Writings and Lectures
Hinduism’s Three Gifts Keep Paul McCartney Fit and Healthy
Nitin Mehta
July 21, 2024
Paul attributes his robust health and fitness to facets of Hinduism which he staunchly follows.
Paul McCartney, one of the famous four Beatles, has turned 82. He is in robust health and has just announced dates for a world tour of musical performances. At an age when most people have retired, Paul will undertake a gruelling tour which requires great stamina.
In a recent podcast, he listed three reasons for his good health and fitness. All three are Hinduism’s gifts to the world.
The first one is vegetarianism
He and his late wife, Linda, stopped eating meat in the 1970s — “the thing that repelled me was the idea of killing animals,” he has said. Some researchers, including a team from Loma Linda University in California, have shown that vegetarian men live up to a decade longer than their meat-eating counterparts. According to their study, vegetarians were at a 29% lower risk of early death from heart disease and an 18% lower risk for different types of cancers. Researchers in Germany have found that replacing meat and dairy with whole grains, beans, nuts and olive oil may significantly reduce cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
Paul’s late wife Linda was an ardent vegetarian. She launched the hugely popular Linda McCartney Foods company specialising in vegetarian and vegan food.
For thousands of years, vegetarianism has been an important moral concept in Hinduism. According to Tristram Stuart in his book, ‘Bloodless Revolution ‘ in the 16th Century, when Europeans started coming to India, they observed the Hindu compassion towards animals.
In the 1590s, the Dutch traveller to India, John Huygen van Linschoten, wrote in his bestselling travelogue Itinerario (The Journey) that the Banians (Jains), ‘kill nothing in the world that has life, however small and useless it may be.”
A 16th century Portuguese writer, Duarte Barbosa was astounded that the Indians would pay money to the Moors to buy worms and birds and set them free. He noted that even lice were looked after and special people were allotted to the task of feeding them with their own blood! The Europeans were flabbergasted to find that in India, even animals that were not useful were never killed and that people would buy captive birds and then free them. In 1594, an English traveller, Ralph Fitch wrote that there were animal hospitals in India and sheep, goats, dogs, cats and birds all were kept and looked after, even the lame and old ones. Hindu vegetarianism began to be seen of a higher moral value than the European Christian tradition.
Vegetarianism and veganism is a lifestyle that has been taken up by millions of people all over the world. The biggest threat that mankind is facing today is climate change. The biggest cause of it is the billions of animals being raised for meat. Among the sports personalities, Serena Williams the greatest female tennis player is a vegetarian. Boxer Mike Tyson is a vegan. The great cricketer Virat Kohli is also a vegetarian.
The second gift of Hinduism that Paul has adopted is Yoga
He has Yoga sessions with his friends and is an expert at doing the head stand. The head stand helps you in looking young, according to Paul. Paul is also very committed to the eye yoga exercises, in which you rotate your eyes up and down as well as from one side to other. Today, Yoga is practiced by millions of people in Europe. American Pop singer Britney Spears, Actress Kate Hudson, and Meghan Merkel, wife of Prince Harry are amongst the famous Yoga practitioners.
Yoga is a priceless gift of Sanatan Dharma to the world.
The third gift of Hinduism that Paul practises is meditation
In 1968, George Harrison’s wife, Pattie Boyd, arranged for The Beatles and their respective partners to meet with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Rishikesh. He introduced them to Transcendental Meditation. It’s a practice that Paul has kept up ever since and which he has described as “a lifelong gift, something you can call on at any time”. He says that “in moments of madness, meditation has helped me find moments of serenity”. Today, millions of people all over the world practice meditation. Amongst the famous people practising TM is American TV Oprah Winfrey and William Clay Ford Jr., Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company.
George Harrison, the other Beatle, was very much attracted to Hinduism. He was close to the founder of Hare Krishna movement Srila Prabhupada. George chanted the Hare Krishna Mahamantra. At one time, he chanted the mantra for three days continuously while driving from France to Portugal. In 1970, George wrote the song, ‘My Sweet Lord’ in praise of Lord Krishna. In 1973 he gifted his Manor house in Hertfordshire to the Hare Krishna movement. It attracts around 60,000 devotees on the festival of Janmashtami every year. There is a growing awareness in the world about the great spiritual heritage of India.
Food for Thought
(Published in the Independent on 3 May 2021)
Dear Sir,
Marc Abraham's article about the cruelty involved in production of factory-farmed chickens is a timely reminder that as a race we humans have to recalibrate
our relationship with the animal word. It is not only about compassion to animals it is also about our own welfare and survival. Our food habits are degrading the planet.
A plant-based diet is the only solution to avert an existential crisis.
