Newsletter Number #137 -  ( World Vegetarian Day issue 2004 A.D. Gaurabda 518)
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ki jaya

Please Accept My Respectful Obeisances & Best Wishes To All

_0____,

All Glories To Srila Prabhupad.

\o/
(_)
/ \ All Glories to Sri Guru and Gauranga.

Welcome to the latest edition of the on-line HKSRNewsletter, this is the World Vegetarian Day and World Vegetarian Awareness Month, which includes all other aspects of Vegetarianism such as Vegan and Animal Rights etc.

This newsletter is going out to way over the regular 2108+ receivers. I trust that all is well with everyone by the Mercy of the Lord. However, if anyone would like to be removed please just send me a message requesting me to do so, and I will do it promptly. If you are receiving this from a friend, and would like to be added directly to the regular mailout please also let me know and I will do the needful there too. Removal and Subscription details are at the very end of this newsletter.

Hare Krishna. =>B-) JTCd

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The Nectar in this Issue 

World Vegetarian Day
&
World Vegetarian Awareness Month - October
Including World Farm Animal Day, World Vegan Day, etc etc.

1st October EVERY Year

World Vegetarian Day has been observed since 1977 bringing together vegetarians from all over the world for a common cause. It brings awareness to the ethical, environmental, health and humanitarian benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle. We're observing growing trends, especially since Foot and Mouth and Mad Cow diseases hit the world stage, it is estimated that about one million people a year become vegetarians in the US alone, and millions in Europe, Australasia too. Everything that we are doing is making a difference, and every little bit helps.

Where you find any group trying to promote this noble cause please give your support. Contact your local temple or community and find out how you can get involved this year. There are many links where you can find what's going on locally on our 2004 WVD page.

Some ideas: stalls at stations, flyers on the street, radio programs, special programs at schools/colleges, uni-techs or Universities, Vegetarian Clubs/Societies, invite family and friends to special dinners, programs at our temples, massive prasadam distribution everywhere possible, Harinam sankirtan (congregational chanting in the streets, with some prasadam distribution), (Cook) Book distribution (Kurma's cookbooks, Adiraj's cook books, Yamuna Devi's cookbooks, Higher Taste cook book etc), Food For Life food distribution outlets, Fact Sheet distribution, Flyers ( 1  - 2 ), advertisements in local and national newspapers, Holmes show, Good Morning, Breakfast show TVOne, TV talk-back(s), Pacific  Radio, Access Community Radio into the various communities it targets all over the country.......all over the world. We have developed many nice relationships with various Vegetarian organizations world wide, with Food For Life and other vegetarian food relief groups and wish to continue to do so. "There are no strangers only friends we haven't met yet !"

Back to the avenues of publicizing what we are doing.......do you have any other avenues to target? Have a good think, brainstorm with some friends - please send us what you come up with, let us know what your doing so we can enthuse others and do likewise, 

Lord Krishna and Lord Balaram sharing butter with their animal friends.

Vegetarianism in the UK
http://www.ferreri.freeserve.co.uk/vegetarianismUK.html

"I launched out in search of a vegetarian restaurant [in London 1887], I would trot ten or twelve miles each day, go into a cheap restaurant and eat my fill of bread, but would never be satisfied. During these wanderings I once hit a vegetarian restaurant in Farringdon Street. The sight of it filled me with the same joy that a child feels on getting a thing after its own heart."
This is an extract from a speech delivered by Gandhi at a Social Meeting organised by the London Vegetarian Society on 20 November 1931.

We've come a long way since then. Being a vegetarian especially in London, but also in Britain in general, has now become very common, and life for vegetarians is easy, with restaurants, hotels, products catering exclusively for them or also for them.

Here are some statistics.
*  There are about 3 million vegetarians in the UK: 5 % of the adult population. In the latest National Diet & Nutrition Survey, conducted on 2251 adults aged 19 to 64, 5% claimed to be vegetarian (7% women, 2% men). The reason for going vegetarian/vegan was: 51% moral or ethical, 29% health, 25% didn’t like the taste of meat. 11% of women aged 19 to 34 claimed to be vegetarian.
*  7 million people in the UK no longer eat meat.
*  In the last 10 years, the number of vegetarians in the UK has practically doubled.
*  2,000 people a week in the UK are joining the "veggie revolution" and dropping meat completely from their diets.
*  Food scares such as BSE and Foot and Mouth have led large numbers of people to rethink their diets, with 27 % of the population saying that they would consider giving up meat, and 12 % saying that they were vegetarian or meat-reducing.
*  In a poll of 1,051 university and college students in 2002, 8% of students claimed to be vegetarian. 11% women, 4% men. 20% of the vegetarians would not eat eggs.

The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom is the oldest vegetarian organisation in the world. Many celebrities are vegetarian, including Stella McCartney who is the patron of the Vegetarian Society. She says: "Every week in the UK, many thousands of people are rejecting traditional meat-based meals in favour of something that's fresh, delicious, satisfying, healthy, kinder and good for the environment. Vegetarian food offers this and so much more … Welcome to the most delicious, most talked about, fastest growing food trend of the new millennium - vegetarianism."

Interestingly, Gandhi himself became a vegetarian by choice, as opposed to cultural tradition and upbringing, after having read Plea for Vegetarianism, a book by the British author Henry Salt, a true pioneer who also wrote Animals' Rights, one of the first books ever appeared on the subject.Here is the continuation of Gandhi's speech at the London Vegetarian Society meeting, quoted above:
"I saw among them Salt's Plea for Vegetarianism. This I purchased for a shilling and went straight to the dining room. This was my first hearty meal since my arrival in England. . . . From the date of reading this book, I may claim to have become a vegetarian by choice. I blessed the day on which I had taken the vow before my mother. I had all along abstained from meat in the interests of truth and of the vow I had taken, but had wished at the same time that every Indian should be a meat-eater, and had looked forward to being one myself freely and openly some day, and to enlisting others in the cause. The choice was now made in favour of vegetarianism, the spread of which henceforward became my mission."

"Vegetarianism is THE diet of the future. Your future! Every week 5,000 people turn their backs on the traditional meat-based diet with all its cruelty and waste and choose a diet which is nutritious as it is delicious - Vegetarianism!"

Vegetarianism is a concept which is fast catching on in India and around the world. With many famous people such as Maneka Gandhi striving to spread the good news of vegetarianism, It is a matter of time till the whole world turns vegetarian.

A change in diets may be necessary to enable developing countries to feed their people, say scientists

John Vidal
Monday August 23, 2004

The Guardian

Governments may have to persuade people to eat less meat because of increasing demands on water supplies, according to agricultural scientists investigating how the world can best feed itself.  They say countries with little water may choose not to grow crops but trade in "virtual water", importing food from countries which have large amounts of water to save their supplies for domestic or high-value uses.  With about 840 million people in the world undernourished, and a further 2 billion expected to be born within 20 years, finding water to grow food will be one of the greatest challenges facing governments.  Currently up to 90% of all managed water is used to grow food.

"There will be enough food for everyone on average in 20 years' time, but unless we change the way that we grow it, there will be a lot more malnourished people," said Dr David Molden, principal scientist with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), which is part-funded by the British government and is investigating global options for feeding growing populations.

"The bottom line is that groundwater levels are plummeting and our rivers are already overstressed, yet there is a lot of complacency about the future," the IWMI report says.

"Western diets, which depend largely on meat, are already putting great pressures on the environment. Meat-eaters consume the equivalent of about 5,000 litres [1,100 gallons] of water a day compared to the 1,000-2,000 litres used by people on vegetarian diets in developing countries. All that water has to come from somewhere."

The consensus emerging among scientists is that it will be almost impossible to feed future generations the typical diet eaten in western Europe and North America without destroying the environment.  A meat and vegetable diet, which most people move to when economically possible, requires more water than crops such as wheat and maize. On average, it takes 1,790 litres of water to grow 1kg of wheat compared with 9,680 litres of water for 1kg of beef.

In its report, the IWMI says it it unlikely people will change their eating habits because of concerns about water supplies. "And in many sub-Saharan countries, where the pressure on water will increase most rapidly in the next 20 years, people actually need to be eating more, not less," the report says.

Anders Berntell, the director of the International Water Institute, based in Stockholm, said: "The world's future water supply is a problem that's ... greater than we've begun to realise.  We've got to reduce the amount of water we devote to growing food. The world is simply running out of water."

Research suggests that up to 24% more water will be needed to grow the world's food in 20 years, but many of the fastest-growing countries are unable to devote more water to agriculture without sacrificing ecosystems which may be important for providing water or fish.  The option of increased world trade in virtual water seems logical, the scientists say, but they recognise that it depends on countries having the money to import their food. "The question remains whether the countries that will be hardest hit by water scarcity will be able to afford virtual water," the report says.

The best options for feeding the world, it says, are a combination of hi-tech and traditional water conservation methods. Improved crop varieties, better tillage methods and more precise irrigation could reduce water consumption and improve yields.  Drought-resistant seeds, water harvesting schemes and small-plot technologies such as treadle pumps [simple foot pumps] all have the potential to boost yields by 100%, the report says.

The scientists did not examine the use of GM foods which have been hailed by some companies as the way to avoid big food shortages.  "Even without GM foods, in many parts of the world there is the potential to increase water productivity. Even without them there is hope," one of the report's authors said.

