Tuesday 16 April 2013

Vegan By Choice

Being Vegan is not about deprivation. It's about the right ingredients. Being Vegan is not self-torture. It's about preventing torture on a fellow-earthling.

It's now 2 months since I have reduced my footprint of the tyranny. 2 months back I was someone who took pride in the half a liter of milk I consumed everyday. I called it healthy, delicious, required, an obsession. 2 months since, I look back to a Me that I today hope did not exist.

In this brief period, the questions I have been asked by my well-wishers are:

1. I understand meat is death, why milk? Isn't it just sharing resources among the living beings?

First, meat is not just murder. It's death by way of nothing less than a concentration camp. Read how.

Second, milk is not produced by simply and politely milking a cow. Cows, like every other female mammal, produce milk only during and until immediately after pregnancy. Therefore, to keep the milk-flow going, they are artificially impregnated (raped) often. The male calves born, being useless by-products are sent to the slaughter house and the female calves are kept away to ensure that she isn't sucking up the milk produce they worked so hard, to "make".

Cows produce milk just like your mother did and therefore, she does this for her baby and only for her baby. Moreover, if any, it is human milk that our bodies are designed for, which of-course we don't drink after infancy for 2 valid reasons:

- our body doesn't need it 
- our mothers should not be forcibly and repeatedly impregnated for this.

2. But what about Calcium/protein, for you? 

Cow's milk is the number one cause of food allergies in children and this fact clearly explains that human body fights cow's milk. Lactase, the enzyme that works towards digestion of cow's milk, is produced most when humans are less than 2 years old and the production declines thereon- explains that it is unnatural to have milk beyond infancy.

The best sources of calcium are found in açaí, alfalfa sprouts, almonds (234 milligrams per 100 gram serving), apricots, avocados, beans, brazil nuts, broccoli, cabbage, carob, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chickpeas (150 milligrams per 100 gram serving), chlorella, coconut, cornmeal, dandelion greens, dulse, figs, filberts, grains (all), green vegetables (leafy), hazelnuts, hemp (milk/oil/powder/seeds), hijiki sea vegetable (1,400 milligrams per 100 gram serving), kelp, lemon, lentils, lettuce, lucuma powder, maca powder, mango, mesquite powder, millet, miso, nuts, oats, onions, oranges, parsley (203 milligrams per 100 gram serving), prunes, raisins, seaweed, sesame seeds (1,160 milligrams per 100 gram serving), soy (226 milligrams per 100 gram serving), spirulina, sprouts (all), sunflower seeds, watercress, wheatgrass, and yams.

None of these are made from milk. Need more?

Protein- Beans and Tofu (soy-based) are far better sources of protein than any of - milk, yogurt and eggs. How much protein do you really want?

3. What happens to the poor cows if we don't use them for food? They'll be jobless!

This is by far the most ridiculous of the questions that I have come across. But the utter innocence displayed while asking, makes me want to list it here.

Ask yourself- if slavery was the norm today and you the poor slave,

Would you rather not die and not reproduce children, than live a life in shackles where life meant a prison cell and food meant having to be raped? If it meant to have your breast milk sucked out of you only to have your son sent for slaughter (human meat is the most delicious, it's said!) and your daughter made to live in solitude until she hit puberty and then lead a life like yours?

Let Cows not exist if they cannot take care of themselves- to each his own. Only, don't hinder her peace when you can be perfectly healthy without doing that. Don't think you are being noble by enslaving her and calling it 'employment'.

4. Eggs? They're just a chicken's period.

If you've ever seen a commercial poultry, you would have seen and looked away from the plight of these chickens who have don't see sunlight in their entire lifetime. Unless of-course, when even a shed is expensive for profit and a chain does the job.



There are hundreds of them kept in confinements, not even big enough for them to flutter their wings once in a while. Sometimes, if they are lucky they are able to turn a little. Out of frustration most of them begin to beak and hurt each other which is the reason they are de-beaked. Per 'business demands', anesthetics are not used as the costs would be high and the chickens are left bleeding and hurt in the hope that the wound would self-heal. Self heal- it does-eventually.

5. What about pain that plants feel? Environmental impact eating/cutting/cultivating them?

A vegan diet is only an attempt to reduce the extent of harm on other beings. Let's consider for once, that plants feel the exact same or more amount of pain than animals do. This is then, a bigger reason to go vegan!

