What the Vedas Really Say.

The remarkable thing is that the far older Hindu Samhitas Vedas, dating back to 1700 BC, actually show that devotees during worship would consume the meat of the sacrificed animals of horses, cattle and goats!:

• 10 I choose as God for Father-worship Agni, flesh-eater, who hath past within your dwelling, Gladly bring yearning Fathers nigh to eat the food of sacrifice.
  13 Cool, Agni, and again refresh the spot which thou hast scorched and burnt. Here let the water-lily grow, and tender grass and leafy herb.
  14 O full of coolness, thou cool Plant, full of fresh moisture, freshening Herb, Come hither with the female frog: fill with delight this Agni here. (Rigveda Book 10 Hymn 16)

  7 I sweep afar ? for sacrifice to Fathers, corpse-eating Agni who hath come among us Atharva Veda BOOK XIII. Hymn 1.
  29 Let him smite down in death and burn the foeman who attacketh me. Our adversaries we consume through Agni the Carnivorous. Atharva Veda BOOK XII. Hymn 2

  3 Let us serve Agni with our hymns, Sage who consumeth ox and cow. Atharva Veda BOOK XX. HYMN I.

Though alternative translations by Swami Dayananda Saraswati reject such claims and give the 'correct' interpretations and translations in the light of the Brahmanas and Vedangas. According to Dayananda and Yaska, the author of Nirukta (Vedic Philology), Yatudhana means Cattle -eaters (Yatu - Cattle / flesh of Cattle + Udhana - eaters/ consumers).

• In Magha days are oxen slain, in Arjuris they wed the bride. —Rig Veda (10.85.13)

  When thrice the men lead round the Steed, in order, who goeth to the Gods as meet oblation,
  The goat precedeth him, the share of Pu?an, and to the Gods the sacrifice announceth. —Dirghatamas, Rig Veda (10.162.4)

  What part of the Steed's flesh the fly hath eaten, or is left sticking to the post or hatchet,
  Or to the slayer's hands and nails adhereth,—among the Gods, too, may all this be with thee.
  Food undigested steaming from his belly, and any odour of raw flesh remaining,
  This let the immolators set in order and dress the sacrifice with perfect cooking.
  —Dirghatamas, Rig Veda (10.162.10)

  They who observing that the Horse is ready call out and say, the smell is good; remove it;
  And, craving meat, await the distribution,—may their approving help promote labour.
  The trial-fork of the flesh-cooking caldron, the vessels out of which the broth is sprinkled,
  The warming-pots, the covers of the dishes, hooks, carving-boards,—all these attend the Charger.
  —Dirghatamas, Rig Veda (10.162.12-13)

  The Atharva Veda bans only the eating of the raw flesh, human flesh and fertilized eggs:
  Those who eat flesh uncooked, and those who eat the bleeding flesh of men,
  Feeders on babes unborn, long-haired, far from this place we banish these.
  —Atharva Veda (8.6.23)

  Rigveda (6/17/1) states that "Indra used to eat the meat of cow, calf, horse and buffalo." (translation by Avatar Gill and group)

Hence, long before vegetarianism arose in the 7th century BC, the Hindu Vedas already testify that worshippers of Hindu deities were already eating meat of animals, including meat of cattle. Some Hindus tried to argue that the Vedas advocate vegetarianism, like this famous often misinterpreted passage:.

• The fiend who smears himself with flesh of cattle, with flesh of horses and of human bodies, Who steals the milch-cow's milk away, O Agni,—tear off the heads of such with fiery fury.
  The cow gives milk each year, O Man-regarder let not the Yatudhana ever taste it.
  If one would glut him with the biesting, Agni, pierce with thy flame his vitals as he meets thee.
  Let the fiends drink the poison of the cattle; may Aditi cast off the evildoers.
  May the God Savitar give them up to ruin, and be their share of plants and herbs denied them.
  Agni, from days of old thou slayest demons never shall Raksasas in fight o'ercome thee.
  Burn up the foolish ones, the flesh-devourers let none of them escape thine heavenly arrow.
  —Rig Veda (10.87.16-19)

  At first glance, it seems that this passage condemned meat eating. This is a curious wrong interpretation, as Agni was stated in the Vedas as a meat-eater. Also, this group of people ate humans. The people addressed were a wild group of cannibal people. One scholar rightly deciphered that the passage specifically notes the reference was to the "Raksasas", who were often enemies against the devas.

