Of World Vegetarian Day

World Vegetarian Day is celebrated on October 1 each year. The day was introduced in America by the North American Vegetarian Society in 1977. On this day, people are encouraged to abstain or cut on consumption of meat and eat more vegetables and fruits. Vegetarians raise awareness of the ethical, health, environmental and humanitarian benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle.

A dictionary definition of a vegetarian is ‘a person who does not eat meat, and sometimes other meat products especially for moral, religious or health reasons’. Vegetarians who do not eat meat, but eat meat products such as eggs, milk, cheese, honey and butter are sometimes referred to as semi vegetarians. Vegans are those vegetarians that eat neither meat nor meat products.

Some people think it is immoral for people to eat meat. They think it is not right to kill another living thing and turn it into food. There are others whose religion forbids eating of animals. Rastafarians are known not to eat meat because their religion forbids the eating of meat. Some Indian religions do not allow their members to eat meat. Yet, others develop allergies to meat. Some cultures discourage eating of certain animals. In Ngoni, some clan names double as names of animals. A Soko will find it difficult to eat monkey meat because Soko in Ngoni means monkey. A Ndhlovu does not eat elephant meat. Ngulube is Ngoni word for wild pig, Mpofu or Shaba for giraffe and Jere for the ailment of the eye (ng’ala). In Ngoni, Nyoni is a bird, Juwa is njiwa and Nyathi is bufallo. Ngonis with those clan names will generally show compassion to, and avoid eating meat from, their animal namesake.

Most people do not see anything wrong in eating meat. In the Bible, man is said to have been given dominion over all animals and authority to eat animals except some which were said to be unclean. Most religions accept that animals be slaughtered and offered as sacrifice. In the wild, animals kill and eat each other, so even if people stop eating animals, animals would still be killed and eaten by fellow animals. Some animals owe their existence to the fact that they are food for humans. Goats, chicken, cattle and pigs would probably have been extinct if people did not rear them for food. Kathyethye and kaweruweru are some of the birds that were common in the 1970s but one does not see them these days. They were not edible, so man never cared to preserve them.

Meat has nutrients which are difficult to find from non-meat foods. Proteins, calcium, iron and zinc are some of the important nutrients that are in abundance in meats and meat products.

Despite the apparent advantages of eating meat, vegetarians still feel morally or religious bound not to eat meat. The vegetarian season starts with the Hug a Vegetarian Day, which falls on the last Friday of September and ends on November 1. World Animal Day is observed on October 4, which is St. Francis Day. Catholics view St. Francis of Assisi as patron of all animals. On animal day, people are encouraged to spend quality time with their animals and pets. The World Week of Prayer for Animals falls within the week that includes the feast Day of St. Francis.

Another important day for vegetarians is the Sadhu Vaswani Day, which is celebrated on Sadhu’s birthday, November 25. Sadhu was a distinguished Indian scholar who devoted his life to God and others. Sadhu had great reverence for life. His teaching was that life flowing in all animals is the same as that in man.

It is morally appealing to be a vegetarian, but one has to be mindful that the body needs all the nutrients that it ordinarily gets from meat and meat products. It may not be advisable to turn vegetarian without guidance from nutritionists. It is, nevertheless, possible to keep healthy on a vegetarian diet. As an example, there are restaurants in town that serve only vegetarian meals all the time. Their meals are nutritious and well-balanced. Indian thali is one of the tasty dishes one would enjoy from a vegetarian restaurant. A vegetarian lifestyle causes less suffering to animals and, if well managed, keeps people healthy.

—The author, who is an engineer, is an on and off vegetarian. He mostly does not eat meat, but for the sake of his health, he sometimes reluctantly takes meat.