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The Manusmruti states 'All supporters of meat eating are sinners'; and from the Bible, Genesis (1:29) 'Behold, I have given you every herb-bearing seed - and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat'; Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, claims ‘my disciples do not take meat and wine'. Buddha says, 'meat is food for sub-human beings'. Mahatma Gandhi has said, 'spiritual progress demands: we should cease to kill our fellow creatures for the satisfaction of our bodily wants' (Mehta N. 1992: p.3.24).
Thus Jains advocate vegetarian food for spiritual, health, economic, animal welfare and environmental reasons. Jains are lacto-vegetarians; they have special food habits and their health compares well with that of members of other communities. We will discuss the Jain diet in the next chapter.
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