It is not the intention here to attempt to persuade readers to become vegetarians. Instead, this is an objective answer to those who want to know the advantages of vegetarianism.
A vegetarian is one who eats no animal products. Some people call themselves vegetarians but still eat fish and chicken; be assured those two species still belong to the animal kingdom?they have flesh and blood just like a cow or a human or a deer. Also he or she uses a minimum of leather, only where necessary.
There are three issues to consider in regard to vegetarianism. They are: nutritional, spiritual, and moral.
Nutritionally, the alkaline-based digestive system of humans will not properly break down substantial acid substances, the greatest of which is meat. (Also, the amount of cholesterol in meat is unhealthy.)
Colon cancer is rampant! This is caused by the slow evacuation and the putrefaction in the colon of the remains of meat. Lifelong vegetarians never suffer from such an illness.
The type and amount of oils in meat are unhealthy and they turn rancid upon the death of the animal. The flesh and blood also began to putrefy as soon as the animal is killed.
Many meat eaters believe that meat is the sole source of protein. However, the quality of this protein is so poor that little of it can ever be utilized by humans because it is incomplete and lacks the correct combination of amino acids, the building blocks of protein.
Studies show that the average American gets five times the amount of protein needed. It is a common medical fact that excess protein is dangerous, the prime danger being that uric acid (the waste product produced in the process of digesting protein) attacks the kidneys, breaking down the kidney cells called nephrons. This condition is called nephritis; the prime cause of it is overburdening the kidneys.
More usable protein is found in one tablespoon of tofu or soybeans than the average serving of meat!
Have you ever seen what happens to a piece of meat that stays in the sun for three days? Meat can stay in the warmth of the intestine for at least four days until it is digested. It does nothing but wait for passage. Often, it usually stays there for much longer, traces remaining for up to several months. Colonic therapists always see meat passing through in people who have been vegetarians for several years, thus indicating that meat remains undigested there for a long time. Occasionally this has been documented in twenty year vegetarians!
The environmental conditions of the intestine are perfect for an enormous array of organisms to breed. Note also that the "friendly" bacteria normally found in the intestines are not powerful enough to attack the meat substance since it is not their purpose ? instead the opposite occurs. Some organisms that breed on the decaying animal substance also attack those intestinal bacterials.
Some vegetarians claim they are more satisfied after they eat. The reason for this is that there are fewer ketones (protein-digestive substances) formed when vegetable protein is digested. For many, ketones cause a trace amount of nausea which one normally interprets as a decreased desire for food due to this uncomfortable and slight degree of queasiness. Although the body calls for more food, the taste buds tolerate less. This is the danger of the popular high-protein diet substances on the market. This abnormally high level of ketones is called ketosis and refers to the state of starvation that the body incurs due to the inability of the appetite to call for nutrition. The high amount of complex carbohydrates required to overthrow this condition is never recognized by most Americans who eat the wrong type of carbohydrates. Also, when the blood ketone level is too high, it results in abnormally acidic blood, called acidosis.
Tigers or lions who eat meat and grow strong on it have acid-based digestive systems. Also, their intestines are in a straight run of about five feet long, not twisted and turned, layer over layer, compacted into a small area like the human intestine, which is twenty feet long.
Frequently, when certain animal carcasses are found to have cancerous growths in the butchering and trimming process, they are simply carved out by the butcher before it hits the market. How safe is this for human consumption?
Everybody knows about the hormones and other substances which are fed to animals. But did you know that in some places they also feed the large animals concrete to add weight and salability?
Some farmers have started to implement a new system (still in its infancy and hopefully a doomed one) in which they feed the larger animals their own freeze-dried, unsterilized feces. Just imagine the money that could be saved on costly feed!
Did you also know that up until recently one-third of all chickens were leukemic and were still allowed to be sold? Today, however, powerful chemicals are fed daily to the chickens to attempt to control chicken leukemia. As a matter of fact, since as far back as 1950, arsenic has been the standard chemical given to poultry within the entire industry. A farmer just cannot afford not to use arsenic! So the chicken eater consumes this arsenic legally...and it accumulates without ever being expelled!
Poultry is often frozen for up to two years. Cold temperatures do not kill all species of bacteria. Worse than this, as it is shipped and stored, most frozen meat is thawed and refrozen many times. This is almost unavoidable.