By eating and consuming animals and animal products, one destroys a lot more plants than what a vegan diet would. When eating animals, humans are at the top of the food chain. We are not only consuming and enslaving the animals, we are also doing this to the great number of plants used to rear this animal for years till slaughter.

A single vegan directly consumes only about one-tenth of the plant material that is either directly or indirectly consumed by a single meat, dairy and egg-eating human. We have fed the now-dead animal a lot more than what we would otherwise directly consume!

Globally, 30% of land area is used for livestock- 70% of amazon deforestation has been done to create grazing-pastures.Now, think about the rain forests that we are always talking about saving, and then clearing them for hamburgers!

6. And the favorite of the non-vegans: Survival of the fittest!

This world is about survival of the fittest- agreed. But never, never defend torture and manhandling of non-human animals as survival of the fittest. You can very well survive and be healthy without misusing another being. What dairy does is not to survive, it is to dictate, rule and enslave.

It is no different from:

- murdering a human for money (both, this and non-vegan food is in the end about getting the luxury of delicious food at the expense of another earthling.)

- raping (both, this and non-vegan food is about desire beyond need and the urge that tempts, can be tamed and controlled. Afterall, we are civilized humans, right?)

The above two are despised by us but how do we not see that both can be defended with the twisted understanding of 'survival of the fittest'- the stronger/wiser gets their desire (need?) met. Why then these double standards when we are all earthlings who deserve to live in a fair world.

Live and Let Live, Once? Maybe? :-)

10 comments:

  1. hey i am a vegan too , but a lil confused one right now. i used to consume soy products as an alternative and relish them too but the recent reports put me off soy products. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/10/13/soy-controversy-and-health-effects.aspx

    i found marmite for vit B12 , its yuck. need to find other sources.
    any idea ?

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    1. Hi there!

      Overtime, I have grown to understand that if we were to consider every research out there, we would be anxious even while drinking water: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2014112/Drinking-water-bad-health-Benefits-myth.html!

      For every anti-soy report you find, there will be 2 which will be pro-soy.

      Having said that, too much of nothing is healthy, not even Oxygen (Oxygen toxicity!). So make sure you take the benefit of huge variety of greens, vegetables and plant based nutrients that are out there.

      B12- Vegan food does fall short of this one vitamin. And if you don't like it, don't force marmite down your throat. B12 supplements(no harm) & fortified foods would be healthy and compassionate work around to go about it. Thankfully, the quantity of B12 required is the least of all other vitamins. Read more: http://www.vegansociety.com/lifestyle/nutrition/b12.aspx

      Also, an answer to all of Mercola's claims: Check section 'The Truth—and Falsehoods—About Soy' in http://www.adaptt.org/veganism.html#

      I hope this info helps! It was nice to hear you out :-)

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  2. Vyom, didn't want to comment on it but have nothing to do for next 1 hour so using this time to comment on this.

    Point # 0: Why is this love for living beings only for animals and not plants.. Why don't you take it to extremes and also start caring about plants. It is scientifically proven that they also have feelings and feel the pain. Just because their ability to express pain is much lesser than animals??

    Point # 1: (reply to your point 1).. These days the cows and buffaloes produce more milk than their calves can consume thanks to hormones they are fed. Coincidently, we also do this with plants which is so called genetically modified seeds.

    Point # 2: first reference is back to my point 0. Over and above that, Lactase is produced by human body only during first 2 years because that time it is essential for babies to consume mother's milk and its the way body fights against it. However, the quantity of Lactase produced goes down after that which means that body accepts cow's milk and is not necessarily harmful for body. BTW other protein sources you mentioned, none of them are useful for first 2 years. So please do apples to apples comparison.

    Point # 3: The points you made against the argument that the cows will be jobless are well taken.

    Point # 4: I compare this to farming. We grow so many plants in small space and call it farming. Put fertilizers and insecticides and harvest them after 3 months, works well with you. When same is done for animals, doesn't work well with you. It is the same process, in limited space we GROW as many eggs as possible.

