The Right and Wrong of Animal Killing for Food

The biological cycle is the commonest example that students learn during their studies to know what the animals eat, and what are the categories of animals according to their eating habits. Some of them are vegetarian and some are purely non-vegetarian, and a special category involves the animals that are vociferous, -they are both vegetarians and non-vegetarians.

Man, who is called the social animal, falls in the third category; for, it is not like the cow, a pure vegetarian; and not like a tiger, a pure non-vegetarian. There is no rule as to what man should eat and what not, but our human society is not bound solely by rules and the persons who follow them! There is a deeper faculty of thought, of deeper consciousness that makes the human kind a distinct race among all the living beings of planet earth. Mankind is more driven by ethnicity and inner rules that actually help him to be called a demigod in spiritual parlance. And this is where the question of right and wrong, -discrimination between good and bad, -and the prescriptions for a holy life come into fore!

Non-vegetarianism and the act of animal killing for food has been debated down from the centuries, and even spiritual leaders have disagreed with the very idea of paining any living being for your personal needs. But all people do not follow spirituality itself, and therefore, the things recommended by it are out of question for universal acceptance. Though speaking from very high levels of spirituality, it is said that there is only one rule in this universe: there is no rule at all! This is very confusing statement but it is the main reason why individuality holds such a prominent place in any sphere of life. You can not universalize the laws, as the life on earth exults in its wideness and variety. And so we have to give ear to the arguments of such people also.

However, some people, who are not that insane and try to accept the spiritual injunctions with little arguments, have a very good point to make: okay, they say that killing living beings for food is wrong, then why we kill plants and crop for our food, and why it is termed as right? Are not plants living being, or do they are not having life in them? A mind-boggling question is this, and it needs to be seriously addressed; for, yes, plants are living beings and they also have life in them! Then what is the reason for their consumption being termed as right?

The answer to this question may not be all conquering; however, we can venture to dilate the topic to the levels of understanding. Okay, we start from the concept of creation of this earth: some ultra-natural force created this world and everything in the universe. This needs to be believed that there exists such force if we want to solve the enigma of that question; otherwise, there is no solution to the question of being vegetarian! Okay, the force called God, created animals, birds, plants, and the human kind. If we look at all the living things, it is only the plants that do not reproduce or have families or any such things. They grow, live, and then wither away. They were made, as it seems, for some special cause other than populating the earth space.

To understand it more, let us suppose that hills are also living and can be taken for food like plants. Very good, we have large amount of food on earth and perhaps no one will go hungry. But what is the fate of people, who do not have any hill in their vicinity? Can hills be planted or transported to remote places? No! There is no such carriage and the idea itself seems bizarre. What about the underwater life of animals, -should there be hills inside the sea and rivers also? Instead, God provided tiny seeds that can be stored, transported and grown anywhere and from which huge trees grow to provide food.

It is said that every life has some purpose to fill, and it is not just a waste of time! Understanding this, we can well gauge that plants and trees have a very special cause to live on earth; for, they are the source of energy for humankind and all the animals that are vegetarian. Animals are not made for that purpose, as they have their families, and they are out of our biological cycle.

Plants and trees are actually the living testimony of sacrifice, as the famous proverb exhorts the mankind to be like a tree that gives the perfume to the axe that cuts it! The fulfillment of their life lies in the fact that they have to serve the life on earth and not to grow like any other species into families and populate the earth. They are to provide shade, food, and wood for the betterment of life on earth.

Okay, now we come on the other topic that relates more to science rather than spirituality, as we must not despise the science as useless. It is proven that if people take proper care of their health and they eat proper food, there is no need of eating non-vegetarian food at any stage of life. Some people do argue that doctors advise them to take some stuff of that, but that is advised only at the time when the condition is not good and prompt recovery is needed. Plants are aplenty on earth and there is no scarcity of food on the whole earth, and if we make efforts we can keep fit with that only. Yes, it is obvious that different types of plants exist according to the ecological and environmental factors of the area; but then what, all people do not eat wheat or rice: they have different food habits and different tastes!

Scientists and researchers have proven it many times that there are multiple diseases associated with eating meat, as you do not know what disease the animal is carrying who you are eating. But no argument and advice can do a person who is bent to kill the animal and eat it; come what may! There is no answer to the person, who eats meat for pleasure, for, nobody is prepared to leave the things of pleasure and fun!

The total concept of vegetarianism can not be understood unless we understand the concept of God and Creation, and if we continue to rely on the facts that science and our understanding provide, then we are to keep argue and, perhaps, no results will come out. Self-realization is must for understanding all the concept of ethnicity and morality.

There is one another point that i would like to mention here. Basically, i learned about this thing from an article, and it was very nice to read such factual content relating the topic of vegetarianism. It is estimated that around 50% of water consumed in US is by the beef industry--a large amount indeed, going by the data that clearly indicates that almost the whole world is suffering from acute water shortage. If you are concerned about the present state of water contamination in the world, then you must agree that you would not like to eat meat because it wastes a lot of water. WWF--world water forum--is making great efforts to chalk out the plans that can be implemented to restore some water to the areas where it is almost negligible in quantity. We can surely make some effort to reduce the usage of water in our daily life if we return back to vegetarian diet.

There are some other scientific and medical facts that support the fact that our body is not made to eat flesh of other animals (one among them is the shape of our teeth). However, i will go in details of these facts. I guess it also goes on understanding at first place that when we eat other animals' flesh, their animal qualities enter our mind, which is potentially dangerous for us and for the society. Anyway, we discontinue our talk here and i await any comments that you might like to make on this discussion. Thanks!