Another option considered is that of farmers using more urban waste water for irrigation. It is estimated that up to 10% of the world's population now eat food produced using waste water from towns and cities.  Cities are predicted to use 150% more water within 20 years, which will be both a problem and an opportunity.  "This means more waste water but also less fresh water available for agriculture. In the future, using waste water may not be a choice but a necessity", the report says.

The authors say western governments need to change their policies: "Agricultural subsidies keep world commodity prices low in poor countries and discourage farmers from investing [in water-saving technologies] because they will not get a return on their investments.  Land and water rights are also needed so people will invest in long-term improvements."

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

By Judith Blake
Seattle Times staff reporter

"I've always felt really pleased to be alive, and food is an avenue for sharing that pleasure and giving back.”
— David Lee, Field Roast Grain Meat Co. owner

For some people, life is a meal of many courses, and David Lee is such a man.

In the course he's savoring now, on a side street in Georgetown, he owns a small company making vegetarian "meat" that offers new taste twists for such products and is finding a market across the country.

Earlier in his career, he played a key role in feeding Seattle's homeless — a role whose impact is still felt today. The link joining these and several other turns in Lee's life has been food and his philosophy surrounding it.

"I've always felt really pleased to be alive," he says, and he finds food an avenue for sharing that pleasure and "giving back."

His current setting is a trio of drab, wood-frame houses that have a distinctly downscale look — yet represent a move up in style and taste for meat substitutes.

Here, his Field Roast Grain Meat Co., employing eight, turns out a growing line of flavorful, meat-like loafs, roasts, slices, patties and links made primarily from high-protein wheat-gluten flour, vegetables and seasonings.

The enterprise reflects Lee's own vegetarianism, his rejection of animal farming as "cruel and unethical" and his belief that all life has value. But that doesn't mean he thinks just any kind of meat alternative will do.

"What I want to do is make a (vegetarian) meat for meat eaters," he says — that is, a meat-like product that meat lovers love. "I want to make the best food possible."

Boutique vegetarian fare

Not aimed at the hair-shirt crowd, Field Roast projects an upscale image, using such ingredients as smoked tomatoes, wild mushrooms, hazelnuts and assorted herbs. The holidayish Celebration Roast has a sausage-style meatless stuffing of butternut squash, apples, red wine, grain meat and seasonings.

JOHN LOK / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Nhung Nguyen puts links of barbecue vegeterian sausage into a smoke rack at Field Roast Grain Meat, which turns out a line of flavorful, meat-like products made primarily from high-protein wheat-gluten flour, vegetables and seasonings.

"We like to think we're the boutique of the vegetarian world," says Lee, 46.

Field Roast is sold in the deli sections of Whole Foods Markets and Wild Oats stores across the country (though only the former are in Seattle), and locally in Larry's Markets, PCC Natural Markets, Madison Market and certain restaurants.

Though company sales grew by 40 percent in 2003, Lee says, they remain below $1 million. But he has higher ambitions.

"The prize of our industry," he says, "is distribution in the mass-market stores" — Safeway, Kroger, Albertson's and the like — and that's where he hopes to see his products someday.

Targeting "flexitarians"

Vegetarian purists probably are not the chief Field Roast consumers, Lee says.

"I think it's the emerging 'flexitarian.' They eat tofu one night, meat the next."

That word, flexitarian, is one you could be seeing more of. Meaning a vegetarian who occasionally eats meat, it was declared the most useful new word of 2003 by the American Dialect Society and reflects what is thought to be a fast-growing segment of Americans. The reasons are many, but one appears to be periodic meat scares, such as "mad-cow" disease.

Last winter's detection of "mad-cow" disease in a single Washington cow brought a spike, though not a dramatic one, in Field Roast sales, Lee said.

As for all those flexitarians, Lee says he is one.

"I really am a vegetarian, but I need to be honest and say I'm not hardcore. I don't buy meat myself, but if I go to your house and you serve meat, I'll eat it," to avoid wasting food or embarrassing his host.

Lee explains all this as he leads a visitor through his tiny, USDA-inspected production area with its big steel vats, shiny new sausage-making machine, a slicing table and other equipment.

Using wheat-gluten flour instead of soy has helped achieve Field Roast's strikingly meat-like texture, Lee says. Among the growing array of meat substitutes in stores, soy, with its high-protein content, is by far the most common main ingredient. A few products, such as the Portland-launched Gardenburger, which also uses soy, are widely available and increasingly popular.

Despite the word "meat" — or "roast," "sausage" or "meatloaf" — in the names of Field Roast products, Lee insists he is not making a fake version of animal meat. "The discriminating, upper-end consumer doesn't want fake anything," he says.

Instead, he maintains, he makes genuine meat in another sense of the word — as in solid food, such as nut meats, coconut meat or in this case, grain meat.

"Look it up in the dictionary," he says — something he certainly has done as a confessed word lover who reads dictionaries for fun.

Nutritional content

Nutritional content varies among Field Roast products. In the deli slices, the calories, fat and carbohydrates are relatively low. A 2-ounce serving (about 3.5 to 4 slices) of the wild-mushroom variety contains: 104 calories; 11 grams carbohydrate; 13 grams protein; 3 grams fat (0 saturated).

Celebration Roast lists a larger serving size, 4 ounces, with these per-serving counts: 252 calories; 17 grams carbohydrate; 21 grams protein; 14 grams fat (1 saturated).

With their fancy ingredients, Field Roast products tend to cost more than other meat substitutes. The brand's prices vary significantly by region and store, but they're generally in this range: $2.99 to $3.99 for a 5.5-ounce package of the slices; $2.99 to $4.59 for a ¼-lb. unit of the meatloaf; and $5.99 to $7.99 for a 1-lb. Celebration Roast.

Early love for food

The appetizer course in Lee's life was a comfortable childhood in an upscale Connecticut suburb. Then, when his parents divorced, his English mother returned to England, taking David and his brother. Soon, he found himself in a rigid British boarding school. Mid-high-school, Lee returned to the U.S., lived with his two sisters in Arizona and finished high school in Massachusetts.

Influenced by his mother's love of cooking, Lee knew early on that he wanted to cook for a living. Discouraged from that by his father, he entered art school, dropped out, lived in San Diego, made his way to Seattle in 1984 and finally took up his first love, cooking. Untrained but talented, he first cooked in a restaurant.

Then, in 1987, he made a move whose impact is still felt in Seattle: founding Common Meals, a business that prepared food for the homeless. At one point, Lee recalls, Common Meals churned out 1,500 meals a day for agencies that served homeless people. He also taught the disadvantaged about food and cooking.

"He had this absolute passion for teaching and being involved in programs that taught and provided food," recalls Kay Ach, a retired dietitian who once oversaw Head Start nutrition programs in Seattle. He also had a "really magic" appreciation of ethnic diversity and ethnic foods, she said.

In the early 1990s, burned-out and ready to move on, Lee converted Common Meals to a nonprofit agency and turned it over to others. Common Meals became FareStart, which today both trains the homeless for restaurant jobs and cooks meals for the homeless.

Lee taught cooking for a time at North Seattle Community College and at Whole Foods Market, and did some motivational speaking to food-service providers. He launched Field Roast in 1997.

His interest in ethnic difference shows up in his company's all-Vietnamese staff. A small Buddhist shrine hangs on the lunchroom wall, with incense that employees light daily.

Lee, who lives on Beacon Hill, is Buddhist himself and meditates every day. Hiking is another passion.

One passion he's never had, he says, is the pursuit of wealth.

"I can't believe our focus on luxury right now — the big-screen TV, eating out a lot. It's so wonderful to have a meal at home with family and friends."

He cooks vegetarian meals, loves to read cookbooks and sees lots of movies. Divorced, he has two sons — Ian, 14, and Malcolm, 20, who works at Field Roast as administrative assistant.

What's cooking in the future

Ahead for Field Roast are two new vegetarian sausage products due out in the fall. And, possibly, something more. Once again feeling the urge to move on, Lee would like one day to sell his business to a mainstream animal-meat-products company.

Wouldn't that compromise his vegetarian philosophy? He says not. His products would get wider distribution. "And every time someone buys some Field Roast slices, it means some (animal) meat is not being purchased."

Meanwhile, he's writing a book on how to make vegetarian meats such as his. Not worried about revealing his secrets, he says he'd like everybody — especially some top chefs — to know the techniques and then expand upon them.

It's just the latest course in a many flavored life.

The Hare Krishna people live on food that's natural, healthy, nonviolent, purified and cheap. And for taste alone, it's great!

On the menu: wholesome foods like fruits, grains, vegetables, milk products, made into meals of countless varieties. No meat, fish, or eggs. And you don't miss them. (You're too satisfied.)

This is a diet that respects the earth and its creatures. And you.

No fads here, no experimental diets. This is a way of eating that people have thrived on—physically and spiritually—for tens of centuries. It has stood the test of time.

When Krishna devotees cook, they cook with devotion, because they're cooking for Krishna. The food is first for Krishna's enjoyment. Then you enjoy it, and the spiritual taste comes through.

An award-winning cookbook—Lord Krishna's Cuisine—offers 799 pages of recipes. You can taste some of them every week at the Sunday feast held at every Hare Krishna center. Or visit one of the justly famous Hare Krishna restaurants.

If everyone ate like the Hare Krishna people, the world would be happier, healthier, more peaceful, and more pure. The Krishna diet. Try it!

