Jain Spirit 2000 03 No 03

Author(s): Jain Spirit UK
Publisher: UK Young Jains

Page 28

DAIRY INVOLVES CRUELTY
RAVI PARANJAPE.
Cow as an extension of our greed and violence.
THINGS CAN CHANGE. I ASK THIS: PLEASE, DON'T TURN YOUR BACKS ON THE VIOLENCE OF COW SUFFERING AND SLAUGHTER. MAKE AHIMSA COME ALIVE. HERE ARE SOME SUGGESTIONS OF WHAT CAN BE DONE BY EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US:
parmigiana and veal cordon blue at 14 weeks. That is the age at which they walk for the first time in their lives! Or should I say, 'wobble', for their little legs are swollen from standing and balancing on wooden slats.
There is nothing more joyful than a baby calf - jumping and waggling his long tail and enjoying life. But because of factory farms, no baby calves know their mother's love, feel the sunshine, or smell the grass ever. Our greed has condemned them to imprisonment and then to death. All of their mothers have their only joy, their calves, taken away - so that we can have cheese and milk and ice-cream.
On a recent trip to India, we watched a man with a dull knife saw into an old cow's throat. Her eyes were wide as saucers. She knew what was happening, and she could not believe it was true. After all these years of providing milk, this was her reward. And it is invariably the case - there are few retirement homes for cows and the few there are almost all run by wonderful Jains) cannot begin to manage even a tiny fraction of the number of cows bred and exploited by the enormous demand of our species for the milk they produce. Milk, by nature, is meant to feed their own young.
If we have one ounce of compassion in our bodies, one grain of religious or ethical thought in our minds, we will not wish to play any part in this cruelty-almost-beyond-words. We will refuse meat and -be brave! - milk. We will be vegans.
The mother cow-a dear, docile, gentle vegetarian animal - has been reduced to a meat and milk machine. In the US she is put on what farmers actually call a rape rack to be brutally violated via artificial insemination. She is hyper-ovulated, to make her body work to the breaking point and beyond. She is given injections of hormones to overload her udders - hormones that are passed on in her milk. In India a broom is thrust into her body to force milk production or she is injected with a drug that causes painful contractions. Sometimes she is so malnourished, that all the prodding and poking in the world won't bring milk. Then everyone turns a blind eye as she is sold to slaughter.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “No matter how scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed, no matter how many miles away, if you eat the flesh of the animals from it there is complicity."
If we buy meat and cows' milk we must face the facts: we are subsidizing the violence and misery. The cows' and calves' miserable skins are, of course, made into leather handbags and shoes. To me, leather stinks of dead, suffering cows.
1. We can switch to soyamilk and soy cheese, and Tofutti instead of ice-cream-there are dozens of varieties. Find one you like. It is far better for your family's health than mucous-forming, high cholesterol-inducing milk. 2. We can stay away from caveman fashion. We don't have to wear the skins of tortured beasts. Every company, from Todd Oldham to Neimans and Payless to Bata, have shoes, handbags and belts of manmade materials, as well as cotton, corduroy, satin, and so on. 3. We can cook vegan food for our friends and at the same time educate everyone we meet. Jains are leaders and can be the more so in practising good nutrition, and in conserving the water table, forestation and all the Earth's resources through veganism. Meat production is the most environmentally devastating process. 4. Please visit our Web site at: www.peta-online.org, where you will find tons of information on veganism and animal rights. Click on the "Kids" button for information on avoiding dissection in school. 5. For specific information on vegan nutrition and recipes visit the Vegetarian Resource Group at: www.vrg.org Don't forget to play their vegetarian game! 6. To find non-leather shoes, boots, jackets and belts point your browser at: www.vegetarian-shoes.co.uk You can check their list of worldwide stockists for a store near you, or order directly from their site
Ingrid Newkirk is founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), one of the largest animal rights organisations in North America. She is author of 'You can save the Animals, Prima Publishing, 1999.
March - May 2000. Jain Spirit
27
Jain Education Interational 2010_03