THE FOUR PRINCIPLES OF FREEDOM

THE FOUR PRINCIPLES OF FREEDOM

(A Comprehensive Study)

By :: Satyaraja Das

NO MEAT-EATING

Many people think that to be a vegetarian you've got to be nuts - or at least a little fruity. In recent years, however, the meatless way of life has surged in popularity, largely because of mounting evidence that a sensible vegetarian diet is better for you than the typical meat-heavy American fare. Consider these three compelling reasons for switching to a menu that emphasizes vegetable foods:

1) To protect your heart. A comparative study of diet and heart disease in seven countries showed that the death rate from coronary heart disease was highest in countries where the most animal products were consumed. The Finns, who consumed the most, had the highest death rate from heart disease. Americans were next (except for Seventh-Day Adventists, most of whom eat no meat or poultry; they suffer from only half as much heart disease as other Americans). In Japan, where very little animal fat is eaten, there are fewer deaths from heart disease than in any other industrialized nation.

Scientists at the University of Milan found in one study that, on diets equally low in fat and cholesterol, persons eating animal protein had higher levels of cholesterol in their blood than those fed a diet containing primarily vegetable protein. Further, recent research indicates that certain types of fiber found in plant foods can actually help lower blood cholesterol. High cholesterol leads to a condition known as arteriosclerosis, which in turn causes heart attacks, strokes, and high blood pressure. Thus, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported in 1961 that "a vegetarian diet can prevent 90-97% of heart diseases (thromboembolic disease and coronary occlusions)."

2) To reduce the risk of cancer. Research over the last twenty years suggests that the same kind of high animal-fat-and-cholesterol diet that may set the stage for heart disease can also contribute to the growth of cancers of the colon, breast, and uterus. Among Seventh-Day Adventists, Japanese, and East Indians (who also generally eat very little meat), these cancers are relatively uncommon, but they are leading types of cancer among meat-eating Americans.

In a study at the State University of New York at Buffalo, Prof. Saxon Graham, chairman of the department of social and preventive medicine, found that people who regularly consumed large amounts of vegetables, especially in the cabbage family, had lower-than-expected rates of the colon and rectum cancer. A chemical in these vegetables is known to block the action of certain carcinogens, cancer-causing substances.

Why do meat-eaters get more cancer? The meat people generally consume is aged to increase flavor. When an animal is slaughtered, its flesh immediately begins to putrefy, and after several days it turns a sickly gray-green. The meat industry masks this discoloration by adding nitrites, and other preservatives. Said Dr. William Lijinsky, a cancer researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, "I wouldn't even feed nitrate-laden foods to my cat."

3) To help feed the world's starving people. A Harvard nutritionist, Jean Marey, estimates that reducing meat production by just 10% would release enough grain to feed 60 million people. United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim recently admitted that meat consumption in the rich countries is the key cause for hunger around the world. How is this? Many agricultural experts and economists feel that one of the chief factors that impairs the achievement of an adequate world food supply is the gross inefficiency in land use entailed by a diet centering on meat. All livestock animals obtain their primary nutriment from plants, thus drawing heavily on those sources of vegetable protein that are later converted into animal products such as meat and eggs. Thus, meat-eating is most uneconomical and impractical. If man were to consume the vegetable foods directly, starvation and its corollary horrors could be wiped off the face of the earth. This is no exaggeration.

The need for eliminating the inefficient conversions of plant food into animal products has been stressed by many prominent agriculturists, such as Mr. A.H. Boerma, the Director General of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization: "But if we are to bring about a real improvement in the diet of the neediest, we must aim at a greater intake of vegetable protein." The Director General insists that if the common man were educated in the economics of starvation, he would immediately switch to vegetarianism.

Such sentiments are prompted by the fact that animals do not produce nearly as much edible protein as they take from the plants upon which they feed. For example, a steer provides man with only 43 pounds of protein per acre of land per year, while wheat supplies 269 pounds of protein per acre of land per year. By eliminating the meat-centered diet, we could make much better use of productive land, thus providing more people with an adequate diet rich in proteins and the other essential food elements needed for good health.

And these figures are more than twenty years old. Since then things have gotten worse. Although we lead the world in exports of grain and soy, this incredible volume "lost" through livestock was twice the level of our current exports. This is enough foodstuff to provide every single human being on earth with more than a cup of cooked grain each day of the year. This is summed up quite eloquently, and also simply, in a recent article in Vegetarian Times:

1,000 acres of soy beans yields 1,124 pounds of usable protein. 1,000 acres of rice yields 938 pounds of usable protein. 1,000 acres of corn yields 1,009 pounds of usable protein.1,000 acres of wheat yields 1,043 pounds of usable protein.

And 1,000 acres of soy, corn, rice, or wheat, when fed to a steer, will yield only about 125 pounds of usable protein.

