Development means, “progress”. It means replacing the inferior with the superior. We have replaced the tonga with the car, the mombatti with an electric bulb, then why shouldn’t meat- a prehistoric, savage form of food be discarded and replaced by something as elegant, tasty, sophisticated and nutritious as soybean.
Why do you eat meat? For taste? For health reasons? For status? (The imaginary upwardly mobile ststus from beef to chicken to snails and octopus?)Let us look at these one by one.
Meat is just animal tissue. It is high in protein. However it is this high protein content that makes it a health hazard. Just three ounces of fish or chicken, which are barely, enough for an appetizer give more than the entire day ‘s quota of protein. In reality servings go up to 10 ounces or more since meat leaves you feeling hungry. Your body gets swamped with enough protein to cause kidney failure, obesity and negative calcium balance.
Soya product are also rich in protein but without the cholesterol or saturated fat. Soya is a complete protein i.e. containing those 8 essential amino acids, which cannot be produced by the body and must come from a dietary source. Soyabean’s protein (43%) is higher and more economical than that of beef (18%), chicken (20%) and fish (18%).
Carbohydrates are our most important source of energy and most carbohydrates are provided by plant foods. Meat has no carbohydrates. Soya bean contains 32 % carbohydrates. Soya bean has negligible starch and low saccharides making it suitable for diabetic patients.
Soya beans are an excellent source of calcium also. 1 cup of cooked Soya beans contains 175 mg of calcium and one serving of tofu can provide 120-750 mg of calcium. Calcium is important for healthy bones and teeth and for the working of muscles. It is virtually absent from meat products. Excessive amounts of animal protein in the diet can actually leach calcium from the bones – weakening the skeleton and leading to osteoporosis.
Soyabeans contain 20 % fat. Meat has 30-60% fat. The fat in soyabeans is unsaturated. Meat is all saturated fat. Beef contains 50 %fat, chicken contains 30% whereas pork contains 31%fat. 3 ounces of beef contains 16gm total fat, 7 gm saturated fat. There is NO difference in cholesterol among meats most fall in the 70mg range except for shrimp, which is MORE than double .The cholesterol in chicken is MORE than in beef and salmon gives you the same amount.
Cholesterol is a fat-like substance found in only animal foods. It is absent in plant foods. The body can make all the cholesterol it requires so we do not need to include it in our diet – at all! Excess cholesterol furs up arteries and is linked to heart disease and strokes. Saturated fats increase the level of cholesterol in blood while unsaturated fats can help to lower it.
Dietary fibre is essential for the digestive system to work properly. It acts like a broom in the intestines, sweeping away toxins and helping prevent diseases such as colon cancer. Meat contains no fibre and can increase your chances of colon cancer by 20-40 per cent. Soyabeans have 3 % fibre . The fibre in soy, can help reduce LDL or “bad” cholesterol decreasing the risk of heart disease. Other chemicals like phytoestrogens in soya may also help prevent certain types of cancer.
Meat needs high temperature cooking . Researchers cooked beef burgers, bacon and soya burgers and found that both beef burgers and bacon produced significant amounts of the most damaging free radicals while the soya burger produced virtually none. Free radicals in our body can affect the activity of our body enzymes and can cause fat, protein and DNA damage that can result in deadly diseases like cancer. They have been implicated as the main cause of rapid ageing. Soyabean contains high amount of antioxidants. Antioxidants are compounds that neutralise free radicals and prevent other chemical species to become free radicals and so protect the body against disease.
Soyabeans contain 5% vitamins and minerals. Meat and fish have negligible amount of vitamins. Meat is normally consumed for Vitamin B 12, which is essential for the synthesis of red blood cells, the maintenance of the nervous system, and growth and development in children. Vitamin B12 Deficiency can cause anaemia. But, Vitamin B12 present in soyamilk is now found to be absorbed better by the body than the B12 from meat, poultry and fish.
Meat contains high sulphur . This high sulphur content in meat can lead to various kidney disorders, including the formation of uric acid stones within your body. Soya contains none. Osteoporosis due to calcium loss from bones is mainly due to the sulphur content in meat & casein protein in milk that cause calcium to be lost in the urine - the countries with the highest meat & dairy consumption are those with the highest levels of brittle bones
Undercooked meat can gives you amoebiasis, gastroentritis and food poisoning. Undercooked pork sometimes contains the parasites that cause trichinosis or cysticercosis which cause epileptic fits. Meat frequently contains dangerous microbes like Salmonella, Staphylococcus and E. coli which cause food poisoning. The problem of food-borne infections – including the lethal mad cow disease known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans – is a growing one.
According to William C. Roberts, M.D., the distinguished editor-in-chief of the prestigious American Journal of Cardiology: “Although human beings eat meat, we are not natural carnivores. No matter how much fat animal carnivores eat, they do not develop atherosclerosis (clogged arteries). When we kill animals to eat them, they end up killing us because their flesh, which contains cholesterol and saturated fat, was never intended for human beings, who are natural herbivores.”
