Is Vegetarian Diet Prescribed by God?

One of the top schools in the USA, Harvard University published an article recently on health benefits of Vegetarianism.

People become vegetarians for many reasons, including health, religious convictions, concerns about animal welfare or the use of antibiotics and hormones in livestock, or a desire to eat in a way that avoids excessive use of environmental resources. Some people follow a largely vegetarian diet because they can't afford to eat meat. Becoming a vegetarian has become more appealing and accessible, thanks to the year-round availability of fresh produce, more vegetarian dining options, and the growing culinary influence of cultures with largely plant-based diets.

Approximately six to eight million adults in the United States eat no meat, fish, or poultry, according to a Harris Interactive poll commissioned by the Vegetarian Resource Group, a nonprofit organization that disseminates information about vegetarianism.

Source: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/becoming-a-vegetarian

I was recently reading an article on the Christianpost.com and came across this interesting food choice. Source: https://www.christianpost.com/news/should-christians-be-vegetarians.html

Daniel 1 has an interesting story about a vegan diet. When four Jews are chosen to be part of the king's court in Babylon, they decide to not eat meat or drink wine in order to avoid breaking their dietary laws. The palace guard was concerned the king would have his head if the Jews under his care appeared malnourished. After 10 days of consuming only vegetables and water, however, "they appeared better and fatter than all the young men who had been eating the royal rations." Was it a miracle from God? Did God change the carrot sticks into chicken fingers on the way down? Or was a plant-based diet better for them?

The large amount of meat and dairy in American diets isn't only due to personal tastes. These industries are a classic example of an iron triangle. Their lobbyists infiltrate government agencies. Members of Congress gain campaign contributions. And the industries benefit from favoritism and taxpayer subsidies. This why you don't hear government agencies advising us to eat less meat, but you do hear them say kids should drink milk daily. So, in a sense, going vegan is a protest against government cronyism. You can be an Ayn-Rand-style hippie by avoiding animal products.

Let's see what is there in the Torah..

A Vegetarian View of the Torah

And God said: "Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree that has seed-yielding fruit -- to you it shall be for food."?(Gen.1:29)

God's initial intention was that people should be vegetarians. The famous Jewish Torah commentator, Rashi (1040-1105), states the following about God's first dietary law:?

God did not permit Adam and his wife to kill a creature and to eat its flesh. Only every green herb shall they all eat together. [1]

Many other Torah commentators agree with this assessment, including Abraham Ibn Ezra (1092-1167), Maimonides (1135-1214), Nachmanides (1194-1270), and Rabbi Joseph Albo (died in 1444). Later scholars, such as Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888), Moses Cassuto (1883-1951), and Nehama Leibowitz (1905-1997), concur. Cassuto, for example, in his commentary From Adam to Noah (p. 58) states:?

You are permitted to use the animals and employ them for work, have dominion over them in order to utilize their services for your subsistence, but must not hold their life cheap nor slaughter them for food. Your natural diet is vegetarian... [2]

The above opinions are consistent with the Talmud, which states that people were initially vegetarians: "Adam was not permitted meat for purposes of eating." [3]

The great 13th century Jewish philosopher Nachmanides stated that the reason behind this initial dietary law was:?

Living creatures possess a moving soul and a certain spiritual superiority which in this respect make them similar to those who possess intellect (people) and they have the power of affecting their welfare and their food and they flee from pain and death. [4]

According to the Jewish philosopher Rabbi Joseph Albo, the reason is that "In the killing of animals there is cruelty, rage, and the accustoming of oneself to the bad habit of shedding innocent blood..." [5]?

God's first dietary law is a unique statement in humanity's spiritual history. It is a spiritual blueprint of a vegetarian world order. Yet how many millions of people have read this Torah verse (Gen. 1:29) and passed it by without considering its meaning?

Source: https://www.jewishveg.org/torah.html

Let's see what Buddhists think about Vegetarianism...

Buddhists believe that life is sacred and that killing sentient beings is unjust. For many religions and even people, choosing vegetarianism is the way to live a more peaceful life. By avoiding meat, vegetarians avoid spreading violence.

Are Buddhists vegetarian? Well the answer is not all of them. There are different schools of Buddhism. One of them is the Mahayana and the other one is the Theravada. The former believes that people should follow a strict vegetarian diet while the other one does not. The Mahayanas believe that partaking in food that has animals in it contributes to suffering of sentient beings.

