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Nick Hall sent a message using the contact form at http://news.iskcon.com/contact.
Please make all of your readers aware of these sites that explain your rights when dealing with the RSPCA and the many criticisms of their behaviour.
RSPCA-Animadversion
http://cheetah.webtribe.net/~animadversion/
SHG
13 year-old cow Gangotri was unable to walk, but had no disease. Despite protests from the Hindu community, the RSPCA vet sneaked in and took her life.
The shock and bereavement felt by Hindu monks yesterday after a temple cow was killed by the RSPCA, was today turning to anger and a mobilisation of Hindus throughout the country.
Hindu leaders are united in their condemnation. “I understand that assurances were given, both by the government department Defra and the police, that nothing like this would possibly happen,” said Arjan Vekharia, of the Hindu Forum of Britain, “It is quite unthinkable that the RSPCA entered a holy place and killed an animal which is considered by Hindus to be worthy of the greatest care and affection. It is quite outrageous that the priests were lied to.”
“Hindu leaders from all over the country are gathering this Sunday,” said Sudarshan Bhatia, head of the Hindu Forum of Europe. “This issue has incensed and united everyone. They are extremely shocked and angry about this, and the completely underhanded way it was conducted. The entire episode is shameful and I am disgusted with how our peaceful and law-abiding community has been dealt with.”
Gauri Das, head of the Bhaktivedanta Manor temple, explained: “Our belief is that life itself is sacred and that we must always make every effort to prolong life. Death, even for an animal, should be met with dignity.”
The temple head further added that none of the customary last rites were performed for a cow that served her community for many years, and he is now engaged in a last-minute desperate attempt to plead with government ministers that her ashes should not be thrown into a landfill site along with other household rubbish.
“How is it that in Britain we have to have such things happen to our faithful pets, even when that pet happens to be a cow? Cows are beautiful creatures, and although they are routinely viewed as food and killed, a little dignity is all we’re asking for.”
But Hindus are not content with merely protesting and expressing their anger. “We want a change in the law,” said Britz actor Ravin Ganatra, “If the animal welfare law states that it is alright for Jewish and Muslim communities to have their own legal methods of killing, why can’t the Hindu community have a law passed that helps to keep animals alive?”
For more information please contact Gauri das on:
07809 548 673 (m)
07912 533 397 (PA)
07818 815 978 (Communications Secretary)
In an act that will shock Britain's Hindu community, the RSPCA aided by a vet and escorted by police officers this morning secretly killed a cow at the largest Hindu temple in Britain while worshipers were at prayer.
The cow, named Gangotri, a 13 year-old Belgian Blue and Jersey cross, and much loved by the community, was killed at 9.00 am at the Bhaktivedanta Manor. Police bundled away monks who were in attendance of the sick cow, and the head farmer was kept talking while inside the barn a lethal injection was given to the cow.
Cows are sacred to Hindus, and the killing of a cow is considered to be an outrageous act. The killing of a cow at a temple amounts to religious sacrilege of the worst kind.
The killing was conducted despite personal assurances given the previous day from RSPCA officers and police that due to religious sensitivities no immediate action would be taken.
Concerns that they now had an extended legal situation on their hands, rather than an imminent action, caused the priests at the temple to contact sympathetic MPs who then contacted Hilary Benn MP, the head of DEFRA. Again, assurances were given from DEFRA that no immediate action would be taken.
"This is shocking and duplicitous behaviour" said Gauri Das, the head of the community. "We have been deceived by those who had given us their word."
The religious concern of the Hindu community was evidenced recently by the protests surrounding the case where a temple bull in Wales, Shambo, had a notifiable disease.
It was for this reason that, the previous day, RSPCA regional veterinary Superintendent Timothy Wass, accompanied by two assistants, together with local Hertfordshire police, had visited the temple and engaged in lengthy discussions with Gauri das, who said: "They expressed their sensitivities, and the police gave us their assurances that we would be given time to pursue a legal recourse."
The cow was sick but had no disease. She was being cared for by temple residents and visiting worshipers, and was being administered pain relief.
The temple runs 'The Cow Protection Project' and allows old cows and bulls to die naturally.
Head Farm Manager and former Royal Marine Stuart Coyle explained: "Gangotri was unable to walk, but due to her condition there was some tolerable discomfort".
Editor's Notes:
Stuart Coyle continued in detail: "When she first became sick we called our local vet and followed all the recommendations he directed. Along with with allopathic treatments from our local vet we have also administered a range of alternative treatments which include homeopathy, acupunture, manipulation, massage, and reiki."
"We did expect that she would pass on quite soon after going down however here we are one year and quarter on and she was still going strong.
We have one of our farm personnel who is specifically tasked to nurse her and attend to all her needs.
She was located in the most visitor-accessible position in the farm to enable her to get plenty of company and also to demonstrate an important aspect of Cow protection wherein our cows are cared for the entirety of their natural life.
Over the past month there has been a series of visits from various professional persons who have been requested to make a judgment on her condition. About one month ago our local vet came to visit her at the request of a visitor.
Last week on the 4th of December a Vet from the State Veterinary Service (SVS) came to conduct a test on three of our cows and at the same time to look at Gangotri again at the request of a visitor to the farm. The Vet was informed of our position regarding cows and how we take care of them within our faith. Despite this information he wrote a formal letter advising us that we make arrangements to kill the cow. I have not received this letter yet but I was shown it when he visited again on the 7th of December.
On the second visit of the vet from the SVS he stated his opinion regarding Gangotri and I gave the position of the temple. He indicated on his departure that nothing further would probably come from it taking into count the seriousness of the cows connection with the Hindu Faith.
On the 10th and 11th (I wasn't available on the 10th) of December we were visited by an officer from the RSPCA who had also been contacted by a visitor to the temple regarding Gangotri. He had already been in contact with DEFRA.
He read me my rights under caution and proceeded to issue me with a warning notice stating that we should euthenize gangotri immediately. Later in the afternoon a police office came under the request of the RSPCA to also reinforce the legal position of the RSPCA officer and the SVS vet. Both the RSPCA and police indicated that they would not act without any notification but reminded us that the legal wheels are now turning.
On the 12th of December we were visited by a senior member of the RSPCA
accompanied by two other junior RSPCA officers. The RSPCA were also accompanied
by two local police officers. During the visit the RSPCA pointed out their
position regarding Gangotri and we informed them of our position.
During the meeting we were led to believe that we would have the opportunity
of taking some legal action to stop the slaughter notice. The police indicated
that we would get time to counter the slaughter notice.
The next morning - this morning - at 9am I received a call that the RSPCA and police were at the farm. On my entering the farm the police issued me with a warrant to enter the premises. At the same time the head of the RSPCA delegation stopped me and apologized about the action they were going to have to make.
During my protestations to the RSPCA officer another officer came and reported that the cow had already been killed. The senior officer had delayed me whilst they sneakily were killing our cow.
I immediately went to the barn to see a vet declaring the cow was dead
accompanied by other RSPCA officers."British ISKCON Community Betrayed
by RSPCA
http://news.iskcon.com/british_iskcon_community_betrayed_rspca
By Radha Mohan Dasa on 15 Dec 2007
In an act that will shock Britain's Hindu community, the RSPCA aided by a vet and escorted by police officers this morning secretly killed a cow at the largest Hindu temple in Britain while worshipers were at prayer.
The cow, named Gangotri, a 13 year-old Belgian Blue and Jersey cross, and much loved by the community, was killed at 9.00 am at the Bhaktivedanta Manor. Police bundled away monks who were in attendance of the sick cow, and the head farmer was kept talking while inside the barn a lethal injection was given to the cow.
Cows are sacred to Hindus, and the killing of a cow is considered to be an outrageous act. The killing of a cow at a temple amounts to religious sacrilege of the worst kind.
The killing was conducted despite personal assurances given the previous day from RSPCA officers and police that due to religious sensitivities no immediate action would be taken.
Concerns that they now had an extended legal situation on their hands, rather than an imminent action, caused the priests at the temple to contact sympathetic MPs who then contacted Hilary Benn MP, the head of DEFRA. Again, assurances were given from DEFRA that no immediate action would be taken.
"This is shocking and duplicitous behaviour" said Gauri Das, the head of the community. "We have been deceived by those who had given us their word."
The religious concern of the Hindu community was evidenced recently by the protests surrounding the case where a temple bull in Wales, Shambo, had a notifiable disease.
It was for this reason that, the previous day, RSPCA regional veterinary Superintendent Timothy Wass, accompanied by two assistants, together with local Hertfordshire police, had visited the temple and engaged in lengthy discussions with Gauri das, who said: "They expressed their sensitivities, and the police gave us their assurances that we would be given time to pursue a legal recourse."
The cow was sick but had no disease. She was being cared for by temple residents and visiting worshipers, and was being administered pain relief.
The temple runs 'The Cow Protection Project' and allows old cows and bulls to die naturally.
Head Farm Manager and former Royal Marine Stuart Coyle explained: "Gangotri was unable to walk, but due to her condition there was some tolerable discomfort".
Editor's Notes:
Stuart Coyle continued in detail: "When she first became sick we called our local vet and followed all the recommendations he directed. Along with with allopathic treatments from our local vet we have also administered a range of alternative treatments which include homeopathy, acupunture, manipulation, massage, and reiki."
"We did expect that she would pass on quite soon after going down however here we are one year and quarter on and she was still going strong.
We have one of our farm personnel who is specifically tasked to nurse her and attend to all her needs.
She was located in the most visitor-accessible position in the farm to enable her to get plenty of company and also to demonstrate an important aspect of Cow protection wherein our cows are cared for the entirety of their natural life.
Over the past month there has been a series of visits from various professional persons who have been requested to make a judgment on her condition. About one month ago our local vet came to visit her at the request of a visitor.
Last week on the 4th of December a Vet from the State Veterinary Service (SVS) came to conduct a test on three of our cows and at the same time to look at Gangotri again at the request of a visitor to the farm. The Vet was informed of our position regarding cows and how we take care of them within our faith. Despite this information he wrote a formal letter advising us that we make arrangements to kill the cow. I have not received this letter yet but I was shown it when he visited again on the 7th of December.
On the second visit of the vet from the SVS he stated his opinion regarding Gangotri and I gave the position of the temple. He indicated on his departure that nothing further would probably come from it taking into count the seriousness of the cows connection with the Hindu Faith.
On the 10th and 11th (I wasn't available on the 10th) of December we were visited by an officer from the RSPCA who had also been contacted by a visitor to the temple regarding Gangotri. He had already been in contact with DEFRA.
He read me my rights under caution and proceeded to issue me with a warning notice stating that we should euthenize gangotri immediately. Later in the afternoon a police office came under the request of the RSPCA to also reinforce the legal position of the RSPCA officer and the SVS vet. Both the RSPCA and police indicated that they would not act without any notification but reminded us that the legal wheels are now turning.
On the 12th of December we were visited by a senior member of the RSPCA
accompanied by two other junior RSPCA officers. The RSPCA were also accompanied
by two local police officers. During the visit the RSPCA pointed out their
position regarding Gangotri and we informed them of our position.
During the meeting we were led to believe that we would have the opportunity
of taking some legal action to stop the slaughter notice. The police indicated
that we would get time to counter the slaughter notice.
The next morning - this morning - at 9am I received a call that the RSPCA and police were at the farm. On my entering the farm the police issued me with a warrant to enter the premises. At the same time the head of the RSPCA delegation stopped me and apologized about the action they were going to have to make.
During my protestations to the RSPCA officer another officer came and reported that the cow had already been killed. The senior officer had delayed me whilst they sneakily were killing our cow.
I immediately went to the barn to see a vet declaring the cow was dead accompanied by other RSPCA officers."
Meetings
I'm writing at the end of a long day. I arrived at the temple for the 7.00 am darshan this morning, and immediately went to work completing the final details of a Powerpoint presentation on "2008: The Year of the Congregation." Next year is thus designated so that we'll all put more effort into developing strategies for 'Learning, Guidance and Organisation' for our growing congregation in London and the South.
The senior managers of the temple took everything needed for long-term growth in this important area and formed a strategic planning document for it. Well, at least we completed the Vision, Mission Statements and the Key Result Areas. Our KRAs came to eight in number, so we labelled that the 'eight petals' of our lotus and head-hunted qualified devotees for those areas.