It takes 10 kilos of plants to make one kilo of meat. 80% of annual world deforestation is related to animal agriculture – cutting down trees for pastureland to feed animals grown for meat. In India, the meat-animals graze in the forests, eating all the new plants and undergrowth so the forest dies. Due to overgrazing 8,50,000,000 people live on land threatened by desertification & over 230,000,000 already live on land so severely desertified that they face starvation. The animals that feed on hillsides create a mega water shortage as springs dry up when the hill becomes denuded. So tropical rainforests are being turned into carbon dioxide and cholesterol, thereby increasing disasters on both the planetary and personal levels.
It takes 2500 gallons to produce 1lb of meat. Soyabeans take a mere 25 gallons of water to produce 1lb .To produce a single pound (0.45 kg) of meat requires burning up to 40 times more fossil fuels than to produce one pound (0.45 kg) of soybeans. One third of all fossil fuels are used in raising animals for meat.
It takes 6-17 times less land, 4.4-26 time less water, 6-20 times less oil and fossil fuels to produce soya than it does to produce an meat. 20 vegetarians can live off the land required by one meat eater. Each person who replaces meat with soya saves more than an acre (0.4 hectares) of trees every year as well as protecting valuable ecosystems and vanishing species. One hectare of land used for grazing purposes will provide enough meat to satisfy one man for 190 days . A hectare of land planted with soyabean will yield enough protein for 5496 days.
Do you eat meat for its crunchiness and taste? Meat doesn’t have a taste of its own that is edible. Try eating raw mutton or beef. The taste comes from vegetarian ingredients that are used to disguise its natural taste. In Rajasthan wheat dishes taste exactly like meat. All over the west soyabean protein is made into hams, porks, steaks,mince and all meat product types. You cannot taste the difference and the foods sell just as much to meat eaters who want the taste but not the diseases. Apart from being used for meat alternatives, Soya bean is also used as a source of oil, paste toppings, baby foods, candy bars and cake mixes. Soya bean can be boiled or roasted; In fact it becomes anything you want it to be.
As a style statement, what could be more unstylish than eat dead bodies? The sweat smells, the stomach produces gas; what is more unstylish than having a red face caused by cholesterol and an obese body? What could be more unstylish than serving dead animals to your guests or celebrating a marriage or festival with stale dead bodies? People who boast of eating fish, lobsters, crabs, seafood, turtle , are merely eating the scavengers of the sea- animals that eat filth to clean the waters. People who boast of caviare are eating the sperm and eggs of a fish. People who eat pate eat the cancerous liver of a duck. People who eat birds are eating animals who produce their meat from eating worms. Yecch !
In boxing terms soya gives meat a technical knock out in the first round. And it is only losers who back losers.
Why do you eat meat? For taste? For health reasons? For status? (The imaginary upwardly mobile ststus from beef to chicken to snails and octopus?)Let us look at these one by one.
Meat is just animal tissue. It is high in protein. However it is this high protein content that makes it a health hazard. Just three ounces of fish or chicken, which are barely, enough for an appetizer give more than the entire day ‘s quota of protein. In reality servings go up to 10 ounces or more since meat leaves you feeling hungry. Your body gets swamped with enough protein to cause kidney failure, obesity and negative calcium balance.
Soya product are also rich in protein but without the cholesterol or saturated fat. Soya is a complete protein i.e. containing those 8 essential amino acids, which cannot be produced by the body and must come from a dietary source. Soyabean’s protein (43%) is higher and more economical than that of beef (18%), chicken (20%) and fish (18%).
Carbohydrates are our most important source of energy and most carbohydrates are provided by plant foods. Meat has no carbohydrates. Soya bean contains 32 % carbohydrates. Soya bean has negligible starch and low saccharides making it suitable for diabetic patients.
Soya beans are an excellent source of calcium also. 1 cup of cooked Soya beans contains 175 mg of calcium and one serving of tofu can provide 120-750 mg of calcium. Calcium is important for healthy bones and teeth and for the working of muscles. It is virtually absent from meat products. Excessive amounts of animal protein in the diet can actually leach calcium from the bones – weakening the skeleton and leading to osteoporosis.
Soyabeans contain 20 % fat. Meat has 30-60% fat. The fat in soyabeans is unsaturated. Meat is all saturated fat. Beef contains 50 %fat, chicken contains 30% whereas pork contains 31%fat. 3 ounces of beef contains 16gm total fat, 7 gm saturated fat. There is NO difference in cholesterol among meats most fall in the 70mg range except for shrimp, which is MORE than double .The cholesterol in chicken is MORE than in beef and salmon gives you the same amount.
Cholesterol is a fat-like substance found in only animal foods. It is absent in plant foods. The body can make all the cholesterol it requires so we do not need to include it in our diet – at all! Excess cholesterol furs up arteries and is linked to heart disease and strokes. Saturated fats increase the level of cholesterol in blood while unsaturated fats can help to lower it.
