning metabolism. Going veggie means one gets to keep one’s hair longer. In Japan as the diet has become westernized, i.e. more meat and fat, baldness is more common, especially in younger men. Meat hastens hair loss because testosterone enters and kills hair follicles. Excess testosterone produced by a meat-based diet also causes overproduction of cells in the prostate gland. An overgrown prostate can pinch off urinary flow needing frequent trips to the toilet. Going veggie also brings a man closer to the new-age male ideal as research has shown that the more fibre in a man's diet, the less likely is he to be aggressive and domineering. Animal foods don't contain any fibre at all. So the more one fills up on them, the less fibre in one's digestive tract, which results in constipation and a host of other diseases. So there it is, the most effective sexual aid is not a little blue pill but those greens on the grocery shelf.The Allied naval blockade during World War I forced Denmark dramatically into nationwide vegetarianism. The death rate from diseases during the period dropped by 34%.Doctors learn to treat diseases with drugs and surgery. Today’s physician has virtually no education on nutrition.The flesh of dead animals is a wonderful breading ground for germs. This can be dangerous if the meat is not cooked properly. Furthermore, meat contains natural waste matter and toxins. When the meat is eaten, these waste products are taken into the human body and inturn must be expelled. The body is usually quite capable of doing this, yet at the same time this imposes an extra burden on the kidneys and the organs of elimination. Another important factor is that animal flesh contains adrenaline, a powerful hormone and stimulant. When an animal is killed it is in a state of fear. A large amount of adrenaline is immediately injected into the bloodstream prior to death and is retained in the flesh. This adrenaline is known to retain its potency and when the meat is eaten the effects are passed on to the consumer. That is, the adrenaline from meat acts on the human system as though it came from the human adrenal glands under conditions of fear stress. Consumption of adrenaline in meat can lead to accentuated state of stress, which can only be detrimental to one’s health.The putrefication of meat is another important consideration, especially in hotter climates. Meat, particularly liver, putrefies very rapidly, far more rapidly than non-flesh foods. This process produces highly noxious poisons formed by the bacteria present. These bacteria invade the large intestine by the billions after consuming meat, which in turn produces more and more toxic substances. This leads to disruption of the digestive processes and poisoning of the system, creating favourable conditions for infection and disease. A non-vegetarian diet is a poor source of carbohydrates. Carb-deficiency can lead to ketosis—a condition where the body starts breaking down fat (instead of carbs) as a source of energy. Animal-based diets are high in saturated fat, excessive protein and cholesterol, leading to heart disease and stroke, nearly 50% of all deaths in the U.S.Dr. T. Colin Campbell, a key researcher involved with The China Study, says “In the next 10 to 15 years, one of the things you're bound to hear is that animal protein ... is one of the most toxic nutrients of all that can be considered.” Risk for disease increases dramatically when even a little animal protein is added to the diet.Meat-centered diets are linked to many kinds of cancer, such as cancer of the colon, breast, cervix, uterus, ovary, prostate, and lung.Constipation has also been closely connected with meat eating. Consumption of meat (especially over-consumption) has been associated with a wide variety of diseases. However, we cannot attribute the cause of these ailments solely to meat consumption, for vegetarians also suffer from them, though to a far lesser extent. There are many other factors involved, like low water consumption etc. However, a vegan diet definitely helps to reduce the likelihood of occurrence of many diseases. USDA meat inspection today is virtually non-existent with sometimes as few as 3 out of 1,000 carcasses checked. Federal inspectors are not allowed to stop the assembly line if a problem is sighted, they may only complain. Many cancerous carcasses pass inspection.Factory-farmed animals have as much as 30 times more saturated fat than yesterday's free-range, pasture-raised animals.Meat contains about 14 times more pesticides than plant foods; dairy products more than 5-1/2 times.Animals at the top of the food chain absorb many of the toxic chemicals in their diet. Pesticides, insecticides, petrochemicals, hormone injections, antibiotics as well as toxic wastes such as PCB's and mercury in our oceans. Today, more than ever, it is wise to eat low on the food chain. Plant foods are the safest.The high incidence of constipation, hemorrhoids, hiatal hernias, diverticulosis, spastic colon and appendicitis parallels today's widespread high fat, low fiber, meat-centered diets.Even, though organic farming and natural insect controls are proven, agribusiness continues with pesticides. Pesticides may take hundreds of years to decompose.In a March 1984 Time magazine reported on cholesterol and heart disease... “In regions where ... meat is scarce, cardiovascular disease is unknown.”Eating red meat and unpasteurised dairy products could make people more prone to bacterial attack that can cause severe gastroenteritis and, in rare cases, fatal kidney failure, according to an Australian research.A research team of Monash University led by Travis Beddoe has found that Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli bacteria can cause bloody diarrhoea and the potentially fatal haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), the commonest cause of acute kidney failure in children. The team studied how a toxin secreted by the E coli strain causes HUS by going from the stomach into cells and the bloodstream, ABC reported.They found that the toxin is transported inside human cells by binding with a specific sugar N-glycolylneuraminic, acid-containing saccharide present in such foods. “The toxin sticks to the sugar to get inside cells,” Beddoe said, adding, “This uncovered the first example of bacterium causing disease in humans by targeting a molecule which is incorporated into our bodies through what we eat.” The sugar is abundant in red meats, especially beef, lamb and pork, and unpasteurised cow's milk. These are the foods that are also the most commonly contaminated with the E coli strain. When eaten, the sugar is stored in human tissue, stomach or kidney cells, the study said. “Thus through regular dietary intake of red meats and milk, humans may pre-sensitize their tissues to a key virulence factor of a major pathogen that occurs sporadically in the same foods,” the researchers said.Red meat