    Point # 5: Survival of fittest: not sure about this argument but will go more basics in this where this argument comes from and that is Darwin's theory. Which starts with ability to create food (level 1), ability to eat and digest first level (herbivorous animals Level 2) and ability to eat and digest second level (carnivorous animals Level 3). However, in between there is another layer who have been gifted with ability to eat and digest both level 1 and level 2. Homo Sapiens are one of the few species who have ability to digest both. So naturally there is nothing wrong in eating animals or having animal products.

    I completely respect your decision of becoming Vegan but what I don't like is you projecting that what others follow is sinful is wrong. You using words like tyranny and torture on a fellow-earthling don't go well with me as you are doing the same with plants..

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    1. Hi,

      I have been where you are and as a matter of fact, I come from an Indian Punjabi family where milk/ghee/butter have been must haves!

      In my post above, I haven't aimed at projecting anyone as sinful. What's a sin, is not for me to give a verdict on- to each his own. It's just that I believe my food indulgence prior to the vegan diet, was a bit of me being ignorant and a bit of me living in denial: http://v4vendetta.blogspot.in/2013/02/are-we-living-in-denial.html

      From your mentioned aspects:

      1. "You are doing the same with plants.."

      A vegan diet is only an attempt to reduce the extent of harm on other beings. Let's consider for once, that plants feel the exact same or more amount of pain than animals do. This is then, a bigger reason to go vegan!

      By eating and consuming animals and animal products, one destroys a lot more plants than what a vegan diet would. When eating animals, humans are at the top of the food chain. We are not only consuming and enslaving the animals, we are also doing this to the great number of plants were used to rear this animal for years till slaughter.

      A single vegan directly consumes only about one-tenth of the plant material that is either directly or indirectly consumed by a single meat, dairy and egg-eating human. So the cramped, commercial farming that you mentioned, does not go down very well with me, either- and therefore, I too respect the vegan way.

      Also note the devastating impact on the environment. Globally, 30% of land area is used for livestock- we use 8 times as much land to produce grain for animal feed than for humans. Think about the rain forests that we are always talking about saving, and then clearing them for hamburgers!

      2. Milk and the humans:

      My point above was not that cow's milk is harmful for humans. It was only to say that drinking milk beyond infancy is unnatural- we do not 'need' milk in adulthood. During infancy, it's essential and hence we have our mothers. But during adulthood, there are a lot of other sources of protein and calcium like the ones mentioned.

      3. Survival of the fittest:

      This was to address those who misunderstand this phrase to mean "survival of those who are better equipped for surviving". If it was about being better equipped, then murder would be justified as the law of nature.

      You say "we have been gifted with ability to eat and digest both level 1 and level 2". Does being 'able' justify acting on the ability? Again, a rapist, murderer and a con are all 'gifted with the ability' to rape, murder and con. But would you approve of these acts as "natural" and "there is nothing wrong"?

      I honestly appreciate your thought process which is not partial to only one or two of the beings on this planet. Where I come from is the time when I realized that I must see the complete picture and rethink- can I, in my little way, take a step forward towards damaging our planet and fellow earthlings less? And believe me, it's not difficult today :-)

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    2. Vyomika, how about organic spirulina powder, I think Dr. Mercola is trying to say that spirulina health benefits is possibly it's rich in protein by weight too? Is this true and it might be a good alternative for some protein supplement or not?

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  3. RIshi Raj Singh29 May 2013 at 03:42

    Interesting, Looks like I am slowly gravitating to Vegan

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  4. . Millions of years of evolution ! The human population has thrived by eating meat. If you don't know then let me tell you ... You cannot have this world full of vegetarians...our planet cannot support edible veg fauna for everyone. Besides if we are supposed to be something , we will evolve. If we were supposed to not kill them we would have made food just by standing in the sun like plants do.

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    1. It's interesting we make 'ability' sound like the 'process'. I come with the thought of making decisions based on better rationales than the mere physical ability to do something. For instance, would being physically stronger (and hence able) give a person the right to assault (rape?) another human who may call it his way to thrive?

      Moreover, a Vegan diet can ensure good health even today. About the fauna on the planet- eating and consuming animals and animal products, humans are at the top of the food chain. A single vegan directly consumes only about one-tenth of the plant material that is either directly or indirectly consumed by a single meat, dairy and egg-eating human.

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  5. your german shepherd loves you very much, chick.......

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  6. Yeah, the feeling is mutual :-).

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