What are your feelings about eating meat?
The post explores the complexities of meat consumption, revealing that both vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets originate from living organisms. Cultural, climatic, and personal preferences shape food choices, with the majority of humanity, particularly in certain regions, consuming meat. Both diets have environmental impacts, with each contributing to carbon and water footprints. Nutritionally, non-vegetarian foods are often richer, while vegetarian diets need higher quantities to meet nutritional needs. The post argues that all food consumption involves the death of living entities, whether plants or animals. It emphasizes food as a necessity rather than a luxury. Personal choice is paramount in dietary habits.
Table of contents
Key Takeaways
- The article examines the complexities of meat consumption, highlighting that both vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets derive from living organisms.
- Food choices stem from cultural, climatic, and personal factors, with non-vegetarian diets being prevalent in many regions.
- While non-vegetarian foods usually offer higher nutritional value, both diet types impact carbon and water footprints.
- The distinction between vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets is subjective, often influenced by cultural beliefs and practices.
- In the end, food is essential for energy and sustenance, and the categorization of diets is largely a social construct.
Food is region-specific
Food and feeding habits are region-specific and depend on the availability of food. In one of my blogs, I discussed how the living world is classified based on food habits. Various types of classifications are based on the food they consume or the way they procure it. Based on the food procurement, the living organisms are either Autotrophs or Heterotrophs. Organisms like plants (except fungi and bacteria) produce their food through photosynthesis. They are autotrophs, also known as producers. Other than that, all others are consumers.
Omnivorous human
Humans are at the top of the food chain; they consume nearly every edible thing. From flesh to seeds, from fruits to grains, from leaves to tubers. Initially, humans were carnivorous and solely dependent on flesh for food. Early humans did not know about plant products and their use as food. They were hunters. As they evolved, they began crop farming about 12000 years ago. They started producing grains to eat as food. Yet, flesh remained the major diet.
Staple foods like Barley, Wheat, Rice, Oats, and all pulses are embryos. Unlike animals, plants neither have a nervous system nor a blood-vascular system. Hence, they do not feel pain, sensation or shed blood.
Vegetarian or non-vegetarian
Vegetarian food versus non-vegetarian food has long been a topic of debate. Vegetarians often put across an emotional appeal, not a factual and scientific argument. It is noteworthy that both plant-based and animal-based diets originate from living organisms. Naysayers’ emotional argument against consuming flesh as food holds no water. Unquestionably, the seeds or any plant-product that humans eat are living.
Is veg food really vegetarian?
Literally speaking, it is true. As the name suggests, vegetarian food is derived from plants or plant-based substances. On the other hand, it is equally true that vegetarian food consists of living parts of a plant. Most of these are embryos. Staple foods like Barley, Wheat, Rice, Oats, and all pulses are embryos. Unlike animals, plants neither have a nervous system nor a blood-vascular system. Hence, they do not feel pain, sensation or shed blood. Like other living beings, they germinate, grow and reproduce. Grains, pulses, fruits, and vegetables are all living beings except being insensitive to impulses. Seeds are thus a living embryo that humans consume. Each organism is part of a vast food web. This energy cycle is based on the principle of eat or be eaten.
Subjective concept
The concept of vegetarian or non-vegetarian is subjective. It is clear from the fact that lacto-ovo vegetarians have no problem in eating animal protein sans flesh. The human brain consoles itself in a variety of ways. Duality of the mind hinders logical thinking.
Food comes from living
This goes to show that the food one consumes consists of living tissues of plants or animals. Basically, plants contain cellulose, which is not easily digestible. Nature has created organisms and their system according to their dietary habits, as per its plan. Herbivorous animals that are solely dependent on plants for their survival have specialised dentition and a unique digestive system. Runiminents ruminate their food at leisure, while some reconsume their excreta for further digestion and absorption.
Varied food habits
Humans have varied food habits. Nature has provided them with different teeth to suit the variety of foods. They have canines in their dentition along with incisors, premolars and molars. Archaeological findings show that people of the Indus Valley Civilisation were non-vegetarians. In ancient India, people used to consume meat. Rahul Sankrityayan, a renowned writer, vividly describes it in his iconic book “Volga se Ganga.”
Non-vegetarians
The majority of the human race is flesh-eating. An estimated 92 per cent of people eat non-vegetarian food. People in European countries, the USA, and Asian nations often eat meat. More than 90 per cent of people in these regions are non-vegetarian. This trend is linked to the climatic conditions. It is also linked to social structure and cultural tradition. People living in colder or frigid regions are flesh-eating.
In India, approximately 75 to 80 per cent of people are non-vegetarian. In states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Bengal, Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu, the percentage is higher. About 97 per cent of people in these states eat non-vegetarian food. This trend is very common. The number is growing. (ED Times)
Energy cycle
Nature has its way of moving the energy cycle. The plants capture and convert solar energy into usable forms. The primary consumers, herbivores, feed on and assimilate these plants. The remaining trophic levels consist of the second and third levels of consumers.
Food choice
Primarily, the food fulfils the daily energy and nutritional needs. It should contain essential compounds like carbohydrates, protein, fat and other micronutrients in a proper balance. Cooking makes food easily digestible and palatable. Use of spices and condiments adds aroma and taste, making food tempting and palatable. The type of food is a choice based on personal likes and dislikes. Criticising a particular type of food or creating undue hype in favour of another is unfair. This action is akin to imposition. The food choice is subjective and personal. No arguments can justify it, as food is a living thing. It is organic and provides energy. Non-living things are not food items. Living beings need energy for sustainance which comes from the food they eat.
High carbon and water footprint
The procurement, processing, and marketing of non-vegetarian food have an impact on the environment. It is touted as having a heavy carbon and water footprint. Parallely, it is equally important to note that agriculture is also highly water-dependent. Cereal crops need a lot of water from sowing to harvesting. It consumes more than 70% of fresh water globaly. In India agriculture sector consumes about 80% water. In rain-fed areas, the water needs of crops are met by rainwater. Though they need irrigation, too. (India Water Portal)
Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets leave significant water and carbon footprints, impacting the environment by generating these emissions.
Nutritional value
Eating meat is as normal as eating a vegetarian diet. As has been mentioned earlier, the food is a personal choice. Considering nourishment, non-vegetarian diets have an edge. They are comparatively richer in nutritional values than their vegetarian counterparts. The reason is obvious. They are a direct source of protein. A Eggs, for example, are good food. They are low-calorie, protein and nutrient rich food. The equivalent food is pulses. One egg holds a little more than six grams of protein. A bowl (100 grams) of cooked Dal (Pulse) has about nine grams of protein. Obviously, a little more food needs to be taken to fulfil the nutritional intake for a vegetarian diet.
The reason why non-vegetarian food including eggs and fishes gives nutrition is quite understandable. The animals convert complex plant materials into animal material which is more akin to the human body and physiology.
Belief and food
Adhering to a particular diet is a misnomer. People choose a vegetarian diet because of cultural and regional pressures. Annexing a food with religion is also a part of it. Turkey is consumed for example, on religious occasions and Thanksgiving.
In the end
The food is essential. It heals, develops new tissues, and provides energy and vitality. It is not like filling a bag. Nature has created things with a purpose. Food comes from living organisms. It can be derived from plants or animals. Hence, the categorisation of food into sections of vegetarian, non-vegetarian, ovo-vegetarian, and pescatarian is a figment of imagination. As has been said, an excess of everything is bad. The human body, its structure, and physiology have been designed for an omnivorous diet. Food needs to be consumed according to the body’s needs and its age-based condition.
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