Nitin Mehta
Croydon
Veganism is Our Only Hope
(The following Letter published in the Independent 11 August 2019)
Dear Sir,
The United Nations urging everyone to eat less meat is a mantra we have been hearing for a long time. It is designed to keep the meat industry happy and to placate the climate lobby.
The stark reality though is that we are beyond the point of patching up the planet with half measures.
Around 75 billion animals are raised for meat; between 200 billion to one trillion fish are killed annually for human consumption.
The message that needs to go out urgently is that mankind needs to return to a plant based diet if we are to avoid a catastrophe which will make this planet unhabitable for future generations.
The vegan revolution going on at the moment is a ray of hope.
There are ethical reasons that we need to consider too. As a supposedly superior species do we need to carry out so much violence on the animal kingdom?
Meat consumption and the resultant health crisis we are facing is well documented. It seems that for our overall wellbeing and to reinvigorate our planet will have to face the facts and be honest.
There is no other solution for our dilemma except to eschew all animal products.
Nitin Mehta
Croydon
There's no place for hunting in this world
(The following Letter published in the Independent 10 April 2019)
Dear Sir,
I was disgusted to hear that Ron Thomson has no regrets about killing 5,000 elephants and 50 hippos. His reasoning is that he is controlling the population of these majestic animals.
Who, I wonder, gave him the God-given right to eliminate these animals?
It is cowardly to sneak up on these poor creatures and blast them with powerful guns. Hunting is a disgrace and brings shame to the human species.
Just as we have a law for war criminals, we need a law for crimes against animal species. Human beings crave for peace and despair at the violence that engulfs them and yet they are completely blase
about killing animals. This violence rebounds on us and hangs on us like a immovable cloud of negativity which deprives us of the peace we desperately seek.
Nitin Mehta
Croydon
The best thing we can do for the environment is eat a plant-based diet
(The following Letter published in the Independent 10 October 2018)
Dear Sir,
Will Gore talks about making small changes in our lives to
protect the planet. One change which would really help is to adopt a plant-based vegetarian and vegan diet.
One of the biggest causes of global warming are the gases released by animals raised for meat. Our planet is simply too small to sustain more than 80 billion animals raised for meat every year.
To meet the insatiable demand for cereals colossal amounts of chemicals are used which is destroying fertile land both in developed countries and poorer ones which are exporting crops to feed animals rather than feeding
their citizens.
A huge amount of fresh water resources are being used up in the raising of these animals and the waste produced by them is polluting our rivers and oceans and creating dead zones where all life forms cease to exist.
Huge amount of forests including the Amazon have been cleared to meet the demand for beef in the US. Absence of forests means more floods and other forms of extreme climate occurrences.
A shift away from a meat-based diet to a plant-based vegetarian or vegan diet is paramount if we are to heal the planet and avoid a calamity. This is something every
individual can do and become the change they want in the world.
The only way is vegan
(The following Letter published in the Sunday Times January 21 2018)
Dear Sir,
Your report confirms that veganism is the fastest-growing lifestyle. ( ''Egg-free, please: I'm only here for the vegan beer'', News, last week )
It is the young who are leading this trend and what motivates them is the plight of animals. Vegan food has the potential to reverse the health issues we face as a
result of meat consumption and address the damage caused by raising and killing billions of creatures. To heal the planet, feed the growing population and extend a hand
of compassion to animals, going vegan is the answer.
We must go veggie to protect the planet
(The following letter was published in the Independent 7 September 2017)
Dear Sir,
After the devastating Hurricane Harvey the US is now bracing for Hurricane Irma. It is obvious that Mother Earth is in a precarious state because of decades of abuse.
In pursuit of short-term gains we have put in jeopardy our lives and lives of future generations.
One of the biggest causes of climate change is billions of animals raised for human consumption. Deforestation, the degradation of soil, the massive amount of
chemicals seeping into rivers and oceans all are a result of billions of intensively reared animals. Such is the insatiable demand for animal feed that poor countries
are roped in into growing soya to export to European countries at great environmental cost. Our planet is simply not big enough to sustain a human population of 9 billion
and an animal population of 120 billion to feed it. A return to a plant-based vegetarian and vegan diet will replenish the planet and restore it to robust health but
we are running out of time.
No more violence towards animals
(The following was published in the Independent on 15 August 2017. It was in response to a very good article written by
Yas Necati who is Turkish and Vegan)
Dear Sir,
Yas Necati is right about the violence we inflict on animals. As a species we humans have put many wrongs right over the centuries.
However our treatment of animals is a last frontier we have not overcome. It is time to accord animals some fundamental rights.
We will be doing ourselves a big favour as it will be great for our moral well-being. We will have declared a peace treaty with animals.
