A question to answer!

You're at the supermarket, you go to the meat section (or the crying aisle, as I think of it) but there are no burgers, sausages, drumsticks etc....there's only a holding pen, and in this pen is a cow, a calf, a pig, a chicken, a lamb and a turkey.Picture them all there looking at you...confused and terrified, backing away. They don't know why they're there or what's going on. One by one you have to catch them and hold them down, they're trying to get away, they're screaming, but if you want meat you have to kill them. Could you do that? Cut their throats, watch them bleed out and slice them up?

On to the milk section (another crying aisle). No milk on the shelf, but there's a cow with a calf suckling. If you want milk, the calf has got to go. Could you pull the calf off of the mother, drag the calf away...never to see the mother again?...then milk the cow while she's crying and bellowing
and grieving for her calf?

On to the eggs...can you walk by the bedraggled, sick, miserable hens that are crammed into cages so small they can't even stretch their wings?... can you help yourself to their eggs without any concern for the misery they have to endure? And can you macerate small chicks just because they cannot lay eggs?

Imagine if what ends up at the supermarket also has to start at the supermarket...would you still go there?...would you take your children?...would you take part if you were face to face with your food?

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Ecological worries in vegetarianism.

So the next question that arises against vegetarianism is that of ecological imbalance- Non Vegans claim that if all the population turns vegetarian then it'll lead to destruction of environment and extinction of reared animal species. Mine only answer to them is that have you ever heard of Environmental vegetarianism. It is the practise of vegetarianism based on the indications that animal production leads to intensive agriculture which is unsustainable.

Let me explain you how is animal cultivation is leading to a serious environmental imbalance. The major industries associated with meat production are of feed crops producing corn and soy which are more damaging to ecosystem than organic farming, permaculture, arable, pastoral or rain fed agriculture.

In 2006 by the initiative of U.N. a survey done for contributors of environment degradation; livestock industries were found to have a major impact. Since these industries leads to - deforestation, air and water pollution, land degradation, loss of topsoil, climate change resources overuse,loss of biodiversity, etc....

In 2006 FAO estimated that meat industries release 18% greenhouse gases; which was revised in 2009 to be minimum 51%.
The ratio of the resources invested inorder to produce livestock products is more shocking as its - 4:1 for milk and egg and 54:1 for protein production. Hence it clearly proves that these methods are less efficient than direct harvesting.

The famous words of Dennis Avery - Director of Centre of Global food production are "The world must create 5 billion Vegans in next several decades or Triple it's total farm output without using more land" it's not an exaggeration but implying our present conditions.

The WHO states that every year due to malnutrition 10.4 million children's die every year. The Cornell scientists advised U.S. could feed 800 million people on the grain that livestock eats. Inorder to produce 1 pound of beef 2,400 gallons of water and 7 pounds of Grain is required.
Hence from the above content its quite clear that even modest reduction in meat consumption could substantially reduce burden on our Natural resources and enable us to live sustainably.

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Wanna turn veggie think about it.

While religious and ethical beliefs, as well as economic factors have a lot to do with the profusion of vegetarians in countries like India and Thailand,more and more people, particularly in developed countries, have given up and continue to give up meat and other animal products for health reasons. This has to do with scientific reports around the world showing that a vegetarian diet can considerably reduce the high cholesterol associated with heart disease.Likewise, research done over the past twenty years strongly suggests that there is a link between eating meat and cancer of the colon, rectum,prostate, breast and uterus, which is very rare amongst cultures who eat little or no meat.One reason given by biologists and nutritionists for such serious imbalances is that the human intestinal tract is not suited for digesting meat. Animals that eat flesh have short intestines to pass rapidly the decaying and toxin-producing meat out of their body. Plant-eaters have intestines at least six times the length of their body, because plant foods decay more slowly than meat.The human body has the long intestinal tract of a herbivore, so the toxins produced during digestion(and by any undigested meat) can overload the system, especially the kidneys, and lead to gout, arthritis,rheumatism, and other diseases,including cancer. Plus, the meat industry adds nitrites and other preservatives to keep the decaying meat a bright red color, and even before being slaughtered livestock are fed enormous amounts of chemicals such as tranquilizers, hormones, antibiotics, and many others(Gary and Steven Null mention 2,700 drugs given to livestock in their book Poisons in Your Body). Although these drugs will still be present in the meat when you eat it, the law does not require that they be listed on the package.We humans need protein. Yes, it is a fact that protein constitutes the building blocks of our tissues. But animal flesh is not the only source of protein available to us. Dairy products, grains, beans, and nuts are all concentrated sources of protein.Cheese, peanuts, and lentils, for instance, contain more protein per ounce than hamburger, pork, or steak. Animal protein requires much energy to digest and transforms into energy quickly, making it readily available for< you although it also gets quickly consumed. Vegetable protein does not use as much energy to digest and transforms into longer lasting energy.In excess, animal protein will more likely reduce your body's overall energy because of the energy it takes to digest. Studies show that
vegetarians are able to perform any physical activity 2 to 3 times longer than non-vegetarians, and that they recover from fatigue 2 to 3 times faster as well. Fish may be considered somewhat “cleaner” than read meat or poultry, but nowadays you need to be careful, as many types of fish have unhealthy amounts of mercury, as well as other contaminants like PCBs, chlordane, dioxins, and DDT. The American Dietetic Association notes that most of mankind for most of human history has lived on vegetarian or quasi-vegetarian diets. And the modern 20th-century consumer society significantly changed people's diet in industrialized countries. Furthermore, the slaughter of animals and meat consumption has become excessive, leading to serious imbalances and disease. Yet, this seems to be slowly changing, as more and more people are becoming concerned about their health and more conscientious about what they put into their bodies. We are finally making the connection between diet and health that Ayurveda has stated for thousands of years, and taking more responsibility for our own well being instead of just blindly following the mainstream behavior. Spiritual Reasons to Become a Vegetarian In most Eastern cultures, vegetarianism is also imbued with the ethical principles of spiritual traditions like Hinduism and Buddhism, which follow ahimsa (non-violence) and metta (universal love). Love and non- violence refer not just to humans, but to all living beings, because we cannot find peace within ourselves if we are not willing to respect nature and be at peace with the world around us. The slaughter of animals is violence and there is no such thing as “humane animal slaughter.” It is written in the Vedas that, “Meat can never be obtained without injury to living creatures.” Indian spiritual teachers have promoted vegetarianism as an integral part of the spiritual path for thousands of years, not only because not killing animals is part of ahimsa, or non-violence, as a general precept, but also because participating in the wholesale slaughter of animals, or killing animals as a form of entertainment or sport creates karma.Since the aim of a yogic spiritual path is Liberation, partaking in theslaughter of animals means promoting our own suffering (by supporting the suffering of others) and binding us to the world. Yet now that yoga has become so popular in the West, we see yoga and meditation retreats where meat is served, which goes completely against the principles of true yoga, as it condones a worldly and desire-based mind frame, as opposed to a liberating path of inner peace and self-awareness.