Included in this online-book:
Devotees deceived, then cow secretly killed on Krishna temple farm
http://namahatta.org/en/node/6030
Cow Killed at Hare Krishna Temple: Day One http://namahatta.org/en/node/6058
The Madness of Modern Morality http://namahatta.org/en/node/6062
Day Two http://namahatta.org/en/node/6065
Day Three http://namahatta.org/en/node/6070
Day Four: Hindu Leaders Plan the Next Move http://namahatta.org/en/node/6074
Everything on one page http://namahatta.org/en/book/export/html/6030
General Content
Four ISKCON restaurants have been included in the top 15 best vegetarian restaurants to eat by the Australian public.
The I LOVE FOOD awards has been established to find the best places in Australia to eat out. Over 11,000 eateries were nominated in 36 categories by the public. So congratulations to GOVINDA’S in Sydney, CARDAMOM POD in Byron bay, GAURA NITAI’S in Cairns and GOPAL’S in Melbourne.
All these restaurants are either run by the temple or devotee couples.
For more information visit the http://www.lifestylefood.com.au
site.
Australians Vote with Their Tongues
http://www.iskcon.net.au/kurma/2007/12/20#a4295
Australia's LifeStyle FOOD Channel has conducted a survey (based on a public voting system) on Australia's most popular restaurants.
Of the top 15 vegetarian restaurants in Australia http://www.lifestylefood.com.au/eatoutguide/?Type=VEGETARIAN, four are Hare Krishna restaurants: Govinda's in Darlinghurst NSW, The Cardamom Pod in Byron Bay NSW, Gaura Nitai's in Cairns QLD, and Gopal's in Melbourne, Victoria.
Congratulations! And thanks to the Australian public for letting us know what you like (Kurma dasa).
Courtesy of Hinduism Today
While religions around the world share a quest for spirituality, they vary in their perception that respecting all forms of life is integral to that quest. In the following 13 pages, we focus on the subject of compassion as it is practiced by the adherents of eight religions--four East and four West--and reflected in their choice to eat meat, or not .
By Jane Srivastava, South Carolina
All religions of the world extol compassion, yet they vary in their commitment to expressing this virtue through nonviolence and vegetarianism. A growing number of today's vegetarians refrain from eating meat more for reasons pertaining to improved health, a cleaner environment and a better world economy than for religious concerns. Even those whose vegetarianism is inspired by compassion are oftentimes driven more by a sense of conscience than by theological principle.
In this article we briefly explore the attitudes of eight world religions with regard to meat-eating and the treatment of animals. It may be said with some degree of certainty that followers of Eastern religions--like Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism--generally agree in their support of nonviolence and a meatless lifestyle. But such a collective stance among followers of Western religions--like Judaism, Christianity and Islam--may not be asserted with the same confidence. Many deeply religious souls in the West eat meat because it is sanctioned in their holy books. Others refrain for a variety of reasons, including their sense of conscience that it is just not right, regardless of what scriptures say. Certainly, many scriptural references to food and diet are ambiguous at best. The issue is complicated.
Good Jains are exceptional examples of nonviolence and vegetarianism. Jainism, a deeply ascetic religion mainly centered in India, mandates that adherents refrain from harming even the simplest of life forms. Jains even follow dietary codes regulating the types of plants they eat.
Over the ages and around the world, Hindus have followed a variety of diets predicated on geography and socio-economic status. Although vegetarianism has never been a requirement for Hindus and modern Hindus eat more meat than ever before, no follower of this oldest of world religions will ever deny that vegetarianism promotes spiritual life.
The dietary standards of Buddhists also vary in accordance with time and place. Although the cessation of suffering and an earnest commitment to nonviolence are central to Buddhist Dharma, most of the world's Buddhists are not vegetarian.
In Judaism, the oldest of the Abrahamic religions, there has long been a debate over whether meat should be eaten, with the view predominating that God allowed meat-eating as a concession to human weakness and need.
Muslim cultures are predominantly nonvegetarian, though abstaining from eating meat is generally permitted if the devotee acknowledges that such abstinence will not bring him closer to Allah.
Modern-day Christians may eat meat without restriction. Even though many Christians of the Middle Ages were vegetarian, a meat-eating interpretation of the Bible has slowly become the official position of the Christian Church.
Here follows a study of perspectives on vegetarianism and nonviolence in these eight world faiths.
Jainism
The virtuous compassion of the Jain lifestyle yields exemplary vegetarians
All good Jains are vegetarians, for they believe that no living entity should be harmed or killed, especially for food. According to one famous Jain motto: "All living creatures must help each other." From its inception 2,600 years ago, Jainism has remained faithful in its commitment to nonviolence and vegetarianism.
Because followers of this gentle religion make compassion the central focus of their lives, their understanding and practice of ahimsa exceeds even that of many of the followers of other Eastern religions. Jains believe that humans, animals and plants are all sacred and can feel pain. Hence, they are careful to avoid harming even plants.
The concept of ahimsa, noninjury, permeates all aspects of Jain life. Some ascetics of this faith will sweep insects from their path as they walk and wear a face mask to prevent inadvertently killing small organisms as they breathe. Traditionally, these kindly souls adhere to the ideals of nonviolence with regard to the jobs they take to make a living. Often, they will work as traders of commodities. Even here, they follow rules. They will never handle goods made with animal products, such as hides, horns, ivory and silk. Farming and defending one's nation are allowed as exceptions to the rule.
Jains classify the life-quality of all living entities according to the number of senses they possess. The lowest forms of life have only one sense: touch. This group includes plants. The highest life forms--including humans and most animals--have all five senses: touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing. The earthworm is an example of a life form with only two senses: touch and taste. Lice have three: touch, taste and smell. Mosquitoes have four: touch, taste, smell and sight. Jains consume only plants, because plants have just one sense.
Jains have extensive dietary rules regarding the choice and preparation of the plants they eat. Generally, vegetables that grow underground are prohibited, because harvesting them usually means pulling them up by their roots, which destroys the entire plant, as well as all the microorganisms living around its roots. When possible, fruits are plucked only when they are ripe and ready to fall to the ground. Ideally, these are harvested after they have fallen of their own accord.
Grains, such as wheat, rice and beans, are collected only when the pods are dry and dead. Very orthodox Jains will not eat certain fruits and vegetables that contain a lot of seeds--like eggplant and guava--because these so often contain worms. Cauliflower, broccoli and other vegetables with velvety surfaces are also avoided by orthodox Jains because tiny insects get stuck on their surfaces and cannot be removed. Mushrooms are not consumed because they may contain parasites. Leafy vegetables, like cabbage and spinach, are carefully washed and inspected for insects and worms. Dairy products are allowed.
Jains follow restrictions on the timing of food preparation and its consumption. Meals must be cooked and eaten only during daylight hours. This rule evolved because cooking food at night could cause the death of small flying creatures like gnats and mosquitoes that would be attracted to the light and warmth of a fire.
Jains perform several kinds of fasts, including during festivals and on the eighth and fourteenth day of the full moon cycle. While fasting, only foods prepared from grains are allowed, and no fruits or vegetables are consumed. Besides protection of other living beings, the primary purpose of the Jains' dietary codes is to control desire and purify mind and body. In addition, their practices provide health and environmental benefits and help to conserve world resources. At a world environmental congress recently held in England, a comparative study of religions proclaimed Jainism the most environmentally friendly religion on Earth.
The lifestyle of modern Jain monks and nuns is more austere than that of even the strictest lay Jains. In their respect for Mahavira, Jainism's founder, monks of the Digambar (sky-clad) sect wear no clothes, shave their heads and walk barefoot. They eat only once a day, and then only what is offered to them as a sacrament.
Today there are roughly five million Jains worldwide, with the most
orthodox residing in India. Although many modern Jains modify their dietary
restrictions for convenience, most are faithful vegetarians. Some have
entered non-traditional professions. A select few have migrated to foreign
countries and have become some of the wealthiest Indians in the world.
Hinduism
Hindus comprise the great majority of the world's vegetarians
The vast diversity of Hinduism's multifaceted culture shines like gold in the variety of its numerous foods--both vegetarian and not. Geography, occupation, class and economic status play a significant role in determining the diets of modern-day Hindus. So does dedicated religious commitment.
Hindus are unmatched in their development of the art of enjoyable eating for healthy living. Their vegetarian food preparations are among the most varied in the world, and their ability to create a well-rounded nutritional diet without forfeiting taste is legendary. Many Westerners, inspired to be vegetarian but thinking a meatless diet might be boring or nutritionally lacking, derive renewed encouragement and inspiration from the many time-tested vegetarian traditions of India. One source of such wholesome eating dates back thousands of years to the health-care system of ayurveda, the "science of long life, "which utilizes food both as medicine and sustenance.
India's cooking traditions vary greatly from North to South. One typical South Indian vegetarian meal might consist of an ample portion of rice centered on a banana-leaf plate, surrounded by small servings of vegetables prepared as curries, pickles and chutneys. This tasty assortment would be enhanced with soupy sambars and rasam, a few jaggery sweets on the side and a small portion of yogurt to balance the tastes and soothe digestion at the end of the entire meal.
Setting aside extenuating circumstances, most good Hindus would choose to follow a vegetarian way of life. All Hindu scriptures extol nonviolence and a meatless diet as being crucially important in the successful practice of worship and yoga. Most Hindu monastic orders are vegetarian. For centuries, Hindu temples and ashrams have served only vegetarian food. "Hindu dharma generally recommends vegetarianism, " notes Vedacharya Vamadeva Shastri, "but it is not a requirement to be a Hindu."
The earliest scriptural texts show that vegetarianism has always been common throughout India. In the Mahabharata, the great warrior Bhishma explains to Yudhisthira, eldest of the Pandava princes, that the meat of animals is like the flesh of one's own son, and that the foolish person who eats meat must be considered the vilest of human beings. The Manusmriti declares that one should "refrain from eating all kinds of meat " for such eating involves killing and leads to karmic bondage (bandha). The Yajur Veda states, "You must not use your God-given body for killing God's creatures, whether they are human, animal or whatever." The Atharva Veda proclaims, "Those noble souls who practice meditation and other yogic ways, who are ever careful about all beings, who protect all animals, are commited to spiritual practices."
Over 2,000 years ago, Saint Tiruvalluvar wrote in the Tirukural (verse 251): "How can he practice true compassion who eats the flesh of an animal to fatten his own flesh?" and "Greater than a thousand ghee offerings consumed in sacrificial fires is to not sacrifice and consume any living creature." (verse 259)
Vegetarianism, called shakahara in Sanskrit, is an essential virtue in Hindu thought and practice. It is rooted in the spiritual aspiration to maintain a balanced state of mind and body. Hindus also believe that eating meat is not only detrimental to one's spiritual life, but also harmful to one's health and the environment.
Most Hindus strive to live in the consciousness that their choice of foods bears consequences, according to the law of karma. Even the word "meat, " mamsa, implies the karmic law of cause and effect. Mam means "me " and sa means "he, " intimating that the giver of pain will be the receiver of that same pain in equal measure.
Historically, while a large portion of ancient Hindu society lived predominantly on a vegetarian diet for religious reasons, certain communities, like kshatriyas (the Hindu warrior class), consumed at least some meat and fish. Hindu royalty also ate meat. Nomadic Hindus, who did not farm, had to rely on animal flesh for food, because nothing else was available. Agricultural communities were among the best examples of Hindu vegetarianism, for they were not inclined to kill and eat the animals they needed for labor.
All animals are sacred to Hindus, but one stands out among all the rest--the cow. According to an ancient Hindu story, the original cow, Mother Surabhi, was one of the treasures churned from the cosmic ocean. The five products of the cow (pancha-gavya)--milk, curd, ghee, urine and dung--are considered sacramental.
Although no temples have ever been constructed to honor the cow, she is respected as one of the seven mothers--alongside the Earth, one's natural mother, a midwife, the wife of a guru, the wife of a brahman and the wife of the king.
Some controversy exists with regard to the Vedic interpretation of meat-eating. The the earliest of the Vedas, the Rig Veda, mentioned the consumption of meat offered in sacrifice at the altar, but even such ceremonial meat-eating was an exception, rather than a rule. Vedic offerings primarily consisted of plant and dairy products, such as ghee, honey, soma (an intoxicating plant juice), milk, yogurt and grain.