Creature comfort
(Letter Published in the Sunday Times in response to Brian Appleyards article regarding the growth of vegan and vegetarianism the following was published 6 August 2017 )
Dear Sir,
Is our treatment of animals an issue that we as a species have to put right? For our own moral wellbeing we need to move away from the cruelty we perpetuate on them.
Catastrphe of Anti-Biotics in Animal Feed
(Letter published in the Guardian 25th May 2016)
Dear Sir,
The imminent threat of antibiotics becoming ineffective in fighting diseases could indeed be catastrophic.
It is estimated that almost 85 billion animals will have to be raised to meet the meat demand in the near future.
Animals are raised in intensive factory farm conditions with minimum welfare standards.
Little wonder then that disease and misery is rampant among them. They are fed antibiotics which humans then ingest,
leading to drug resistance. There is an urgent need to move away from a meat-based diet to a plant-based vegetarian and vegan diet.
This will take the pressure off the animals and also improve the health of the nation. As a bonus, global warming due to methane
released by animals will slow down, as will the mass pollution of farmlands and waterways by billions of tons of animal waste and blood.
A diet change is something each of us can do to help avert disaster.
Nitin Mehta: We could live with 9bn vegetarians
(Letter published in the Independent 31st Oct 2014)
Dear Sir,
The world population is indeed growing inexorably (Population
explosion of planet can't be halted, 28 October). Would the planet be
able to sustain a population of 9 billion by 2050? Yes it could as the
planet is sustaining over 65 billion animals raised for meat
consumption every year. There are at any time 3 times more chickens on
the planet than human beings. Any discussion on the growth of
population should also account for the other living beings who also
need to be fed and watered just as we do. It is this massive number of
animals which is causing global warming, desertification of fertile
land, using up a huge amount of the world's fresh water supplies and
almost 40% of worlds cereals for animal consumption. Billions of tones
of animal manure and slurry seeps into the Earth causing massive
pollution and acid rain. It would be possible to feed the world if so
much of the cereals produced were not fed to animals. The health
impact on human beings is also great as animals are fed antibiotics
rendering them ineffective as the meat consumed carries antibiotics. A
move away from a predominantly meat diet to a plant based vegetarian
and vegan diet is imperative if we are to avoid mass starvation and
catastrophic climate change.
Nitin Mehta: The Foods We Eat
(Letter Published in the Independent. 11th. Feb. 2013)
For all those who are experiencing nausea and worse after finding out that their
beef burgers had horse and pig meat, there is a simple solution. Go vegetarian
and explore a whole world of gourmet food. Experience the freedom of eating food
that does not involve the killing of sentient beings. You will be in good
company. Mahatma Gandhi, George Bernard Shaw, Tony Benn, Bill Clinton, Joanna
Lumley, Martin Shaw, the list goes on. Enjoy!
Pickles with Shanta Ben & The Young Indian Vegetarians
(Article from pedatha.com website)
Jyoti Mehta says, “My mum’s food is famous among my friends. The good thing is
that mum enjoys feeding them as much as they enjoy being fed! I am a Vegan and
mum has been hugely supportive in this choice. She has found ingenious ways to
Veganise many Indian dishes. She uses Tofu instead of Paneer and has actually
managed to improvise on recipes like ‘ Kadhi’ by replacing yogurt with coconut
milk! Now, even my Grandma uses Soya milk in tea thus giving me a chance to
rediscover Indian Chai (just don’t watch how much sugar she puts in)!”
Growth of Antibiotics in Farm Animals Poses Serious Threat to Human Health
(Letter Published in the Independent-20th June 2011)
The dramatic growth of antibiotics in farm animals poses a serious threat to human health.
The real problem is the massive growth in demand for meat.
The only way to meet this is through factory farming, a system based on selective breeding
for high yield, overcrowding and gross restriction of animals' natural behaviour.
The only way to take the pressure off animals is to drastically reduce meat consumption.
Grains being used to produce bio-fuel and almost 40 per cent of cereals going to feed animals is pushing millions
of people towards starvation. The global-warming impact of methane emissions from farm animals is well-documented too.
There is one solution to all these problems and that is to revert to a vegetarian or vegan diet. Those who cannot take this step
straightaway can start by giving up meat a few days a week.
Nitin Mehta
There are Two Things that Human Beings Can Do to Avoid the Nightmare of Hunger
(Letter Published in the Independent-2nd Feb 2011)
Almost 65 billion animals are raised for meat every year and the grain fed to them can feed almost 4 billion people.
Instead of eating grains and vegetables we are feeding them to animals and then eating the animals.
The destruction of rainforests in south America, the spread of deserts and the pollution of rivers and oceans are
due to our desire for meat.
In 2007 almost 27 million hectares of land was used to produce biofuel and in 2008 food prices soared,
pushing almost 100 million people below the poverty line.
