For many years now there have been many
campaigns and debates and discussions on the food we eat, the benefits, the
pros, the cons and deficiencies in what we consume on a daily basis. There are
three main groups, the vegans, the vegetarians, and the non vegetarians
followed by the pescatarians and eggitarians, followed lastly by the cheats and
hypocrites. The vegan is the staunchest and has chosen to completely give up
meat because he has decided that animals are sentient and so should not be
commoditised. I support them to the extent that they completely abstain from
any animal products including silk and honey, because that takes determination,
however, I find their view that it is ok to kill plants just because they are
not responsive, a little frail. Plants are also living things and are just as
important, if not more, than any other living things. They need to breathe, in
fact we need them to breathe, so that we can have oxygen. They eat and drink,
and according to many gardening and farming enthusiasts, are stimulated with
music and conversation and tend to grow better. Now just on the premise that
they don’t respond and are not conscious (a fact that can never be proven), is
it okay to indiscriminately kill and destroy them for food, paper, furniture and
a thousand other things?
Then we have vegetarians: those who eat
only vegetables. Here the choice is made based mainly on religious beliefs and
of late because of health reasons. Then there are the Jains who eat only
vegetables, but their principles are similar to the vegans. However, they go a
step ahead and escort insects out of their home instead of killing them, they
don’t eat garlic, potatoes and carrots because micro-organisms are harmed when
harvesting , and don’t eat bulbous vegetables, because their ability to sprout
is characteristic of a living being. Something the rest of the plants are not?
As far as I am concerned the rest are a
confused lot. Islam considers pork dirty and that’s why the Muslims chose not
to eat it. The Hindus don’t eat cow meat because they consider her holy and
revere her, and thus choose not to eat it. Then come the cheats who choose to
go out and eat meat because at home, its production and consumption is taboo.
The hypocrites, almost the lowest of the food world are those that follow the
‘do as I say, don’t do as I do’ policy. They choose to lecture people on what
they should do, but follow exactly the opposite.
Then come my favourites; the non
vegetarians, the ones that provide balance in the world order, the ones who are
happiest and can choose from an abundance of the earth’s bounty and do it
largely responsibly. We do have a few that take for granted what they have and
show scant respect for the animals that provide for them.
There is one word that I have used in all
instances, and its very important in the modern world that this word is
significant and is given its due. Choice, just a simple word, but carries so
much weight.
