Animal flesh
Protein is the ingredient most needed in food. This has to be obtained through staple articles of diet. Rice is mainly consumed by the South Indians and Bengalis. Protein is the lowest in machine Rice. This available quantity of protein must be supplemented if health and longevity are to be secured. The poor should not also be taxed with any great increase in cost. Bearing this in mind we have been trying to find ways and means for augmenting the protein content in the Daily diet. The protein increasing factors are hand-pounded rice, whole-meal wheat flour, millets and pulses.
The use of milk and its qualities were analysed in the last chapter with this idea in view. Animal protein is superior to grain protein. On this account milk stands superior to the grains. Many may get doubts. Why should one wander about for this animal protein so long as there are four-footed and two-footed of the Lord’s creation? The best, speediest and easiest to get this animal protein, one would feel, is to stuff these creations straight into the good stomach and satisfy the animal needs in the matter of protein! No doubt there is some truth in this aspiration.
Varities of Meat
The animal protein is available in all the lower orders of creation. From the egg to venson the taste varies. The snail and the tortoise do not escape certain stomachs. Some civilised in foreign lands, consider, the snake, the cat and the dog to be lovely delicacies! The tongues of aboriginals in Africa begin to water at the mere mention of elephant flesh. In some places, the horse and the camel are elite offerings for the stomach. To the white man the pig is the most delicious darling. Mention pork to him, he will immediately become your bosom friend. He will think us uncivilised to prefer Badam Halva to sausage rolls!
Carnivorous habits
All these nice tastes were beaten hollow by the most fastidious of the denizens of Africa and the mystery island of Morneo! The flesh of young children and healthy adults are ‘manna’ from heaven for these. The Cannibals have gone out only one step further. Why eat animal flesh for getting animal protein? If man, who becomes the stock of protein from all animals due to his carnivorous habits, is himself consumed, the best essence of the animal protein would be secured without any ado.
That must be the psychology of the savage brain. Only a little in advance to animal, consuming man. Dietetically nothing wrong in this! The cannibal just meets out equal treatment to man as well as beast. Man swallows the animal. The cannibal swallows man! The logic is irrefutable for the cannibal. To this savage, there seems to be no difference between the animal which eats another animal and man who thrives on animals! To him both man and beast seem alike! What a logic!
Let us confine ourselves to the animal food of the Indian: Let us also see whether non-vegetarian food is in any way essential to health, strength or happy existence. There is question of sentiment here.
Is it essential?
Our people prefer, eggs, fish, sheep and goat and cattle and some birds for their food. The egg of the hen and the duck are very tasty for these people. Those who are ultra vegetarians, classify and eschew even milk as non-vegetarian or animal food.
Egg
Those to whom animal food is the very breath of life consider egg as a vegetable and he who eats eggs only is classified as a pure vegetarian. Let these fight their battles! Let us discuss this, purely from the point of view of health. The eggs are taken raw. They are also boiled in water and then eaten. The yellow pari of the egg is thrown away by some as perhaps hard to digest. There are those who throw away the outer shell only with regret. They would have been glad to have this also thrown into the stomach as full return for the paise they pay for the egg. People swallow the egg with the morning glass of milk and consume it as ‘Chota’. The fastidious break the eggs over the flour, make nice small and almond cakes and send the egg in.
Some rules
Those who cannot forego the essence of the eggs may observe some rules of eating. The yellow part may be eschewed when the digestion is not normal. Raw eggs only are utilised with milk or flour. Old eggs and rotten eggs must be carefully boycotted. These will play havoc with health and digestion.
The contents of the egg can be made easily available through other articles of food. The eggs are not therefore indispensable. Many reasons which prompt rejection of the meat, etc., will apply to the eggs also.
Why torture or kill the animals? Is this necessary to preserve the health of mankind? Are there ingredients in these which cannot be secured from other food-articles? Is animal food conducive for the observance of Nature’s law of Living?
We do not hold any power of attorney for the Humanitarian League. These lines are not written as a booster for their propaganda. Nor are religious precepte sought to be propped up here. Analysis is made and conclusions are arrived at here purely from the point of view of health, prevention of diseases and natural ways of living and longevity.
It is true that but for non-vegetarian articles of diet a part of humanity will have to starve.
Research on Nature
When Nature created and multiplied the human body, has it done to suit a vegetarian or animal food? Is the Life force and energy in the body kepi high, long-lasting from the flesh-diet or the vegetarian diet?
Every one should ask this question unto himself or herself and come to a cool impartial conclusion. Experts have conducted research in the physiology of the animal, the birds and human beings, especially the length of the colon in man and that in the carnivora like the tiger, the wolf etc. The length of the colon has come to have the greatest consideration. The length of the colon, in animals which exist only on the flesh of other animals, the carnivore, is much shorter. In the human being this length is much greater in proportion.
The colon forms the sack where the refuse after digestion gets accumulated for expulsion from the system. The absorption of the food essences is made mostly in the smaller intestines; but in the colon also this process is continued to a small extent. This refuse goes on putrefying in this unventilated sack and undergoes rapid decomposition producing many types of toxins. From this sack, the refuse has to be quickly cleared. Too much of various toxins produced in this refuse by putrefaction get into the circulation. Innumerable and unnameable diseases will crop up to destroy the system.
Length of colon
Flesh foods decompose very rapidly and produce toxins. The vegetarian food is not of this nature. Comparatively this takes a much longer time to decompose and produce harmful toxins. Nature has made the colon in the carnivora very short so that they may not get destroyed by a prolonged stay in the colon of the rapidly decomposing dangerous refuse of the non-vegetarian food. That accounts for the shortness of the colon in the lion, the tiger and the purely carnivora. Man’s colon is very long comparatively and it takes the refuse considerably more time to get thrown out. This colon has been conditioned by Nature to hold a vegetarian diet-refuse specially.
If this colon is used for the results of flesh food, the quick degenerating, toxin producing animal refuse will stay much longer, dangerously longer, produced poisons, get them absorbed, and create danger to life, and longevity. This is the simple reason why man should refrain from a non-vegetarian diet; and avoid danger to health. No doubt people will cry out, that the flesh eaters are robust and ferocious and snap the brinpal eater in no time! We shall examine the truth of this aspect a little later.
Tiger does not eat a tiger!
It will be useful to consider some observations that Nature’s best food is the vegetable food. Why do not the lions, and the tigers appease their hunger on the flesh of their own kind? Why do not they on thrive and relish the flesh of the wolves and the jackal and the hyena and similar carnivora? Why do they fondly and inevitably go in search of goats, cattle, hen, deer, the elephant and the Rhynocerous? The carnivora search after and relish the flesh of animals which live on vegetables only. They want the denizens who grow fat on vegetables, roots, grains, leaves, creepers, plants, etc.! This is in answer to instincts developed and strengthened by Nature.