Book Title: Jainism The Cosmic Vision
Author(s): Kumarpal Desai
Publisher: Mahavir Foundation

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Page 41
________________ Jainism: The Cosmic Vision Stella exclaimed, "Oh, this would mean that protein ensured from vegetables is better and cheaper than protein obtained from meat." I said, "This has been conclusively proved some 40 years ago. The simple truth is that meat-producers have been hiding this fact. During the so's, experiments were made on the rats, with financial assistance from meat-industry. Two scientists associated with the experiment project arrived at the conclusion that rats nurtured on Vegetables had a speedy growth and development. After this conclusion was arrived at, the meat industry started facing difficulty. There was a counter effect. Pressure was put on those two scientists to change their statement. One scientist climed that his experiment is limited to the race of rats only. It is not applicable to any other race. The second scientist claimed further that experiments on rats do not have any similarity with those on human beings. Whatever may be the conclusion, meat producers tried day and night to ensure that facts do not come out in the open. Rene said, "Today there is a crusade against animal fat and animal protein. Cancer and heart attack are major diseases of the present age. Non-vegetarian diet is the important solution for them. So, countries like America also opposed this. A well known thinker, Karlyle has claimed that one cannot change the next era by ethics, but you can change it by dietetics." I said, "A well known writer of England, Bernard Shaw once said that man digs his own grave by his own teeth. He has made his own stomach a dead animal's cemetery." Stela became quiet. Pole's excitement was still not under Vegetarianism control. It is difficult to resolve the old knot. She pleaded with an old and known argument forcefully, "If the whole world becomes vegetarian, the human race would be engulfed in the vessel of starvation. On the one hand most of the people of the world are non-vegetarians, on the other hand corn does not grow to such an extent that people of the world can easily get vegetarian food." Stella said, "I also agree with you. If there is not enough corn to feed today's world, how is it possible to feed the overpopulated world of tommorrow ?" Countering their arguments I said, "As at present, many countries suffer from starvation, poor countries of Africa are in a pitiable condition. Even in India poor people live in starvation-like conditions. Talking about India, there is an annual production of 230 lakh tons of meat in the country. In case, there is one amarginal decrease of 10 per cent, it would be of immense benefit. If surplus land being available as a result of this 10 per cent decrease is diverted to food production, it would be greatly advantageous. As for America, if foodgrain cultivation is carried out in the farms in which cattle-breeding is for meatproduction, it would provide food to people five times more. And there is an added advantage that it would also eliminate the threat of animal-killing endangering the human assistance itself. Paul exclaimed, “How is this? Stella added, "This would mean that if you want to save human race from starvation, you shall have to shun nonvegetarianism and turn to vegetarianism." Rene said, "Would this put an end to killing of many animals ?" 69

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