The Human anatomy favors vegetarianism:

1) We have molar teeth to masticate food, to chew; we do not have canines to rip flesh as carnivores do.

2) Our saliva contains Alpha-Amylase, an enzyme that digests plant foods, which is not found in the saliva of carnivores.

3) Meats putrefy much faster than vegetables; so carnivores have intestines that are only 3 times body length. Herbivores have 10 to 12 times body length, as do humans.

4) The concentration of the stomach acids of carnivores is 20 times that of herbivores and humans, it takes less acid to digest vegetables and fruits.

5) We do not have claws to tear and rip flesh, our hands with the opposing thumb is more suited for harvesting fruits and vegetables.

6) Carnivores have a great capacity to rid themselves of cholesterol. Humans do not.

7) Carnivores lap up water and pant to get rid of body heat. Humans sip water and perspire through skin pores.

Vegetables and fruits are rich in fiber and nutrients, but instead of eating them we feed them to the animals and then instead ingest fats and cholesterol from the animals. Where is the logic?

Health Reasons:

As early as 1961, The AMA journal stated that 90+% of heart disease can be prevented with a Vegetarian diet.

There is a strong link between colon cancer and meat eating (#3 above). Toxins in meat, do damage because they are not expelled as quickly they would be in carnivores.

Dioxin, one of the deadliest toxins, is concentrated in meat at levels 22 times what are safe, according to the EPA. More than 95% of all dioxin exposure comes in meat, dairy, and eggs. None comes in vegan foods (the other 5% is environmental).

Factory farming has made meat eating more dangerous. Because the animals are given tranquilizers, hormones and antibiotics, the latter often up to 30 times higher than humans consume in a lifetime. Preservatives in meat are dangerous to human health too.

Diseases in the meat itself go unchecked. There are not enough Meat Inspectors and& their checks are cursory. If ever there are recalls- , most of the tainted meat has already been consumed and& the damage done. Cows with eye cancer and& abscessed liver are processed. ( 19 million pounds of beef were recalled July 02).

Rodent droppings are ignored. Meat packing would come to a halt if the laws were strictly enforced.

What about protein? How does the rhino, the elephant and the bull survive? Inadequacy of protein in a vegetarian diet is a complete myth propagated by vested interests. In fact, over- ingestion of protein in the Western diet has been detrimental to health. Grains, beans, sprouts, nuts are all concentrated sources of protein. Cheese, peanuts and lentils contain more protein per ounce than hamburger, pork or steak.!

The Mad cow disease is really “ The Man Greed Disease” Cows were fed animal matter --remains of other animals. --put in their feed to save money. Being herbivorous, cows have 4 stomachs, and animal matter putrefies in their system and caused the disease.

Ecological Reasons:

We are hooked on a meat-centered diet because of the illusion of cheap grain. Over 70% of grain in USA is fed to livestock. This is most inefficient it takes sixteen pounds of grain yield to yield 1 pound of beef. Six pounds of grain produce 1 pound of pork and 3 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of chicken.

The South American rain forests are being decimated by conversion to grazing lands, ruining the lungs of mother earth- that convert the carbon- di-oxide in the air back to oxygen.

If the whole world were vegetarian there is enough grain to feed 11 billion people. The current population is 6 billion.

The meat and dairy industry is effectively exempted from the US Clean Air & Water Act. The amount of toxic waste by this industry alone is 1 billion tons per year which is about 60-80% of the total toxic waste.

The total cattle herd in the world is 1.3 billion head; total weight of the animals exceeds the weight of humans on earth.

There is no practical way to dispose of the chicken manure, so cattle farmers mix it with Soya and feed it to the cattle- 500 tons per year!

Global warming would be reduced considerably if meat consumption were reduced. The contribution to global warming by automobiles is insignificant compared to the use of energy for feedstock.

Conclusion:

This David and Goliath battle cannot be won on financial grounds. The Food Industry contributed 41 million dollars to the House & Senate, no Senator or House of Representative would dare oppose them. The Farm bill puts billions of dollars every year for the next 10 years into the coffers of the Meat and Dairy Industry. Read: Safety Last: The Politics of E.Coli and other food borne killers:

www.Publicintegrity.org/Safety_last.html

Thousands of Americans die each year -- and millions more become sick -- from the food they eat and the number of disease-producing agents in the nations food supply. Cases of poisoning from E.Coli O 157:H7 bacterium alone have increased dramatically in the past decade, from virtually zero to approximately 20,000 a year. Government officials at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention have described the current food situation as epidemic.

This study concluded that Congress has consistently ignored the growing threat to public health posed by the slaughter and meatpacking industry, the producers who raise the animals, and the distributors, wholesalers, and retailers who sell the products to the public. Among its major findings: Over the past decade, the food industry poured more than $41 million into the campaign treasuries of Capitoal hill lawmakers and managed to kill every bill that has promised meaningful improvement.

Motivation: So now there are 2 Major reasons to become a vegetarian

1) Participate in making the world a more compassionate one.

2) For your own self- preservation and good health!

The only recourse you and I have is to become Vegetarian, decimate their market, improve our own health, improve our planet and also stop animal cruelty.

Yes! We can turn the tide.

Published with the kind permission of Stephen Knapp

Stephen Knapp (Sri Nandanandana) is the President and Treasurer of the Vedic Friends Association (www.vedicfriends.org). He has been researching Vedic spirituality and comparative religious study for over 30 years in a variety of settings. He has directly engaged in those spiritual disciplines that have been recommended for hundreds of years. He continued his study of Vedic knowledge and practice under the guidance of a spiritual master to get the insights and realizations that are normally absent from the ordinary academic atmosphere. Through this process he has been initiated into the genuine and authorized spiritual line of the Brahma-Madhava-Gaudiya sampradaya, or disciplic succession, under the sanction of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami. He has also extensively travelled throughout India to most of the major holy sights and more, and is known for his slide shows on his travels to the holy places and spiritual festivals of India (even nicknamed "the slide show acharya"), and for his lectures on the Vedic and Indian philosophy. He has written several books on the science and spiritual practice of Vedic culture and Eastern philosophy.

Visit his website, at: http://www.stephen-knapp.com.

You can email him at: Srinandan@aol.com. 

*Click Here* to see books, from Vedic Books, authored by Stephen Knapp

Copyright 2006 © Stephen Knapp. All rights reserved