positive effects of vegetarianism

The positive effects of vegetarianism

Mr Mario Desira, in today's The Sunday Times, provides an excellent

reply to Mr Peter Axisa's letter of last week, to which I had given a

short reply on this blog. Mr Desira writes:

"There were a few common misconceptions in Peter Axisa's contribution

on vegetarianism (The Sunday Times, August 12). Vegetarianism is not a

fad diet. Rather, it is a way of life that has been in existence since

humans first appeared on earth.

As a vegan for the past 26 years, I speak for most vegetarians when I

say that not only do we miss nothing in terms of culinary delight, but

the effect of a vegetarian diet on both mind and body are positive and

healthy.

As a life-long fruit and vegetable grower Mr Axisa would definitely

understand the relationship between sunlight, growth and health. While

we cannot eat sunshine, we do the next best thing - fruit and

vegetables that have converted sunlight into food.

Sunlight is the real food, and the more one departs from sunlight, the

more unnatural and unhealthy the diet. That means the more processed,

modified and cooked food is, the less sunlight energy is available and

one would be asking for trouble: ill health, reduced lifespan and

disease.

Eating meat or fish is the most unhygienic thing one can do in life,

building one's own cells from animals who have been born and bred in

captivity and more or less brutally killed, thereby one's body ends up

as a biological cemetery of dead animals!

Many great thinkers, philosophers and scientists since time immemorial

have pointed out the superiority of a vegetarian diet, explaining that

it is an expression of humanity's loftier traits, namely compassion

and wisdom. As Leonardo Da Vinci once said, people will in the future

look on the consumption of flesh as barbarian.

It may surprise Mr Axisa to know that in the universe everything is

alive and conscious, either potentially or actually, including the

smallest unicellular micro-organisms. Even the microscopic organisms

in a kitchen sink have feelings, including pain! Thus even vegetables

have feelings and show response to their environment. This has been

scientifically demonstrated long ago by hooking up vegetation to EEG

equipment. This not only does not invalidate vegetarianism, it is

confirming its wisdom. If a cell or plant can feel, how much more a

complex animal with a functional nervous system!

Until humanity evolves to the point where like plants we can subsist

on sunlight, we have to rely on fruit and vegetables. Fruits are meant

by nature to be eaten to ensure the spreading of its seed, while

admittedly vegetables are entities in their own right. There have been

for some time groups that do not eat vegetables as they are regarded

compassionately as sentient entities and I suspend judgment for now as

to whether this view is extreme or not.

Nobody is suggesting we starve to death, but surely at least we are

choosing the option of least damage when we consume vegetables. Due to

the absence of a central nervous system, even the word 'pain' may be a

misnomer when applied, as we apply it conventionally, to vegetables.

The growth of organic vegetables, coupled with eating and processing

them with respect, can only be of benefit to vegetables, the land and

ourselves. Findhorn, in Scotland, is the example that immediately

springs to mind, showing how some good, old-fashioned, tender loving

care to plants ensures magnificent vegetable growth and health.

So no, Mr Axisa, there is nothing natural about eating cats and dogs,

whether pets or not, and that applies to all creatures, especially

those who possess a face. Vegetarians, who have existed since humans

existed, are hard scientific proof that we can live on fruits and

vegetation alone, and people who do not do so choose to put an animal

through pain and misery (or rather most let others do the dirty work

and simply buy the product!) for the sake of transient appetite!

People should try to raise and kill an animal themselves and see how

natural this feels!

Finally, Mr Axisa is correct to state that most of the soya grown in

the United States has been genetically modified. Of course soya

products that have no GMOs exist and are available locally.

Soya products can have adverse health reactions and are meant for

occasional use as animal product substitutes for those who may want to

vary their diets occasionally for social occasions. Regular, long-term