Dietary fibre is essential for the digestive system to work properly. It acts like a broom in the intestines, sweeping away toxins and helping prevent diseases such as colon cancer. Meat contains no fibre and can increase your chances of colon cancer by 20-40 per cent. Soyabeans have 3 % fibre . The fibre in soy, can help reduce LDL or “bad” cholesterol decreasing the risk of heart disease. Other chemicals like phytoestrogens in soya may also help prevent certain types of cancer.
Meat needs high temperature cooking . Researchers cooked beef burgers, bacon and soya burgers and found that both beef burgers and bacon produced significant amounts of the most damaging free radicals while the soya burger produced virtually none. Free radicals in our body can affect the activity of our body enzymes and can cause fat, protein and DNA damage that can result in deadly diseases like cancer. They have been implicated as the main cause of rapid ageing. Soyabean contains high amount of antioxidants. Antioxidants are compounds that neutralise free radicals and prevent other chemical species to become free radicals and so protect the body against disease.
Soyabeans contain 5% vitamins and minerals. Meat and fish have negligible amount of vitamins. Meat is normally consumed for Vitamin B 12, which is essential for the synthesis of red blood cells, the maintenance of the nervous system, and growth and development in children. Vitamin B12 Deficiency can cause anaemia. But, Vitamin B12 present in soyamilk is now found to be absorbed better by the body than the B12 from meat, poultry and fish.
Meat contains high sulphur . This high sulphur content in meat can lead to various kidney disorders, including the formation of uric acid stones within your body. Soya contains none. Osteoporosis due to calcium loss from bones is mainly due to the sulphur content in meat & casein protein in milk that cause calcium to be lost in the urine - the countries with the highest meat & dairy consumption are those with the highest levels of brittle bones
Undercooked meat can gives you amoebiasis, gastroentritis and food poisoning. Undercooked pork sometimes contains the parasites that cause trichinosis or cysticercosis which cause epileptic fits. Meat frequently contains dangerous microbes like Salmonella, Staphylococcus and E. coli which cause food poisoning. The problem of food-borne infections – including the lethal mad cow disease known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans – is a growing one.
According to William C. Roberts, M.D., the distinguished editor-in-chief of the prestigious American Journal of Cardiology: “Although human beings eat meat, we are not natural carnivores. No matter how much fat animal carnivores eat, they do not develop atherosclerosis (clogged arteries). When we kill animals to eat them, they end up killing us because their flesh, which contains cholesterol and saturated fat, was never intended for human beings, who are natural herbivores.”
It takes 10 kilos of plants to make one kilo of meat. 80% of annual world deforestation is related to animal agriculture – cutting down trees for pastureland to feed animals grown for meat. In India, the meat-animals graze in the forests, eating all the new plants and undergrowth so the forest dies. Due to overgrazing 8,50,000,000 people live on land threatened by desertification & over 230,000,000 already live on land so severely desertified that they face starvation. The animals that feed on hillsides create a mega water shortage as springs dry up when the hill becomes denuded. So tropical rainforests are being turned into carbon dioxide and cholesterol, thereby increasing disasters on both the planetary and personal levels.
It takes 2500 gallons to produce 1lb of meat. Soyabeans take a mere 25 gallons of water to produce 1lb .To produce a single pound (0.45 kg) of meat requires burning up to 40 times more fossil fuels than to produce one pound (0.45 kg) of soybeans. One third of all fossil fuels are used in raising animals for meat.
It takes 6-17 times less land, 4.4-26 time less water, 6-20 times less oil and fossil fuels to produce soya than it does to produce an meat. 20 vegetarians can live off the land required by one meat eater. Each person who replaces meat with soya saves more than an acre (0.4 hectares) of trees every year as well as protecting valuable ecosystems and vanishing species. One hectare of land used for grazing purposes will provide enough meat to satisfy one man for 190 days . A hectare of land planted with soyabean will yield enough protein for 5496 days.
Do you eat meat for its crunchiness and taste? Meat doesn’t have a taste of its own that is edible. Try eating raw mutton or beef. The taste comes from vegetarian ingredients that are used to disguise its natural taste. In Rajasthan wheat dishes taste exactly like meat. All over the west soyabean protein is made into hams, porks, steaks,mince and all meat product types. You cannot taste the difference and the foods sell just as much to meat eaters who want the taste but not the diseases. Apart from being used for meat alternatives, Soya bean is also used as a source of oil, paste toppings, baby foods, candy bars and cake mixes. Soya bean can be boiled or roasted; In fact it becomes anything you want it to be.
As a style statement, what could be more unstylish than eat dead bodies? The sweat smells, the stomach produces gas; what is more unstylish than having a red face caused by cholesterol and an obese body? What could be more unstylish than serving dead animals to your guests or celebrating a marriage or festival with stale dead bodies? People who boast of eating fish, lobsters, crabs, seafood, turtle , are merely eating the scavengers of the sea- animals that eat filth to clean the waters. People who boast of caviare are eating the sperm and eggs of a fish. People who eat pate eat the cancerous liver of a duck. People who eat birds are eating animals who produce their meat from eating worms. Yecch !
In boxing terms soya gives meat a technical knock out in the first round. And it is only losers who back losers.
Maneka Gandhi