"Temple worship, you go in India, there are some temples still. Daily, they are spending thousands of dollars for temple worship. Daily. The process... In Jagannatha temple, fifty-six times offered prasada, and any time you go they will supply you prasada for one thousand persons. It is all ready. Still. Although India is being advertised there is no food, but if you go to Jagannatha temple, any time, and ask the manager that "We have come, one thousand devotees. Please supply us prasada." "Yes, ready." (laughter) So that is being done. The arrangement is there since last two thousand years. The Jagannatha has property, there is production, there is good management. That is going on. Similarly, there is another temple, Nathadwar. They're also spending thousands of... In Madras also, there are many temples. There is a big estate. They are also collecting money daily, $4,000, $5,000. Yes. Still. The temple arrangement is there."
Bhagavad-gita 3.1-5

It is said that one who kills his preceptor, children, Brahmins well versed in Shaastras. also belongs to this category. No sin would accrue, if these are killed says Manu. Thus one can see how those who forcibly take another's life/body, and killing it, eat it etc are the most sinful, selfish, and cold hearted of persons. It is very conceivable that the purport to their suffering be that of the words of George Bernard Shaw.

What's in the Scriptures Against Killing and Meat-Eating
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/2062/argu.HTML
http://www.hknet.org.nz/Vege-How2ArguNO-M.html

Hindu scripture speaks clearly and forcefully on nonkilling and vegetarianism. In the ancient Rig Veda, we read: "O vegetable, be succulent, wholesome, strengthening; and thus, body, be fully grown." The Yajur Veda summarily dictates: "Do not injure the beings living on the earth, in the air and in the water." The beautiful Tirukural, a widely-read 2,000-year-old masterpiece of ethics, speaks of conscience: "When a man realizes that meat is the butchered flesh of another creature, he must abstain from eating it." The Manu Samhita advises: "Having well considered the origin of flesh and the cruelty of fettering and slaying of corporeal beings, let one entirely abstain from eating flesh." In the yoga-infused verses of the Tirumantiram, warning is given of how meat-eating holds the mind in gross, adharmic states: "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)." The roots of noninjury, nonkilling and nonconsumption of meat are found in the Vedas, agamas, Upanishads, Dharma Shastras, Tirumurai, Yoga Sutras and dozens of other sacred texts of Hinduism. Here is a select collection.

Vedas and agamas, Hinduism's Revealed Scriptures
LET YOUR AIMS BE COMMON, and your hearts be of one accord, and all of you be of one mind, so you may live well together.
Rig Veda Samhita 10.191

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. VE, 319

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, FS 90

Peaceful be the earth, peaceful the ether, peaceful heaven, peaceful the waters, peaceful the herbs, peaceful the trees. May all Gods bring me peace. May there be peace through these invocations of peace. With these invocations of peace which appease everything, I render peaceful whatever here is terrible, whatever here is cruel, whatever here is sinful. Let it become auspicious, let everything be beneficial to us.
Atharva Veda Samhita 10. 191. 4

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. FS, 90

If we have injured space, the earth or heaven, or if we have offended mother or father, from that may Agni, fire of the house, absolve us and guide us safely to the world of goodness.
Atharva Veda Samhita 6.120.1. VE, 636

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. FS, 90May all beings look at me with a friendly eye. May I do likewise, and may we all look on each other with the eyes of a friend.
Yajur Veda 36.18.

Nonviolence is all the offerings. Renunciation is the priestly honorarium. The final purification is death. Thus all the Divinities are established in this body.
Krishna Yajur Veda, Prana Upanishad 46-8. VE, 413-14

To the heavens be peace, to the sky and the earth; to the waters be peace, to plants and all trees; to the Gods be peace, to Brahman be peace, to all men be peace, again and again-peace also to me! O earthen vessel, strengthen me. May all beings regard me with friendly eyes! May I look upon all creatures with friendly eyes! With a friend's eye may we regard each other!
Shukla Yajur Veda Samhita 36.17-18. VE, 306; 342

No pain should be caused to any created being or thing.
Devikalottara agama, JAV 69-79. RM, 116

The Mahabharata and Bhagavad Gita, Epic History
The very name of the cows is aghnya, indicating that they should never be slaughtered. Who, then could slay them? Surely, one who kills a cow or a bull commits the most heinous crime.
Mahabharata, Shantiparva 262.47. FS,pg. 94

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. FS, pg 90

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. FS, pg. 90

One should never do that to another which one regards as injurious to one's own self. This, in brief, is the rule of dharma. Yielding to desire and acting differently, one becomes guilty of adharma.
Mahabharata 18.113.8.

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.

Ahimsa is the highest dharma. Ahimsa is the best tapas. Ahimsa is the greatest gift. Ahimsa is the highest self-control. Ahimsa is the highest sacrifice. Ahimsa is the highest power. Ahimsa is the highest friend. Ahimsa is the highest truth. Ahimsa is the highest teaching.
Mahabharata 18.116.37-41.

He who sees that the Lord of all is ever the same in all that is-immortal in the field of mortality-he sees the truth. And when a man sees that the God in himself is the same God in all that is, he hurts not himself by hurting others. Then he goes, indeed, to the highest path.
Bhagavad Gita 13. 27-28. BgM, pg. 101

Nonviolence, truth, freedom from anger, renunciation, serenity, aversion to fault-finding, sympathy for all beings, peace from greedy cravings, gentleness, modesty, steadiness, energy, forgiveness, fortitude, purity, a good will, freedom from pride-these belong to a man who is born for heaven.
Bhagavad Gita 16.2-3. BGM, pg. 109

Tirumantiram and other Scriptures
Many are the lovely flowers of worship offered to the Guru, but none lovelier than non-killing. Respect for life is the highest worship, the bright lamp, the sweet garland and unwavering devotion.
Tirumantiram 197

SPIRITUAL MERIT and sin are our own making. The killer of other lives is an outcast. Match your words with your conduct. Steal not, kill not, indulge not in self-praise, condemn not others to their face.
Lingayat Vachanas

AHIMSA IS NOT CAUSING pain to any living being at any time through the actions of one's mind, speech or body. Sandilya UpanishadWhen mindstuff is firmly based in waves of ahimsa, all living beings cease their enmity in the presence of such a person.
Yoga Sutras 2.35. YP, pg. 205

Those who are ignorant of real dharma and, though wicked and haughty, account themselves virtuous, kill animals without any feeling of remorse or fear of punishment. Further, in their next lives, such sinful persons will be eaten by the same creatures they have killed in this world.
Shrimad Bhagavatam 11.5.4. FS, pg, 90

The Tirukural, Preeminent Ethical Scripture
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 in a village near Madras over 2,000 years ago. Considered the world's greatest ethical scripture, it is sworn on in South Indian courts of law.It is the principle of the pure in heart never to injure others, even when they themselves have been hatefully injured. What is virtuous conduct? It is never destroying life, for killing leads to every other sin.
312; 321, TW

Harming others, even enemies who harmed you unprovoked, assures incessant sorrow. The supreme principle is this: never knowingly harm any one at any time in any way.
313; 317, TW

What is the good way? It is the path that reflects on how it may avoid killing any living creature. Refrain from taking precious life from any living being, even to save your own life.
324; 327, TW

How can he practice true compassion Who eats the flesh of an animal to fatten his own flesh?
TK 251, TW

Riches cannot be found in the hands of the thriftless. Nor can compassion be found in the hearts of those who eat meat.
TK 252, TW

Goodness is never one with the minds of these two: one who wields a weapon and one who feasts on a creature's flesh.
TK 253, TW

If you ask, "What is kindness and what is unkind?" it is not killing and killing. Thus, eating flesh is never virtuous.
TK 254, TW

Life is perpetuated by not eating meat.The clenched jaws of hell hold those who do.
TK 255, TW

If the world did not purchase and consume meat, there would be none to slaughter and offer meat for sale.
TK 256, TW

When a man realizes that meat is the butchered flesh of another creature, he must abstain from eating it.
TK 257, TW

Perceptive souls who have abandoned passion will not feed on flesh abandoned by life.
TK 258, TW

Greater than a thousand ghee offerings consumed in sacrificial fires is to not sacrifice and consume any living creature.
TK 259, TW

All that lives will press palms together in prayerful adoration of those who refuse to slaughter and savor meat.
TK 260, TW

The Hinduscriptures from the oldest Vedic to all the later layers in time all advocate vegetarianism and not killing animals and certainly never offer animals in their Yajnas!

The Vedic word frequantly mentioned is Aghnya = not to be killed. This word was in particular used for cows.

Aahavaniiye maamsapratishedha (Katyayana Sutra)

That which is used in Yajna (aahavaniiya) must be vegetarian

Maa himsyaat sarvabhuutaani. (RigVeda)

No creature/animal should be killed.

Yah paurusheyena kravishaa samankte yo ashvyena pashunaa yaatudhaanah,
Yo aghyaayaa bharati kshiiramagne teshaam shirshaani harasaapi vrshcha. (RV 10.87.16)

The evil person who kills or eats the meat of a horse or cow deserves to be terminated.

Dhaanaa dhenurabhavad, vatso’syaastilo’bhavat. (AtharvaVeda 18.4.32)
Rice is named as ‘cow’ and sesame as ‘calf’.
[Just like someone saying ‘I want the meat of hazel = I want the nut of hazel]

Maamsapaakapratishedhashcha tadvat. (MiimaamsaSuutra 10.3.65)

Killing and eating meat is totally prohibited.

