Something old, something new…

Finally, we seem to be reaching for a plan of action to save the world –one that’s been in plain sight for over 4,000 years

Some arguments are like the ramblings of a drunk –they just keep repeating themselves ad nauseam and never reach a conclusion You know the kind of thing – are good deeds driven by selfishness (to give you peace of mind); is there a life hereafter; and will Tottenham ever win the premier league?

There is one argument, however, on which we – you, I and Viva! – have reached a conclusion. It’s fundamental to our existence and has been running for over 4,000 years: does vegetarianism signpost the road to understanding and survival? I say vegetarian as the word vegan was coined only in 1944 when Donald Watson formed the Vegan Society

While Britain was still in the Bronze Age, extraordinary minds on the Indian subcontinent were grappling with the most enormous intellectual concepts about humankind’s relationship one with another, reverence for animals and how to do as little damage as possible to the natural world

It was Hinduism that first crystalised these profound beliefs into a religious format about 2000 BC and the concepts of Ahimsa and Atman were introduced – belief in nonviolence to every creature and that all animals possess a soul

These are central to the religion’s belief in reincarnation, where forebears who may not have followed the path to enlightenment during their lifetime but have regressed, subsequently return in the form of an animal – so by eating them, you might be eating your granny

Now, what I find interesting is whether these beliefs were handed down from a deity or were wrapped in a religious cloak by their originators to give them greater gravitas I lean towards the latter because there is a very human element in the teachings of Hinduism – and the subsequent religions that sprang from it -– which I don’t think got there by accident and could be interpreted as “don’t frighten the horses ”

Followers of Hinduism were not directly instructed to be vegetarian even though this was central to its beliefs and was a crucial step along the road to enlightenment 

However, that loophole provided an opt-out for those who wanted to continue eating meat and even back then, it fuelled the same lame excuses that we still hear today – I eat meat for health reasons, plants also feel pain, I treat the animals with great respect, if it was that important we would have been told not to eat meat and fish!

According to the Pew Research Centre, just 44 per cent of Indian Hindus are vegetarian but let’s get this in proportion – there are meat eaters and then there are meat eaters!

According to the UN FAO, meat consumption per head in India is just 4.11 kg; in the UK it is 79 9 kg; and in the US a whopping 124 11 kg

It follows that the average US citizen consumes 30 times more meat than the average Indian and almost 20 times more for the UK – so if you want to point a finger of blame for the state of the planet

About 500 BC, two other religions appeared in India, sprouting from the roots of Hinduism – Buddhism and Jainism and they appear to have immediately set off in different directions The founder of Buddhism rejected the pomp and ceremony of Hinduism and its multiple deities but retained the belief in karma, reincarnation and reverence for all life The first of its five major precepts was the need to abstain from taking life. And then the word ‘intentionally’ became attached to it and, hey presto, meat eaters got the green light once again.

If you don’t kill an animal yourself, and no one specifically kills it for you, then you are not responsible for that animal’s death Oh, come on! It allows Buddhist monks to gobble up any meat or fish they’re given when collecting alms and allows others to obtain meat from a third party (a shop for instance) and claim it wasn’t killed specifically for them I see that as a complete cop out and so did many Buddhists

The Mahayanist division felt uncomfortable with this leniency towards meat eating while the Theravadins accused the Mahayanists of being ‘holier than though’ –so nothing new in vegetarianism triggering bitter debate! This division has persisted across the millennia and one lot is still largely vegetarian while the other lot isn’t Only 24 per cent of all Buddhists are vegetarian, which seems to me to be a bit of a hiccup in their stated aim of achieving enlightenment and reaching nirvana.

Jains also believe in reincarnation and karma and over 90 per cent are full-on veggie. They teach that the path to enlightenment can only be achieved through nonviolence and reducing harm to all living things –plants, animals and the little creatures you can’t even see. They also shun root vegetables, garlic and onions as these are the plants’ storage vessels And here beganeth fruitarianism, I guess.

The teachings of Taoism, Daoism and Shintoism all advocate vegetarianism but again this is not reflected in the eating habits of their adherents in China and Japan

Judaism is about as old as Hinduism and also appears to have developed a schism over diet Many of their teachings detail that humankind’s natural state is to be vegetarian but followers were allowed to eat meat as a temporary recognition of their inherent weakness That didn’t end well and led to slaughtering conscious animals by cutting their throats (Shechita) Formal objections to this process came 600 years ago from Sikhs and continue to this day When a ban on Shechita slaughter was announced in a part of Belgium a few years ago, the European Jewish Congress declared: “We call on legislators to step back from the brink of the greatest assault on Jewish religious rights in Belgium since the Nazi occupation of the country in World War Two ” We’re talking about killing an animal for meat that no one needs

It is much the same when Islam began in 610, with powerful original teachings to be kind to animals but which in practice seem to have extended little further than cutting their throats (Halal) in a similar way to Judaism rather than chopping pieces off them, which was once the practice. Killing and eating animals has become a central tenet of Islam

If you’re looking for clarity on vegetarianism from the Christian church you’re going to be disappointed We’re all familiar with the Genesis quote: “And God said, ‘Behold, I have given you every plant-yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit You shall have them for food’ ” But we’re not so familiar with another Genesis quote when God supposedly spoke to Noah after the flood: “Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything ”

Protestant, Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches have all tended to attach themselves to the ruling powers in their various countries of influence and we know in Britain what an historically barren wasteland that has been for all kinds of rights “You want slavery – we’ll join you! You’re opposed to women’s/workers’ rights, so are we!” The Church of England invests part of its £9 billion reserves in every kind of meat and dairy production and slaughter so again, no moral guidance there

Smaller groups such as Seventh Day Adventists and Quakers (Society of Friends) have always had a strong vegetarian ethic and it was the Rev Cowherd (really) who founded the Vegetarian Society in 1847

Sikhism is a comparative newcomer, having taken root in 15th century Punjab It was a reaction against Hinduism’s ‘idolatory’, the treatment of women, caste system and other aspects of its flamboyant formalities What it does retain, though, is that essential belief that all creatures have a soul and are part of the cycle of reincarnation

Ten vegetarian gurus established the Sikh scriptures, which tell followers to accept a simple and vegetarian lifestyle in order to advance their spirituality and eventually meet God. In all Sikh places for meeting and worship (Gurdwaras) only vegetarian food is served but despite this (again), it is not forbidden for Sikhs to eat meat, with the exception of various wild animals and those killed by the Muslim and Jewish methods of slaughter Interestingly, Sikhs have the highest number of vegetarians of any religion (apart for Jains) at 59 per cent.

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