If meat and biofuel production stopped we might avert a tragedy of biblical proportions.
Nitin Mehta
The world's largest gathering and it is all vegetarian!
Nitin Mehta: Come to Kumbh Mela to see the miracle that is modern India
Beginning from 14th January 2010 the world's greatest religious gathering has been
taking place at Haridrwar in the state of Uttarakhand, India. Kumbha is a Sanskrit
word for a round pot with no handles, Mela means "a gathering", or a fair. The observance
of Kumbh Mela dates back many centuries. It is said that once upon a time the Gods had
lost their strength, and to regain it, they thought of churning the Kshera Sagara
(primordial ocean of milk) for amrit (the nectar of immortality). This required them to
make a temporary agreement with their arch enemies, the demons or Asuras to work together
with a promise of sharing the nectar equally thereafter. But when the Kumbha containing the
amrita appeared, a fight ensued. For 12 days and 12 nights (equivalent to 12 human years) the
gods and demons fought in the sky for the pot of amrita. It is believed that during the battle,
Lord Vishnu flew away with the Kumbha of elixir, and that is when drops of amrita fell at four
places on Earth: Prayag, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik, and that is where the Kumbh Mela is
observed every 12 years. On 14 January (Makar Sankranti) the Kumbha Mela began with all
the pomp and glory for which it so well known. Millions of people led by the holy men took a
dip in the holy river. Hindus believe all paths to God are valid. Conflict between different
denominations within Hinduism is unknown. It is due to this ingrained belief in diversity that
democracy thrives in India. Violence in the name of religion will only stop when all the religions
acknowledge that all paths to God are valid. It is a miracle that India pulls of such a massive show,
with all its logistical nightmares, so brilliantly. In January 2007 around 70 million pilgrims gathered
at Prayag for the Ardh Kumbh Mela, by far the world's largest religious festival. It is estimated
around 50 million people attended this year. It is the world's most massive act of faith. Meat fish
and eggs are strictly prohibited at the event.
Battle Between Meat
Eating and Going Vegetarian
(Letter Published in the Saturday Guardian-27th Feb. 2010)
Jonathan Safran Foer's battle between meat eating and going vegetarian is one
faced by millions of people. It is also a moral issue with which some of the
greatest thinkers in history have grappled. We crave peace, yet deny it to the
living beings we share this planet with. We have forgotten that compassion is
the distinguishing mark of a civilisation, and all our otherwise great
achievements are clouded by the suffering of billions of animals. The
environmental and health issues related with meat eating are a clear indicator
that the human race has to revert to a plant-based diet if it is to leave this
planet in a good enough shape for future generations.
Chicken Language - Maneka Gandhi
(05 January 2010)
Next time you pass by a truck filled with small cages filled with chickens, most
of whom have one leg or wing broken and is squatting in great pain and utter
hopeless anguish in the truck while the hot or icy wind tears about them and the
feces of the chickens in the cages above theirs drip onto them, remember that
they are probably talking or crying to each other and wondering which hell they
are being taken to. When you see them in dirty cages outside chicken shops
seeing their kin being pulled out and chopped in front of them, imagine what
they must be saying to each other. What would you have said in their place?
For chickens talk a lot. They have a rich language and intelligence. According
to new research, chickens make meaningful sounds that refer to objects around
them. A pecking chicken that goes “tck, tck, tck”, for example, is saying, “Hey
look, there’s food!”
Would you kill and eat a monkey or an ape with the same indifference with which
you eat chickens? No, because you know they think and deal with the world,
almost as humans do. Scientists have proved again and again that primates make
sounds that, like words, represent something in the world around them.
Now, scientists have found that chickens are like monkeys in their word and
sentence structure. Each cluck means something, and lots of clucks together mean
whole sentences. Studies in Macquarie University, Australia show that male
chickens make certain clucking noises when they find food. When female chickens
(hens) hear these noises, they stomp over and either take some food from a
male’s beak or stare at the ground looking for morsels to eat. Other studies
show, for example, that chickens make alarm calls when scared by an intruder.
The calls differ depending on whether the intruder walks or flies toward them,
which means that the chicken is saying, “An intruder is walking towards me so
scatter in this fashion...” or “A bird is flying overhead, so run and hide.” The
fact that it is an understandable language is shown by the fact that other
chickens react by looking either up in the air or around on the ground.
In another experiment, researchers allowed half the hens to find some corn - not
enough to fill the animals up, but enough to alert them that food was around.
The other half did not get any corn. The scientists then played recordings of
male food calls for the hens. The hens that already knew food was available
looked at the ground for just three seconds. The food-deprived hens, on the
other hand, searched for an average of 7.5 seconds after hearing the male calls.