Dhenuvachcha ashvadakshinaa. (MS 10.3.65)

Like a cow is given (in charity) so also a horse.

Suraam matsyaan madhu maamsamaasavam krsaraudanam,
Dhuurttaih pravartitam hyetannaitad vedeshu kalpitam. (Mahabharata, ShaantiParvan 265.9)
It is only the evil-minded hypocrites who started telling that Vedic Yajnas involve intoxicants and meat eating. It is not in the Vedas.
[This comment must have been around the time, far beyond the Bharata Battle and in post-Vedic times, when many customs arrived in the Vedic Heartland, which were totally foreign to its culture]

The full Anushaasana Parvan of the Mahaabhaaratam discusses the evils of meat eating:

Akhaadannanumodamshcha bhaavadoshena maanavah,
Yo’numodati hanyantam so’pi doshena lipyate. (MB, AnushaasanaParvan 115.39)

The one who himself doesn’t eat meat but even if he gives his consent to eat meat or to kill an animal, he becomes equally sinful as them.

Ijyaayajnashrutikrtairyaa maargairabudho’dhamah,
Hanyaajjantuun maamsagrdhnuh sa vai narakabhaangnarah. (MB, AP 115.43)

The meateater who kills an animal in the name of Vedic Yajna or tells that it is a requirement of the Yajna is a sinner and he will be a person who will dwell in hell.

Aahartaa chaanumantaa cha vishastaa krayavikrayii,
Samskartaa chopabhoktaa cha khaadakaah sarva eva te. (MB, AP 115.45)

The one who brings an animal to be killed, the one who buys an animal to be killed, the one who sells, buys, cooks and eats the meat are all sinners.

Na dadyaadaamisham shraaddhe na chaadyaad dharmatattvavit,
Munyannaih, syaatparaa priitiryathaa na pashuhimsayaa. (Bhaagavatam 7.15.7)

It is Dharma that in the Shraaddha feast he should never offer meat nor should eat meat. Only vegetarian food must be offered because meat is obtained by killing.
[One can understand that in the days of this particular verse, the mainstream Hindus were confronted with people starting to eat meat]

Naitaadrshah paro dharmo nrnaam saddharmaamichchhataam,
Nyaaso dandasya bhuuteshu manovaakkaayajasya yah. (Bhaagavatam 7.15.8)
This is the best Dharma to observe for everyone that one should not hurt other beings even in his thoughts.

ManuSmriti or ManavaDharmaShastra

Manu strongly admonishes that one should never drink and should never even smell any intoxicant like wine. (MS. 11.146-149)

Manu asserts that selling, buying, cooking and eating meat is a sin which is as great as killing an animal itself. (MS 5.15)

Gaudii Paishtii cha Maadhvii cha Vijneyaa trividhaa suraa.
Yathaivaika tathaa sarvaa na paatavyaa dvijottamaih. (MS 11.94)
Yaksharakshah pishaachaannam madyam maamsam suraasavam.
Tad braahmena naattavyam devaanaamashnataa havih. (MS 11.95)

Brahmans, Kshatriyas and Vaishyas should never drink wine, liquor or intoxicants of any kinds, because intoxicants, wine, liquor and meat of animals are the food of Yakshas, Rakshasas and Pishachas (all kind of non-Vedic people or even demons). So they mustn’t consumed.

Naakrtvaa praaninaam himsaam maamsamutpadyate kvachit.
Na cha praanivadhah svargyastamaanmaamsam vivarjayet. (MS 5.48)
Anumantaa vishasitaa nihantaa krayavikrayii.
Samskartaa chopahartaa cha khaadakashchetighaatakaah (MS 5.51)

Flesh of animals is obtained only after killing him, which is a sin, and the killer of animals never enters the celestial abode.
All those involved in killing, consenting the killing, helping the killing, carrying, selling, buying, cooking and eating the meat of an animal are equally sinful as the killing of that animal.

Incorrect view of Hindus (Shraaddha ritual)

Annam tu saadhikshiiram goghrtam sharkaraanvitam. (Maasam) priinaati vai sarvaanpitrnityaaha keshavah. (Matsya Purana 17.30)
Vegetarian food prepared with pure butter, milk, sugar and curd, etc. are most pleasing to the Pitr.

Dvau maasau matsyamaamsaena triinmaasaanhaarine tu.
Aurashnenaatha chaturah shaakunenaatha pancha vai. (MP 17.31)
Shanmaasam chhaagamaamsena trnyanti pitarastathaa.
Sapta paarshatamaamsena tathaashtavenajena tu. (MP 17.32)
Dasa maasaamstu trnyanti varaahamahishamishaih.
Shashakuurmajamaamsena maasaanekaadeshaiva. (MP 17.33)
Samvatsaram tu gavyena payasaa paayasena cha.
Rauravena cha trpyanti maasaanpanchadashaiya tu. (MP 17.34)
Vaardhranisasya maamsena trptirdvaadashavarshikii.
Kaalashaakena chaanantaa khadgamaamsena chaiva hi. (MP 17.35)

Verses 31 to 35 describe the acts of cooking and offering of all kinds of meat (fish, gazelle, sheep, special birds, goat, deer, black deer, pig, buffalo, rabbit, turtle, special deer, rhino) to Pitr, which is totally out of place and out of context, and it appears to have been deliberately interpolated. The 36th verse again goes like this:

Yatkimchinmadhusammishram gokshiiram ghrtapaayasam,
Dattamakshayamityaahuh pitarah puurvadevataah. (MP 17.36)
Apart from the cow’s milk, honey and the sweet pudding made of milk and rice and sugar with dry nuts satifies Pitr forever.

Interpolation in Aashvalayana GrhyaSutra 5 (Shraaddha)

In the end of this chapter there are 45 sutras on Shuulagava which is a ceremony to sacrifice a bull/ox for Shiva to appease him.
Everybody familiar with Shiva and Nandinii, knows that that is impossible. If Ashvalayana was a gotra of Vasishtha, as stated in the Sutras, then that is equally impossible, because Vasishtha owned Nandinii, and was famous for his protection of cows. And he was a Shaiva.

Note
It is very significant that most of the interpolated verses on eating of animal flesh is in relation to the Shraaddha ritual. The rest are in other Samskara ceremonies.
The Harivamsha an appendix to the Mahabharata describes in the Giri Utsava Varnana the sacrifice of bulls and buffaloes in the Govardhana worships. One familiar with the Krshna worship does understand the ridiculous statement.
In the Paraskara GrhyaSutra one comes across the description of a 6 month old baby who has to be fed with meat in the Annapraashana Samskara ceremony. How disgustful and obviously a horrid interpolation.

Source:
Swami Prakshananda: The True History and Religion of India
2001, Delhi. Motilal Banarsidass.
(additional remarks, changes and new order done by me)

Edited by Ishwa (09/20/02 04:15 PM)

Ashvamedha and Purushamedha are not sacrifices in the sense of killings of Ashva and Purusha, as wrongly translated by the first generations of indologists (who were missionaries), but is a ritual in which Ashva ad Purusha play the central role in establishing or knowing/understanding how the balance of power respectively the division in society is. Would the Rajasuya then mean the pressing=killing of the Raja?
        Medha is a word which has a cognate in Medha=Wisdom or Medhira, which means the same. (Medha comes from older obsolete mazdha, which is attested in Avestan (Ahura) Mazda, the Varuna of the ancient Iranis. No Varuna is associated with killing of animals.

The only time people are sacrificed is in the Antyeshti Yajna, or cremation ceremony.

Besides this, the understanding that the potency of the brahmanas was very much different in previous times, they were much stronger and more pure. The brahmanas would recite Vedic mantras and lead an animal to the sacrificial fire, however the animal wasn't just thrown into the fire and its body then eaten as the Christian missionaries presented "animal sacrifice of the pagan savages" to be. Rather prior to the Kali yuga an old animal was lead to the fire, and by the perfect recitation of sacred Vedic mantras when the animal was lead into the fire it's old body was rejuvenated by the flames rather than consumed and a young healthy body inherited.
        Due to the lack of potency of the brahmanas in the Kali yuga, it is condemned that one even try to perform such a sacrifice in this age. There were several advocates of Ahimsa in this regard; Lord Buddha and His doctrine of Ahimsa, the saint Madhwacharya (circa 13th centuary) who stopped animal sacrifice again in India and had Vedic brahmanas offer grain balis into the fire with the mantra idam krsnaya idan na mama, Chaitanya mahaprabhu is mentioned in the Pratisagar parva 19th Chapter of Kaliyuga khanda of Bhavishya purana as being the instigator for this.

Gomedha doesn't mean the killing of Go=cow, but it means agriculture. It is known in old Iran-Afghanistan as Gomez, which is only used in the sense of agriculture. Both cultures are cognate, so are their customs. Go-medha then is the proper sacrifice of the animals strength in using it in agriculture within the daivi varnashram system, that dedicates all of men's natural attributes and actions, as well as that of those animals in their care into the blissful service of Govinda (pleaser of the cows and the senses) - Gopala (He who looks after the cows).