  Some have just quoted the first line above without the other lines to manipulatively give the false impression that the Rigveda condemns meat eating. It is only when the context of the subsequent lines are examined that we can see that the passage was referring to the cannibalistic Raksasas . It was not an issue of meat eating or vegetarianism, but the wicked Raksasas.

The earliest Vedas are the four Samhitas, existing before 1700 BC and these scriptures abound with references about animals sacrifices, and their meat being eaten by the gods, holy men and the people. There were hardly any passages in the Samhitas about vegetarianism, which seem mostly indicated in so-called Vedic scriptures (actually post-Vedas scriptures) from 1000 BC onwards like the Mahabharata. But, even these post-Vedic scriptures also have references to holy people eating meat. The so-called passages about vegetarianism have to be carefully interpreted.

Buddha's Attack on Devadatta's Vegetarianism

Buddhism has an interesting tradition about vegetarianism:

• The Buddha ate meat. This is a fairly well attested fact. The issue of vegetarianism is addressed a few times in the Suttas, notably the Jivaka Sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya. The Buddha consistently affirmed that monastics were permitted to eat meat, as long as it was not killed intentionally for them. There are numerous passages in the Vinaya that refer to the Buddha or the monastics eating meat, and meat is regularly mentioned as one of the standard foods..... Sometimes in Theravada vegetarianism is slighted, as it is traditionally associated with the '5 points' of Devadatta. Devadatta wanted to prove he was better than the Buddha, so he asked the Buddha to enforce five ascetic practices, such as only accepting alms food, live all their lives in the forest, and so on. These practices are regarded as praiseworthy, and Devadatta's fault was not in promoting these as such, but in seeking to make them compulsory. Stories of the Buddha's childhood emphasize how compassionate he was compared to Devadatta's cruelty to animals, perhaps because of Devadatta's asscoiation with vegetarianism. So rather than deprecating the vegetarians as 'followers of Devadatta', one could infer from this passage that vegetarianism, like the other practices, was praiseworthy, but the Buddha did not wish to make it compulsory. (Sujato's Blog. 2017. Why Buddhists Should be Vegetarian. https://sujato.wordpress.com/.../why-buddhists-should-be-vegetarian)

  In fact, in the Vinaya-pitaka, the Buddha himself specifically refused to make vegetarianism mandatory. Devadatta, the Buddha's cousin and rival, approaches the Buddha with the idea of making vegetarianism mandatory for the sangha. The Vinaya-pitaka reports the following:

  • Then Devadatta together with his friends went up to the Lord, and having gone up to the Lord, he sat down to one side. As he was sitting to one side, Devadatta said to the Lord: "….Lord, these five items are in many a way condu-cive to desiring little, to contentment, to expunging evil, to being [conscientious], to what is gracious, to decrease in the obstructions, to putting forth energy. It were good, Lord, if the monks, for as long as life lasts, let them be rag-robe wearers; whoever should accept a robe given by a householder, sin (vajja.) would besmirch him. For as long as life lasts, let them live at the root of a tree; whoever should go under cover, sin would besmirch him. For as long as life lasts let them not eat fish or flesh; whoever should eat fish or flesh, sin would besmirch him.' The recluse Gotama will not allow these. (CV vii 277)30 (James J. Stewart. 2010. The Question of Vegetarianism and Diet in Pali Buddhism. Journal of Buddhist Ethics ISSN 1076-9005 http://www.buddhistethics.org/ Volume 17, 2010 )

So, back in around 600 BC, the Lord Buddha rejected vegetarianism as mandatory.

For some reason, the period of around 700 BC saw the emergence of the doctrine of vegetarianism. It influenced people like Devadatta. But the Lord Buddha rejected the vegetarianism stand.

