The Vegetarian Bandwagon is gathering Pace!

The Belgian city of Ghent has declared Thursday a meat free day. Restaurants, canteens and schools will now serve only vegetarian food on Thursdays. It will promote meat free meals on other days as well. In theUK the NHS aims to serve less meat in its hospitals. In Germany the Federal Environmental Agency called on Germans to eat meat only on special occasions! In the UK Sir Paul McCartney, Joanna Lumley, Sir Richard Branson and many others have asked for Mondays to be declared meat free days. The realisation is dawning on people everywhere that meat consumption is destroying our planet and our future. By 2050 the human population will grow to over 8.5 billion. To avoid mass starvation the 1.2 billion tonnes of grains and cereals fed to animals raised for meat will have to stop. It is said that in the future wars will be fought over water. Livestock rearing can use up to 200 times more water in producing a kilogram (2.2 lbs) of meat than is used in growing wheat. For health, ecological, environmental reasons and to avoid mass starvation vegetarianism is the solution.

More Reasons to go Vegan

1 Milk is one of the most common causes of food allergies. Respiratory problems, canker sores and skin conditions can be caused by milk.

2 In 2007 around 70,000 male dairy calves were exported and an estimated 150,000 were killed on farms as unwanted byproducts of the dairy industry.

3 On average 990 litres of water are required to produce 1 litre of milk.

Dhammapada, the Buddhist scripture says: All living beings tremble before violence. All living beings fear death. Placing yourself in the position of these other living beings you must not kill nor must you allow others to kill.

Mahersh and Nishma Shah Vegan Jain Activists

Mahersh and Nishma are a dedicated husband and wife team promoting a vegan way of life. Believing that the proof of the (vegan) pudding is in the eating, they serve delicious vegan food at many events. Their catering company is called, Shambhu’s. Many Jains have made the transition from being vegetarian to vegan due to their efforts. The Jain Vegan Network that they have set up is very successful. Anyone wanting to join please got to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JainVegans/ The contact for Mahersh and Nishma is : mail@shambhus.co.uk

Practicing Ahimsa

1 You are getting late. You hear a bumble bee in your room. It is trying to get out. Will you spare a few minutes and open the door and the windows to let it get out?