And God said, behold I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of the earth, and every tree, in the which is the
fruit of a tree yeilding seed, to you it shall be for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing
that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat [=food]: and it was so.
Genesis 1, 29 & 30

Thou shalt not kill.
Exodus 20:13 (The Bible)

Speak to the Earth, and it shall teach thee.
Job 12:8 (The Bible)

A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast; but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.
Proverbs 12:10 (The Bible)

Open thy mouth for the dumb, in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.
Proverbs 31:8 (The Bible)

Even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath, so that a man hath no pre-eminence
above a beast.
Ecclesiastes 3:19 (The Bible)

The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
and a little child shall lead them ... They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge
of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
Isaiah 11:6-9 (The Bible)

He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he
offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth
in their abominations.
Isaiah 66:3 (The Bible)

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Matthew 5:7 (The Bible)

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Romans (The Bible)

Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees.
Revelation 7:3 (The Bible)

The unnatural eating of flesh-meats is as polluting as the heathen worship of devils, with its sacrifices and its unpure feasts, through
participation in which a man becomes a fellow-eater with devils.
Clementine Homilies (Second Century AD)

A tree is known by its fruit; a man by his deeds. A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants
kindness gathers love.
St.Basil, Bishop of Caesarea (329-379 AD)

The saints are exceedingly loving and gentle to mankind, and even to brute beasts ... Surely we ought to show them [animals] great
kindness and gentleness for many reasons, but, above all, because they are of the same origin as ourselves.
St.John Chrysostom (c.347-407)

It should not be believed that all beings exist for the sake of the existence of man. On the contrary, all the other beings too have been
intended for their own sakes and not for the sake of anything else.
Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (1135-1204)

[Regarding animals and their offspring], there is no difference between the pain of humans and the pain of other living beings, since the
love and tenderness of the mother for the young are not produced by reasoning, but by feeling, and this faculty exists not only in
humans but in most living beings.
Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (1135-1204)

If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who deal likewise
with their fellow men.
St.Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)

Not to hurt our humble brethren is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission - to be of service to
them wherever they require it.
St.Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)

You, who are innocent, what have you done worthy of death! (On seeing animals being killed for food)
Richard of Wyche, Bishop of Chichester (1197-1253)

And if thy heart be straight with God, then every creature shall be to thee a mirror of life and a book of holy doctrine, for there is no
creature so little or so vile, but that sheweth and representeth the goodness of God.
Thomas A Kempis (1379-1471)

Be careful that the love of gain draw us not into any business which may weaken our love of our Heavenly Father, or bring
unnecessary trouble to any of His creatures.
John Woolman (1720-1772)

I tremble for my species when I reflect that God is just.
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

I am to ask your Lordships, in the name of that God who gave to man his dominion over the lower world, to acknowledge and
recognise that dominion to be a moral trust.
Lord (Thomas) Erskine (1750-1823)

...the primitve Christians, by laying so much stress upon a future life in contradiction to this life, and placing the lower creatures out of
the pale of sympathy, and thus had the foundation for this utter disregard of animals in the light of our fellow creatures.
Anna Bronwell Jameson (1794-1860)

It is almost a definition of a gentleman to say he is one who never inflicts pain.
Cardinal Newman (1801-1890)

...and we have so far improved upon the custom of Adam and Eve, that we generally furnish forth our feasts with a portion of some
delicate calf or lamb, whose unspotted innocence entitles them to the happiness of becoming our sustenance.
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

For fidelity, devotion, love, many a two-legged animal is below the dog and the horse. Happy would it be for thousands of people if
they could stand at last before the Judgement Seat and say "I have loved as truly and I have lived as decently as my dog." And yet we
call them "only brutes"!
Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)

Without the perfect sympathy with the animals around them, no gentleman's education, no Christian education, could be of any possible
use.
John Ruskin (1819-1900)

Love animals: God has given them the rudiments of thought and joy untroubled. Do not trouble their joy, don't harrass them, don't
deprive them of their happiness, don't work against God's intent. Man, do not pride yourself on superiority to animals; they are without
sin, and you, with your greatness, defile the earth by your apppearance on it, and leave the traces of your foulness after you - alas, it is
true of almost every one of us!
Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881)

Love all God's creatures, the animals, the plants. Love everything to perceive the divine mystery in all.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821-1881)

He who does evil that good may come, pays a toll to the devil to let him into heaven.
Hare and Charles (c. 1830)

Heaven is by favor; if it were by merit your dog would go in and you would stay out.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)

The animal world being altogether external to the scheme of redemption, was regarded as beyond the range of duty, and the belief that
we have any kind of obligation to its members has never been inculcated - has never, I believe, been even admitted - by Catholic
theologians.
W.E.H.Lecky (1838-1903)

Spain and southern Italy, in which Catholicism has most deeply implanted its roots, are even now, probably beyond all other countries
in Europe, those in which inhumanity to animals is most wanton and unrebuked.
W.E.H.Lecky (1838-1903)

...the atrocious doctrine that beast and birds were made solely for man's use and pleasure, and that he has no duties towards them.
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt (1840-1922)

It is a deplorable fact that many Christians are so accustomed to a certain creed and dogma of their own that they will adhere to it even
at the sacrifice of the great moral laws of love and mercy.
E.D.Buckner MD, AM, PhD (1843-1907)

Man should regard lower animals as being in the same dependent condition as minors under his government ... For a man to torture an
animal whose life God has put into his hands, is a disgrace to his species.
E.D.Buckner MD, AM, PhD (1843-1907)

You think those dogs will not be in heaven! I tell you they will be there long before any of us.
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

The great discovery of the nineteenth century, that we are of one blood with the lower animals, has created new ethical obligations
which have not yet penetrated the public conscience. The clerical profession has been lamentably remiss in preaching this obvious duty.
William Ralph Inge (1860-1954)

God gave our first parents the food He designed that the race should eat. It was contrary to His plan to have the life of any creature
taken. There was to be no death in Eden. The fruit of the trees in the garden was the food man's wants required.
- Ellen White, founder Seventh Day Adventists (1864)

Kindness to all God's creatures is an absolute rock-bottom necessity if peace and righteousness are to prevail.
Sir Wilfred Grenfell (1865-1940)

Cruelty to animals is the degrading attitude of paganism.
Cardinal Hinsley (1865-1943)

The infliction of cruelty with a clear conscience is a delight to moralists. That is why they invented hell.
Bertand Russell (1872-1970)

I hated the things they believe in, the things they so innocently and charmingly pretended. I hated the sanctimonious piety that let people
hurt helpless creatures. I hated the prayers and the hymns - the fountains and the red images that coloured their drab music, the
fountains filled with blood, the sacrifice of the lamb.
Ellen Glasgow (1874-1945)

Compared with that of Taoists and Far Eastern Buddhists, the Christian attitude toward Nature has been curiously insensitive and often
downright domineering and violent. Taking their cue from an unfortunate remark in Genesis, Catholic moralists have regarded animals
as mere things which men do right to regard for their own ends....
Aldous Huxley (1894-1963)

If we understand and feel that the greatest act of devotion and worship to God is not to harm any of His beings, we are loving God.
Meher Baba (1894-1969)

To love God in the most practical way is to love our fellow beings. If we feel for others in the same way as we feel for our own dear
ones, we love God.
Meher Baba (1894-1969)

If we suffer in the sufferings of others and feel happy in the happiness of others, we are loving God.
Meher Baba (1894-1969)

The diet of animals is vegetables and grains. Must the vegetables be animalized, must they be incorporated into the system of animals,
before we get them? Must we obtain our vegetable diet by eating the flesh of dead creatures? God provided fruit in its natural state for
our first parents. He gave to Adam charge over the garden, to dress it, and to care for it, saying, "To you it shall be for meat." One
animal was not to destroy another animal for food."
- Ellen White, founder Seventh Day Adventists (1896)

Let our ministers and canvassers step under the banners of strict temperance. Never be ashamed to say, "No thank you; I do not eat
meat. I have conscientious scruples against eating the flesh of dead animals.
- Ellen White, founder Seventh Day Adventists, 1901

Flesh was never the best food; but its use is now doubly objectionable, since disease in animals is so rapidly increasing.
- Ellen White, founder Seventh Day Adventists, 1902

Animals are becoming more diseased and it will not be long until animal food will be discarded by many besides Seventh-day
Adventists. Foods that are healthful and life sustaining are to be prepared, so that men and women will not need to eat meat.
- Ellen White, founder Seventh Day Adventists, 1902

Vegetables, fruits, and grains should compose our diet. Not an ounce of flesh meat should enter our stomachs. The eating of flesh is
unnatural. We are to return to God's original purpose in the creation of man.
- Ellen White, founder Seventh Day Adventists, 1903

The moral evils of a flesh diet are not less marked than are the physical ills. Flesh food is injurious to health, and whatever affects the
body has a corresponding effect on the mind and the soul. Think of the cruelty to animals meat-eating involves, and its effect on those
who inflict and those who behold it. How it destroys the tenderness with which we should regard those
creatures of God!
- Ellen White, founder Seventh Day Adventists, 1905

Animals are often transported long distances and subjected to great suffering in reaching a market. Taken from the green pastures and
traveling for weary miles over the hot, dusty roads, or crowded into filthy cars, feverish and exhausted, often for many hours deprived
of food and water, the poor creatures are driven to their death, that human beings may feast on the carcasses.
- Ellen White, founder Seventh Day Adventists, 1905

It is a mistake to suppose that muscular strength depends on the use of animal food. The needs of the system can be better supplied,
and more vigorous health can be enjoyed, without its use. The grains, with fruits, nuts, and vegetables, contain all the nutritive
properties necessary to make good blood. These elements are not so well or so fully supplied by a flesh diet. Had the use of flesh been
essential to health and strength, animal food would have been included in the diet appointed man in the beginning.
- Ellen White, founder Seventh Day Adventists, 1905