According to Vedacharya Vamadeva Shastri in his book, Eating of Meat and Beef in the Hindu Tradition: "Animal sacrifice (pashu bandhu) is outlined in several Vedic texts as one of many different possible offerings, not as the main offering. Even so, the animal could only be killed while performing certain mantras and rituals."
Today, according to a recent survey, 31 percent of all Indians are vegetarian. Meat is not even sold or allowed in certain famous pilgrimage locations like Haridwar and Varanasi, and many non-vegetarian Hindus abstain from eating meat on holy days or during special religious practices. Most Indian states have a legal ban on the slaughter of cows, and beef is only available in non-Hindu stores and restaurants.
They who are ignorant, though wicked and haughty, kill animals without
feelings or remorse or fear of punishment. In their next lives, such sinful
persons will be eaten by the same creatures they have killed. Shrimad Bhagavatam,
(11.5.14),
Buddhism
Buddha condemned meat-eating, but advised his monks to accept the food
they were served
Like Jainism, Buddhism has earned well-deserved distinction for its ideals of nonviolence and compassion. Although animal sacrifice and meat-eating were common practices during Buddha's lifetime, the sage opposed animal slaughter and advised his followers to not eat meat under the following three conditions: if they saw the animal being killed; if they consented to its slaughter; or if they knew the animal was going to be killed for them.
As Buddhism spread around the world, many of its fundamental concepts were modified to fit changing times and different cultures. The concept of ahimsa acquired a less stringent interpretation, and meat-eating among Buddhists became more and more commonplace.
Today, the international Buddhist community is divided on the issue of vegetarianism. The Dalai Lama himself is not vegetarian. Many Buddhists feel that it is acceptable to eat meat if someone else does the killing. Those who believe in the vegetarian ideal assert that killing animals is avoidable and does not resonate with Buddhism's spirit of reverence for all life.
All Buddhist schools of thought agree that compassion and the cessation of suffering lies at the core of Buddha's teaching. But there are conflicting interpretations even regarding Buddha's own consumption of meat. While at least one tradition declares that Buddha died from eating tainted pork, a number of nineteenth-century scholars asserted that it was a poisonous mushroom that caused his death. Most Buddhists favor the latter explanation.
Buddha did not teach vegetarianism in a formal way. In one scriptural verse, he made it clear that a Buddhist monk should receive with gratitude any food that was put into his begging bowl, even if it were meat. It is almost certain, however, that most Buddhists giving food to a monk would know that offering meat would not be proper.
The Buddhist view of animals is best described in Jataka Tales--stories Buddha himself is said to have narrated. These anecdotes tell of his previous incarnations as animals and as humans. They convey the message that all creatures are divine, and that slaying an animal is as heinous as killing a human.
The two prominent Buddhist traditions today are the Hinayana and Mahayana sects. Those of the Hinayana sect, most of whom are renunciate monks, seek spiritual liberation through the attainment of Self-realization. The Mahayana sect, by far the largest school, is comprised mainly of family men and women who pursue spiritual advancement through service--helping themselves by helping others. The Indo-Tibetan and Zen traditions, which are of the Mahayana sect, have many texts that praise the vegetarian ideal.
A good example is found in the Lankavatara Sutras, a central Mahayana scripture said to consist of Buddha's own words. In support of vegetarianism, the sage states: "For the sake of love and purity, the bodhisattva should refrain from eating flesh, which is born of semen and blood. For fear of causing terror to living beings, let the bodhisattva, who disciplines himself to attain compassion, refrain from eating flesh. It is not true that meat is proper food and permissible to eat. Meat-eating in any form, in any manner and in any place is unconditionally and once and for all prohibited. I do not permit it. I will not permit it."
A Buddhist Bible, written by in Dwight Goddard in 1932, echoes this vegetarian sentiment. This book strongly influenced the growth of Buddhism in the English-speaking world during the 20th century. It is famous for its transformatory effect on beat writers such as Jack Kerouac. "The reason for practicing dhyana (meditation) and seeking to attain samadhi (mystic contemplation) is to escape from the suffering of life, " writes Goddard. "But in seeking to escape from suffering ourselves, why should we inflict it upon others? How can a bhikshu (seeker), who hopes to become a deliverer of others, himself be living on the flesh of other sentient beings?"
The vegetarian flavor of the faith found fertile fields when Buddhism spread to China and Japan, where a nonviolent, meat-free culture had long been an established way of life. According to The Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, "In China and Japan the eating of meat was looked upon as an evil and was ostracized. The eating of meat gradually ceased and this tended to become general. It became a matter of course not to use any kind of meat in the meals of temples and monasteries."
Buddhism entered China during the Han dynasty (206 bce--220 ce) when Confucianism and Taoism were already well established. The Chinese worshiped ancestral deities and followed strict dietary rules. Certain foods--pork, for example--were said to make the breath "obnoxious to the ancestors " and were frowned upon.
Ancient Japanese lived primarily on vegetables, rice and grains. When Buddhism began to gain a stronghold in Japan during the sixth century, the nation had already absorbed much of Chinese culture. Chinese Buddhism blended compatibly with the Shintoism of Japan, which was significantly vegetarian. According to Shinto tradition, no animal food is offered at a shrine, as it is taboo to shed blood in a sacred place. Today, the Buddhism of Japan constitutes a merge of Shintoism with Chinese Buddhism. Although eating meat, especially fish, is common in the Japanese Buddhist community, the deeply religious still consider it an inferior practice. No meat or fish is ever consumed in a Zen Buddhist monastery.
Today, most Buddhists are not vegetarian, though contemporary Buddhist movements, such as Buddhists Concerned for Animal Rights, are seeking to reestablish vegetarian ideals. One Buddhist denomination, called the Cao Dai sect, has two million vegetarian followers.
The greatest progress of righteousness among men comes from the exhortation
in favour of non-injury to life and abstention from killing. The Edicts
of Ashoka
Judaism
Jewish scholars believe God intended man to be vegetarian
Although ancient Hebrews ate meat, they did so sparingly. This restraint was not religiously or even ethically motivated. Meat was expensive and its consumption was a luxury. As an agrarian society, biblical Jews used animals mainly for labor and were largely vegetarian. They also consumed a great quantity of milk and milk products, mainly from sheep and goats.
Today most Jews live on a predominantly meat-based diet. A typical Jewish simcha (private celebration) consists of brisket, gefilte fish cakes, fish and chicken soup or chopped liver. Roberta Kalechofsky points out in Vegetarian Judaism--A Guide for Everyone that "Western Jews have historically eaten as much meat as the non-Jews; and due to their growing prosperity, European Jews have started to fully identify themselves with the meat-based diet."
Scholars of Judaism agree that God's intention was for man to be vegetarian. "God did not permit Adam and his wife to kill a creature and to eat its flesh,'' said Rashi, a highly respected, 12th-century, Jewish rabbi who wrote the first comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Tanakh. Ronald Isaacs states in Animals in Jewish Thought and Tradition that all Talmudic rabbis conclude that "the permission to eat meat [was granted to human kind] as a compromise, a divine concession to human weakness and human need." Rabbi Elijah Judah Schochet, in Animal Life in Jewish Tradition, notes that "scripture does not command the Israelite to eat meat, but permits this diet as a concession to lust."
Jewish dietary laws are unique in including a prohibition against mixing meat and milk: "You shall not seethe a kid in its mother's milk " (Exodus 23:19). This mandate of not boiling a young goat in the milk of its mother is an elaboration of the command against cruelty to animals. Also, because offering meat boiled in milk was a pagan form of hospitality, Jews saw ruling against the practice as a way of distancing themselves from pagan ways.
Judaism prohibits the consumption of blood: "Only flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall you not eat " (Genesis 9:4). "You shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh; for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof " Leviticus 17:14). The rationale behind this injunction is that life belongs to God, and blood is life. "Blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the flesh " (Deuteronomy 12:23).
In Jewish tradition, only certain animals are suitable as food. According to Elijah Schochet in his book Animal Life in Jewish Tradition: "Only quadrupeds which chewed their cud and had parted hoofs, such as the cow, sheep, goat, gazelle and male deer, were fit for food, these being by and large the herbivorous ruminants. Animals possessing only one of the two required characteristics, however, such as the camel, the badger and the pig, were forbidden, as of course, were animals which neither had split hoofs nor chewed their cud. Animals which died of natural causes were prohibited, as were those torn by wild beasts. Only fish possessing both fins and scales were permitted, while the majority of insects were forbidden. All land creatures that crawled on their bellies or moved on many feet were prohibited. Numerous birds were outlawed, notably predatory fowl and wild waterfowl."
Jewish scholars cite three characteristics that distinguish animals as not suitable for slaughter as kosher meat: 1) that they are injurious to health, 2) that they are aesthetically repulsive and 3) that they serve as symbolic reminders to Jews of their status as holy people. Rabbinical authority states that these guidelines are to be obeyed in order that Israel should be "a holy people unto the Lord, " and "distinguished from other nations by the avoidance of unclean and abominable things that defile them."
The Bible does not provide direct support for the various Jewish dietary laws pertaining to the koshering process. Still, ritual slaughter (shechitah) is one of the central elements of kashrut (Jewish dietary laws). Kashrut decrees that an animal's throat must be cut with a single, swift, uninterrupted horizontal sweep of a perfectly smooth knife in such a way as to sever the trachea, esophagus, carotid arteries and jugular vein. The profuse loss of blood is supposed to render the animal unconscious quickly, thus minimizing suffering.
Cruelty can be measured by the length of time it takes for an animal to die. One study performed by the English Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals concluded that "there is often a time-lag of anything from seventeen seconds to six minutes from the moment the animal's throat is cut until it actually loses consciousness. Although the throat may be cut, the animal is by no means free from pain and can in some cases have a considerable awareness of what is happening." Clearly, Judaism's animal slaughter for food is difficult to reconcile with its pro-vegetarian interpretation of the Torah and its mandate to not inflict pain on any living being.
Jewish dietary laws apply only to animal foods. All fruits, vegetables, unprocessed grains--and anything that does not contain meat or milk products--are intrinsically kosher. Making meat kosher involves a complex process of removing all blood from the flesh. The butcher must remove veins, sacs and various membranes that collect blood, then soak, salt and rinse the meat to extract any remaining blood. Some authorities point out, however, that while koshering removes blood from the larger blood vessels, it does not extract it from the smallest vessels, such as the capillaries.
Today, the number of Jewish vegetarians is increasing. Advocates promote the Jewish teaching that "humans are partners with God in the preservation of life and health."
"The removal of blood [from meat] is one the most powerful means of
making us constantly aware of the concession and compromise which the whole
act of eating meat, in reality, is." The Jewish Dietary Law by Rabbi Samuel
Dresner
Islam
In a religion that praises the pleasures of meat, a few go vegetarian
In ancient times, meat-eating in Islamic countries was predicated on necessity. Pre-Islamic Arabs led a pastoral and nomadic existence in harsh desert climates where it would have been challenging, if not impossible, to survive on a vegetarian diet.
When Islamic civilization spread into Asia in the eighth century, meat-eating became an important symbol of difference, separating them from the predominantly vegetarian Buddhist and Hindu faiths and practices.
Muslims adhere to dietary regulations which are similar to those of Jews. Forbidden foods, referred to as haram, are blood, pork and those animals that have not been slaughtered by cutting the jugular vein with a very sharp knife while reciting a prayer pronouncing the name of Allah.
According to his earliest biographies, the Prophet Mohammed preferred vegetarian food, particularly favoring milk blended with yogurt, butter, nuts, cucumber, dates, pomegranates, grapes, figs and honey.
Mohammed was said to have been compassionate toward animals, and Islamic scriptures often command that all creatures be treated with care. According to Islamic tradition, no creature should be harmed in Mecca, the birthplace of Mohammed.
The Qur'an states that animals are like humans: "There is not an animal on earth, nor a bird that flies on its wings--but that they are communities like you. Nothing have We omitted from the Book, and they all shall be gathered to their Lord in the end."
Richard C. Foltz writes in Animals in Islamic Tradition and Muslim Cultures: "[Even though] in mainstream Islam there is a tendency to see animals in terms of how they serve human interests, animals are to be valued, cared for, protected and acknowledged as having certain rights, needs and desires of their own. Their case is like that of human slaves albeit lower in the hierarchical scheme of things."