"BUT WAIT A MINUTE! Weren't humans designed to be meat-eaters? Don't we

require animal protein? And besides, I like to eat meat." The answer to both of the above questions is a resounding No! Although some historians and anthropologists say man is historically omnivorous (a consumer of both plants and meat), our anatomical equipment - teeth, jaws, digestive system - favors a diet that shuns animal foods. The American Dietetic Association notes that 'most of mankind for most of human history has subsisted on vegetarian or near-vegetarian diets. "Contrary to what the average American or European would like to believe, much of the world still lives that way. Even in America, the love-affair with meat is less than a century old; perhaps it is a result of the affluence of the twentieth century. Still, even today, more than 10 million Americans are vegetarian.

Man's body is simply not designed for eating meat . As the prominent Swedish scientist von Linne states: "Man's structure, external and internal, compared with that of the other animals, shows that fruit and succulent vegetables constitute his natural food." Man is not anatomically suited to a fleshy diet. His physiognomy is more akin to the vegetarian species. The evidence that supports this contention is summaries in the chart on the following page.

As far as the protein question goes, the late Dr. Paavo Airola, one of the world's leading authorities on nutrition and natural biology, had this to say, "The official daily recommendation for protein has gone down from the 150 grams recommended 20 years ago to only 45 grams today. Why? Because (1) reliable worldwide research has shown that we do not need so much protein, that the actual daily need is only 30-45 grams a day; and (2) that the protein consumed in excess of the actual daily need is not only wasted, but actually causes serious harm to the body and even is causatively related to such killer diseases as cancer and heart disease. In order to obtain 45 grams of protein a day from your diet you do not have to eat meat; you can get it from a 100% vegetarian diet of a variety of grains, legumes, nuts, vegetables, and fruits." Dr. Airola goes on to suggest that the lacto-vegetarian diet (a diet composed of dairy products and vegetables) is the one most suitable from modern man.

Dr. Airola also gives a good explanation of man's curious addiction to meat. After all, if man was not meant to eat meat, why does he seem to crave it so much?

Man should not be a creature of habit. Animals instinctively eat the foods that suit their bodily frame, but man functions according to conditioning and culture. We may be conditioned to eat meat, but (as we have pointed out in this article) that doesn't mean meat is a healthful or economical food.

We must always remember that human beings are distinguished from the lower species by their ability to discriminate. With our superior intelligence, we can discern right from wrong, healthy from unhealthy, good from bad. Why has man been given intelligence superior to that of the swine or other animals? For the same reason that a highly posted government officer is given better facilities for working than an ordinary office clerk. Just as the officer has more important duties to discharge than the clerk, so human being have more important duties to discharge than the animals. Unfortunately, modern man has largely lost his power of discriminating in the matter of choosing the healthiest, cheapest foods to eat. Widespread meat-eating is the perfect example.

Man must not neglect the fact that he has higher intelligence, which is obviously meant for higher purpose. If he were to simply use that intelligence for the problems which beset the animals - eating, sleeping, mating and defending - he would then be a sort of "polished" animal. Clearly, the human frame is a vehicle for achieving something which the animals, in their present state, cannot.

Still, if one wishes to consider the whole panorama of life, he can see that the adoption of a harmless (or minimally harmful) diet is a first step leading toward an individual's living in harmony with himself and the world. At the present time we are living in a world steeped in violence and hatred. More than one billion of its citizens are suffering from lack of an adequate diet, while a minority of the population is rapidly depleting the world of its most valuable resources: clean water and arable land. Those who live in the more developed countries, such as the United States, are faced with the increasing threat of heart disease, stomach disorders, obesity, and a myriad of other physical ailments.

At the same time that people are crying out "Stop killing!" in their quest for world peace, they are paying to have billions of animals brutally slaughtered for their dinner. Thus the change to a vegetarian diet is a first step to help ease their suffering. However, real change will never come about only by changing the food that goes into our mouths: We have to change the sounds that come out of our mouths as well. As stated previously, the monkeys and pigeons are also vegetarian; while vegetarian foods go into their mouths, only jibbers comes out.

Since everything comes from the bounty of the Lord, it is common sense and simple courtesy at least to recognize our meals as gifts from God and to offer Him thanks. Even more spiritually elevated is the understanding that if God offers us meals out of love, we should reciprocate that love and offer Him meals in return. And by His mercy we may consult the holy scriptures to find out how. The sound of such an offering is the sound of real peace. While vegetarian creatures of lower species may be unable to acknowledge God's bounty, man can. What's more, with love and devotion he can offer back to hiscreator the foods his creator has given him. This distinguishes man from the animals.

Such offered food is traditionally referred to as krishna-prasadam, or God's mercy. While vegetarianism may offer a healthy life free of unnecessary disease, krishna-prasadam offers that plus God realization. The spiritual vegetarianism thus offers both material and spiritual nourishment.

By taking wholesome vegetarian foods and offering them to the Lord according to the guidelines given in the Vedic literatures (which have been translated and commented upon by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada), man can solve all the problems of life. By taking vegetarian foods into the mouth and allowing praises of God to flow out, one can happily live in God consciousness forevermore. This is the open secret of Krishna consciousness, which begins when one chants the Lord's holy names: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

(To be Contd........................)