On the other hand, when the hens heard alarm calls, both fed and unfed birds
reacted in the same way. These results show the birds knew what the food call
meant, and their reaction depended on what they already knew about the area’s
food supply so they could judge whether the call was a lie or not. Primatologist
Klaus Zuberbühler of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland compares the
results to those from his own test with monkeys. Monkey calls indicating one
kind of predator, say a snake, were completely different from those about an
eagle; and the monkeys responded differently to both.
Chickens have a complex communication system which includes over 20 different
signals that humans have interpreted; and at least several hundred more that are
under translation.
Here are some of the calls that you can learn to understand: Waanh-hunh “I’m
curious”, bu-bu-bu-bu-buh1 “Hello”, k-k-k-k-k-kh “I’m happy!”, tw-tw-tw-tw-tw
“I’m on the nest”, ooonhaawh “Get out of my way, I want your space”, ooonhaawh
(half speed) “Sounds like a foghorn, doesn’t it?, huh-huh-huh-ahn “Give me some
food”, wnnn-nn wn-wn “What are you doing?”, cuc-cuc-cuc1 “There’s a cat on that
fence!”, cuc-cuc-cuc2 “Happy curiosity. Friendly”, wtwtwtwtwtnnn “Don’t touch my
egg”, tookatookatooka “What happy bliss on a perfect day in the shade”. Soft
scream “Hawk overhead!” Excited cackling Ga-ga-GAAK, ga-ga-GAAK means dangerous
human coming.
Conveniently, we have yet to analyse the calls for “Please don’t hurt me”,
“Please don’t kill him”, “Please don’t take away my baby”, “Ouch! that hurts
very much”, “My wing is broken”, “Please give me some space”.
Fowl linguist and scientist Dr. Erich Baeumer of Wiedenau, Germany who has been
studying chickens since 1954 says that he has made a list of 30 sentences which
are part of a spoken international chicken language whether an Indian Jungle
fowl, a Russian Orloff rooster, an Italian Leghorn, a Cornish cock or a New
Hampshire Red. Baeumer was eight when he realised that he could understand the
chickens around his house. “It was an intuitive understanding, I could actually
tell what they were saying. I began to spend hours with them; they became
brothers and sisters to me.” He learned to imitate their sounds so well that he
was accepted as a full-fledged member of the flock. Only when his voice changed
did the chickens break off communication with him.
In 1954, he started working with Professor Erich von Hoist at the Institute of
Behavior Physiology near Munich. Chickens were photographed and recorded
repeatedly. After recording hours of chicken talk, Dr. Baeumer selected examples
of clear-cut chicken “sentences” that could be related to records or photographs
of specific actions. Dr. Baeumer’s chick-talk tapes have been played at
universities in many countries. He knows the loneliness cries of young chicks
separated from their mother (“Pieep-pieep-pieep”); and their terror trills, a
high-pitched “Trr-trr.” Both sexes make “frightened” cackles when first they
sense danger. After the danger passes, their cackling is full-throated and
rhythmical, as if they had triumphed.
Hens make a cackle when they have laid an egg, but Dr. Baeumer does not think
they are boasting or saying, “Thank heaven that’s over.” He believes that it all
goes back to the days when wild hens laid eggs in hidden nests. After each
delivery, the hen gave a loud cackle to regain contact with the rest of the
flock. Chickens make screams of distress; they have battle cries and calls for
privacy. Hens lead their chicks to food with a gentle “Tuck-tuck-tuck”, and
roosters entice pretty young hens with soft cooing. “Chicken behavior is not too
different from human behavior,” says Dr. Baeumer. “Nor is chicken language.”
Think of this when you eat a chicken. What could she have been saying as she was
dragged out to be killed for you. Could it be “Forgive them for they know not
what they do”?
Face to faith - Faiths that originated in India have a long
history of toleration and openness to new ideas, says Nitin Mehta
(Published in The Guardian, Saturday 23 May 2009)
Religions that have their roots in India – namely, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism
and Jainism – believe all paths to God are valid, and over the centuries this
sublime belief has helped avoid violence and strife. There are thousands of
sects within Hinduism, and violence between them is unknown. Jains have a
concept called Anekantwad, meaning that truth can be arrived at from different
paths. And there is a great parable in Buddhism that describes a blind man
touching different parts of an elephant and describing what he thinks it looks
like. In his own way he is correct in his description, and the same is true of
religions.
According to the time, circumstances and the culture it is born in, a religion
will interpret the truth as it sees it. Indic religions believe there is nothing
to fight about in these apparent differences. Indeed the whole concept of "my
religion" is an extension of my race, my country, all of which the Indic
religions call maya or illusion – at death all these attachments are severed.