ups death risks:People who eat the most red meat and the most processed meat have the highest overall risk of death from all causes, including heart disease and cancer, US researchers reported.The National Cancer Institute study is one of the largest to look at the highly controversial and emotive issue of whether eating meat is indeed bad for health. Rashmi Sinha and colleagues looked at the records of more than 500,000 people aged 50 to 71 who filled out questionnaires on their diet and other health habits.Even when other factors were accounted for—eating fresh fruits and vegetables, smoking, exercise, obesity—the heaviest meat-eaters were more likely to die over the next 10 years than the people who ate the least amount of meat.They divided the volunteers into five groups, called quintiles. Between 1995 and 2005, 47,976 men and 23,276 women died. The quintile who ate the most red meat had a higher risk for overall death, death from heart disease and cancer than the men and women who ate the least red meat. The researchers said thousands of deaths could be prevented if people simply ate less meat. “For overall mortality, 11% of deaths in men and 16% of deaths in women could be prevented if people decreased their red meat consumption to the level of intake in the first quintile,” Sinha’s team wrote.Many studies have previously shown that people who eat less meat are healthier in many ways, and Sinha’s team noted that meat contains several cancer-causing chemicals, as well as the unhealthiest forms of fat.Vegetarians live on average about six years longer and are healthier than meat eaters.Mother's milk from a nursing woman who eats a diet rich in animal sources is so toxic that if it were to be sold across state lines (US), it would be subject to confiscation and destruction by the FDA.The common colds, as well as allergies to dust, cats and pollen, are likely to go away when milk is removed from the diet. No other mammal in nature drinks milk after weaning, or drinks the milk of other species. Cows will not even drink cow's milk after weaning. Humans are the only species who keep drinking milk right from birth until death. Had it been natural for humans to drink milk lifelong, our mothers would have produced milk throughout their lives. Since they don't, it is evident that it is unnatural for humans to continue drinking milk after they are weaned. Cow's milk is meant for calves, not humans. An infant's natural protein needs are actually quite low. Human milk contains only 5% of its calories as protein, which enables an infant to double in size in 180 days. In contrast, cow's milk is 15% protein by calorie. Newborn calves double in size in only 47 days.Milk and dairy products also cause breast cancer. Contrary to the common belief that dairy products are necessary to prevent osteoporosis; consumption of dairy products actually increases the risk of this crippling disease. Shadow-dried and powdered leaves of moringa oleifera are cheaper and healthier source of calcium. The calcium content of moringa oleifera leaves is four times that of milk, minus the toxins. Soyabean contains isoflavones, plant hormones, which offer protection against osteoporosis. Some times poisons are taken as medicine for treating some deseases, but they can’t be a part of our daily diet. So also milk and dairy products are some times taken as part of medicine or use to prepare medicine in ayurveda, but they can’t be a part of our daily diet. According to Environmental News Network, the 408-page report states that what many people are eating is contributing more to global warming than the entire transportation sector of the United States. The report said that the Earth, and all who reside here, are in grave peril like never before. It added that everybody has a moral, ethical responsibility and imperative to face up to the truth, even if it means changing their daily habits.There has never been a time in man's existence when it is so critical to move away from the Standard American Diet (SAD) and embrace an Earth-friendly and sustainable plant-based diet—a vegan diet, the report said. By switching to a plant based diet, mankind will instantly eradicate nearly 20 per cent of the global warming problem. If that isn't amazing enough, this simple yet profund change would greatly curtail further deforestation, top soil erosion and even the ever-worsening tainting of the world's waters.Abstinence in all societies is associated with ascetics, monks and priests—at least in public—to claim purer superior status. The adage has it that you are what you eat—gross foods make you lusty or slothful, base and animal-like in short. This is borne out by modern medical research as well. It is not only a religious belief, but also a principle of good health. Some of the Greek philosophers, such as Archemedis, urged people to become vegetarians. They said this for a good reason, knowing that there is a definite relationship between what we eat and our state of mind. This is not surprising for the mind and body are intimately connected. This is clearly shown when we consider rapid and direct influence that alcohol has on human behaviour, both emotionally and psychologically; the same too with drugs. It is a fair assumption to say that the food we eat also has profound repercussions on our emotional and mental attitudes. Throughout the ages, it has been said that meat eating is conducive to internal tension and disharmony, whereas vegetarian food tends to promote inner calmness. Every year, November 25 is observed as International Meatless Day to draw attention to animal rights. Combined with the environmental reason, such an observance could go a long way in bringing about a degree of moderation in eating habits so that there is a good balance. Some Indian states—Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh—close down slaughterhouses and meat shops on this day.It's easy to become a vegan. Simply do not buy non-veg food or dairy products when you go to the grocer or to a restaurant. If you do not buy it, you will not consume it. Subsequently the breeding of livestock for meat and dairy products will start dwindling. You can learn how to cook and serve well-balanced, nutritious, healthy, non-toxic and delightful vegetarian fare. There are many cookbooks available at your favorite natural food store or bookstore.Adopting a vegan diet is not a religious, moral or an emotional issue nor it is some kind of a fad. It is a very attractive option for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and stabilizing the Earth's climate and ensuring global food security and reversing health crises. In the light of the above, you may take a sensible decision regarding your diet, as to what to eat, in what form to eat (raw / uncooked, steamed etc.), how much to eat, when to eat etc. for personal health and individually contribute in tackling major global crises. The choice is entirely yours.
