Global Warming and Vegetarianism

A long list of good reasons can be given for taking to a healthy, plant based diet, but still I am asked, “Why are you a vegetarian?” Shouldn’t it be the other way around, with the question being asked, “Why do you eat meat?”

And now I will add another question. “Would you give up eating meat in order to combat global warming? Let me assure you, the next time you fire up the barbecue it is more than just the steak getting warm.

I recently visited India, part vacation, part pilgrimage. But the India I enjoy most is rural agrarian India, an India that is fast being swallowed up by globalization. Vegetarian India, the land of the sacred cow. I needed to understand how the cow, an animal integral to the rich spirituality of India, could also become such a villain, belching and passing methane, a gas responsible for much of the worlds global warming.

It was mid-flight from Singapore to Mumbai, global warming on my mind as I gazed out the window at the Air India jet exhaust.

The airline steward assisted me with the vegetarian meal order; no meat, no fish, and no egg.

“And no onion or garlic”, I added, understanding that these are also foodstuffs prohibited (except medicinally) by traditional Indian standards. She happily took my order.

A moment later, I felt a tapping on my shoulder. The Indian gentleman sitting behind wanted to talk.

“I have not witnessed such a high dietary standard from a westerner before”, he said. He proudly told me how his grandmother used to follow the same standard, but then informed me that modern India is a different place. “We even have MacDonald’s now“, he added, shamefaced. He introduced himself as Mr. Agrawal, and invited me to visit him during my stay.

I ate my rice and lentils in silence, while those around me enjoyed lamb. Meat eating is the norm worldwide after all, not only in western countries, but also on the increase in developing nations. Vegetarianism, although a lofty value held in high esteem in some circles, is usually scorned and ridiculed.

A vegetarian will often endure persecution and defamation similar to that suffered in recent decades by feminists, the gay community, and civil rights activists. A constant barrage of advertising assaults us, and flesh products are on display in every shopping district. But tolerance is only human, which is after all, a derivative of the word “humane”.