Vegetarianism versus "making the world better"

This is an answer for the Maciek's comment on the article "Our Way". I decided to place it here for that issue often arouses questions.

We believe vegetarianism is the key to "making the better world". It may be taken under consideration from many planes - economic, moral and spiritual (karmic).

THE ECONOMIC PLANE:

felicitous cite:

"From the year 1960 about 25% of Latin American rain forest have been burned out and purified to create new pastures for the cattle. It was counted that every chop weighing 10dkg, made from the meat of animals bred on those pastures is responsible for ruining about 5 square metres of the forest. Moreover, raising the cattle takes a large part in production of three gases, which cause the progressive worming up of the climate of our globe. It also contributes to water pollution. To manufacture 1kg of beef, 22 000 litres of water have to be wasted, while the same process with tomatoes needs 263 lit., or one kg of bred -1 262 lit. Counting it in a year's scale, almost half of the USA's water deposit is being wasted on the cattle raising.
If all natural deposits, currently used to cattle rising had been spared to seed production, half of the world's population would have been fed. 1 acre of ground, where oats has been planted, will provide 8 times more proteins and 25 times more calories, when it is spared for the food for people, than when it is processed to animal's fodder. Another acre of ground where broccolis are grown will supply 10 times more proteins, calories and niacin, than the cattle grazed there. Lots of similar statistics exist. Natural resources of our planet would have been used wiser, if the pastures, where the cattle is grazed to slaughter, had been intended to crop, destinated for the people. Vegetarianism allows treating our planet more sensitively. Apart from the fact, that this diet doesn't contribute to ruin natural resources, it's easier to live, when during every meal we are conscious that no living thing had to die for it. "

THE MORAL PLANE:

Killing animals is unseparably connected with violence and aggression. In the kingdom of animals it is natural, but in human's kingdom meat equals $. An animal stops being the living thing, starts to become a product, a potential dollar. These days about 25 billions of animals are being killed within a year, just to satisfy fussy taste buds of millions, on which a good deal of money can be earned.
And then the marketing starts, superiority of number over the quality, a rapid breed, mass animal harming, unnaturally fatten, being stuffed with hormones, variety of mutations or illnesses come up - indescribable suffering of innocent creatures. All this to let somebody drink Whisky in a beautiful hotel, surrounded by money. Multinational corporations like McDonald's reached their position thanks to the greed displayed in good marketing, manipulation and what is worst, suffering of millions animals killed.
another cite:
"Most of eastern animals intended to carnage (also in Poland) are bred in the factory farms. The duty of such industrial plants is to increase the number of future-killed animals maximally, lowering the costs whenever it's possible. Those animals are crowded in a small area and never go out. They are treated as machines manufacturing meat. This reality will never be seen live by most of us. There is a saying: "One visit in a slaughterhouse will make a vegetarian of you for the whole life."

THE SPIRITUAL PLANE:

We believe, that there is something like "the law of karma" existing - the law of the cause and the result. This law stands above the vulgar matter and inseparably combines with a conscient existence of the universe or continuous chain of soul's transmigration (God, I couldn't make it more complicated - it is all about reincarnation of course). It means that every good deed, which you have made, sooner or later will come back to you, the same is unfortunately with bad. You need more explanation? For example, if during the present life I kill someone, in future or in one of my future incarnations I will have to die probably in the same way, to get my karma back. The law of karma regulates the balance of the universe's energy. If e.g. I help someone, in the future I will have to be given this help back. No energy dies. We distinguish also something like "collective karma": when the whole nation of people is responsible for some activity and the actions of all are connected (like in meat industry - somebody kills, sb pays, sb eats, sb delivers, sb sells and so on). The karma for killing is reclaimed by the whole group of people. To compensate such large dose of violence, death and suffering, the reactions of similar strength follow - wars, natural disasters, epidemics like A.I.D.S or The Mad Cows' Disease, and so on, and so on.

Cites are taken from the brochure "Vegetarianism".

Yoyo

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