Meat eaters suffer more frequently from various types of food poisoning than non-meat eaters ? so much so that statistics show that every American has had food poisoning on at least one occasion. When you've felt ill, out-of-sorts, had diarrhea, or were just a little sick to your stomach, no doubt you had not the slightest idea that you had been poisoned by scavengers living off the dead carcass you just ate.
Next there is the subject of fish. Fish do not have a waste system to expel or handle toxins, and any fish that inhabits the waters near where fisheries do their fishing, especially in the Eastern part of the country, are swimming in polluted waters. When you eat fish, you're eating toxins. The FDA only examines 20% of all fish being sold.
There are said to be one hundred irradiation facilities being set up commercially around the country. Some are already commencing their operation. All sausages and many fruits and vegetables are now being irradiated. The scientific research on its effects is inconclusive and it will take several years until its dangers are recognized and it can be legislated out of the food industry. The purpose of irradiation is to destroy the odor of bacterial action on meat when it turns bad; thus you will no longer be able to smell a piece of meat to see if it has putrefied! Irradiation is legal and the government has recently turned down a bill that would require a visible symbol on the package indicating to the consumer that the food has been irradiated. This means meat will stay on the shelves (according to the industry) five times longer than it does now.
The reason this new process was invented is because there is so much nuclear waste that there is nothing else to do with it! So the nuclear industry came up with this "useful" suggestion of selling their discard to the food industry (a repeat of the aluminum industries scheme with its waste product fluoride).
Meat is costly and it is the most wasteful source of resources. When one removes meat from his or her diet, a whole new world of eating opens up. Cooking and preparing vegetarian style is no more time consuming than cooking meat. It costs less than half as much to eat vegetarian as it does to eat meat. There are excellent, nutritious, and easy to prepare vegetarian dishes that are Italian, Chinese, Indian, Mid-Eastern, French, Spanish, etc.
Additionally, one can enjoy many other foods that he has never tasted because of the meat rut. Most consumers have eaten no more than five or six varieties of beans and legumes ? less than 10% of what is available and grains, including different appetizing types of wheat, nuts, and seeds. And they can be prepared very creatively!
Other peas, lentils, vegetables, and cereals, commonly found in every grocery or delicatessen, are usually neglected. These can provide exciting alternatives to the usual meats. The rules for cooking these are always the same, but the individual touch comes in their use and preparation. So learning to cook one new food item means you understand how to cook all the other food items in that category.
The spiritually aspiring person attempts to work on his - or her - self. The purpose of spiritual growth is to move away from the animal nature into the more human nature that God intended for us to have. Meat eating inhibits this. Again, the same science ? that sometimes attempts to ignore the existence of a force higher than man ? also has proved, in the laboratory, that aggression levels are much higher in meat eaters than non-meat eaters! The animal instincts become more powerful every time you eat meat.
When animals are slaughtered, fear and aggression enzymes are shot into their cells from their glands and other organs, just as in humans, and are part of the dead carcass that goes on to the food store. They remain in the meat until the consumer ingests those same enzymes, which are molecularly very similar to those found in humans.
Most spiritual people believe in the aura. Kirilian photography shows us that a force field remains around dead or amputated tissue. You adopt that animal aura when you eat a dead animal. Is it not personal evolution that the spiritual aspirant is interested in? If so, meat eating is urgently prohibited.
Meat is the most inefficient form of food to produce. One fact for those who are not familiar with the waste required to produce meat: It takes 10,000 gallons of water to produce one pound of steak (for feed, washing, etc.). That could pose quite a threat to the dwindling and endangered water supplies.
The moral aspect goes along with the spiritual one, in which one must question the necessity and the method as well as the karma of killing animals. However, everyone has their own mores which they must determine for themselves. It is not the purpose of this article to force a specific moral behavior on anyone.
Article Source:
Teachings of the Winged Disk
by Phaedron.
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About The Author
Phaedron teaches privately, counsels spiritually, and holds small group classes in ritual magick and related esoteric methods. He has been a guest on several nationwide television and radio shows, as well as the subject of filmed productions and newspaper and magazine articles only for the purpose of exemplifying a true and healthy image of white Magick. The Winged Disk founded The International Academy of Hermetic Knowledge, an independent home study program offering the techniques of western magick, spiritual practice, and special guidance not available in any books. Phaedron is named as its director. He can be reached at 804-589-6777.
