The Deification of the Cow in India The deification of the cow in India was predominantly caused by the Hindu caste system. Many people erroneously believe that the cow was apotheosized in ancient Hindu texts like the Rig Veda, but in fact, the cow wasn’t considered sacred until nearly two thousand years after the Vedas had been written. “The Vedas neither spurned beef nor protected the cow. In fact in Vedic times the Brahman caste’s religious duties centered not on protecting the cow but on slaughtering them.” This shows that the cow was certainly not originally a sacred animal. However, the existence of the caste system in India led to the cow reaching sacred status. The caste system in India was a hierarchical structure that placed Brahmans …show more content…
The reasoning behind optimal foraging theory, which states that “hunters or collectors will pursue or harvest only those species which maximize the rate of caloric return for the time they spend foraging,” cannot be overlooked. Examining a cost/benefit analysis of consuming beef clearly shows why cows became forbidden to eat. Cows not only provided milk, but they also made an agrarian society possible. Farming crops would simply not have been feasible if there had been no cattle. India’s soil and climate made cows the cheapest and most efficient traction animal. In addition, abstaining from beef made it possible for Indians to consume more meat from other animals. Thus, cows were obviously much more useful alive than dead. Without cows, crops could not be planted, which not only would reduce the crop yield but would also reduce the number of other animals available for consumption since those animals also rely on crops. Eating beef would’ve been unsustainable for India’s population and would’ve resulted in a drastic decline in population. So, it was in their best interest to avoid eating beef because of the great benefits they received from live
Thousands of years ago, Indian society developed into a complex system based on different classes. This system was known as the Caste System. It separated Indians into different castes based on what class were born into. As thousands of years went by, this system grew larger and became further complex (Wadley 189). This system caused frustration for the Indian citizens because they were receiving inequality. Not only did the inequality and separation of the Indian society frustrate the citizens of India, but the imperialism Britain had upon them as well. In the early 20th century, Indian nationalists wanted to take a stand against the British rule and make India independent. The British created unfair laws that created a nationalist movement
On the other hand, meat is easy to digest and therefore, eating meat is also a way of converting energy that we actually can't eat, such as the energy from grass, even though there is not much energy left. A recent report released by vegetarians stated; "Growing crops is at least five times more energy efficient than crazing cattle, twenty times more efficient than raising chickens, and over fifty times more efficient than raising feedlot cattle! In this way, eating animal products clearly wastes energy resources that were naturally formed over millions of years, and in the process spews pollution into the environment we live in." Vegetarians maybe biased because they are already against eating meat, but these results do back up the point that this essay is based upon. Another point of view of vegetarians and animal rights supporters is that grazing cattle just for food is inhumane as the animals then have to be killed.
North American and Indian culture beliefs may not have many things in common, but they do have similarities in how their societies are separated. The caste system in India and the social class or class system in North America is how these societies or cultures divide their population. These two structures are similar but they also have their differences.
Bovine have been a part of this world for the existence of mankind. They have been used for all necessities; such as, food and draft power. Europeans first brought cattle to the United States when they came over by boat. Since this time, the beef industry has played a big part in the U.S. economy, especially, the sale of live cattle. As stated by Thomas G. Field in Beef Production and Management Decisions Fifth Edition, on average forty-six billion dollars are shown via cash receipts annually. Nebraska, Texas, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Iowa, California, South Dakota, and Missouri each generate over one billion dollars in cattle sales per year. It also takes many other resources for a farmer or rancher to run cattle...
However, Hare’s pro demi-vegetarian argument provides an unequivocal view on the discussion of economic, ecological, and moral topics. While the look into market trends of meat is lacking Hare discusses a reality of the meat industry and its food competitors, that being the cost behind animal rearing and husbandry. While the high costs incurred does not entail permissibility the surrounding circumstances do. If fodder is grown on terrain only suitable for a pasture, then as a result husbandry and animal domestication (and later slaughter) is permissible because the economic consequences of harvesting crops would greatly outweigh the benefits and as such the community improves more from the meat/animal byproduct industry. This economical and ecological argument is one of several that Hare provides in his article Why I Am Only A Demi-Vegetarian, in addition to the market term being coined and reasoning behind
There were two religions that first accepted vegetarianism: Hinduism made the cow a sacred animal, something to be respected and admired, and over time, these ideals evolved from mere ideas to commonplace social practices. Ahimsa is the principle that teaches one to not to injure a living creature for fear of negative karmic impact and dietary impurity.... ... middle of paper ... ...