Aside from having a whole dose of vitamins and minerals, vegetables also contain protein. Studies find that certain vegetables like soy, broccoli, cauliflower may carry higher amounts of protein than meat.

https://www.tibetanbuddhismconference.com/why-are-buddhists-vegetarian/

Hamza Yusuf on eating meat (from the audio tape “The Science of Shari’ah”):

“Meat is not a necessity in Shari’ah, and in the old days most Muslims used to eat meat, if they were wealthy, like middle class—once a week on Friday. If they were poor—on the Eids.”

“So traditionally Muslims were semi-vegetarians. The Prophet was, I mean, technically, the Prophet (SAWS) was in that category. He was not a meat-eater. Most of his meals did not have meat in them. And the proof of that is clearly in the Muwatta—when Sayyidina Umar says, ‘Beware of meat, because it has an addiction like the addiction of wine.’ And the other hadith in the Muwatta—there is a chapter called ‘Bab al-Laham,’ the chapter of laham, the chapter of meat. Both are from Sayyidina Umar. And Umar, during his khilafa, prohibited people from eating meat two days in a row. He only allowed them to eat [it] every other day. And the khalifa has that right to do that. He did not let people eat meat every day ??? he saw one man eating meat every day, and he said to him, ‘Every time you get hungry you go out and buy meat? Right? In other words, every time your nafs wants meat, you go out and buy it?’ He said, ‘Yeah, Amir al-Mumineen, ana qaram,’ which in Arabic, ‘qaram’ means ‘I love meat’—he’s a carnivore, he loves meat. And Sayyidina Umar said, ‘It would be better for you to roll up your tummy a little bit so that other people can eat.'”

“Now Umar, if there was a prophet after the Prophet, it would have been Umar. And that is really verging on prophecy, that statement. Because if you study the modern meat industry, you will find out that a lot of the famine in the world is a direct result of the overconsumption of meat in countries like the United States and Canada and Europe, because the amount of grain needed to produce 1 pound of meat, right, is much greater than the amount you need to produce grain itself. And beef in particular—I really recommend Rifkin’s book Beyond Beef. It’s an extraordinary book. And it’s interesting ‘Baqara’ is also a chapter of the Qur’an (‘kill the cow’), because beef-eating societies just have massive impact on the environment, on natural resources, on all these things. And traditionally the Muslims were not cow-eaters, they were sheep and lamb [-eaters] when they did eat meat.”

Source: https://www.animalsinislam.com/halal-living/fatwas/

What does mainstream Hinduism say:

When we eat meat, fish, fowl and eggs, we absorb the vibration of the instinctive creatures into our nerve system. This chemically alters our consciousness and amplifies our lower nature, which is prone to fear, anger, jealousy, confusion, resentment and the like. Many Hindu swamis advise followers to be well-established vegetarians prior to initiation into mantra, and to remain vegetarian thereafter. But most do not insist upon vegetarianism for those not seeking initiation. Swamis have learned that families who are vegetarian have fewer problems than those who are not. Poignant scriptural citations counsel against eating meat. The Yajur Veda (36.18) calls for kindliness toward all creatures living on the Earth, in the air and in the water. The Tirukural, a 2,200-year-old masterpiece of ethics, states, "When a man realizes that meat is the butchered flesh of another creature, he will abstain from eating it" (257). The Manu Dharma Shastras state, "Having well considered the origin of flesh and the cruelty of fettering and slaying corporeal beings, let one entirely abstain from eating flesh," and "When the diet is pure, the mind and heart are pure." For guidance in this and all matters, Hindus also rely on their own guru, community elders, their own conscience and their knowledge of the benefits of abstaining from meat and enjoying a wholesome vegetarian diet.

Source: https://www.hinduismtoday.com/modules/smartsection/item.php?itemid=5668

The Vedic scriptures establish nonviolence, called ahimsa, as the ethical foundation of vegetarianism and for a peaceful society. According to the Vedas, God is the Supreme Father of all creatures, not just humans. Therefore, slaughter of innocent animals is considered equivalent to killing one’s brother or sister.

Krishna devotees follow a wholesome lacto-vegetarian diet excluding meat, fish and eggs. Although it may be argued that vegetarians are guilty of killing vegetables, foods such as fruits, nuts, milk, and grains do not require killing. But even when a plant’s life is taken, the pain involved is dramatically less than that of a highly-sensitive animal such as a cow or lamb.

According to karma, nature’s law of action and reaction, human beings must suffer for any killing that is against God’s laws. For this reason, as well as to show recognition and appreciation for the supreme proprietor and supplier of all food, devotees prepare vegetarian meals as devotional offerings to Krishna, God. Then food is called prasadam (spiritual food), which can be fully enjoyed without karmic reaction.

Source: https://info.iskcondesiretree.com/why-are-we-vegetarians/

Let's conclude by a video on why one individual became vegetarian...

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