I am sure our great grandfathers never thought about the amount of poly or unsaturated fats they were downing when they partook, in wholesome quantities, of the Christmas Turkey or a whole pound of cream with fresh strawberries. They also never questioned the ethics or immorality of slaughtering a calf for that veal that went so well with caramelized onions. Whatever development may have done to us, it is a fact today that we are far more discerning eaters, and like to make informed choices. But the result has been needless arguments that have split the human world horizontally –to eat or not to eat meat.

     We can study some of the broader arguments in favor of meat eating here, and then follow it up with arguments for not eating meat.

     The foremost argument that vegetarians put forth is the horrendousness of killing an animal by slitting its throat, skinning it and cutting it up in chunks of meat. While most people can buy and eat meat, not all can go through this process with a strong heart. Another argument is that the pasturage used by livestock could be put to better use by cultivating food grains for starving millions in the third world. Tempting though this simplistic argument sounds, it is not a very clear picture. First of all, there is no shortage of food grains per capita on the planet, the problem is unequal distribution of income or purchasing power to buy the grains, and that will not be set right by increasing production. Besides, almost two thirds of the earth’s surface is unsuitable for farming, and more people becoming vegetarian will cause more strain than well being. Mass farming will itself lead to problems like agrochemical use, soil erosion, cash cropping, prairie-scapes, besides conditions like those in ancient Sumeria, where excessive wheat farming has made the soil into salt flats that are barren even today, five thousand years later. Continue Reading »