In the Vedas, the earliest of Hindu scriptures, there is a reference
to animals being an important part in religious ceremony. There are
also references of cows in the hymns. The cow was a sacrificial animal
which was appreciated for its role in offerings to the gods. Hindus
believed that the person, who offers a cow, would gain immediate
ascension to heaven, so the cow must be holy and important. Around the
time the Vedas were written cows were regarded as a great prize. It
had a high value and was the source of many useful products such as
milk, cheese and meat. It was also thought to protect Brahman.
Ahimsa however was only introduced around the 6th Centaury BCE, by
Mahavira the Jain. It gradually increased in popularity amongst
Hindus. Nowadays one could say the cow is like a domestic animal in
India. They are permitted to roam freely around the streets and they
are cared for in temples. A westerner would never think of eating his
dog or cat, so a Hindu would never dream of eating a cow. In villages
in India, the cow nurtures and sustains life. Its milk provides
essential food; its manure provides fuel, heat and light in the home.
The cow's urine is alleged to have special healing properties and is
available as a cream or liquid.
Gandhi said that the cow was a symbol of Hinduism. As most Hindus are
vegetarian, they believe in total respect to all living creatures. It
has a very important role in India's village life. The bulls (male
cows) are used to pull along carts, plough fields and make grain into
flower, which are all essential to life in a village. One bull and cow
is enough to do all the work and supply enough food for more than one
family. Hindus protect cows and other animals because of the teaching
of Ahimsa. They believe all animals have the right to live their
natural life span. As the cow is so scared to Hindus they have special
'retirement homes' called 'Goshallas' where they can rest and be cared
Early restrictions prior to the initiation of Mosaic dietary laws related directly to the belief that the human race originally consumed just vegetable products, and that it was not until the Flood and the prescriptions relative to Noah’s animal ownership that individuals were pushed to consume animal flesh (Genesis 9:3-4). Initially, it was recognized that animal slaughter was an unclean process, and further, from a historical perspective, it can be argued that the consumption of some animals was just unsafe. The lack of refrigeration and the prevalence of bacterial infection in the flesh of animals determined a lack of safety and the people of this region often saw illness related to meat consumption as ...
In the first chapter of the book Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches by Marvin Harris, the author talks about the interesting culture and the attitude of the Hindu people’s love and passion for cows. Harris describes that the Hindu culture is made up of traditions that have been passed down from historical traditions, which consists of superstitions and opposing views. In the first chapter, Harris talks about a certain culture riddle of “cow love”, specifically the Hindus love for the cow. Their love implies the conservation of cows: not killing them for food. This is something that most outsiders don’t understand. It is made obvious that the Western people disagree with Hindu’s
...that of his kind. In the Hua and Gimi tribes, there are much deeper meanings and rituals involved in the eating of human flesh. Whether Westerners view cannibalism as “primitive” does not undermine its presence. These tribes have maintained their salvation through cannibalism for centuries. In fact, some may even posit that without the existence of cannibalism, these tribes may cease to exist due to the lack of a strong underlying culture.
Is it possible to be an ethical meat-eater? Well, in my opinion, it is not ethical. There are many animals that suffer in the process of being slaughtered. Federal law requires mammals be stunned prior to slaughter. Typically, electric current is used to induce a heart attack or seizure. Then a captive bolt gun is used to deliver a blow to the skull or to shoot a rod into the animal’s brain. Eating meat is not ethical; animals suffer, they are tortured, because there are not enough Federal regulations protecting the animals, and there are environmental issues, as well as the health issues concerning the consumption of meat.
Is it morally permissible to eat meat? Much argument has arisen in the current society on whether it is morally permissible to eat meat. Many virtuous fruitarians and the other meat eating societies have been arguing about the ethics of eating meat (which results from killing animals). The important part of the dispute is based on the animal welfare, nutrition value from meat, convenience, and affordability of meat-based foods compared to vegetable-based foods and other factors like environmental moral code, culture, and religion. All these points are important in justifying whether humans are morally right when choosing to eat meat. This paper will argue that it is morally impermissible to eat meat by focusing on the treatment of animals, the environmental argument, animal rights, pain, morals, religion, and the law.