Those who eat flesh are but eating grains and vegetables at second hand; for the animal receives from these things the nutrition that
produces growth. The life that was in the grains and the vegetables passes into the eater. We receive it by eating the flesh of the animal.
How much better to get it direct by eating the food that God provided for our use!
- Ellen White, founder Seventh Day Adventists, 1905

I write in sorrow [on vivisection]: as far as I can tell, no voice has been heard from the Church about this evil. The matter is forgotten
for another year. It should not be. It is one of the most appalling blots on our plentifully blotted civilisation.
Rev Geoffrey Mather (1910- )

It is man who has fallen, not the beasts: that is the message even for the irreligious, and to some extent salvation can be measured by his
very treatment of them.
Roy Fuller (1912- )

Let the law of kindness show no limits. Show a loving consideration for all God's creatures.
General Advices (1928) (Quakers)

We shall respect that of God in all creation. We shall live in loving harmony with the earth. Humankind shall be a joyful gardener of the
world given us by God, and shall use its fruits wisely and moderately.
Quakers (1979)

10/.     ...and again, verily I say unto you, all wholesome herbs God hath ordained for the constitution, nature, and use of man...
11/.     ...every herb in the season thereof, and every fruit in the season thereof, all these to be used with prudence and thanksgiving...
12/.     ...Yea, flesh also of the beast and fowls of the air, I , the Lord have ordained for the use of man with thanksgiving, nevertheless they are to be used sparingly...
13/.     ...and it is pleasing unto me that they should not be used, only in times of winter, or of cold, or famine...
14/.     ...All grain is ordained for the use of man and of beasts, to be the staff of life, not only for man but for the beasts of the field, and the fowls of  heaven, and all wild animals that run or creed on the earth...
15/.     ...and all these that hath God made for use of man only in times of famine and excess of hunger...
16/.     ...All grain for the food of man, as also the fruit of the vine, that which yeildeth fruit, whether in the ground or above the ground...
17/.     ...Nevertheless, wheat for man, and corn for the ox, and oats for the horse and rye for the fowls and for swine, and for all beasts of the field, and barley for all useful animals, and for mild drinks, as also other grain...
18/.     ...and all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings walk in obeidience to the comandments, shall receive health in their navel and marrow in their bones...
19/.     ...and shall find wisdom and great treasures of knowledge, even hidden treasures.

* Winter, Cold and Famine. Jesus stipulated only in these times one may eat meat and then only to survive. It would seem that in these times vegetables and grain are hard to grow around Salt Lake City, maybe snow. So that it is understandable forthis order in 1833 (ie with a lacking of shops and superettes to bring in fresh produce or bags of processed grain from. But in today's age produce can be sourced and sent all over to towns and cities that are lacking there is no excuse for meat eating today - so the excuse of winter and cold is out. Famine does not or rarely applies in most countries that the Mormons preach in - NZ, AUS, USA, UK, etc.)
 
 

mustadrak-e hakîm kî kitâbuttibb men pahlî hadîs yeh hai kih rasûlullâh sallallâhu ‘alaihi va-sallam ne farmâyâ, "allâh ne ko’î bîmârî nahîn utârî jis kî davâ nah utârî ho, aur gâ’î ke dûdh men har bîmârî se shifâ kî tâsîr hai." us kitâb kî tîsrî hadîs men shifâ kî vajah yeh farmâ’î, "kyûnkih gâ’î har dirakht se cartî hai — fa-innahâ tarummu min kull shajar."

yeh ek haqîqat hai kih ûnT, bhens, bheR, bakrî, aur dusre tamâm janvaron ke muqâbalah men gâ’î kâ dûdh sab se a‘lá hai. tamâm mazarrat se pâk hai aur muta‘addid ‘avâriz ke liye shifâ bakhsh hai. gâ’î ke dûdh kâ makkhan aur ghî bhî kitnî hî bîmâriyon kâ mudâvâ hain. atibbâ’ ba-taur-i davâ tajvîz karte hain. dûsrî taraf gâ’î kâ gosht garm hai, aur apnî garm tâsîr ke bâ‘is ba‘z-i ‘avâriz paidâ kartâ hai. lekin hamain yeh bât hargiz farâmosh nah karnî câhi’e keh gâ’î halâl hai aur kisî halâl shai ko apne aur harâm qarâr dene kî hargiz ijâzat nahîn. tibbî nuktah-i nazar se isti‘mâl aur ‘adam-i isti‘mâl kî sûrat aur hai.

In the Book of Medicine of the Mustadrak al-Hakîm [a classical hadith commentary by al-Hakîm al-Nîsaburî], the first hadith is: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings upon him, said: "Allah did not create any disease without creating its cure; and in cows' milk is a cure for every disease." The third hadith in this book says on the subject of healing: "Because the cow grazes from every kind of plant."

It is a fact that, compared to that of camels, buffaloes, sheep, goats, and all other animals, cows' milk is superior. It is free from everything harmful and provides healing for various illnesses. The butter and ghee from cows' milk are a treatment for several more diseases. Physicians prescribe it as medicine. On the other hand, beef is hot in nature, and its heat causes some diseases to occur. But we should not neglect that beef is halâl and it is not permissible to declare that something halâl is harâm. From the medical point of view, the question of using it or not using it is another thing.

In view of the welcome news of a Muslim Vegetarian/Vegan Society and the recent contributions from other major religions to these pages, we reprint just a few of the following Islamic teachings on the duties of Muslims towards their fellow beings (with apologies for any orthographical inaccuracies).

STATUS OF ANIMALS

PHYSICAL INJURY

ANIMAL BAITING AND BLOOD SPORTS

"The Holy Prophet (S) condemned those who pinion or restrain animals in any other way for the purpose of target shooting. (Al-Masburah and Al-Mujaththamah)." (Muslim)

Understanding that you become what you eat, Islam Prohibits the eating of carnivorous animals like lion, tiger, leopard, etc. The consumption of the meat of such animals would probably make a person violent and ferocious. Therefore where Islam does condone as a concession to eat meat Islam only allows the eating of herbivorous animals like cow, goat, sheep, etc. that are peaceful and docile.

The glorious Qur’ân says in Surah A`raaf Chapter 7 Verse 157(7:157)

"Those who follow in the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet (PBUH), whom they find mentioned on their own (Scriptures), in the law and the Gospel - for he commands them what is just and forbids them What is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure); He releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them. So it is those who believe in him, honour him, help him, and follow the Light which is sent down with him it is they who will prosper."

And in Surah Hashr Chapter 59 Verse 7(59:7)

"What Allah has bestowed on His Messenger (and taken away) from the people of the townships belongs to Allah, to His Messenger and to kindred and orphans, the needy and the wayfarer; In order that it may not (merely) make a circuit between the wealthy among you. So take what the Messenger assigns to you, and deny yourselves that which he withholds from you. And fear Allah; for Allah Is strict in Punishment."

Ahaadeeth Of Muhammad (Pbuh) prohibiting eating of carnivorous animals

According to a Ahaadeeth narrated by lbn Abbaas in Saheeh Bukhari and Saheeh Muslim the Holy Prophet (PBUH) prohibited the eating of

i. Wild animals with canine teeth i.e. meat eating carnivorous animals. These are animals belonging to the cat families such as lion, tiger, cats, dogs, wolfs hyenas, etc

ii.     Certain rodents like mice, rats, rabbits with claws, etc.

iii.    Certain reptiles like Snakes, alligators etc.

iv.  Birds preying with talons or claws, like vultures, eagles, crows, owl, etc;

Thus for some Muslims, The Prophet’s (PBUH) statement is sufficient to convince him that Allah does not wish humans to eat meat, while some other Muslims suggest that he means that some kinds of meat are prohibited while allowing some other kinds.

 It is an established medical fact that eating meat of dead animals is detrimental to human beings. Besides causing diseases like  Anthrax bacillus. Brucellosis, parteurella multocida, hemorihagic septicunia, flesh of dead animals causes heptospirosis which can even cause death. The Glorious Qur’ân prohibits dead meat in no Less than 4 places.

In Surah Baqarah chapter 2 verse 173  (2:173)

In surah Ma’idah chapter 5 verse 8  (5:8)

In Surah A’naam chapter 6 verse 145  (6: 145)

In Surah Nahl chapter 16 verse 115  (16:115)

Islam's concession for meat eating:

Allah says in Surah Al- Baqarah Chapter no.2 verse no.173 (2:173)

"He has only forbidden you, dead meat, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that on which any other name has been invoked besides that of Allah.”

In Surah Al-Ma'idah Chapter no.5 verse 3(5:3)

“Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which has been invoked the name of other than Allah: That which has been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death; That which has been (partly) eaten by a wild animal; Unless you are able to slaughter it (in due form), that which is sacrificed on stone (altars); (Forbidden) also is the division (of meat) by raffling with arrows: that is impiety. This day have those who reject faith given up all hope of your religion: yet fear them not but fear Me. This day have I Perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. But if any is forced by hunger, with no inclination to transgression, Allah is indeed Oft-Forgiving Most Merciful.”

