________________
Jainism and Animal Issues
SILVER FOILS ARE NOT VEGETARIAN
They are dirty too....
At the end of a meal, do you like to cat a pan, sweet, or perfumed sopari? And then if we decorate these things with silver foils, what more can we want? They decorate many sweets also with silver foils.
The silver foils are not very expensive. They are sold by weight. manufacturers sell them to temples. Ordinarily, you can buy a packet of 160 foils for a price between 3 to 6 U.S. dollars. That is, approximately three pennies per foil. Not only the sweets, now a days it is also applied on fruits. Some Ayurvedic medicines are also wrapped in silver foils.
How do you think silver foils are made? Hold your breath.
They are made by hammering thin sheets of silver in the middle of booklets made of a bull's intestines. In other words, after slaughtering a bull, they quickly remove his intestines, and sell them to the manufacturers of foils. The skins made of old intestines are of no use. Even one day old intestine cannot be used, because within a few hours they stiffen.
The foil manufacturer removes blood and stools from the intestines, and cuts them into pieces. Then he puts one piece over another, making a booklet out of it. At his home, or in the factory, he puts one silver (or gold) sheet between each page. Then he hammers it hard until those metal sheets turn into thin wafers.
Egg-free Egg Replacers
Many egg replacers in stores actually contain eggs! Replace one egg with one of the following:
Try one mashed ripe banana (great for cakes, pancakes), or 1/3 C purred prunes, or apple sauce.
SUBSTITUTIONS IN COOKING & BAKING
Conversion of many recipes, with the appropriate substitutions, can lead to great vegetarian recipes. Substitution skills are especially important for those who wish to avoid certain food products. For example, recipes from some vegetarian cookbooks may still contain milk products or even eggs. Also, many vegetarian recipes do season with onions and garlic.
Use 1/4 C tofu, blended smooth (mix with other liquids before adding to the dry ingredients).
For binding properties only, use 2 T cornstarch or arrowroot starch.
For extra leavening (in muffins, cakes) add a pinch of baking powder to react with the baking soda in the recipe (or add lemon juice or vinegar) in addition to the above.
Jain Education International 2010_03
The intestines of bulls are so strong, that even repeated hammering does not destroy them, nor do they let the foils move around inside. Because of the hammering, some tissues of the intestine mix with the foils. After that the foil manufacturer sells the bundle of foils to the sweets' manufacturers. Some small foil
This foil is not only dirty, it also is non-veg. Even the meateaters do not eat intestines. Use of these foils turn even sweets into non-veg food. A few years ago the Indian Air Lines learned about this, and since then stopped using them on the sweets served in their planes.
By now, a pan-lover vegetarian person may have eaten the equivalent of many miles of oxen's intestines! For them, here is more bad news - the Chuna that they apply on pan, also is not vegetarian! It is made from the shells of living insects. These insects are taken from the ocean, killed, and removed from their shells. Then the shells are softened in water, dried, and ground into white powder. When you put this Chuna in your mouth, you are participating in the killing of many insects. This is no different from taking life of a goat or a pig. Everyone wants to live; no one likes the pain of death.
Mrs. Maneka Gandhi ("Illustrated Weekly of India").
(15)
For binding and leavening, use Ener-G Egg Replacer (prepare according to instructions on package). Ener-G brand Egg Replacer can be found in health food stores. Dairy Substitutes in Cooking and Baking
Many Jains avoid all dairy products due to the cruelties involved in producing cow's milk. To replace these products try the following: use soy milk, rice milk, almond milk in place of cow's milk in baking or to drink
Also try soy milk powder (even more convenient with longer storage)
Use soy or canola margarine for butter (be aware: some margarines contain animal products)
Substitute soy yogurt for dairy yogurt (available in plain and great fruit flavors)
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
