The Hindu Business Line : Vegetarian power

THE recent news that eminent personalities, with the former President of India, Mr R. Venkataraman, in the lead, took part in a meeting in the Theosophical Society, Chennai, on Rukmini Devi's contribution to vegetarianism roused my curiosity. A subsequent report on the preparations for the holding of the Indian Vegetarian Congress whetted it further. And it turned to amazement when the Internet search engines threw up close to 60,000 items on the activities of vegetarian unions in various countries and 4.5 million entries on animal rights!

Apparently, vegetarians are not to be trifled with. They are powerful groups and on the move, tirelessly and forcefully propagating the merits of vegetarianism. As a vegetarian activist at the World Vegetarian Congress held last year in Edinburgh passionately asked: "How can we eat what was once living flesh and yet speak of healthy living? Does the use of substances tested on animals really make us beautiful?"

Their approach is four-pronged: Making a pitch for animal rights, they emphasise that animals are capable of suffering and just like humans, are interested in leading their own lives; therefore, they are not ours to use — or food, clothing, entertainment, or experimentation, or for any other reason. They say with Gandhi that "The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated".

Second, they point out that large quantities of scarce global food resources are diverted for meeting the demand for meat. For instance, 70 per cent of US grain is fed to livestock, and in the UK, 39 per cent of wheat, 51 per cent of barley and 75 per cent of total agricultural land is used to feed animals. They should instead be used directly to feed humans.

Third, a vegetarian diet is infinitely more healthy and nutritious, besides being less expensive and less messy to cook. And fourth, because the waste products of vegetarianism are not injurious, the environmental benefits from the enhancement of the quality of land, water and air are enormous.

India starts off with an advantage in this respect in view of its age-long vegetarian tradition. States like Gujarat and Rajasthan are predominantly vegetarian and there are sizeable pockets of votaries in other States as well. Vegetarianism is also identified with a satvic or benevolent bent of mind. Even those who normally consume meat abjure it in times of penance or on sacred occasions. With so much going for it and with opinion makers everywhere throwing their weight behind it, there is no doubt that it is an idea whose time has come.

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