Some customs of the Sufis, an offshoot of Islam, recommend abstention from meat-eating for bodily purification. Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, a teacher in a 20th century school of Sufism, referred to as the Sri Lankan Qadiri, taught that the consumption of meat stimulates the animal nature, while the consumption of plant and dairy products brings peace. Chishti Inayat Khan, who helped introduce Sufi principles to Europe and America in modern times, observed that vegetarianism not only promotes compassion toward living creatures, it provides an important aid in the purification of the body for spiritual practices.
Nearly all of today's 1.4 billion Muslims eat meat. The practice is justified by the logic that "one must not forbid something which Allah permitted." According to the Qur'an, meat eating is one of the delights of heaven.
Some Islamic legal scholars assert that vegetarianism is actually not allowed by Islam. According to Mawil Izzi Dien in The Environmental Dimensions of Islam, "In Islamic law, there are no grounds upon which one can argue that animals should not be killed for food. & Muslims are not only prohibited from eating certain foods, but also may not choose to prohibit themselves food that is allowed by Islam. Accordingly, vegetarianism is not permitted unless on grounds such as unavailability or medical necessity."
A few stalwart Muslim jurists insist that there should be no prohibition of vegetarianism in Islam and have actually issued legal rulings, known as fatwas, to this effect, asserting that Muslims may choose to be vegetarian, provided they realize and acknowledge that eating meat is allowed, and that vegetarianism will not bring them closer to Allah.
Iran has at least one vegetarian society. Turkey has several national vegetarian organizations. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has, at the suggestion of its Muslim members, launched a web site on Islam and vegetarianism.
Muslims who choose to abstain from eating meat do so for a variety of reasons. Some argue that, especially in the West, truly halal meat does not and cannot exist--that making meat halal is impossible in today's industrialized world of factory farming. Even if the technical requirements of a halal slaughter are observed, the animals are not raised in humane and wholesome environments. They are physically abused and may be killed within view of other animals.
Some Muslims are choosing vegetarian lifestyles more for reasons of good health than upon religious principle. Dr. Shahid Athar of Indiana University School of Medicine asserts in www.IslamicConcern.com: "There is no doubt that a vegetarian diet is healthier."
Others are turning to vegetarianism because of the deleterious effect meat-eating has on the environment. Industrial meat production may render meat haram (Islamically unlawful), because it leads to environmental collapse and destruction. The Qur'an (7:56) states, "Waste not by excess, for Allah loves not the wasters, " and "Do not pollute the earth after it has been (so) wholesomely (set in order) &."
Muslims in the West face additional challenges in following dietary mandates of their faith. Halal meat is often not readily available. Restaurant and pre-packaged foods may contain forbidden ingredients. One option in the face of these challenges is a vegetarian meal, which avoids restricted ingredients. While some Muslims conclude that simply abstaining from eating meat is an obvious solution, others are adamant that following Islamic dietary law is far more complicated than just being vegetarian.
"In all that has been revealed unto me, I do not find anything forbidden
to eat, unless it be carrion, or blood poured forth, or the flesh of swine."
Qur'an 5:3, 2:173, 6:145
Christianity
Both vegetarians and meat-eaters find support in scriptures
Most modern Christians believe in the "dominion perspective, " an exclusively Christian theological stance asserting that human life has greater value than animal life and that all of nature exists for the sole purpose of serving the needs and interests of man. This perspective gained significant development and fortification from famous philosophers and theologians like Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas and Descartes. Descartes asserted that animals were "automata," souless entities with no capacity to experience suffering.
Unlike the Jewish Torah, the New Testament sets no moral guidelines for man in dealing with animals. Apostle Paul, commenting on the Torah's restriction of muzzling an ox that threshes corn, observed: "Does God care for oxen? Of course not. [Their purpose] is altogether for our sakes." (1 Corinthians. 9:9-10)
The Old Testament, known also as the Hebrew Bible, is the first part of the Christian Bible. Therefore, Jews and Christians share the concept that in the beginning, symbolized in the story of the Garden of Eden, mankind was nonviolent and vegetarian, later becoming corrupt, symbolized by the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden.
Genesis 9:1-3 is the most significant Biblical text supporting the Christian tradition of eating meat. This famous verse states that "God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. The fear and dread of you shall rest on every animal of the earth, and on every bird of the air, on everything that creeps on the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and just as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.' "
If rabbinical literature interprets Genesis 9:3 as divine concession to human weakness and human need, Christians consider it clear and unconditional approval of the consumption of animal flesh.
It is clear from the teachings of the New Testament that Christian tradition came to interpret in the teachings of Christ an express authorization to freely eat meat: "Thus, he declared all foods clean." (Mark 7:19) This assessment is further rationalized with the argument that Jesus put much greater emphasis on man's deeds than on his diet. It has also been postulated that, as a radical reformer, Jesus wanted to distance himself from the formalism of the Jewish faith, and that moving away from Jewish dietary laws toward a more virtue-based ethic might highlight this shift.
There are varying opinions with regard to whether or not Jesus himself ate meat. According to the Bible, he at least ate fish: "And when he said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, 'Have you anything here to eat?' They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate in their presence." (Luke 24:40-43).
Christians seeking further justification for their meat-based dietary preferences cite many examples in The New Testament where Jesus asks for meat. Some scholars deny the validity of these citations, asserting that a closer study of the original Greek text reveals that the words understood as "meat " would more accurately be translated as "food." Also, it has been asserted by some experts that fish in this context could also mean little bread rolls made from a submarine plant known as the "fish plant." These soft plants were dried in the sun, ground into flour and baked into rolls. Fish-plant rolls were a significant feature of the ancient Babylonian diet.
There is a strong opinion among some scholars that the original teachings of Jesus were altered by the Church, particularly by the "correctors " who were appointed by ecclesiastical authorities of Nicea in 325 ce. Those scholars believe that these "corrections " most blatantly misrepresented the teachings of Jesus with regard to violence and meat-eating. In his foreword to the translation of The Gospel of the Holy Twelve, Rev. G.J. Ousley writes: "What these correctors did was to cut out of the Gospels, with minute care, certain teachings of our Lord which they did not propose to follow namely, those against the eating of flesh and the taking of strong drink."
Scholars tend to agree that many early Christians were vegetarians. St. John Chrysostom wrote: "We, the Christian leaders, practice abstinence from the flesh of animals to subdue our bodies." Some experts assert that Matthew and all the Apostles abstained from eating meat.
Prior to the Middle Ages, several monastic orders adhered to vegetarianism, including the Augustinian, Franciscan and Cistercian orders. With time, however, organized Christianity moved away from these vegetarian roots. Meat-eating was so much an accepted way of life during the time of the Roman Empire that vegetarian Christians had to follow their culinary choices in secrecy.
Before the end of the 18th century, John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, was the only major Christian leader who was a vegetarian. In 1809, in Safford, England, Reverend William Cowherd started the Bible Christian Church, Europe's first vegetarian church in recent times. By 1817, Reverend Cowherd's nephew, Reverend William Metcalfe, established a branch of this church in Philadelphia, bringing vegetarianism onto American soil.
More recently, several notable personages have adopted and/or encouraged vegetarianism. after: These include Ellen G. White, one of the founders of the Seventh Day Adventists; Dr. Albert Schweitzer, Nobel Peace Prize winner, theologian, musician and philosopher; Dr. John H. Kellogg, creator of corn flakes; Reverend Fred Rogers, host of TV show "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood; " and Reverend Sylvester Graham, creator of graham crackers.
Reverend Sylvester Graham was a Presbyterian minister. He launched a modern food reform, campaigning to assure that essential nutrients were not removed from vegetarian foods. The Seventh day Adventists were the first official vegetarian Christians. Today, half of all Seven Day Adventists are vegetarian. The Trappist, Benedictine and Carthusian Orders of the Roman Catholic Church are also vegetarians.
A growing number of modern Christians not only perceive vegetarianism as being in consonance with core principles of Christianity, they also see it as at least a partial relief to problems like poor health, world hunger and global economy.
"Thou shalt not kill." Exodus 20:13
Sikhism
The first Sikh guru established vegetarian community kitchens
Scholars perceive Sikhism as a syncretic faith that combines elements of Hinduism and Islam. The Sikh religion began in the 16th century in northern India with the teachings of Guru Nanak and was continued by the nine gurus that followed him. Today most of the world's Sikh population live in the Indian state of Punjab. They are mostly meat-eaters, but a predilection for vegetarianism has been present from the faith's beginning.
According to Sikh scholar Swaran Singh Sanehi of the Academy of Namdhari Culture: "Sikh scriptures support vegetarianism fully. Sikhs living during the time of Guru Nanak had adopted the Hindu tradition and way of living in many ways. Their dislike for flesh-foods arose from that tradition. Guru Nanak considered meat-eating improper."
Nanak instituted a tradition of free community kitchens, lungar (still flourishing today) where anyone--regardless of race, religion, gender or caste--can enjoy a simple meal. This was inspired by a belief in the equality of all men and rejection of the Hindu caste system. Such kitchens serve vegetarian food twice a day, every day of the year. Being vegetarian, the meals are acceptable to to people from different religions and cultures. These lungars have been appreciated during times of disaster, such as following the 2005 tsunami and Hurricane Katrina.
In the Sikh scripture, Guru Granth Sahib, meat consumption is strongly condemned in passages like the following: "You kill living beings, and call it a righteous action. Tell me, brother, what would you call an unrighteous action?"
Sikhs rigorously denounce animal sacrifice as well. This includes ritual slaughter to sanctify meat for eating, as in the preparation of halal or kosher meat.
The Indian saint and mystic Kabir, a contemporary of Guru Nanak who some believe may have been Nanak's preceptor, wrote: "If you say that God resides in all, why do you kill a hen? & It is foolish to kill an animal by cruelty and call that dead animal sanctified food. & You keep fasts in order to become acceptable to God, but kill a living animal for your relish."
The ten Gurus of Sikhism neither condoned nor condemned meat-eating
in a formal way. Although they felt that it was unnecessary to kill animals
and birds for food, they did not believe vegetarianism should become dogma.
They emphasized controlling the contents of the mind more than controlling
the contents of the body. Guru Nanak apparently considered it futile to
argue about food. When pressed to comment on meat-eating, he said, "Only
the foolish quarrel over the desirability of eating flesh. They are oblivious
to true knowledge and meditation. What is flesh? What is vegetable? Which
is sin-infested? Who can say what is good food and that which leads to
sin?" Today, some Sikhs avoid beef and pork, observing the meat prohibitions
of both Islam and Hinduism. Other groups, such as the Namdharis and Yogi
Bhajan's 3HO Golden Temple Movement, are strictly vegetarian.
Zoroastrianism
Zoroaster inspired compassion through the practice of virtue
Zoroastrianism (sometimes called Magianism, Mazdaism or Parseeism) was founded in ancient Persia by the prophet Zoroaster, also known as Zarathushtra. Although estimates for the birth of Zoroaster vary greatly, it is popularly accepted that he lived in pastoral Iran around 600 bce and was an ardent advocate of vegetarianism when it was not customary to be so. According to Colin Spencer in The Heretic's Feast, Zoroaster was not only a vegetarian, he also disavowed animal sacrifice.
Zoroaster emphasized moderation. With regard to food, this meant not eating too much--such as in gluttony, or too little--such as in fasting. He also taught compassion through the kind treatment of all living entities.
Zoroastrians have always had a great respect for nature. Today, this benevolence is incorporated into a lifestyle that highlights striving to live with a sensitivity to the soul force vibrant in all things. Zoroastrian festivals celebrate six seasons of the year, which correspond to six periods of creation in nature: mid-spring, mid-summer, the season of corn, the season of flocks, winter solstice and the fire festival of sacrifices.
In the ninth century, the High Priest Atrupat-e Emetan recorded in Denkard, Book VI, his request for Zoroastrians to be vegetarians: "Be plant eaters, O you men, so that you may live long. Keep away from the body of the cattle, and deeply reckon that Ohrmazd, the Lord, has created plants in great number for helping cattle and men."
Zoroastrian scriptures assert that when the "final Savior of the world
" arrives, men will give up meat eating.