When the Zoroastrians known as the Parsees came to India having been driven out
of Persia for their religious beliefs, the Hindu king welcomed them and not only
tolerated but encouraged them to continue practising their faith. Parsees have
lived happily in India over the centuries, and there has not been a single
incident of confrontation with the majority Hindus. Indeed the Parsees have paid
back by excelling in so many fields that have put India on the map as a economic
giant. Sikhs have defended other faiths facing persecution.
This unshakable belief in diversity has meant that religions of India have never
sought to convert others. The root of cause of violence in the name of religion
is the desire to convert – indeed entire civilisations have perished whenever a
new ideology believing in the supremacy of its truth has decided to impose its
version of truth on others.
The other unique advantage the Indic religions have is that precisely because of
their tolerance of ideas they are able to reform whenever negative practices
creep in, as they do in any long- established religion. Mahatma Gandhi and many
others in India were able to confront long-established but outdated and corrupt
practices which had taken root in Hinduism. Much earlier Lord Buddha and Lord
Mahavira had also challenged practices such as animal sacrifices that had crept
into some Hindu sects. In many faiths such reformers have faced violent
persecution, but Hinduism welcomes valid criticism.
This permanent revolution, to use a Trotskyite term, keeps the faith in touch
with the ever-changing world. And this freedom of thought and expression is the
reason why democracy is thriving in India. Until the recent Indian elections,
the communists had been in power in West Bengal for a long time; in true Indian
tradition, they had become integral to the all-encompassing mosaic of Indian
life. The significance of this can only be realised when one considers the
likelihood of communists running the show in one of the states of America!
New thoughts and new ideas do not frighten the people of Indic religions;
neither do they stifle them. As Mahatma Gandhi said: "Let my windows be open to
receive new ideas but let me also be strong enough not to be blown away by
them." In the heart of New Delhi there is a beautiful Baha'i temple. This new
temple sits comfortably in its new home and Indians visit it in large numbers
hoping that there will be something new to learn from it which will enrich their
lives. Until and unless all faiths around the world acknowledge the unique
diversity and the rainbow of different cultures and faiths that God has given us
and which so enrich our lives, religions will create strife instead of the peace
that is the main purpose of religion.
Nitin Mehta: Each of us should help save the planet by changing our diet (Published in the Independent, Tuesday, 30 June 2009
Here is something we can all do and should do to save our planet: give up meat
eating and return to a plant-based vegetarian and vegan diet.
Apart from the human population of six-and-a-half billion we are raising a
staggering 60 billion animals a year for meat. Our planet is simply not big
enough to sustain these numbers. Farmed animals produce more greenhouse
emissions than the world's entire transport system.
To produce a pound of meat 2,500 gallons of water are needed as opposed to 25
gallons needed to produce a pound of wheat. In the Gulf of Mexico pollutants in
animal waste have contributed to a "dead zone" where there is not enough oxygen
to support aquatic life. During the summer of 2004 this dead zone extended over
5,800 square miles. Livestock is responsible for 70 per cent of the Amazon
deforestation. On present trends the rain forests of South America, the lungs of
the planet, could disappear by 2030 – this could lead to a major catastrophe.
The introduction of biofuel combined with livestock rearing may deliver a fatal
blow to Mother Earth putting in danger the human civilisation as we know it.
Industrial fishing is doing to oceans what animals reared for meat are doing to
the land. All marine life from turtles to dolphins is perishing due to modern
fishing methods. Mangrove forests and coral reefs are disappearing; mangrove
forests are being cleared to start fish farms. The amount of grains fed to
animals could feed up to 4 billion people, and with the human population set to
grow up to 9 billion by 2050 mass starvation is inevitable unless the Western
world and the middle classes of Indian and China reject meat and fish as a food
of choice.
On present trends global meat production is projected to more than double from
229 million tonnes in 1999 to 465 million tonnes in 2050, while the milk output
is set to rise from 580 to 1,043 million tonnes. Unless this trend is reversed,
future generations will face a unimaginably bleak future. Let every individual
weigh the habit of meat eating with the terrible damage it is already doing to
our planet. Here is something positive we can do – go vegetarian and reduce our
foot print.
This is an edited extract from a talk given by Nitin Mehta, the founder of
the Indian Vegetarian Society, at the Jain Centre, Manchester
Question published in the Independent
Christmas veggie
recipe
Angela Hartnett is a celebrity chef working
for Gordon Ramsay's restaurant called the 'York and Albany' near Regents Park.
She answered readers questions about Christmas recipes
The following question was asked:
If the whole country decided to have a vegetarian Christmas, what would you
suggest so that no one would miss the poor turkey?
