Jain Digest 2005 01

Author(s): Federation of JAINA
Publisher: USA Federation of JAINA

Page 33

Jainism and Enviornment...
each other. One can not exist without the other.
Greenhouse Effect: World population of 1.3 billion cows that is inflated due to raising them for food, annually produce 100 million tons of methane, which is a powerful greenhouse gas which traps 25 times as much solar heat as CO2.
and pigs) production accounts for more than half of all the water consumed in USA. To produce 1 lb. of meat, an average of 2500 gallons of water is used as compared to 1 Ib. of wheat requires 108 gallons of water, 1 lb. of rice needs 229 gallons of water, and 1 lb. of potatoes require just 60 gallons of water.
products. By reusing and recycling products we are not wasting the gifts of nature. Also by minimizing consumption, we provide respect for other's life and environment. The tenet non-possessiveness advocates putting a limit on our possession and using our excess wealth for the welfare of the society at large.
In summary the teaching of Jainism advocate the following practices in daily life: Respect the lives of others and the environment we live in. Be compassionate and practice non-violence. Minimize harm to all living beings including air, water, earth, fire, and vegetations. •Be vegetarian and avoid the use of animal based products. •Practice self-restraint. Reduce needs and wants as far as possible. Use excess for the welfare of the society. •Eliminate waste, reuse/ recycle products, share resources, and do not waste the gifts of nature.
Jainism in Action is an eco-friendly religion which preserves and protects the Earth and Environment, respects the lives of animals, birds, fish, and other beings, and promotes the welfare of the society through the application of its primary tenets of Ahimsa and Non-possessiveness.
Land Usage: Considering the consumption of food by live stock, an average 40 lbs of vegetation is used to produce 1 lb of meat. Hence to support meat and dairy industries, half of American croplands grow livestock feed. A third of the land of North America is devoted to grazing. Also 220 million acres of land in the USA have been deforested for livestock production and 25 million acres in Brazil, and half the forests in Central America.
Pravin K. Shah, Jaina Education Committee 919-859-4994 Raleigh, NC
Impact on Health: Vegetarian food does not contain any cholesterol. Cholesterol exists in animal base foods (Milk, Meat etc.) because it is produced by liver. The people who consume high amount of dairy and meat products have high cholesterol level which in turn results in serious health problem such as heart attack. Some of the vegetarians have high cholesterol because their vegetarian diet contains high degree of saturated fat-fried foods and oils. Other health problems such as prostate cancer are also now strongly linked with dairy products.
Non-Possessiveness / Self-restraint: Lord Mahävir states "Aparigraha seve attai karanti prananam behanam" which means that we destroy other lives because of our greed and possessiveness. This is the primary cause of all violence as well as imbalance in the environment.
Non-possessiveness / self-restraint is the second most important Jain tenet. Jainism advocates that we should reduce our needs and wants as far as possible. Nature provides enough for our NEED not enough for our GREED. We need to use our resources wisely and reuse/ recycle
Quote from Shri Arun Gandhi:
"I was walking home from school with my notebook and pencil. It was only a little butt of a pencil and I thought I deserved a better one. I threw it away on the ground thinking of course grandfather (Mahatma Gandhiji) will give me a new one. When I asked him he started asking me loads of questions. How did it get so small? Why did I throw it away? He made me look for it in the dark with a flashlight. I spent three or four hours searching! Then he said to me he wanted me to learn two lessons.
The first lesson was that in making such a simple pencil many important resources had been used; throwing it away was violence against nature.
The second lesson was that we over consume and waste natural resources depriving others of those resources; this was violence against humanity."
-Arun Gandhi
JAIN DIGEST. Spring 2005/31
Jain Education Intemational