There were two religions that first accepted vegetarianism: Hinduism made the cow a sacred animal, something to be respected and admired, and over time, these ideals evolved from mere ideas to commonplace social practices. Ahimsa is the principle that teaches one to not to injure a living creature for fear of negative karmic impact and dietary impurity.... ... middle of paper ... ...
In this paper I will look at the argument made by James Rachels in his paper, The Moral Argument for Vegetarianism supporting the view that humans should be vegetarians on moral grounds. I will first outline the basis of Rachels’ argument supporting vegetarianism and his moral objection to using animals as a food source and critique whether it is a good argument. Secondly, I will look at some critiques of this kind of moral argument presented by R. G. Frey in his article, Moral Vegetarianism and the Argument from Pain and Suffering. Finally, I will show why I support the argument made by Frey and why I feel it is the stronger of the two arguments and why I support it.
If a plant based diet has all the nutrients an omnivore diet has, why are we still eating meat? Many say that it’s easy to be deficient in certain vitamins and minerals, but a well-planned vegetarian diet can provide all the nutrients and more. Vegetarianism not only is beneficial to your health, but to the environment too.
In October of last year I finally became a vegetarian, meaning that I chose to not eat meat products anymore. Technically, I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian because I do eat eggs (ovo-) and milk (lacto-) on occasion and not a vegan-one who doesn't eat any animal products. My first year as a vegetarian has been very revealing. Since adopting this new identity, I have learned a lot about myself as well as others. Here I write about why I am a vegetarian and what I have learned since becoming one. In doing so, I hope to dispel some misunderstandings about vegetarians and to reveal some unappreciated aspects about what it takes to become and remain a vegetarian. Please understand that I speak for one vegetarian and not for vegetarians in general.
I will first look at the views of Peter Singer, who is a utilitarian. A
While there are arguments that support the idea that being a vegetarian can bring good changes to their life, there are also arguments that aid the contrary. Vegetarianism had brought negative effects to vegetarian such as some health issues and it is difficult for the vegetarians to eat outside.
For several years the issue of eating meat has been a great concern to all types of people all over the world. In many different societies controversy has began to arise over the morality of eating meat from animals. A lot of the reasons for not eating meat have to deal with religious affiliations, personal health, animal rights, and concern about the environment. Vegetarians have a greater way of expressing meats negative effects on the human body whereas meat eaters have close to no evidence of meat eating being a positive effect on the human body. Being a vegetarian is more beneficial for human beings because of health reasons, environmental issues, and animal rights.
As we can now observe, vegetarianism has become something fashionable, and the number of people who reject eating meat is constantly increasing. In Britain, for instance, over 5 million people have done it so far. It is obviously connected with the recent animal diseases, but this tendency is likely to spread on the other regions of the world. However, it is not only a fashion or fear of illnesses. I myself became a vegetarian about 2 years ago, and I can see a number of reasons why people should stop eating meat. They are mainly of ethic, economic and health type. Those who think in an ecological way should also be aware of how this meat consumption ruins our environment. I don’t have an intention to force anybody to become a vegetarian, but I hope that my argumentation would be strong enough to make some people think about it, at least. In this essay I will try to present this point of view, expressing my personal feelings and showing scientific facts about the problem.
A person that is vegetarian does not eat meat from any type of animal, and that includes seafood, but they can eat cheese, eggs and milk. “About 3% of U.S. adults are considered full-fledged vegetarians”.(Hellmich 4). When people think of vegetarians, they think about weak little hippie girls, and they 're all about world peace. Some things might be true, but the majority is so unbelievably untrue. When other people think about Vegetarians they mostly think of healthy people which is true. They respect the earth more than meat eaters. Also, vegetarian caring about the environment as well, which I 'm going to talk about later. Caring for the environment is an uncommon way of life which vegetarian lives by. Some reasons why vegetarians turn vegetarian is that they want to save animals. Other reason is that they want to save the environment because the majority doesn 't care for it. Vegetarianism is good for many reasons for; instance a person’s health, ethics, and religious beliefs