Aloha,
Those who consume meat are FAR MORE likely to suffer from any, OR MANY, of the following health issues, including: Diabetes, Heart Disease, propensity towards Stroke, Obesity, Physical Lethargy, Uric Acid Poisoning, Gout, limited Life Span/Early Demise, Colon Cancer, as well as a BUNCH of other 'cancer' related diseases, and the list grows bigger from there. This is no hippy-pie-in-the-sky silliness! These are REAL problems associated with consuming meat/meat products.
The 'Inuit' (a term used for SEVERAL 'Eskimo' tribes, not just one single group of people) generally have a shorter life span than other 'civilizations', and in almost all studies, that 'limited life span' is DIRECTLY related to diet (in this case, virtually 100% 'meat' and LOTS of fat consumption).
But the health issues are NOT the ONLY issues with eating meat.
From my perspective (on the VEGAN Path and I practice AHIMSA, a Hindi philosophy basically meaning to 'Do NO harm') 'killing' is just not an option. To clarify: I say I am on the 'VEGAN Path' because, IMHO, there is NO SUCH THING as a 100% TRUE VEGAN. There CAN'T be! It's IMPOSSIBLE! And here's why: NO person is capable of NOT killing something at some time or other, intentionally or unintentionally, whether it's stepping on a bug or slapping away a mosquito, killing a roach, flea, tick, centipede, etc. While I strive to NOT have anything to do with killing SENTIENT beings (ANY animal that has 'feelings', can sense pain and discomfort, or have 'awareness', ie, dogs, cats, cows, pigs, etc.), I GLADLY kill mosquitoes and dangerous/nuisance critters, BUT, when doing so I DO apologize to their souls. People think that's pretty whack-a-doodle, BUT, I did NOT create these critters, I am NOT their master or their owner and therefore have NO RIGHT to take their lives. But when I do, I make sure their life force is at ease with 'passing'. NO, Rod Serling is NOT in the room ~
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Sentient beings are FULLY CAPABLE of emotion, love, and compassion. The evidence to support this notion is not always steeped in the emotional smattering from 'animal lovers', etc. but has a GIANT cache of empirical evidence to suggest as much. In the simplest of terms; If I raise a pig and it becomes my 'pet', personally I am INCAPABLE of destroying that 'pet' to satisfy my hunger/nutritional needs when I can simply reach down and grab a tomato, lettuce, papaya, mango, etc., which is FAR BETTER for me and does NOT include foisting pain, suffering, and terror on another being to satisfy my dietary requirements. I consider it to be UTTER BETRAYAL of that 'pet' (whom I consider part of my ohana). For me, the same goes for ANY sentient being. My personal philosophy (and it IS MY personal POV), is that NO animal, sentient OR otherwise, is my 'food'. It is NOT my right to take that creatures life, in any way shape or form. And so I choose NOT to.
When it comes right down to it, it is a choice of compassion OR NOT!!! I choose compassion. I will NEVER cause another creature pain, suffering, terror, or fear, if I am able to prevent it or put a stop to it. I am NOT 'PETA', so I don't go around terrorizing animal killers, BUT, I try to pass the word along, and HOPEFULLY without proselytizing, the nature of Compassion and AHIMSA ~ ~ ~
BUT, these issues related to health are not just my POV. It has been proven time and time again that consuming meat has a TREMENDOUS downside and MUCH of the Health Care costs burden in the World today are directly and inextricably associated to the myriad health issues caused by meat consumption.
SO, aside from the spiritual side of this issue, there is the practical and economic side of this issue as well ~ ~ ~
Forgive my less than eloquent diatribe but MAHALO for reading it none-the-less ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ Peace Upon You ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ ALOHA ~ ~ ~
~ ~ ~ NAMASKARAM ~ ~ ~
KaneHawai'i
