You are what you eat, and so is your future.

I am not a vegetarian. I eat social meat, whenever I am social, which is nearly never. At home, and in restaurants I am vegetarian. With family and friends I am a carnivore, much the same as Buddha. I haven’t got many friends and my family are a long way away. Actually some of my children are vegetarian. Is there salami on that pizza?

The element of trying  in our lives is golden and precious. Many of my friends say this is not true. There are no buts. If life is like religion then from 1 – 7 you are in the good zone and from 7 – 14 you are in the bad zone. Once a zone is determined, effort to stay in the good zone is applauded and rewarded by the universe, yourself and your friends. Hmm this is the opposite thinking of my x wife who said there is no such thing as try. Hmmm. I don’t agree, let’s say I try and shoot you, I try and kiss you or even try to love you. Sounds serious doesn’t it. I try to be a vegetarian, which is just as serious for a carrot as it is for your lips.

Okay! The idea of trying to not kill animals is a wonderful one. Buddha taught sentience to his followers: animals have souls and brains like humans–the monkey kind. If you have ever owned a dog you will know this to be true. Once you fully accept the idea that a dog is no different to a monkey = us, then you may have shivers running down your spine when you realize many Chinese love skinning and boiling dogs alive.  This is perplexing because many of them are Buddhists and like most religions do not follow the teachings of the teacher, at all: a bit like corrupt police killing you for your money.

I often see trucks driving on the highway full of stuffed pigs. 50 degrees C in the shade and they have none. Their pink looks more red as their trip to gastronomy doom lengthens. This is unfair we would say in their position. I don’t want to die like this. They are monsters, Nazis @@$!@#$%$#.

There is a long list of unnecessary deaths of animals, that makes me sad and often think we are wicked monkeys.

Cows, their milk for cheese, yoghurt and milk is enough. Protect and love them for this. Chickens, hens are bursting their bums for your breakfast every day. Where would we be without eggs?  Isn’t that enough?  Fish, they seem happy swimming around, going to school. Eating shellfish (low intelligence, maybe?) should be more than enough. Pigs, are very smart. One as a pet would be pretty cool. The bible says do unto others as you would have done unto yourself. Right! Humans are animals, so animals are ‘others’ and God says if you don’t like being eaten then don’t eat the others. Quite clearly.

My in-laws can’t afford meat so they eat vegetables, leaves and herbs with rice. Some fruit, soy beans and crickets. They do pretty well. I mainly eat fermented soybean crackers with eggs, tomatoes and chili.  Curried vegetables and salads. I am happy with that. Life, God, Buddha, light, wind, people, animals all give me the joy and happiness I need every day. I don’t need to blast an animal down my throat to feel happy. Nor do I need to wash it down with wine and caviar. Happiness is connecting with your heart and soul. Your inner child, your family and friends, nature and the universe. The rest is what you do when you don’t.  There are some dietary issues about being a vegetarian like protein, iron and Vitamin b12. Let’s look at them.

Do I think it is good karma and good for your health to be a vegetarian. Yes I do, without question. To repeat myself. Animals are like humans (monkeys) inside their animal bodies and we wouldn’t like being treated like we treat them: back to God and do to others.

There are many vegetarian cultures. Many monks are vegetarian. The cookbooks are full of amazing never tried recipes: spinach pie, baba ganoush, hommous tahini, lentil stew, egg pies, salads, gazpacho, pesto, chick pea curry, baked beans with chili, roasted nut pie,  oh my god there are thousands of delicious vegetarian recipes. And McDonald’s sells a million fat burgers a days. Even the old fashioned monkeys can do better than that, and eat bananas.

It is not necessary to eat meat for your survival. In fact it is necessary to eat vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds though.

If  you do continue the slaughter of innocent beautiful animals with souls and spirits, just remember like the millions of Chinese slaughtering dogs, you could easily come back as one of them, and look out.

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Vegetarian Sources of Vitamin B12:

• Nutritional Yeast.
• Dairy products
• Eggs
• Marmite + Yeast Spreads.
• Fortified Soy + Almond Milk.
• Plant-Based Meats.
• Fortified Cereals.
• Tempeh.
• Chlorella.
• Nori Seaweed.

Vegetarian sources of protein

• Quinoa. …
• Pulses. …
• Nuts and seeds. …
• Chia seeds. …
• Buckwheat. …
• Oats. …
• Other grains. …
• Vegetables.

For vegetarians, sources of iron include:

• tofu;
• legumes (lentils, dried peas and beans);
• wholegrain cereals (in particular, iron-fortified breakfast cereals);
• green vegetables such as broccoli or Asian greens;
• nuts, especially cashews;
• dried fruits such as apricots;
• eggs; and.

Roditch 2021