In Surah Nahl Chapter no.76 verse 115 (16:115)

“He has only forbidden you dead meat and blood, and the flesh of swine, and any (food) over which the name of other than Allah has been invoked. But if one is forced by necessity, without willful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits - then Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

It is not necessary to sacrifice animals in the Hajj. When I did my Hajj, I did it the Maliki way. According to Maliki fiqh, ifrad is the most preferred format. With ifrad, there is no animal sacrifice. I completed a pilgrimage that was perfectly valid according to Maliki fiqh — and no animals were harmed in the making of my Hajj.

Vegetarianism is halal.
Meat is not compulsory.
Any food is permissible provided it is not harmful.
Muslims are free to eat whatever they want provided it is halal.

See more Islamic vegetarian links here:
http://www.islamveg.com/

The place for vegetarians in Egypt.
http://www.vegetarianegypt.com/index.pl/volume_one
 

The option to be vegetarian has always existed in Islam, whether or not it was actualized at any time or place. The great Sufi Râbi‘ah al-‘Adawîyah of Basrah was an early Muslim vegetarian; so were the famous poet Abû al-‘Alâ’ al-Ma‘arrî and the Ottoman sultan Bayezid II.  In recent times, the renowned Sufi shaykh Bawa Muhaiyaddeen was a notable vegetarian Muslim. Nowadays there are more and more Muslims in different countries choosing to be vegetarian, although they have mostly kept quiet about it.

Sometimes we get negative, hostile, indignant, or incredulous reactions from other Muslims who have never considered the possibility. One common line of attack goes, "You can't make harâm what Allah has made halâl! That is a sin!" Excuse me, but who ever said anything about making anything harâm? Why even bring that issue into it? Why do they have to think of everything in life in terms of force and compulsion and forbidding? In Islamic law there are more categories than just obligatory and harâm. There are various shadings of desirable and undesirable, and in the middle there is the neutral (al-mubâh). The choice of what halâl food to eat is a neutral one—-it doesn't have any direct bearing on what is forbidden or obligatory. I'm not making meat "harâm." I just don't wish for any, thank you.

Some Muslims will tell you that in Islamic law you are not allowed to refuse to eat meat. This is mere opinion unsupported by any evidence from the sources of the Sharî‘ah. Suppose they establish the "Islamic State," then how will they enforce this ruling? Hold me down, force my mouth open, and shove kebabs down my throat? Come on, I don't think so.

Others try to persuade you by saying that the Prophet, peace be upon him, ate meat, so you should too. Well, let's look closer at that argument. We all know that we should try to emulate the Prophet's sunnah. And what is more important in the Sunnah: to observe specific details of the Prophet's personal taste which others may or may not share? Or to abide by the great universal principles of behavior and character that he exemplified?

The Prophet recognized that each person is a unique autonomous individual with his or her own personality. When giving advice to individual Companions, he would specifically tailor the advice according to that person's own characteristics. He did not enforce any overbearing uniformity on the people. Especially when it came to eating, he recognized that different people have different tastes. And for that matter, not even the Prophet and his Companions ate meat all the time; it was only once in a while that they did, not every day. Some Muslims seem to be under the impression that eating meat is the sixth pillar of Islam or something, but clearly there is no reason for thinking so.

The one overall guideline on food that the Prophet gave was: Eat of what is halâl and what is agreeable to you. That says it all. Within the wide range of halâl food, each individual can choose to eat whatever suits him or her.

If people want to follow the Prophet's sunnah of eating, consider this: The Prophet ate what he liked and he left aside what he didn't like. That's all we vegetarians are doing! Furthermore, he never coerced anyone else into eating what they didn't like. How about imitating this sunnah?

There was a Bedouin tribe whose custom it was to eat lizards, and the Prophet never forbade them from doing so. But he himself would never eat a lizard. This shows that just because something is "halâl," that doesn't require you to eat it if you don't want to.

The bottom line is: no one has the authority to dictate to you what halâl food you can choose to put into your body. Islamic law is completely neutral on this issue; it is only a private matter for each individual to decide for his or her self.

Moreover, note that the Qur’ân does not simply say to eat halâl meat: it says to eat what is good and wholesome (tayyib), and what is halâl.  Therefore, if any food is not tayyib, the Qur’ân does not encourage us to eat it. Most of the microbes that reside in the gut of a cow and find their way into our food get killed off by the acids in our stomachs, since they originally adapted to live in a neutral-pH environment. But the digestive tract of the modern feedlot cow is closer in acidity to our own, and in this new, manmade environment acid-resistant strains of E. coli have developed that can survive our stomach acids — and go on to kill us. By acidifying a cow's gut with corn, we have broken down one of our food chain's barriers to infection. Considering the diseases linked with meat eating (hardening of the arteries, which causes circulatory failure and stroke, in addition to other ills; gout; E. coli infection; and Mad Cow Disease), the hormones artificially put into animals, the filthy conditions of feedlots and slaughterhouses, and the danger of meat going bad, I can only conclude that meat does not pass the test of being tayyib, so Muslims are better off without it.

Ever since I became vegetarian, I feel lighter, fresher, happier, healthier. I can think better. Now, who will argue with that? :-)

Lord Buddha taught that this material world is full of suffering, and he also taught that there is 'samudaya' or a cause (material), and that due to there being a cause there must be a way of removing the cause, so then one has to remove material existence. This is the teaching of Buddha and as far as I can see there is nothing wrong with this statement, as with many of the revealed statements of Buddha. Though he never really disclosed more than this. Still He had a function to perform and he did it well. It was not His purpose really to develop anything further, nor would the people of the time had been able to receive any more than this, it was a troubled time.
 Throughout Buddha's life he always acted in an exemplary way, His compassion was always very personal, despite his missions philosophy. In his life history there are many incidences recorded in which some details to his mission are brought out, but mostly the focus has been on His path of refutation of the deviant so-called Vedantists. However we have found one rare written poem reputed to be the only text actually written by the renounced Buddha :

           Creatures without feet my love ,
             and likewise those who have two feet ;
               and those, too who have many feet.
                  Let creatures all, all things that live,
                     all beings of whatever kind, see
                       nothing that will bode them ill.
                          May no evil come to them.

There in the Buddhist scripture Surangama sutra He is quoted as saying that, "The reason for developing detachment, performing meditation, and seeking enlightenment is to escape from the sufferings of life. But in seeking that escape ourselves why should we impose suffering upon others. So unless one can control the mind then the misdeeds of violence and brutal unkindness and killing will be prevalent, when one is abhorrent to such acts nurturing compassion to all who are naturally suffering, then one can escape from the bondage of mundane life."

This was the conclusion of Lord Buddha sitting for six years under the banyan ('Bodhi') tree performing austerity and meditation on the outskirts of the city of Gaya in Northern India.

It is even mentioned that Catur Mukha Lord Brahma the teacher of the sacred Vedas throughout the universe came, and hailed "The Buddha", and requested him to preach to save the fallen souls in this world, let them over come birth, death, old age and disease. Lord Buddhas' reply was, "That the door to the realm of the immortals is now wide open to all those who hear me."
 Lord Buddha himself in a hidden manner reveals Himself as the Personality of Godhead, but by default, in the Donasutta saying, "I am not a 'Deva', (demigod ), I am not a 'Gandharva' (celestial angel), nor 'Yaksa' (fierce guardian spirit), or human being." And in the Saddharma Punarika He announces to all :-

                      yam eva'ham lokapita swayambhu cikitsakah sarvaprajnan natah

"I am the self born, Father of all, the Lord of all beings and the remover of all ills."
 

Vegetarianism in Buddhism
http://www.hsuyun.com/vegetarian.html

Surangama Sutra (Mahayana)

In the Chapter entitled "The enlightenment of others" and the section Prohibition against Killing, page 154. The Buddha said:

"If a man can (control) his body and mind and thereby refrains from eating animal flesh and wearing animal products, I say he will really be liberated."

Also from the Surangama Sutra:

"The reason for practicing dhyana and seeking to attain Samadhi is to escape from the suffering of life, but in seeking to escape from the suffering ourselves why should we inflict it upon others? Unless you can so control your minds that even the thought of brutal unkindness and killing is abhorrent, you will never be able to escape from the bondage of the world’s life…After my Parinirvana in the last kalpa different kinds of ghosts will be encountered everywhere deceiving people and teaching them that they can eat meat and still attain enlightenment… How can a bhikshu, who hopes to become a deliverer of others, himself be living on the flesh of other sentient beings?"

Brahmajala Sutra, (What the Teaching is Not), from the Pali Canon; "Long Discourses of the Buddha", Sutta 1: Translation by Maurice Walshe pages 69 and 70.

"Whereas some ascetics and Brahmins, feeding on the food of the faithful, remain addicted to the enjoyment of stored-up goods such as food, drink, clothing, carriages, beds, perfumes and meat, the ascetic Gotama refrains from such enjoyment."

Lankavatara Sutra (Mahayana) translated from Sanskrit by D. T. Suzuki. This Sutra was a discussion of the fundamental concepts of Mahayana Buddhism. Chapter Eight is entirely devoted to the prohibition of meat eating.

"The Blessed One said this to him: For innumerable reasons, Mahamati, the Boddhisattva, whose nature is compassion, is not to eat any meat."

"Now, Mahamati, the food I have permitted (my disciples to take) is gratifying to all wise people but is avoided by the unwise; it is productive of many merits, it keeps away many evils; and it has been prescribed by the ancient Rishis. It comprises rice, barley, wheat, kidney beans, beans, lentils, etc., clarified butter, oil, honey, molasses, treacle, sugar cane, coarse sugar, etc.; food prepared with these is proper food."