Nitin Mehta
Angela :
I think aubergine parmigiana is always lovely- baked aubergines in
mozzarella. A nice dish is pumpkin and lentils cooked with bean curd. You could
do braised vegetables, such as parsnips and carrots with garlic.
The Patriotism of an Immigrant (Letter Published in the Independent, 15.11.2008)
Yasmin Alibhai Brown a columnist of the Independent wrote that patriotism cannot be forced upon the ethnic minorities. Identifying with a nation is not the gift of anyone. Nobody can force you to love your country she said. In response the following letter was submitted.
Yasmin
Alibhai-Brown's piece "You can't force patriotism on a people" (10 November) is
flawed. Loyalty to one's country cannot be negotiable. Once you become a citizen
of a country it is incumbent upon you to identify with the country. Minorities
everywhere have to make a special effort to join the national mainstream.
Yasmin
claims: "We will withhold that kiss if the state disappoints. " This implies
that a democratically elected government should shape its policies in such a way
that it never offends the minority. This is an untenable position which will do
the minorities no good. This country gave thousands of refugees like me and
Yasmin an opportunity to settle and prosper. That for me is enough to be a
patriotic citizen.
Thousands like me feel that the time has come to stop playing the victim.
- Nitin Mehta, Croydon
Food Shortages and Bio-Fuels (Letter Published in the Independent, 19.06.2008)
Sir: It
is disingenuous of Elliott Mannis to claim that the biodiesel debate is a proxy
fight for those who oppose capitalism and globalisation (letters, 11 June).
United Nations reports say that food shortages threaten 100 million of the
world's poorest with starvation.
This year, global production of biofuels will consume 100 million tonnes of
grain. About 20 million acres of maize, wheat, soya and other crops have been
diverted to produce biofuel in the US. Sixty million tonnes of food produced in
the US in the past two years, which could feed 250 million people, was used for
biofuel. It takes 232kg of corn to fill a 50-litre car tank with ethanol, enough
to feed a child for a year. Brazil, Argentina and even India use crops for
biofuel.
The result is that prices of staple foods have risen 80 per cent in three years.
The problem is made worse by almost 760 million tonnes of grains being fed to
animals raised for meat. The biofuel model to solve the climate change and
energy crisis needs to be revisited. A return to a plant-based vegetarian and
vegan diet is also of great importance if we are to avoid the double whammy of
biofuel and grains diverted to feed animals. Opposing biofuel should not be seen
as opposing capitalism or globalisation. Capitalism with a humane face is in the
best interest of all.
Nitin Mehta, Croydon
Pickles with Shanta
Ben & The Young Indian Vegetarians
On April 18th, Mr. Mehta invited Pratibha &
Jigyasa from Rajasthan and Gujarat, editors of “Cooking at Home with Pedatha” to
his home where they dined and addressed a keen audience about the book. Click
here for full details.
VEG, NO MEAT (Letter Published in the Sunday Times, 04.05.2008)
Sir: We can feed the world but we will have to change our food habits. Tens of billions of animals are raised for food every year but the grains fed to them could feed billions more people than the meat does. In a thirsty world a huge amount of water is used in raising these animals. Add to this the biofuel that is consuming the food that sustains humans and we have a recipe for disaster. A return to a vegetarian and vegan diet would take off some of the pressure.
Nitin Mehta, Croydon
Global Grain Shortage (Letter published in the Independent, 11.04.2008)
Sir: Your report on the global grain shortage ("Starving Haitains riot as food prices soar", 10 April ) is a sign of a catastrophe facing the world. The UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), according to your report, can only advise governments to improve crop irrigation and storage. The FAO fails to mention the two major causes of the impending crisis: land being used to produce biofuel, and food grains being diverted to feed animals raised for meat.
In the last two years the US has diverted 60 million tonnes of food to fuel. Almost 60 billion animals are raised worldwide for meat every year and the grains needed to feed them could feed over 4 billion human beings. From South America to Africa to Asia the double whammy of biofuel and grains diverted to feed animals is beginning to cause hunger.
The world population is set to rise to 9.5 billion in a few years and unless we in the West and the rising middle classes of China and India revert to a plant-based vegetarian and vegan diet, mass starvation is a certainty. Biofuel is supposed to be good for the environment, but it is the billions of farm animals that are contributing more to global warming than all the world's transport put together.
Nitin Mehta, Croydon
Health Crisis Facing the UK (Letter published in the Independent, 24.10.2007)
Sir:
Professor Julian Le Grand's proposals to halt the health crisis facing this
country do not go far enough. The very ethos on which the National Health
Service operates, which is, "you fall sick and we will give you a drug to cure
you" needs to be overhauled. Individuals must be made to take responsibility for
their bodies.In the Indian Ayur Vedic system, for example, the patient would be
expected to follow a strict dietary regime prescribed by the doctor. The patient
is told in no uncertain terms that he has to take steps to cure himself. Diet
plays a very crucial role in one's physical and mental well-being and instead of
just promoting more fruit intake, a meat-free vegetarian and vegan diet should
be encouraged. In survey after survey vegetarians and vegans are found to be
healthier and less of a burden on the NHS.