Jane Srivastava holds a bachelor's degree from Vilnius State University, Lithuania, and a degree from the Albany Law School, Albany, New York. She now lives in South Carolina.
By The Times of London
Sun. Dec 2 - 8:02 PM
Women can give their children a lifelong taste for healthy foods such as broccoli and brussels sprouts simply by eating them during pregnancy or while breastfeeding, researchers have found.
The discovery could help avoid the battles over food and diet which dominate the dinner tables of many young families as parents try to persuade children to eat their vegetables.
It suggests that mothers should adopt a stealth approach, indoctrinating their offspring’s taste buds with a liking for cabbage, broccoli and other healthy vegetables even before they are born, say the researchers.
"Flavours from the mother’s diet are transmitted through amniotic fluid and mother’s milk. A baby learns to like a food’s taste when the mother eats that food on a regular basis," said Julie Mennella of Monell Chemical Senses Center, a research institute in Philadelphia.
The technique can work for a variety of vegetables. In one experiment Mennella gave carrot juice to a group of pregnant women and to a separate group of breastfeeding women. Their babies were subsequently far keener on carrots than those born to women who had not been given carrot juice.
A similar experiment with fruit showed that babies whose mothers ate raw peaches while breastfeeding were far more willing to accept them in their own food.
Hinduism today
Posted by: "Vrndavan Parker"
Date: Fri Nov 2, 2007 1:14 am ((PDT))
Italian hotel firm to enter Indian hospitality mkt 31 Oct, 2007, 1625 hrs IST,Sudeshna Sen, EconomicTimes.com LONDON: Vedic Pasta anyone? The Italians want to bring an Italian flavour to the Indian hospitality business; with a tinge of Vedic wellness. The Milan-based Domina Hotel Group is planning a major expansion in India with a joint venture for 25 new hotels, with a total overall value of USD 600 mn. The project will be run by an equal joint venture with real estate firm Shristi Holding, quoted in the Indian National Stock Exchange and part of Kanoria Group with offices in India, Germany and Russia. Within 2012, the overall value of the hotel complex will amount approximately to $600.mn.
The operation foresees the establishment of a joint venture divided in equal parts amongst the two groups, with the Italian hotel company managing the hotels, and management, while the real estate development will be done by Shristi Corporation.
"We are proud to announce the new expansion of our Group in the Indian market" says Ernesto Preatoni, Domina Hotel Group's Chairman. "We are the first Italian operator of the hotel sector to enter the Indian market " he said. Domina Hotel Group's hotels are represented by 3 distinct brands: Domina Prestige, Domina Hotel and Domina Inn, linked by the "art of Italian hospitality," the company said. In India, the first hotels are already under construction and will be marketed with the new brand Vedic Domina Hotels & Resorts. There are now 4 planned under the Vedic Domina brand.
Founded in 2000, Domina has a record of venturing into new territories. "our pioneer component that has already made us invest in Egypt twenty years ago, in the Baltic Region in the '90s and recently in Russia," said François Droulers, Domina Hotel Group's Vice President Director of Development and Acquistions. Domina Hotel Group has a total turnover of Euro 46.mn for the 2006 financial year and anticipates that the 2007 financial year will be closed with revenues for Euro 60mn. Domina Hotel Group, the company said, is the only Italian chain to develop on the Red Sea, in the Baltic Region and in the Middle East.
The India project is based on the creation of 4 star, medium-large scale, 100-200 rooms hotels and resorts, located in the main cities or holiday resorts in India (including destinations such as New Delhi, Mumbay, Calcutta, Puri, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Udaipur).
The first 4 Vedic Domina hotels are expected to be constructed in the
next 5 years, and others will follow. The hotels will be constructed using
eco-sustainable parameters, and standard constructions "standard constructions
in the observance of holistic precepts and Indian tradition", the company
said. They will be equipped with all comforts, hi-technology, body treatments
and wellness services.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Italian_hotel_firm_to_enter_Indian_hospitality_mkt/articleshow/2505425.cms
By Rosslyn Beeby for Stock and Land on 9 Oct 2007
They've got loose pages, ghee-spattered covers and smidges of turmeric marking favourite recipes. One was published in 1973 but its vintage recipes still outperform many of those found in latter-day lavishly illustrated cookbooks. It has the best recipe for potato kachoris, and the gajja kheer (grated carrots simmered in milk, with sugar, almonds and cardamom) is a party-stopper. Far tastier, and healthier, than Nigella Lawson's famous deep-fried Mars bars.
Over the years, vegetarian cooking has had its share of fads. Remember Gail Duff's penchant for wheatgerm with just about everything or Rose "Not Just a Load of Old Lentils" Elliot's enthusiasm for hearty bean hotpots and grated cheese toppings? During her pre-French regional cuisine and wicked-puddings period, British glamour chef Annie Bell flirted with a minimalist cuisine minceur style of vegetarian cooking. I'm a fan of her sticky gingerbread, but her vegie cookbook failed to hit the mark and was dispatched to the local second-hand bookshop within weeks.
But for tasty, fragrantly spicy vegetarian food that hits the palate with a burst of flavour, you can't beat the Hare Krishna cookbooks, or the recipes of Krishna chef extraordinaire Kurma Dasa. After a couple of decades of vegetarian cooking, I wouldn't part with my dog-eared copies they're as reliable as a tennis ball-retrieving border collie and as inspirational as Emily-Lou Harris hitting those ethereal high notes.
In the early 1970s, conga-lines of chanting, drumming, cymbal-crashing Krishnas threaded their way through the inner streets of Melbourne during lunch hour, proffering cards inviting people to eat at Gopal's, their first-floor restaurant in Flinders Street. Word quickly spread among students and the city's arty set that this was the place to eat. Musicians Billy Thorpe and Lobby Lloyd were regulars, and artist Peter Booth still rates it as a favourite. Word also spread that the food at Gopal's was especially fantastic when the big bloke with the glasses was running the kitchen.
Unlike the usual stodge fried rice with frozen peas and cauliflower, baked beans or mashed potatoes served with diced carrots and limp green beans served up to vegetarians at university cafeterias, the food at Gopal's was fantastic. You could also snaffle a free recipe book, The Higher Taste, to try to recreate those tasty curries and desserts at home.
While Gail Duff was earnestly trying to convince readers of the virtues of wheatgerm as an all-purpose garnish, the Krishna cookbooks were way out in front in their cross-cultural culinary approach. Back in the '70s, they were explaining how to make calzone, enchiladas (without the supermarket packet mixes), vegetarian kofta, panir and Chinese tofu spring rolls spiced with ginger.
As a young journalist with a Melbourne newspaper, I took one of the city's notoriously picky food critics to Gopal's. We were catching a tram downtown for lunch, and he was shocked to hear my destination was, as he sniffily put it, "the Hare Krishna canteen". Was I so broke I couldn't afford a nice camembert and salad bagel in an upmarket sandwich bar? He offered to shout me lunch, obviously out of pity that my options had sunk so low, and I dared him to put his prejudices on hold and join me.
He'd expected a plonk-it-on-your-plate curry 'n rice joint, with a chewy pappadum on the side, washed down with weak, milky tea. Instead, he was contemplating a well-presented choice of spicy dhals, Indian breads, samosas, vegetables in yoghurt or tomato sauces and desserts flavoured with pistachio and powdered cardamom. Who on earth did the cooking, he asked. As usual, it was the big bloke with glasses. "Whoever he is, he's bloody good," was the critic's verdict, before ducking back into the lunch queue for seconds.
The big bloke with the glasses was, of course, Kurma Dasa now known to millions around the world for his books, Cooking with Kurma, Great Vegetarian Dishes and Vegetarian World Food, and his hugely successful television series that's been screened across the United States, Britain, the Middle East, Russia, Turkey, Malaysia and China. His first cookery book, published 14 years ago, is now in its seventh print run which makes him one of Australia's best-selling authors.
Earlier this month, Kurma was back in Melbourne helping to prepare 1000 gulab jamuns (milk balls in a rose-scented syrup) to mark the birthday of the founder of the Hare Krishna movement, Srila Prabhupada.
We were so lucky to have him running the Gopal's kitchen back in the days when many vegetarian cookbooks offered unremittingly dull fare. We might not have converted to Krishna consciousness (rising at 4am for devotional chanting could have been a factor there), but Kurma and the Krishnas did win millions of hearts and palates with joyously adventurous vegetarian cooking that was well ahead of its time.
For Kurma Dasa recipes go to http://www.kurma.net
By Brendan I. Koerner for Slate.com on 23 Oct 2007
"If we put [greenhouse gas] emissions above all else, then veganism beats lacto-ovo vegetarianism handily," says Gidon Eshel, a co-author of the University of Chicago study. "That much is clear and unequivocal."
As a longtime vegetarian, I've always been confident that my diet is better for the planet than that of your typical carnivore. But a vegan pal of mine says I could be doing a lot more, by rejecting all animal products—no eggs, no milk, not even the occasional bowl of mac 'n cheese. Is veganism really that much better for the environment?
Since few Americans have followed Alicia Silverstone's abstemious lead and renounced animal products altogether, there aren't many data available on the environmental consequences of veganism. Somewhere between 2 percent and 5 percent of the nation's eaters classify themselves as vegetarians; of that number, perhaps 5 percent are strict vegans. As a result, most research on meat-free diets has focused on lacto-ovo vegetarians, the milk-and-egg eaters who form the lion's share of the veggie demographic.
According to a 2005 University of Chicago study, a lacto-ovo vegetarian emits far less greenhouse gas than a counterpart adhering to the standard, meat-rich American diet—the difference is equivalent to around 1.5 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, assuming the same daily caloric intake. (The study's authors thus claim that going vegetarian has the same effect on carbon dioxide emissions as switching from a Chevrolet Suburban to a Toyota Camry.) The savings mostly come about because of the disparity between the fossil fuel required to produce a calorie's worth of grain vs. that needed to make a calorie's worth of beef; grain is nearly a dozen times more efficient in this regard. Cattle are also a huge source of methane, a particularly noxious greenhouse gas; it's estimated that bovines are responsible for roughly triple the methane emissions of the American coal industry.
Yet lacto-ovo vegetarians still derive about 14 percent of their calories from animal products. Bring that number down to zero, as strict vegans do, and you'll certainly ratchet down your carbon emissions by another several hundred pounds per year. "If we put [greenhouse gas] emissions above all else, then veganism beats lacto-ovo vegetarianism handily," says Gidon Eshel, a co-author of the University of Chicago study. "That much is clear and unequivocal."
But Eshel hastens to add—and The Lantern wholeheartedly agrees—that your vegan acquaintance isn't necessarily some environmental saint. That's because direct carbon dioxide emissions are only part of the story when it comes to food's eco-impact. You also have to look at the issue of land use—specifically how much and what sort of land is required to sustain an agricultural enterprise. In a region with poor-to-mediocre soil, for example, it may be more efficient to operate a well-managed egg farm than to try growing vegetables that can't flourish under such conditions. And animals are handy at consuming low-quality grain that isn't necessarily fit for human consumption. (Rather than going to waste, that grain can help create nutrient-rich dairy products.) In fact, a recent Cornell University study concluded that modest carnivorousness may actually be better for the environment than outright vegetarianism, since cattle can graze on inferior land not suitable for crops. Squeezing more calories out of the land means that less food needs be imported from elsewhere, thereby reducing the burning of fossil fuels.
That's music to the ears of The Lantern, a devoted meat-eater who weeps at the very thought of life without bacon cheeseburgers and curry goat. But there are important caveats to the Cornell study: First, its calculations assume that all meat is raised locally, rather than frozen and trucked cross-country; second, the study recommended that to optimize land use, residents of New York state (where the research was conducted) limit their meat and egg consumption to two cooked ounces per day—3.8 ounces less than the national average.
Though The Lantern admires the ascetic fortitude of vegetarians and vegans, it's pretty unrealistic to expect the majority of adult Americans to forgo steak for the benefit of the planet. At the same time, agriculture is responsible for between 17 percent and 20 percent of the nation's energy consumption. So instead of hectoring people to become vegetarians—a tactic that causes many Americans to roll their eyes—perhaps we should start by urging consumers to be more cognizant of exactly how much energy it takes to produce and transport an Extra-Long Bacon Cheddar Cheesesteak. And it wouldn't hurt if people got wise to the fact that meat needn't be the focus of every breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
That's going to be a serious challenge, however, considering that per capita meat consumption rose by 40 percent in the United States between 1961 and 2002. One hopes that the Chinese don't follow our gluttonous lead, but the news so far isn't encouraging: Meat consumption in China has already doubled over the past decade.