• When a brahmin confronts Buddha and proceeds to refer to the bad and dangerous consequences of eating fish and flesh, the Buddha counters by referring at length to what he regards as the real moral defilement, such as anger, intoxication, deceit, envy, pride, non-payments of debts, slandering and the like. (Susunaga Weeraperuma 2003. Nirvana: The Highest Happiness. https://books.google.com.my/books?isbn=8179360105)

The Holy Bible would also have no support for vegetarianism. This is because in the Old Testament Mosaic religious system, there were laws defining "clean and unclean meat". "Clean meat" could be eaten, showing that the Old Testament Mosaic religious system allowed meat eating. Do not forget that the Holy Bible records animal sacrifices back in 4000 BC.

However, in contrast to the ambiguity about whether a meat or vegetarian diet is more healthy, a key medical factor is that Man requires B12 vitamin.

• Vitamin B12 is essential for the manufacture of red blood cells; a deficiency leads to a characteristic kind of anemia Vitamin B12 is needed to support the normal function of nerve cells, and to manufacture myelin, the insulating material that surrounds some of our nerve cells and speeds neural transmission Vitamin B12 is required for the replication of DNA (David L. Katz,1/10/2012. Vitamin B12: The Most Important Nutrient You Aren't Thinking About. www.doctoroz.com/.../vitamin-b12-most-important-nutrient-you-arent-thinking-about.)

Vegans may not realise that Man can only get the vital B12 from animal meat products!

• Food. Vitamin B12 is naturally found in animal products, including fish, meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and milk products. Vitamin B12 is generally not present in plant foods , but fortified breakfast cereals are a readily available source of vitamin B12 with high bioavailability for vegetarians (Health Professional. 5,13-15].Feb 11, 2016. Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin B12 https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminB12-HealthProfessional/)

  No fungi, plants, or animals (including humans) are capable of producing vitamin B12. Only bacteria and archaea have the enzymes needed for its synthesis.... B12 is produced in nature only by some prokaryotes (certain bacteria and archaea); it is not made by any multicellular or single-celled eukaryotes. It is synthesized by some gut bacteria in humans and other animals, but humans cannot absorb the B12 made in their guts, as it is made in the colon which is too far from the small intestine, where absorption of B12 occurs. Ruminants, such as cows and sheep, absorb B12 produced by bacteria in their guts . For gut bacteria of ruminants to produce B12 the animal must consume sufficient amounts of cobalt. (Wikipedia. 2017. Vitamin B12. en.wikipedia.org).

Much recent research, of almost up to date, which vegetarians are trying to ignore or contest, consistently show that significant numbers of vegetarians can suffer from B12 deficiency:

• June 18, 2003 -- Researchers have long known that a strict vegetarian diet -- one that excludes all animal products -- can lead to vitamin B-12 deficiency, and possibly heart disease. Now, new research suggests that even those who follow a more lenient vegetarian diet are also at risk. ... They found that 92% of the vegans they studied -- those who ate the strictest vegetarian diet, which shuns all animal products, including milk and eggs -- had vitamin B12 deficiency. But two in three people who followed a vegetarian diet that included milk and eggs as their only animal foods also were deficient. Only 5% of those who consumed meats had vitamin B12 deficiency(Sid Kirchheimer. 2003. Vegetarian Diet and B12 Deficiency. Vitamin B12 Deficiency Seen in All Types of Vegetarians. www.webmd.com › Food & Recipes › News)

  Vegetarian diets have been associated with atherosclerosis protection, with healthier atherosclerosis risk profiles, as well as lower prevalence of, and mortality from, ischemic heart disease and stroke. However, there are few data concerning the possible cardiovascular effects of a vegan diet (with no meat, dairy or egg products). Vitamin B-12 deficiency is highly prevalent in vegetarians; this can be partially alleviated by taking dairy/egg products in lact-ovo-vegetarians. However, metabolic vitamin B-12 deficiency is highly prevalent in vegetarians in Australia, Germany, Italy and Austria, and in vegans (80%) in Hong Kong and India, where vegans rarely take vitamin B-12 fortified food or vitamin B-12 supplements. Similar deficiencies exist in northern Chinese rural communities consuming inadequate meat, egg or dairy products due to poverty or dietary habits. Vascular studies have demonstrated impaired arterial endothelial function and increased carotid intima-media thickness as atherosclerosis surrogates in such metabolic vitamin B-12 deficient populations, but not in lactovegetarians in China. Vitamin B-12 supplementation has a favourable impact on these vascular surrogates in Hong Kong vegans and in underprivileged communities in northern rural China. Regular monitoring of vitamin B-12 status is thus potentially beneficial for early detection and treatment of metabolic vitamin B-12 deficiency in vegans, and possibly for prevention of atherosclerosis-related diseases. (Kam S. Woo,1,* Timothy C.Y. Kwok,2 and David S. Celermajer3. August 19, 2014. Vegan Diet, Subnormal Vitamin B-12 Status and Cardiovascular Health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov › NCBI › Literature › PubMed Central (PMC))

