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THE MEMOIRS OF A CAT
chemical sense; and the influence of food on body as well as on mind (also on soul, supposing there is any) is to be judged from its chemical composition. The nourishment required by the human body must be composed of certain chemicals in certain quantities. You must have that, no matter what you eat,-beef or ghee or boiled banana. The physical system of the pure vegetarian, if it is kept in proper condition, takes in, of necessity, exactly the same quantities of the same chemical stuffs as taken by one living on meat. The ability to digest and assimilate is a question of habit. As a matter of fact, common people, forced by tradition and religious prejudice to live on a purely vegetarian diet, as is the case in many parts of India, are likely to be intellectually dull and physically deteriorated. In order to get the minimum quantity of carbo-hydrate and protein, required indispensably by a normal human system, one must cat such a large quantity of rice, gram or maize, that the digestive function consumes more energy than normally assigned to it. In consequence, mental activities are dulled. Milk products in sufficient amount, high-class grains and vegetables, fruits, which may provide the necessary nourishment economically, that is, without much misuse of energy, are not available to the great masses of the people, who are therefore generally under-nourished, and mentally dull owing to the necessity of using greater energy for securing an inadequate nutri
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