Vegetarianism

Vegetarianism is something I strongly believe in and so thought of penning down a few of my thoughts on it.

Being a vegetarian is one’s choice, so if a person is a hardcore non-vegetarian it’s his personal choice. But then does an individual’s choice give him the right to kill a life? Certainly not! Is there so much of a need to kill these poor and dumb animals that are slaughtered and butchered mercilessly so as to fill the ever-increasing hunger of humans? This is a question that one needs to ask one’s conscience. Just because humans have been gifted with more intellectual power and are superior than animals doesn’t give them the right to take these innocent creatures lives!

The moot question is that how does one who believe in non-vegetarianism agree that vegetarianism does not involve killing of life. This is one defensive argument that such people bring in the forefront as the only tool for defending their non-veg stance. To this a very nice and justifiable statement would be the one issued by the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

“There is currently no reason to believe that plants experience pain, devoid as they are of central nervous systems, nerve endings and brains. It is theorized that the main reason animals have the ability to experience pain is as a form of self-protection. If you touch something that hurts and could possibly injure you, you will learn from the pain it produces to leave it alone in the future. Since plants cannot locomote and do not have the need to learn to avoid certain things, this sensation would be superfluous.Plants are completely different physiologically from mammals. Unlike animals' body parts, many perennial plants, fruits and vegetables can be harvested over and over again without resulting in the death of the plant or tree.”

It is but sensible that a fruit that you pluck from a tree will again bear fruits, but once you chop of a goat’s head it is dead forever! The circumstances under which the various animals are brought to the slaughter house is also greatly inhuman wherein they are just pulled off ruthlessly, animals like cows who are dumped like garbage into the trucks, exist in a claustrophobic state, the sight of all this is really heart wrenching. Imagine the plight of these animals butchered right in front of the other animals in line! The tempos carrying chicken also make an equally miserable sight, not only are they loaded like stuffed gunny bags, their conditions once they arrive at the butcher shop is equally bad with people holding them upside down by their legs 3 to 4 in one hand and then dumping them like lifeless creatures inside the cages! All their cries and pleas for mercy fall on deaf ears. What crime have these animals committed that they are destined to satisfy the so-called starving human appetite?

Some act ignoramus to all this and state that we are not the hands that are responsible for butchering them but then are these not the same hands that are giving the money to buy them? What pleasure can one get to fill ones stomach at the cost of others life? If the brutal killing of animals is not concerned a murder then why do people who kill fellow human beings considered murderers? What is then the difference between people who eat animal meat or cannibals who eat human meat? After all it is the flesh and the meat that matters right irrespective of whoever’s it is?

The facetious question asked sometimes is that when it comes to survival, circumstances when you don’t have anything to fill your stomach with, then won’t you be compelled to eat meat? This entirely depends on the situation and the ability to make personal choices. Given an alternative you may always get better things on mind and find better ways out to survive. But in our daily lives when we have all the facilities and food to consume why become a part of taking someone’s life when one has so many alternatives on hand?

People don’t give a damn to all this as this is just a matter of satisfying their taste buds and has nothing to do with the inhumanity involved in the process! These are the ones who won’t give up non-veg food ever. It is one’s own realisation and not compulsion, which can transform people into vegetarians. One needs to ponder over what is right and what is wrong and not continue with it just to satisfy their taste buds! This can only be initialized through a self-realization process, that whether I’m justified eating meat which involves sacrificing of so many lives and slaughtering so many animals or a vegetarian diet which causes no harm. So the next time you try to sink in your teeth into meat think about it!