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the-south-asian.com OCTOBER 2002 |
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OCTOBER 2002 Contents Vegetarianism Vegetarianism
demystified
Women's
Issues
Robert
Thurman on Heritage
Viewpoint
Around us Coffee
break Salman Rushdie's wish list Ghana's Arya Samaj Easy steps to a flatter tummy Books
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Page 1 of 5 Vegetarianism - demystified! by Nalini Bakshi "The consumption of animal food is plainly immoral because it demands an act which does violence to our moral sentiments." - Tolstoy
Vegetarianism, long a way of life in the Indian subcontinent, is a relatively recent movement in the West – though early philosophers and thinkers from the western hemisphere, such as Pythagoras, Seneca, Ovid, Plato, and Socrates had advocated and been partial to the concept of vegetarianism. According to Derek Antrobus,"The idea of vegetarianism, in the western world, stretches back at least to Pythagoras who lived some 2,600 years ago. Pythagoras believed that the soul was immortal and inhabited someone else's body after death. It followed that all life was related and all life was sacred. That idea not only led to vegetarianism but also to political ideas about human society: egalitarian, democratic, individualistic, libertarian ideas. These were radical, even revolutionary ideas. They were seen as subversive both to state and church. And in the early Christian era they were driven underground…..The Reformation liberated much of Western Europe from ecclesiastical dogma and Pythagorean ideas enjoyed a new popularity as people experimented with previously heretical doctrines." The real impetus, however, came around the time of the industrial revolution, in the small town of Salford, near Manchester in the UK, where William Cowherd, the minister of the Bible Christian Church literally enforced vegetarianism upon his congregation. Thereafter, there was no looking back. The movement appealed to many and by 1847, a group of vegetarians had founded the first organized chapter in the history of vegetarianism – The Vegetarian Society. Many more organizations and societies promoting vegetarianism, either followed suit, or had already existed - the Vegetarian Cycling and Athletics Club was set up in 1880 (as a statement, perhaps, to prove the skeptics wrong that sports and vegetarianism could not go hand in hand), a rest home for senior vegetarians in north Wales, a Vegetarian children’s home in Liverpool in 1935, a hospital for vegetarians, Northwood Villa in Ramsgate in 1846, and the mushrooming of many more vegetarian societies the world over. "The American Vegetarian Society was established in 1861. The founding father of the American movement was also a Bible Christian. The Reverend William Metcalfe left Salford in l8l7 with a group of pilgrims from the Bible Christan Church and set up a branch in Philadelphia. Among his converts to vegetarianism was Sylvester Graham, whose ‘Graham bread’ is still to be found in the United States and who influenced the development of the Kellogg range of foods." - Derek Antrobus in ‘History Today’. The International Vegetarian Union (IVU) was subsequently founded in 1908, and has since been organising The World Vegetarian Congress every two years - the most recent held in Edinburgh in July 2002, which focused on the environmental, ethical, and health issues related to dietary habits of individuals and societies. More than 150 years after the establishment of the first Vegetarian Society in England in 1847, the world is now increasingly conscious of the vegetarian option that we all have. These societies and some international bodies on vegetarianism have gathered data, statistics, figures, and important information disclosing facts that may have gone unnoticed, thereby contributing to the cause of vegetarianism. How many unsuspecting travelers from the vegetarian world have bit into a benign cookie not knowing that it may have used lard, under the guise of ‘animal fat’, as one of its main ingredients, or that the ostensibly vegetarian fare of ‘crisps’ may have been deep-fried in a similar medium. American and EU laws require labeling of all ingredients that go into a food product. Be guarded. Many foods contain ‘ Natural Flavours’ but seldom do the manufacturers disclose the nature and type of these natural flavours. Beef, bacon, egg, fish – are all natural flavours! The term vegetarian can be ambiguous to some – but it can be safely defined as a diet that does not include meat, fish, poultry, and all by-products thereof such as rennet (an enzyme derived from a calf’s stomach, and used most often to make cheese), gelatin (derived from bones of slaughtered animals – cows, pigs, lamb etc.), and the ubiquitous ‘animal fats’. Vegans are vegetarians who also avoid all dairy products. Most of the world’s vegetarians live in India but the numbers elsewhere in the world are growing rapidly. In Great Britain alone there are close to 4 million vegetarians – and there is even a National Vegetarian Week celebrated here every year. Supermarkets abound in vegetarian food as do Food Halls in well-known stores. In Europe and the United States, the number of people converting to a vegetarian diet keeps increasing. However, when dining in restaurants and cafeterias, one has to be careful with the ingredients that could possibly go into vegetarian dishes. There are no labels on menus – only the first-hand information derived from the chef. A tomato soup stands the risk of being cooked in beef or chicken stock, a dessert may have some gelatin or egg in it, the cheese may contain animal rennet – it is safe to ask and most chefs will oblige and give you honest answers.
Vegetarianism vs Meat-foods - facts & global cost Vegetarian Food sources for nutrients The Red List - of ingredients & foods that carry meat/animal sources
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