Five good reasons to be a vegetarian
There are more that a few Hindus today who guiltily abandoned the vegetarian ways of their own parents and grandparents when they decided to be "secular" and "modern." But our ancient seers had it right when they advocated living without killing animals for food. Today vegetarianism is a worldwide movement, with adherents among all religions, daily gaining converts through one or more of the five basic reasons to adhere to a meatless diet: dharma, karma, consciousness, health and environment. Each is explored in this insight section, which concludes with the famous essay, "How to win an argument with a meat-eater."
Just how widespread is this movement? In the UK, polls show more than 15 percent of teenagers are vegetarians, and six percent of the general population. In America, eight percent of teens and three percent of the general population declare themselves vegetarian. It is a movement with a broad base, for one can find advocates as diverse as philosophers Plato and Nietzsche, politicians Benjamin Franklin and Gandhi, Beatle Paul McCartney and Rastifarian singer Bob Marley, actresses Brooke Shields, Drew Barrymore, Alicia Silverstone, and actors David Duchovny, Richard Gere and Brad Pitt. It's also helped that a multitude of rigorous scientific studies have proven the health benefits of the vegetarian diet.
Vegetarianism, an Ancient Hindu Ethic
Vegetarianism was for thousands of years a principle of health and environmental ethics throughout India. Though Muslim and Christian colonization radically undermined and eroded this ideal, it remains to this day a cardinal ethic of Hindu thought and practice. A subtle sense of guilt persists among Hindus who eat meat, and even they will abstain at special times. For India's ancient thinkers, life is seen as the very stuff of the Divine, an emanation of the Source and part of a cosmic continuum. They further hold that each life form, even water and trees, possesses consciousness and energy. Nonviolence, ahimsa, the primary basis of vegetarianism, has long been central to the religious traditions of India—especially Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. Religion in India has consistently upheld the sanctity of life, whether human or animal.
The Sanskrit word for vegetarianism is sakahara, and one following a vegetarian diet is a sakahari. Hindu vegetarians commonly consume milk products, but not eggs, which are definitely a meat product, containing cholesterol which is only present in animal flesh. The term for meat-eating is mansahara, and the meat-eater is called mansahari. Ahara means "to consume or eat," saka means "vegetable," and mansa means "meat or flesh." The very word mansa, "meat," conveys a deep appreciation of life's sacredness and an understanding of the law of karma by which the consequence of each action returns to the doer. As explained in the 2,000-year-old Manu Dharma Shastra, 5.55, "The learned declare that the meaning of mansa (flesh) is, 'he (sa) will eat me (mam) in the other world whose flesh I eat here.' " There developed early in India an unparalleled concern for harmony among life forms, and this led to a common ethos based on noninjuriousness and a minimal consumption of natural resources—in other words, to compassion and simplicity. If Homo sapiens is to survive his present predicament, he will have to rediscover these two primary ethical virtues.
Is Vegetarianism Integral to Noninjury?
In Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami's book, Dancing with Siva, this question is addressed as follows: "Hindus teach vegetarianism as a way to live with a minimum of hurt to other beings, for to consume meat, fish, fowl or eggs is to participate indirectly in acts of cruelty and violence against the animal kingdom. The abhorrence of injury and killing of any kind leads quite naturally to a vegetarian diet, sakahara. The meat-eater's desire for meat drives another to kill and provide that meat. The act of the butcher begins with the desire of the consumer. Meat-eating contributes to a mentality of violence, for with the chemically complex meat ingested, one absorbs the slaughtered creature's fear, pain and terror. These qualities are nourished within the meat-eater, perpetuating the cycle of cruelty and confusion. When the individual's consciousness lifts and expands, he will abhor violence and not be able to even digest the meat, fish, fowl and eggs he was formerly consuming. India's greatest saints have confirmed that one cannot eat meat and live a peaceful, harmonious life. Man's appetite for meat inflicts devastating harm on Earth itself, stripping its precious forests to make way for pastures. The Tirukural candidly states, 'How can he practice true compassion who eats the flesh of an animal to fatten his own flesh? Greater than a thousand ghee offerings consumed in sacrificial fires is not to sacrifice and consume any living creature.' "
Amazingly, some people define vegetarian as a diet which excludes the meat of animals but does permit fish and eggs. But what really is vegetarianism? Vegetarian foods include grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes and dairy products. Natural, fresh foods, locally grown without insecticides or chemical fertilizers are preferred. A vegetarian diet does not include meat, fish, fowl, shellfish or eggs. For good health, even certain vegetarian foods are minimized: frozen and canned foods, highly processed foods, such as white rice, white sugar and white flour; and "junk" foods and beverages—those with abundant chemical additives, such as artificial sweeteners, colorings, flavorings and preservatives.
According to Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami, "In my forty years of ministry it has become quite evident that vegetarian families have far fewer problems than those who are not vegetarian. If children are raised as vegetarians, every day they are exposed to nonviolence as a principle of peace and compassion. Every day they are growing up they are remembering and being reminded to not kill. They won't even kill another creature to eat, to feed themselves. And if they won't kill another creature to feed themselves, they will be much less likely to do acts of violence against people."
Vegetarian Animals
Vegetarians come in all sizes and shapes, but the elephant is the largest of all, with a sophisticated social life, loving and affectionately caring for its own. Elephants live long, vigorous lives, have a very large brain and, of course, are renowned for their excellent memory. They do not suffer any weakness for not eating meat. In fact, so many muscular and the most intelligent animals the horse, the cow, giraffe, zebra, rhinoceros, the apes, and more—are lifelong vegetarians and friends of men. Lean animals, thin and wiry, who are feared by man and beasts alike, are all hunters and killers and eaters of flesh—tigers, sharks, hawks, wolves and the like. Similarly, no one fears a gentle vegetarian, but all have reason to fear the unpredictable meat-eater. Scriptures admonish that it is wise to fear what should be feared.
Food and Consciousness
Food is the source of the body's chemistry, and what we ingest affects our consciousness, emotions and experiential patterns. If one wants to live in higher consciousnes, in peace and happieness and love for all creatures, then he cannot eat meat, fish, shellfish, fowl or eggs. By ingesting the grosser chemistries of animal foods, one introduces into the body and mind anger, jealousy, fear, anxiety, suspicion and the terrible fear of death, all of which is locked into the flesh of butchered creatures. It is said that in ancient India meat would be fed to the soldiers during military campaigns, especially before combat, to bring them into lower consciousness so that they would forget thier religious values. They performed these deeds in fulfillment of a warrior's way—with not the least restraint of conscience. The inner law is ever so simple—not eating meat, fish, foul or eggs is essential to awaken consciousness into the seven higher chakras (the uttara-chakras), up to the crown. Nonkilling—and noneating of that which is killed—is a must to pass from realms below.
Dharma
How many there are who resent the very mention of becoming a vegetarian, being instinctively repulsed by the idea, for they intuit the road ahead. They sense that once the more sattvic diet of pure foods are taken in place of meats (and other dead foods, packaged, processed and cellophane-wrapped) they will feel a great guilt occasioned by their transgressions of dharma, as they have so well perfected over the years their adharmic ways. Adharma means all that stands against Indian spirituality, against the path of the good and the pure and the natural, against dharma in all of its intricate dimensions. None of the other dharmas—stri dharma, the duties of women; purusha dharma, the duties of men; ashrama dharma, the responsibility of one's stage of life; varna dharma, one's position in society; and svadharma, one's own perfect pattern—even when performed properly will have the same results without fulfilling this virtue. Even Rita dharma, cosmic order, is upset by man's insatiable, aggressive appetites expressed through flesh-consuming.
Hindus Were the First Vegetarians
The book, Food for the Spirit, Vegetarianism and the World Religions, observes: "Despite popular knowledge of meat-eating's adverse effects, the nonvegetarian diet became increasingly widespread among Hindus after the two major invasions by foreign powers, first the Muslims and later the British. With them came the desire to be 'civilized,' to eat as did the saheeb. Those actually trained in Vedic knowledge, however, never adopted a meat-oriented diet, and the pious Hindu still observes vegetarian principles as a matter of religious duty.
"That vegetarianism has always been widespread in India is clear from the earliest Vedic texts. This was observed by the ancient traveler Megasthenes and also by Fa-hsien, a Chinese Buddhist monk who, in the fifth century, traveled to India in order to obtain authentic copies of the scriptures. These scriptures unambiguously support the meatless way of life. In the Mahabharata, for instance, the great warrior Bhishma explains to Yudhishtira, eldest of the Pandava princes, that the meat of animals is like the flesh of one's own son, and that the foolish person who eats meat must be considered the vilest of human beings [Anu. 114.11]. The eating of 'dirty' food, it warns, is not as terrible as the eating of flesh [Shanti. 141.88] (it must be remembered that the Brahmins of ancient India exalted cleanliness to a divine principle).
"Similarly, the Manusmriti declares that one should 'refrain from eating all kinds of meat,' for such eating involves killing and leads to karmic bondage (bandha) [5.49]. Elsewhere in the Vedic literature, the last of the great Vedic kings, Maharaja Parikshit, is quoted as saying that 'only the animal-killer cannot relish the message of the Absolute Truth [Shrimad Bhagavatam 10.1.4].'"
Common Dietary Concerns
Those considering a vegetarian diet generally worry about getting enough nutrients, since the belief that meat is a necessary part of keeping strong and healthy is still extremely widespread. Recently a group of eminent doctors called the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), themselves members of the American Medical Association, have decided to change the US consciousness on human nutrition, particularly among the medical community. The PCRM is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., consisting of doctors and laypersons working together for compassionate and effective medical practice, research and health promotion. Founded in 1985, the PCRM is supported by over 3,000 physicians and 50,000 laypersons. PCRM president (and vegetarian) Neal D. Barnard, M.D., is a popular speaker and the author of The Power of Your Plate. Armed with decades of nutritional research data, PCRM addresses these dietary concerns head-on:
"The fact is, it is very easy to have a well-balanced diet with vegetarian foods. Vegetarian foods provide plenty of protein. Careful combining of foods is not necessary. Any normal variety of plant foods provides more than enough protein for the body's needs. Although there is somewhat less protein in a vegetarian diet than a meat-eater's diet, this is actually an advantage. Excess protein has been linked to kidney stones, osteoporosis, and possibly heart disease and some cancers. A diet focused on beans, whole grains and vegetables contains adequate amounts of protein without the 'overdose' most meat-eaters get."
Other concerns are allayed by the PCRM as follows:
1. Calcium is easy to find in a vegetarian diet. Many dark, green leafy vegetables and beans are loaded with calcium, and some orange juices and cereals are calcium-fortified. Iron is plentiful in whole grains, beans and fruits.
2. Vitamin B12: There is a misconception that without eating meat one cannot obtain sufficient vitamin B12, which is an essential nutrient. This is simply not true. The PCRM advises: "Although cases of B12 deficiency are very uncommon, it is important to make sure that one has a reliable source of the vitamin. Good sources include all common multiple vitamins (including vegetarian vitamins), fortified cereals and soy milk."
3. During pregnancy nutritional needs increase. The American Dietetic Association has found vegan diets adequate for fulfilling nutritional needs during pregnancy, but pregnant women and nursing mothers should supplement their diets with vitamins B12 and D.
4. Vegetarian children also have high nutritional needs, but these, too, are met with a vegetarian diet. A vegetarian menu is "life-extending." As children, vegetarians may grow more gradually, reach puberty somewhat later, and live substantially longer than meat-eaters. Be sure to include a reliable source of vitamin B12. Besides the fortified cereals and soy milk mentioned above, vitamin B12 is widely available in multiple vitamins, brewers yeast and other potent dietary supplements.
Those interested in supporting or learning more about the work of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine should visit: http://www.pcrm.org.
Converting to Vegetarianism
Making the transition from carnivore to herbivore is not as hard as you might think. According to the book, The New Vegetarians, by Sonia Partridge and Paul Amato, 73% of vegetarian converts stated that the transition was not difficult. It is easier for people who do some homework on the subject and have a bit of cooking skill. The time it takes for people to totally convert varies greatly. About 70% of people make the transition gradually, while 30% stop all at once. A year is the most transition time to stop with red meat, which is almost always the first flesh to go, followed more slowly by fowl and fish.