"If, Mahamati, meat is not eaten by anybody for any reason, there will be no destroyer of life. Mahamati, in the majority of cases the slaughtering of innocent living beings is done for pride and very rarely for other causes."

"It is not true, Mahamati, that meat is proper food and permissible for the Sravaka ( a hearer, hence a pupil or beginner) when (the victim) was not killed by himself, when he did not order others to kill it. When it was not specially meant for him."

Scripture of Brahma’s Net translated from the Chinese by Rev. Hubert Nearman with Rev. Master Jiyu-Kennett and Rev. Daizui MacPhillamy as consultants and editors. Page 138.

Third Less Grave Precept:

On eating meat.

"Disciples of the Buddha, should you willingly and knowingly eat flesh, you defile yourself by acting contrary to this less grave Precept. Pray, let us not eat any flesh or meat whatsoever coming from living beings."

    mohanartham danavanam balarupi pathisthitah
    putram tam kalpayamasa mudhabuddhih jinah svayam:
    tatah sammohayamasajinadyan asurantakan
    bhagavan vaghirygrabhina himsavacibhihhaririti: Brahmande:

 In the Bhaktivedanta purports to this Srimad Bhagavatam (1:3:24.) verse, Srila Prabhupada, in brief, portrays Lord Buddha. "Lord Buddha, a powerful incarnation of the Personality of Godhead, appeared in the province of Gaya (Bihar) as the son of Anjana, and He preached His own conception of non-violence and deprecated even the animal sacrifices sanctioned in the Vedas. At the time when Lord Buddha appeared, the people in general were atheistic and preferred animal flesh to anything else. On the plea of Vedic sacrifice, every place was practically turned into a slaughterhouse, and animal-killing was indulged in unrestrictedly. Lord Buddha preached non-violence, taking pity on the poor animals. He preached that He did not believe in the tenets of the Vedas and stressed the adverse psychological effects incurred by animal killing. Less intelligent men of the age of Kali, who had no faith in God, followed His principle, and for the time being they were trained in moral discipline and non-violence - the preliminary steps for proceeding further on the path of God realisation. He deluded the atheists because such atheists who followed his principles did not believe in God but they kept their absolute faith in Lord Buddha, who himself was in incarnation of God. Thus the faithless people were made to believe in God in the form of Lord Buddha. That was the mercy of Lord Buddha; he made the faithless faithful to him.

"Killing of animals before the advent of Lord Buddha was the most prominent feature of society. People claimed that these were Vedic sacrifices. When the Vedas are not accepted through the authoritative disciplic succession, the casual readers of the Vedas are misled by the flowery language of that system of knowledge. In the Bhagavad Gita, a comment has been made on such foolish scholars ('avipascitah'). The foolish scholars of Vedic knowledge who do not care to receive the transcendental message through the transcendental realised sources of disciplic succession are sure to be bewildered. To them, the ritualistic ceremonies are considered to be all in all. They have no depth of knowledge. According to the Bhagavad Gita (15:15.): 'vedais ca sarvair aham eva vedyah' - the whole system of the Vedas is to lead one gradually to the path of the Supreme Lord. The whole theme of Vedic literature is to know the Supreme Lord, the individual soul, the cosmic situation and the relation between all these items. When the relation is known, the relative function begins, and as a result of such function the ultimate goal of life or going back to Godhead takes place in the easiest manner. Unfortunately, unauthorised scholars of the Vedas become captivated by the purificatory ceremonies only, and the natural progress is thereby checked."
 "To such bewildered persons of atheistic propensity, Lord Buddha is the emblem of theism. He therefore first of all wanted to check the habit of animal-killing. The animal killers are dangerous elements on the path going back to Godhead. There are two types of animal killers. The soul is also sometimes called the 'animal' or the living being. Therefore, both the slaughterer of animals and those who have lost their identity of soul are animal-killers. Maharaja Pariksit said that only the animal-killer cannot relish the transcendental message of the Supreme Lord. Therefore if people are to be educated to the path of Godhead, they must be taught first and foremost to stop the process of animal killing as above mentioned. It is nonsensical to say that animal-killing has nothing to do with spiritual realisation. By the dangerous theory many so-called 'sannyasis' have sprung up by the grace of 'Kali-yuga' who preach animal killing under the garb of the Vedas. The subject matter has already been discussed in the conversation between Lord Caitanya and Maulana Chand Kazi Shaheb. The animal sacrifice as stated in the Vedas is different from the unrestricted animal killing in the slaughterhouse. Because the asuras or the so-called scholars or Vedic literatures put forward the evidence of animal-killing in the Vedas, Lord Buddha superficially denied the authority of the Vedas. This rejection of the Vedas by Lord Buddha was adopted in order to save people from the vice of animal-killing as well as to save poor animals from the slaughtering process of their big brothers who clamour for universal brotherhood, peace, justice and equality . There is no justice when there is animal-killing. Lord Buddha wanted to stop it completely, and therefore his cult of 'ahimsa' (non-violence) was propagated not only in India but also outside the country."
 "Technically Lord Buddha's philosophy is called atheistic because there is no acceptance of the Supreme Lord because that system of philosophy denied the authority of the Vedas. But that is an act of camouflage by the Lord. Lord Buddha is the incarnation of Godhead and as such, He is the original propounder of Vedic knowledge. He therefore cannot reject Vedic philosophy, but He rejected it outwardly because the 'sura-dvisa', or the demons who are always envious of the devotees of Godhead, try to support cow-killing or animal-killing from the pages of the Vedas, and this is now being done by the modernised 'sannyasis'. Lord Buddha had to reject the authority of the Vedas altogether. This is simply technical, and had it not been so He would not have been so accepted as the incarnation of Godhead, nor would He have been worshiped in the transcendental songs of the poet Jayadeva, who is a 'Vaisnava acarya'. Lord Buddha preached the preliminary principles of the Vedas in a manner suitable for the time being (and so also did Sankaracarya) to establish the authority of the Vedas. Therefore both Lord Buddha and Acarya Sankara paved the path of theism, and 'Vaisnava acaryas', specifically Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, led the people on the path towards a realisation of going back home, back to Godhead.
 "We are glad that people are taking interest in the non-violent movement of Lord Buddha, but will they take the matter very seriously and close the animal slaughterhouses altogether? If not, there is no meaning to the ahimsa cult."(A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Srimad Bhagavatam 1:3:24. purport.)

The Torah is full of commandments demanding humane treatment of animals, yet the modern factory farms that produce over 90% of the animal products we consume today raise their animals in unconscionable conditions of abject misery. The Torah reflects great concern for the land, yet as the primary cause of water pollution, water use, topsoil erosion, destruction of the world's rainforest, and other environmental harms, animal agriculture takes a devastating toll on the planet. Jewish teachings emphasize the grave importance of protecting human health, yet the consumption of animal products in the United States is responsible for numerous diseases including heart disease, America's number one killer. Judaism places great concern on providing for the poor and the hungry, yet while 800 million people do not have enough food to sustain themselves, our carnivorous diets are at least ten times as wasteful of food resources as a vegetarian one.

Please read and learn about the growing Jewish vegetarian movement, and think about how Jewish teachings relate to decisions we make everyday as we sit down to eat. As Rabbi Isaac ha-Levi Herzog said, "Jews will move increasingly to vegetarianism out of their own deepening knowledge of what their tradition commands... A whole galaxy of central rabbinic and spiritual leaders...has been affirming vegetarianism as the ultimate meaning of Jewish moral teaching."

Jews believe that before the coming of the Messiah, man must demonstrate the utmost regard for all animals - as first seen in Eden. Therefore, vegetarianism is a Judaic ideal, and keeping kosher is a compromise between this ideal and the reality of life on Earth. The rules for keeping kosher are very complex; I have tried to summarize them here without losing site of the main point.

The Jewish Vegetarian Ideal

Jewish vegetarianism is a philosophy and lifestyle, based upon Jewish teachings and mandates, that prescribes a diet centered on grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds and that proscribes the consumption of all animal flesh, including that of fish and fowl. Many well known Jews have followed a Jewish vegetarian lifestyle. Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook, the first chief rabbi of modern Israel, considered vegetarianism to be the ideal, the ultimate peace between mankind and the rest of the animal kingdom. He felt that in the Messianic Age, as prophesied by Isaiah (XI:7), we would all be vegetarian again and the only sacrifices offered would be the mincha sacrifice, which was of vegetable origin. Although there is some debate regarding Rav Kook's consistency in following a vegetarian diet, Rabbi She'ar Yashuv Cohen, the current Chief Rabbi of Haifa, has written, "I myself, am a vegetarian, following in the footsteps of my late father, the saintly Nazir of Jerusalem [Rabbi David Cohen], and his teacher, the saintly first Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Avraham Isaac Hacohen Kook." Other well known Jewish vegetarians include Rabbi David Rosen, former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, the late Rabbi Shlomo Goren z"l, Chief Rabbi of Israel, and Avraham Burg (vegan - strict vegetarian), the youngest and only religious person ever to be elected Knesset Speaker, whose diet reflects his respect for the sanctity of all life. Thus, Jewish vegetarianism has had many prominent adherents.

In the ideal state of Gan Eden (the Garden of Eden), mankind is descr