History in the Making: Vegetarianism

           Without history, we wouldn’t know how we got here today or what famous leaders have contributed to the  many successes throughout the world.  That being said, Ted Honderich, author of Vegetarianism, expands on the fascinating history from different sources of how vegetarianism was created and the philosophy behind it. The view that we should avoid eating meat or fish has ancient philosophical roots, and purpose behind it, morality, concern for the human population, and concern for the environment.

 

 

 

 

 

Source: http://sanfrancisco-yoga.com

 

• “In the Hindu Upanishads (about 1000 BC) the doctrine of reincarnation leads to opposition to eating meat. Buddha taught compassion for all sentient creatures.” They expand on the idea that every living thing has a purpose and a reason to be alive and thriving.

 

• “ Buddhist monks were not to kill animals, nor to eat meat, unless they knew that the animal had not been killed for their sake.” In this day in age, things are very different. Animals are killed right and left for our sake without guilt or mercy.

 

• “Interest in vegetarianism revived in the nineteenth century, on grounds of health and humanity towards animals.” Important vegetarian thinkers included the famous poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, Henry Salt (who wrote a pioneering volume entitled Animals' Rights), and George Bernard Shaw. They are all  inspirations and respectfully stand up for what they believe in.

 

• “ Ecological concerns about eating meat arise from the well-documented inefficiency of much animal-raising. This applies especially to intensive farming, in which grain is grown on good agricultural land and fed to animals confined indoors, or in the case of cattle, in crowded feed-lots.”  These practices harm the environment, and mess up the natural state of the land, along with the hormonal chemicals fed to the cattle as well.

 

• “ Much of the nutritional value of the grain is lost in the process, and this form of animal production is also energy-intensive. Hence concern for world hunger, for the land, and for energy conservation provide an ethical basis for a vegetarian diet, or at least one in which meat consumption is minimized.”  This can all be prevented by vegetarianism!

 

 

 

 

This wonderful history is key to the roots of vegetarianism.  As a vegetarian for 5 years, reading into the Hindu beliefs and practices, only enhance my choice to live this meatless life style.