One recommended method for the transition is to set a series of goals for yourself. Start simply with getting through one day without meat. Then, try one weekend, then one week. Make a realistic timetable for reaching them. Two to three months might be reasonable for some people while six months to a year might be better for others. Rewards can also help. For a major accomplishment such as a week without meat, treat yourself to a nice vegetarian meal out.
One can also take a formal Hindu vow of vegetarianism, sakahara vrata, available on-line at http://www.hinduismtoday.com/in-depth_issues/veggie_vow/. The vow may be taken privately, before elders or parents or as part of a temple ceremony. It reads in part, "I accept the principle of sakahara as the method by which I may acknowledge my compassion, my karuna, for all living beings. As an act of dedication, I am resolved this day to begin (or continue) the regular practice of eating a strict vegetarian diet and not eating meat, fish, shellfish, fowl or eggs."
The most common problem with conversion is not knowing enough about vegetarian diet. Some people who decide to be vegetarian, have no idea what to eat and end up with soggy vegetables and undercooked brown rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They become discouraged and rightly wonder how they will survive. But decent vegetarian food isn't boring. A little reasearch with books and websites will put your mind at ease. Get a vegetarian cookbook. Ask restaurant waiters which menu items are vegetarian.
Vegetarians are often asked "Don't you miss eating meat?" For about half of beginning vegetarians the answer is yes, acording to The New Vegetarians. They miss the texture and flavor of meat in the early weeks and months. Almost everyone though, gets over this within six months to a year and for many it becomes nauseating even to think about eating meat. Eighty-two percent of fully adapted vegetarians say there is no way they would consider eating flesh again.
Conclusion
Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami writes, "Modern meats are killed by
chemical treatment of the animals, the hormones of fear and chemistry of
death before and during slaughter, killed again by refrigerating them,
killed again by grinding them, killed again by preserving them, killed
again by packaging them, killed again by freezing them, killed again by
storing and shipping them, and finally really killed by cooking them to
death. How can such so-called food nourish a human being? Why should we
ever think of eating meat, fish, foul, eggs, anything with eyes or, as
some say, with two or more senses. The cock-a-doodle-doo who wakes us up
in the morning is dinner on the table at night. How gruesome. How ruthless
to thus forever close the eyes of an animal, or have someone else do it
for them in order that they may buy the carcass, closing their eyes to
the fact, which is even worse, and keeping their own eyes closed to that
creature's suffering to consume it without conscience during jovial small
talk over the dinner table. How easy in turn for such a person to turn
and maim or kill a fellow human in the same way in times of stress as a
natural reaction, in 'justifiable righteousness.'As the Rig Veda (10.87.16)
proclaims: '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.'
A vegetarian banquet, right?
Wrong.
Find out...
Dalai Lama digs into veal, pheasant
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=605615
Nancy Stohs
It's a question most chefs never get the privilege of pondering:
What to serve the Dalai Lama?
In Milwaukee chef Sandy D'Amato's case, the answer was veal.
Veal?
Despite expectations that a vegetarian feast would be in order, the team of chefs assembled to cook for His Holiness on his recent visit to Madison was given no such instruction, said Catherine McKiernan, executive chef at the Madison Club, where the elaborate luncheon was held.
The Dalai Lama is, it turns out, a meat lover.
And so the five-course menu, served to about 60 people on May 3, including the guest of honor, his entourage and assorted citizens, included a stuffed pheasant breast, D'Amato's slow-cooked veal roast with scalded morels and escarole, and an asparagus soup with a chicken stock base.
A cured fish appetizer, mixed green salad, eggplant-and-chickpea entrée, and three full-size chocolate desserts completed the menu.
Created and coordinated by Jim Walsh, a Wisconsin native who attended UW-Madison, the luncheon cost $500 to $1,000a head and was a fund-raiser for the Deer Park Buddhist Center and Monastery near Madison.
Walsh is the founder and CEO of Hawaiian Vintage Chocolate, a premium chocolate whose trees were blessed by the Dalai Lama and whose chocolate was the first ever eaten by the spiritual leader.
Fittingly, his latest product, Intentional Chocolate, is a dark chocolate that's engineered to promote "an increased sense of energy, vigor and well-being" in those who consume it.
Walsh told D'Amato he picked him to be on the chef team after eating at Sanford Restaurant in Milwaukee.
He was looking for restaurants that had a zen-like feel, where the service and food and ambience "all made sense together."
Sanford measured up, as a place where "nothing seemed forced," and it seemed as though "everything was meant to be there."
D'Amato may not have put "zen" and "Sanford" in the same sentence before, but he was duly flattered.
The other chefs were Shawn McClain from Chicago's Spring Restaurant, Green Zebra and Custom House and John Gadau and Phillip Hurley, co-owners and chefs of Sardine and Marigold Kitchen restaurants in Madison.
They weren't operating completely in the dark about their honored guest.
They knew the Dalai Lama eats only breakfast and lunch, and that his vows prohibit him from eating anything after 1 p.m.
"Everything had to be seasonal and local and Wisconsin-themed, as it were," McKiernan said, noting the presence on the menu of pea shoots, pheasant and "a lot of asparagus."
D'Amato's veal came from Strauss Veal in Franklin.
For security reasons, the chefs didn't know exactly when the exiled leader would show up. They were told it could be 11:15 or 11:45 a.m., 12:15 or 12:30 p.m.
The chefs also had been briefed on Dalai Lama protocol: Never turn your back on him. Don't touch him. Don't speak to him unless he speaks to you.
Right around noon, D'Amato was heading downstairs to the kitchen, one level below the dining area, to check on his food.
Halfway down, he met His Holiness heading up the stairs.
"So I did kind of a little moonwalk backward all the way up and smiled," D'Amato said.
The chefs had hoped it would be possible to get a photograph with him but were not planning to press the issue.
When the Dalai Lama saw them all standing behind the table of food, the Dalai Lama said, "Oh, the cooks! Picture! Picture!" D'Amato recalled.
"He grabbed my hand and another other fellow's . . . " and the proof is printed in this newspaper.
And how did His Radiance like the food?
With all due respect, "he chowed down," D'Amato said.
In addition to the veal dish and a Warm Bittersweet Intentional Chocolate Tart with Coffee Ice Cream, D'Amato brought bread for the meal from his Harlequin Bakery.
"He ate nine pieces of bread," the chef said.
The Dalai Lama commented later that everything was really delicious, D'Amato said, asking how this dish and that were made. And, he noted approvingly, "it's good quantity."
Ashley Walsh of Los Angeles, Jim Walsh's daughter and co-coordinator of the luncheon, sat at the Dalai Lama's table.
"He pretty much lapped up every single plate that he had put in front of him," she recalled. "He loves food; he likes good food."
Before this, the biggest luminary D'Amato had cooked for was Julia Child, on her 80th birthday. For McKiernan, it was Al Gore.
By comparison, McKiernan said, "This was much more intense. It was nerve-wracking. There was more security here for the Dalai Lama than there was for Al Gore."
"This was the biggest thing I've ever been involved in," D'Amato echoed. "It was really exciting when he came in.
"You listen to him speak . . . he just transcends politics and religion. What he's saying is . . . all about compassion and love and getting rid of your anger. And everything that is bad in the world was created by man, so man can fix it all."
D'Amato had brought along a copy of the Dalai Lama's latest book, "How to See Yourself As You Really Are," hoping to get the author's signature.
The Dalai Lama obliged - but first he referenced the title and laughed.
"He has this real infectious giggle," D'Amato said. "He said, 'Look, there's no "self" in Buddhism, and this is my book.' "
Nevertheless, he signed it, addressing D'Amato and his wife, Angie, with a message in Tibetan. He translated it as: "I hope the two of you have wonderful success and wonderful happiness in all of your lifetimes."
Yes, that last word is plural.
D'Amato said he's always believed he'd come back in his next life as a food.
"Maybe a hot dog."
NEW YORK, NEW YORK, December 27, 2006: (HPI note: The following item is from the editorial page of the New York Times -- not the place you'd normally expect a anti-meat statement...)
When you think about the growth of human population over the last century or so, it is all too easy to imagine it merely as an increase in the number of humans. But as we multiply, so do all the things associated with us, including our livestock. At present, there are about 1.5 billion cattle and domestic buffalo and about 1.7 billion sheep and goats. With pigs and poultry, they form a critical part of our enormous biological footprint upon this planet. Just how enormous was not really apparent until the publication of a new report, called "Livestock's Long Shadow," by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Consider these numbers. Global livestock grazing and feed production use "30 percent of the land surface of the planet." Livestock -- which consume more food than they yield -- also compete directly with humans for water. And the drive to expand grazing land destroys more biologically sensitive terrain, rain forests especially, than anything else. But what is even more striking, and alarming, is that livestock are responsible for about 18 percent of the global warming effect, more than transportation's contribution. The culprits are methane -- the natural result of bovine digestion -- and the nitrogen emitted by manure. Deforestation of grazing land adds to the effect. There are no easy trade-offs when it comes to global warming -- such as cutting back on cattle to make room for cars. The human passion for meat is certainly not about to end anytime soon. As "Livestock's Long Shadow" makes clear, our health and the health of the planet depend on pushing livestock production in more sustainable direc tions.
courtesy of Hinduism Today http://www.hinduismtoday.com
WASHINGTON D.C., UNITED STATES, October 28, 2006: Each year in the United States, 10 billion land animals are raised and killed for meat, eggs, and milk (this works out to a staggering 1.14 million animals killed per hour, not counting fish, which are killed in equal number.) Statistically, farm animals comprise 98 percent of all animals in the country with whom we interact directly, and that staggering percentage does not even include the estimated 10 billion aquatic animals killed for human consumption. Indeed, the numbers of animals killed by trappers and hunters; in classrooms, research laboratories, and animal shelters; and on fur farms; and those animals raised as companions or used for entertainment by circuses and zoos, collectively make up only 2 percent of the animals in some established relationship with humans.
These farm animals -- sentient, complex, and capable of feeling pain and frustration, joy and excitement -- are viewed by industrialized agriculture as mere meat-, egg-, and milk-producing machines, and their welfare suffers immensely as factory farm profit outweighs their well-being. Yet, despite the routine abuses they endure, no federal law protects animals from cruelty on the farm, and the majority of states exempt customary agricultural practices -- no matter how abusive -- from the scope of their animal cruelty statutes. The welfare of farm animals often loses out to the economic interests of factory farmers who can make larger profits by intensively confining animals and breeding them for rapid growth with little regard for the amount of suffering the animals endure. Included are the many reference documents used in this report and related links where readers can learn more.
courtesy of Hinduism Today http://www.hinduismtoday.com
KAUAI, HAWAII, July 6, 2007: HPI reader Ranji Singh points out that, following the US$10 million judgment against McDonalds in 2005, Hinduism Today warned that:
"Hindu vegetarians around the world may wish to take note of the little-publicized fact that McDonald's made no changes in their fries, which are still beef-flavoring saturated. Sure, the oil is vegetable. But make no mistake about it. There is meat in those luscious Golden Arches french fries." (See URL above for complete report.)
"Today," laments Ranji, "this issue is forgotten. Every Hindu with whom I have spoken about this matter believes that McDonald's no longer use their beef flavoring since they lost the lawsuit."
So, consider yourself reminded, beef flavoring remains in the fries, and if you don't believe us, believe McDonalds: click here and scroll down to "Natural beef flavor" in the list of ingredients for "Small French Fries."
courtesy of Hinduism Today http://www.hinduismtoday.com
"It's well known that vitamin C enhances iron absorption and the majority of the iron that we absorb actually doesn't come from meat, it comes from other food sources such as cereal, grain, dairy food. When we are eating these foods it's really important that we have vitamin C to help absorb it."