Nitin Mehta
Croydon
Climate Change
The Independent asked its readers to suggest to the government for its green
paper--ways of stopping climate change and ecological disaster. The following
was published in the paper on 28th October.
Sir: The Government should actively encourage people to give up meat eating in
favour of a plant based vegetarian and vegan diet. A staggering 55 billion
animals are raised for meat every year which in effect means 55 billion living
beings who have to be fed and watered. This is in addition to the eight and half
billion human population which will rise to over nine billion by 2050. Our
planet is simply not big enough to sustain these numbers. The result is
destruction of rain forests, spreading of deserts and massive methane gas
emissions leading to further global warming. To sustain a meat based diet we
effectively need two planets which- we do not have. It was Albert Einstein who
said: 'Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival of
life on Earth as much as evolution to a vegetarian diet'.
Nitin Mehta
Croydon
A Vegetarian Diet Is
Essential In The Fight To Protect The Planet From Climate Change And Ecological
Damage - Nitin Mehta
It seems Albert Einstein made another great contribution to the Human
race when he said: ‘Nothing will improve the chance of survival of the Earth as
a step towards a Vegetarian life style.’
-- Click here to read more..
Water Wars
According to an article in the Independent, Water will be the cause of wars
between nations, the following letter was published in response.
Sir: The report "Water wars" (28 February 2006) is as clear a warning as one can
get that water will create violent conflict between nations. But one of the main
causes of water waste is also mentioned. It takes 1,000 litres of water to
produce a kilo of potatoes and 42,500 litres to produce a kilo of beef.
Animals are voracious consumers of water and almost 80 per cent of the world's
water resources are used in raising 55 billion animals for meat every year,
spreading deserts and diverting grains that could feed almost four billion
people. The destruction of rainforests in South America is the direct result of
beef production. A return to a plant-based vegetarian and vegan diet is
imperative for our survival and the survival of our planet.
Nitin Mehta
Chicken Faeces Fed To Farmed Fish - Nitin Mehta
The Independent reports that there could be a possible link between the bird flu and farmed fish fed with manure of Chickens, Pigs and Ducks. The United Nations Food and Agriculture organisation backs this system of feeding fish with waste animal matter --it is called, 'Integrated Livestock Fish Farming'.
Click here to read more...
Veganism and Hinduism - Jyoti Mehta
Defining Veganism
Veganism is a growing trend within the vegetarian community, and is considered a stricter form of vegetarianism. As well as not eating meat, fish or fowl, vegans extend this to not consuming anything that is derived from animals. This essentially means the removal of milk and all other forms of dairy from the diet. Some people confuse vegans with those who are lactose intolerant, but whilst lactose intolerant people avoid cow produce for allergy reasons, vegans do no eat anything derived from any animals, and this includes products such as goat’s cheese.Click here to read more...
Talk at the inter faith celebration of animals on 18th September 2005 at Golders Green Unitarians Church
Dear Friends
Lord Mahaveer the 24th teacher in Jainism was travelling as a monk preaching compassion and the message of Dharma. Once he arrived near a huge forest in which lived a fearsome cobra. Everyone pleaded to Mahaveer to not to go into the forest as no one ever returned alive. However Lord Mahaveer was fearless and was determined to meet the cobra. As he went deep into the forest the cobra appeared. Lord Mahaveer stood in meditation. The cobra stung Lord Mahaveer on the right toe. Instead of blood milk began pouring out. Lord Mahaveer than said, ‘O Chandkaushi calm down, calm down, remember who you were in your past life. You were a monk with a terrible temper and when you died you were in great anger.
This little story gives us several messages
1 The animals we see could have been humans in past lives and we might also get animal bodies in future lives. If we want to avoid that fate it is in our own interest to be compassionate towards all living beings.
2 At the time of death the thoughts that will come to us will be the thoughts that have preoccupied us the most. So someone who has enjoyed hunting a lot will get those thoughts and will receive a body in the next life that hunts.
3 There are individual Karma and collective Karma. As a race we humans are destroying the Oceans, the Ecology of the planet and indulging in unmitigated violence towards other life forms. The results are there for us to see: Tsunami, Hurricanes, Earthquakes, and Droughts---the burden of responsibility on those in this room and many millions who think like us is great—let each one of us give up meat and dedicate ourselves to changing the course of Human history.
Nitin Mehta