There are many factors to why some want be vegetarians. Many believe that it is more ethical to become vegetarian. That warm-blooded animals being slaughtered have emotions and connections and are sacrificed to satisfy the decedent meat eating lifestyle. Or let it be that we are supporting many genetically modified crops and feeding them to the animals we eat; only supporting an artificial lifecycle. Many vegetarians are born into the lifestyle; most people from India are vegetarians because of the animals they worship. It is called the Asian –Indian diets, which is predominantly lacto-vegetarian. Many choose the lifestyle because of health concerns and concerns of the environment; that we are a product of our environment. What ever we take from the world or put into it is the reason there are so many health problems, like a circle of life.
In the first chapter of the book Cows, Pigs, Wars, and Witches by Marvin Harris, the author talks about the interesting culture and the attitude of the Hindu people’s love and passion for cows. Harris describes that the Hindu culture is made up of traditions that have been passed down from historical traditions, which consists of superstitions and opposing views. In the first chapter, Harris talks about a certain culture riddle of “cow love”, specifically the Hindus love for the cow. Their love implies the conservation of cows: not killing them for food. This is something that most outsiders don’t understand. It is made obvious that the Western people disagree with Hindu’s
There are also environmental and economic reasons for becoming vegetarian. Some people are not aware of these reasons, but a lot of environmental destruction is linked to meat production, especially cattle farming. Huge areas of f...
In each society, there are different types of rules and ideologies that are used in order to help govern its people. Within these communities, these rules create a social hierarchy developed through a ranked system based on either economic value or religious beliefs. A type of ranked system that most people are familiar with is the Caste System in India, which is a system of classification in a society based on birth. This complex social structure is most prevalent in India, where social hierarchy is in affiliation with Hinduism. It recognizes two concepts known as Varna and Jati. Varna is a word in Sanskrit meaning color and includes four main groups: the Brahmans, Kshtriyas, Vaishyas, and Shudras. The fifth group, the most segregated caste in the system, is the Untouchables. Within each Varna contains an array of sub-caste called Jatis, which are also based on birth. The rules of the cases are governed through religious ideas of purity and pollution. These two socially constructed ideologies determine whether or not you were respected in the community. Caste assignments in India are predestined at birth rather than a personal choice. Individuals act and dress like those of their own caste in public, due to strict caste laws. Pressures of these rules tend to brainwash people into conforming into what society considers pure, as we’ll see in Kakar & Kakar’s reading. As human nature takes precedent, caste rules become less relevant. Indulging in one’s own desires or needs, especially during times of hardship, outweighs any types of rules that we’ll see in Freeman’s reading and the movie Distant Thunder. Though the caste system is such an intrinsic part of life, when faced with needs to survive, it becomes nothing more than just a...
They are in the central of human culture and represent one of the most important domesticated animals (Loftus et al. 1994). The evolution and domestication of cattle have been always contentious research particularly in determining the relationship between the two main types of cattle the humped zebu and hump less taurine. Due to the economic importance of cattle, morphological and genetic differences observed between the two subspecies are still an active area of research and speculations (David et al. 1997). India is rich in dairy animal diversity. It has diverse and distinguishing cattle genetic resources which led to their domestication some 10000 years
The domestication of animals does relieve some of the pressure that was put on wild animals because that was the only food source available to get meat from
For several years the issue of eating meat has been a great concern to all types of people all over the world. In many different societies controversy has began to arise over the morality of eating meat from animals. A lot of the reasons for not eating meat have to deal with religious affiliations, personal health, animal rights, and concern about the environment. Vegetarians have a greater way of expressing meats negative effects on the human body whereas meat eaters have close to no evidence of meat eating being a positive effect on the human body. Being a vegetarian is more beneficial for human beings because of health reasons, environmental issues, and animal rights.
Consumption is one of the biggest areas of disagreement in regards to animal rights. Throughout the world there are many different laws and regulations regarding the treatment of animals. Each country has their own set of standards, many of them religious and others more along the lines of common sense. While it is normal to regularly consume cattle meat (such as cow) in America, many Hindu Indians refrain from it...
The caste system in India is elaborately structured to have an Indian touch to it, clearly distinguishing it from social structures worldwide. Caste is a word often used to describe a cluster of people who have a specific rank in the society. Each caste system is elaborately crafted to suit the needs of the society and they vary from group to group; each has its own rules and customs. Different chaste systems are planned in a hierarchical manner to become part of any of the four basic colors; varnas (a Sanskrit word for color). These include; the varna of Brahmans, identified with the learned class and priests; varna of Kshatriyas, which is encompasses warriors, rulers and property owners, the varna of Vaishyas, which attracts traders ; and lastly the varna of Shudras, who are servile laborers (Bayly, 1999).