LONDON, ENGLAND, April 19, 2007: American oil company ConocoPhillips and Tyson Foods, the world's biggest meat producer, have announced that they will produce diesel from pork fat. Cows and chickens will also be transformed to power motor vehicles. The companies say that this renewable source of energy will be cleaner than conventional diesel. It is hoped that it will be available at petrol stations by the end of the year. "It is chemically equivalent to diesel itself," said Geoff Webster, who is managing the scheme for Tyson Foods, in an interview with the BBC World Service. "It has lower carbon dioxide, it is zero sulphur, so many positive benefits for the environment." In two years, ConocoPhillips expects to produce in the region of 175 million gallons of animal diesel a year. That will add another 15,000 barrels of diesel a day, which amounts to about 3 percent of the company's total diesel output.
While animal diesel may be an environmentally friendly alternative, there are fears it may not be to everybody's tastes or ethics. Mr Webster admitted that they were yet to discuss this new product with vegetarian and religious groups. The diesel when produced will be pumped into a network and mixed with other types of diesel. It will not be possible to tell at petrol stations whether the diesel is made from animal fat or not.
In a statement, the animal rights group PETA expressed its dismay. "A recent report published by the United Nations concludes that the meat industry is responsible for more global warming emissions than all the cars, trucks and planes in the world combined." "Clearly, the answer to global warming isn't to fill gas guzzling cars with ground up remains of tortured animals, it is to go vegetarian, which is something every person can afford to do and should do for the sake of their own health, animals and the environment."
courtesy of Hinduism Today http://www.hinduismtoday.com
Pigs will now not only be for eating but powering cars too
A solution for the world's energy crisis may come in the form of a pig.
American oil company ConocoPhillips and Tyson Foods, the world's biggest meat producer, have announced that they will produce diesel from pork fat.
Cows and chickens will also be transformed to power motor vehicles.
The companies say that this renewable source of energy will be cleaner than conventional diesel. It is hoped that it will be available at petrol stations by the end of the year.
"It is chemically equivalent to diesel itself," said Geoff Webster, who is managing the scheme for Tyson Foods, in an interview with the BBC World Service.
"It has lower Carbon Dioxide, it is zero sulphur, so many positive benefits for the environment."
Animal power
In two years, ConocoPhillips expects to produce in the region of 175 million gallons of animal diesel a year. That will add another 15,000 barrels of diesel a day, which amounts to about 3 percent of the company's total diesel output.
It will receive pre-processed fat from a Tyson Foods rendering facility. Animal fat and other waxy waste is usually turned in to ingredients for soaps, cosmetics and pet food.
Animal diesel will be available at US pumps by end of 2007
The company expects to spend approximately 100 million dollars over several years on the project, and will probably enjoy tax breaks.
Since 2005, US oil companies can benefit from a dollar-per-gallon tax incentive for creating renewable fuel from animal carcasses and other food wastes.
While other car fuel replacement products already exist in the form of bio ethanol - made from grain, palm oil and sugar cane - Mr Webster said that animal diesel will not be made at a cost to food production.
"We won't be processing animals simply to get the fat to turn them in to fuel. We're taking a by-product and using that for fuel," Mr Webster said.
"We feel that it is a huge step forward as opposed to taking grains which are needed for food around the world and turning those in to fuel."
Vegetarian issue
Biofuels are seen as a way of reducing harmful emissions from burning fossil fuels.
While animal diesel may be an environmentally friendly alternative, there are fears it may not be to everybody's tastes or ethics.
Mr Webster admitted that they were yet to discuss this new product with vegetarian and religious groups.
The diesel when produced will be pumped into a network and mixed with other types of diesel. It will not be possible to tell at petrol stations whether the diesel is made from animal fat or not.
In a statement, the animal rights group PETA expressed its dismay.
"A recent report published by the United Nations concludes that the meat industry is responsible for more global warming emissions than all the cars, trucks and planes in the world combined."
"Clearly, the answer to global warming isn't to fill gas guzzling cars
with ground up remains of tortured animals, it is to go vegetarian, which
is something every person can afford to do and should do for the sake of
their own health, animals and the environment."
The other day, on the way back from a five day preaching engagement at a Rainbow gathering, we stopped at a gas station. There we witnessed a most abominable thing. As we were paying the gas we noticed that in front of the cashier there was a large shelf on which they were selling worms and insects for snacks. Yep, you heard it right, worms, insects, and even scorpions. They had fried worms and crickets, spiced in varieties of ways. You could clearly see crickets’ wings and hairy legs. They had bug suckers and even insects dipped in chocolate. The advertisement for worm suckers said “Genuine Worms - Sugar Free.”
My God (Krishna)!!! What has come over these people?! They have all
gone mad. Sense gratification knows no limits. For the pleasure of the
tongue people are ready to go as far as you can imagine, and then even
beyond that. Damn, damn, crazy materialists.
None of us could believe that people really eat that crap. We then asked the woman behind the register if people indeed eat that stuff. She said she her self tried the worms. Yuck!!!
We all looked at each others in utter disbelief. One of devotees then said, “This is Kali-yuga.”
Later, while continuing to drive back to our home temple in San Diego, I was reflecting on the whole thing. Eventually my thought process boiled down to the final realization:
Preaching Is So Important!
If one’s mind is constantly exposed to a certain information, that information will eventually penetrate one’s consciousness and make him act a certain way. The whole commercial world is based on this principle, and as we witness it daily, it is quite successful. Simply because something is being advertised, even though it may be utterly stupid or even disgusting, people will eventually believe in it or buy it ... or as in this case: EAT IT!!!
Similarly all devotees of God in this world should put hands together
and powerfully advertise God consciousness, otherwise this civilization
will get sidetracked so bad that even the most powerful minds will fail
to imagine such abominity. Well, now that I’ve said that I look around
and already can see such far out things that have become so normal that
I don’t dare to write about here in fear of public scorn.
Dear Sastra Dana members, please fix your mind on this most important work of distributing Krishna conscious literature. Let us all come together and see how can we fulfill the desire of Srila Prabhupada’s that billions of his books be distributed to the public in general. Srila Prabhupada wanted us to flood the society with his books. I hope this article helps you deepen the understanding how important our mission is.
Web site: http://www.sastradana.com
By Cidanandas
It has been said that if slaughterhouses had glass windows,many people would stop meat eating.It is now possible through video clips,sometimes secretly filmed at these horrible places,and available to all people around the world,who sometimes have ever seen a live cow or a chicken in their life.
The meat comes beautifully packaged in a plastic tray,with beautifully designed photographs for pre-cooked preps.The taste and look of the meat,after many manipulations,appeal to meat-eaters,who,due to false propaganda,believe it is absolutely necessary for proteins and vitamins,otherwise they’ll die of bad nutrition.
In order to see what these video clips are having as effect on the minds of people, I visited youtube and searched: massacre - animal-cows…and in a few secs, the horror place was there,ready to be watched. Anyone who has some feelings should be immediately conscious of the terrible injustice being carried out in such places,where the huge animals are forcibly driven to their end,by means of electric shocks,turned upside down,and have their throats slit by an employee,who repeats this act over and over again.The cow is then thrown,still conscious and moving to an area,where she tries to escape,but keeps slipping on the blood all over the concrete floor. Finally,death is here,and it’s the end of the sufferings.
The muslim way of taking life seems to be more efficient,as the bull is tied up by their feet and the throat is slit with a sharp knife,and after the oozing of blood,seconds after,it’s the end.
What impressed me were the comments given by viewers:about 50% say that they didn’t know about such sufferings…and are thinking about going vegetarian! Many curse the cruelty of the slaughterhouse’s employees,who don’t have any respect for the animals.
The killing of dogs and cats in the Far Eastern countries,for food,make them even wilder,as the torturers believe that the meat taste better when the animals experience fear.
Horse slaughter for export is met with incredibility:how humans have turned into such savages,that even in other countries,do not exist.In order to make maximum profits,the mechanisation of the meat industry has turned men into beasts of the worst kind,for the pleasure of growing population of meat eaters.
I don’t know what devotees think of such type of shock preaching,but
personally I think it’s a good way to awaken people from their illusory
world of refined eating,as the meat industry took great care to hide their
dark secrets from the public till now,with fenced walls and windowless
buildings.The crime now is readily available now,within seconds,thanks
to this marvellous invention,that can be put into Lord Krishna’s service.
A good downloadable video can be seen at peta.org.
from The Vegetarian November 1992
Angling is the poor relation in the fight against cruelty to animals because fish are seen as cold creatures feeling no pain. They are not appealing, fluffy or cuddly and most people cannot understand what all the fuss is about. Hilary Hannah takes a look at some of the cold hard facts of Britain's most popular pastime.
A report in a Liverpool newspaper told the story of a young man who was kicked in the face and head whilst fishing in a local park and subsequently had all of his fishing equipment stolen. The newspaper readers incensed that somebody taking part in such a peaceful pastime should be so beaten for the sake of his equipment, inundated the newspaper with offers of replacement tackle, umbrellas and other gear.
A heart-warming story of human kindness, for how could so-called civilised human beings contemplate inflicting such injuries upon a fellow creature? How indeed.
Angling is the most practised pastime in Britain with about four million participants. The popular image is of peaceful, wax-jacketed, pensive philosophers casting lines not to catch fish, but for the excuse to sit in solitude, in harmony with nature. The reality for many anglers - and the "angled" - is quite different.
Fish are not simply caught and conscientiously cast back; they often suffer a protracted and painful death by suffocation or, like the Liverpudlian angler, are clubbed into submission. They are often 'played' by the angler, sometimes for an hour or more until they tire and are easier to catch: they then usually spend several hours in a keepnet, particularly if they have been caught in match conditions.
Coarse fishing is the most popular form of angling. It involves the capture of largely inedible fish which are usually returned to the water. As the fish are returned to the water with the hooks removed, there is a widely held belief that no harm actually comes to them and the fact that the fish often 'return' to be caught again is said to display their 'enjoyment' of the 'sport'. In fact, fish return because they become accustomed to receiving food in that area.
Fish are caught using single, double or treble barbed and unbarbed hooks which lodge, theoretically, in the lip of the fish and are then removed by hand, with forceps or using a strange medieval-looking implement travelling under the rather gruesome title of a disgorger. Hooks are not always easily removed as they frequently lodge in the body of the fish, causing considerable suffering when the hook is removed.
Arguments rage between animal rights groups on the one hand and angling groups the other, as to the exact amount of harm caused to fish, wildlife and the environment of the waterways. Angling groups tend to see themselves as conservationists and protectors of the countryside whereas animal rights groups, such as the Campaign for the Abolition of Angling (CAA) [now called Pisces], see angling as a damaging activity and certainly not a sport. According to CAA the argument that anglers prevent rivers from turning into open sewers is simply a diversionary tactic to avoid addressing the issue that fish actually feel pain.
The Association of Co-operative Anglers (ACA) do undertake a considerable amount of work to clean waterways and to ensure that polluters of waterways are prosecuted, but the CAA say that these activities are essential to keeping the waterways open and clear to enable anglers to fish. If the waterways were of no benefit to the anglers then they would not be overly concerned with the rivers and streams. CAA argue that there is a wide range of organisations involved in practical concern for the countryside and not just the areas containing fish.
The National Rivers Authority (NRA) is obliged to maintain, develop and improve fisheries for the benefit of "everybody including anglers". They have to maintain stocks at a reasonable level and are the issuing body for anglers' licences which sell at a cost of £12.50 (with concessions for disabled and unwaged). The licence allows the angler to use two rods and line, but, in order to fish, they must then obtain a permit to fish along any given stretch of a river. Brian Briggs from the fisheries department at NRA's northwest office said that anglers, on the whole, are very helpful in assisting the NRA to carry out their duties, "they know when there is something wrong and they are very good at contacting us".
When questioned about the damage caused by discarded fishing materials, such as lines and weights, Brian Briggs seemed to think the problem was caused by a minority and thinks that the majority of anglers are conscientious about taking care of the waterways. The use of lead weights over one ounce is still permissible, but, according to Brian, weights under one ounce were banned two to three years ago by the national imposition of a bye-law.
Weights under one ounce were the cause of poisoning and choking of river birds and other small wildlife, but Brian says "it would have to be a big bird to swallow a one ounce lead weight". According to Rina Milsom at Swan Song - a group working to make anglers more aware of the injuries their pastime may inflict on swans and other waterside wildlife - 'dust-shot' is still used by anglers and is as harmful as any of the weights banned by the national bye-law. Dust shot are tiny lead weights which anglers tie together, "and they also still use the weights which have been banned, although I have to concede things have improved" says Rina.
Other items of fishing equipment cause considerable