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THE MEATY MATTER OF VEGETARIANISM
By D. Chandramouli
Do we eat to live or live to eat?
I always wonder how people who often eat out in specialty restaurants manage not
to have eating disorders, or how they win the "battle of the bulge".
For many of today's wealthy, it is socially unacceptable not to visit such
high-class and up-market restaurants.
Our irresistible urge to eat is also whetted these days by the foreign fast food
chains. The fast food business, though highly competitive, is largely controlled by
large multinational firms.
The international popularity of fast food can be gauged by the fact that about 5
percent of all Australians eat at McDonald's every day, not far behind the 7 percent of
Americans who do so.
Having been a strict vegetarian since birth, I strongly believe in plant-based
foods provided by Mother Nature. However, some people here look at me as if I am a
strange species from an alien land.
There seems to be no equivalent word in Indonesian for vegetarianism. You have
to go round in circles to describe that you are a pure vegetarian and that you can't
eat fish, chicken, seafood, beef, eggs, etc. In Pizza Hut, even the "country vegetable"
soup will invariably contain either beef or chicken stock. It's a great dilemma for
vegetarians to eat out in this country.
In the company parties which I am expected to attend, I am always an odd man
out. A colleague of mine once commented that I really didn't know what I missed
unless and until I tried non-vegetarian foods. I agree, but there is just no way I can
reconcile myself to do this.
I don't feel that I miss anything at all and I'm determined to be a vegetarian
all my life, although I don't attach any extraordinary virtue to this. I feel strongly that
physical fitness does not require that one be non-vegetarian.
I realize the restaurant owners go to great lengths to develop customer
intimacy, such as big investment in innovative and attractive interior decorations, which
enhance the ambience and grandeur of their restaurants. The immediate assumption is that there are delicious treats on the menu.
But I personally won't be taken in by manmade mini waterfalls, plants and
gardens, wall-to-wall carpeting, soft music, dim lights and the like, though I agree all these fancy frills
do make people feel good about the environment.
All I expect is for the eating place to be neat and clean with a comfortable
atmosphere. I believe that for customers the bottom line will continue to be price, quality, service and cleanliness, not necessarily in the same order. Some hoteliers choose to entice
customers with claims their establishment is a "home away from home". Which
always makes me want to ask why should we travel and waste our hard-earned money in a
hotel if it's just another replica of our home? We may as well stay in the comfort of our home, and spend nothing!
I recall from my childhood days the pleasure and happiness which I derived when
my brothers, sisters and cousins of the same age group when we used to sit on the
floor, reaching up to our grandma and taking turns in receiving food given by her. The
food, though simple, used to be quite tasty and was usually sufficient to fill our
bellies.
But what really mattered was that every handful of food was accompanied by a
sense of love and attachment.
"Let thy food be thy medicine," say Hippocratic teachings. Human health depends
mainly on the digestive system. Much ridiculed vegetarianism is actually beneficial
for our health. Nutritionists confirm that a healthy, perfectly balanced diet of carbohydrates, protein and high fiber content can indeed be obtained by properly combining rice, wheat, grains, cereals, nuts, nonfat yogurt, fruits, vegetables and of course, plenty of water - all vegetarian fare.
For exercise, walking at a moderate pace for 30 to 40 minutes every morning
should be sufficient to keep the body fit.
Finally, it appears that vegetarians belong to a galaxy of greats like Albert
Einstein, John Milton, H.G. Wells, Leo Tolstoy, Benjamin Franklin, George Bernard Shaw,
Tenzing and Annie Besant.
Think about it - isn't it time to choose health and switch to vegetarianism?
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