  Animal foods are the only sources of vitamin B12 in the human diet, outside of supplements. The absorption of vitamin B12 is determined by a number of our genes, therefore must have been there over the evolution of humanity. Does this mean that people have to eat animal foods? Does the need for vitamin B12 mean that a 100% plant-based diet is unhealthy? No! The presence or absence of animal-based foods does not affect whether a diet is healthy. The healthiness of a diet is determined by whether it nourishes us, i.e. its actual nutrient content. Advances in nutrition science and industrial production of small, complex molecules have allowed us to produce vitamin B12 without the need for eating animals. Eat meat or avoid it, it's your choice.
  Even so, vegans are at greater risk of vitamin B12 deficiency than ovo-lactovegetarians or omnivores (see review from Pawlak and co-workers), and this is logical as they do not obtain vitamin B12 from their food. Vegans should be aware of the lack of a source of vitamin B12 in their diet and either undergo regular testing for deficiency, or take a vitamin B12 supplement. (Julia Bird. Tue Mar 15 2016. The Other Vitamin B12 Controversy: Must We Eat Meat? https://www.dsm.com/campaigns/.../vitamin_B12_controversy_meat_vegan.html)

The medical evidence is that vegetarians can suffer serious blood-related diseases. One vegan who was trying unconvincingly to contest the findings that vegetarians can suffer from B12 deficiency even tried to play safe by recommending vegans to take B12 supplements under certain conditions:

• "I knew forty years ago that vitamin B12 would become the last bastion for meat-and dairy-lovers (and the industries that profit from them), because this is the only criticism with any merit that could be lodged against the McDougall Diet (a plant diet). In order to avoid that condemnation and the small risk of harming anyone, I have recommended and printed in the beginning of my books and DVDs the following advice: If you follow the McDougall Diet for more than 3 years, or if you are pregnant or nursing, then take a minimum of 5 micrograms of supplemental vitamin B12 each day." John McDougall, MD drmcdougall@drmcdougall.com (Katz M. January 22, 2012. Exploring the Truth of Vitamin B12 and Vegans. thevegantruth.blogspot.com/2012/01/exploring-truth-about-vitamin-b12-and.html)

There are too much scientific medical evidence of B12 deficiency among vegetarians. Let not vegetarians stubbornly continue to ignore the scientific medical evidence, which is that Man has to eat meat products to get his vital B12.

Some ex-vegans finally admitted they were wrong and reverted from vegetarianism to meat eating:

• C.R. writes: As someone who used to be vegetarian and even vegan for many years in my past, I remember being leery of people telling me my diet might be lacking certain nutrients. I'd point to studies which showed how healthy a balanced and well-thought out vegetarian diet was.
  Was my diet balanced and well-thought out? Only occasionally.
  This week we got a comment on a post (Could Vitamin B12 Help Your Anxiety, Depression?) that reminded me of this whole discussion. And just last week I got a call from a strictly-vegan friend of mine who was diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder a couple of years ago, and depression last year.
  At the time, I suggested she supplement with B12, as well as fish oil, Vitamin D3, and get tested for vitamin deficiencies and anemia. She told me her husband persuaded her to eat liver twice a week when she was diagnosed with mild anemia, and she told me in our recent conversation that since she's been eating meat (she added lamb, turkey and free-range beef to her diet last July) her depression has all but disappeared.
  Is this a prescription for everyone? No, of course not. But if you've been diagnosed with depression, take a good hard look at your diet. Many dietary issues, from abuse of alcohol to excessive sugary desserts to food allergies which trigger digestive complaints to yes, lack of B12 and other nutrients (such as Essential Fatty Acids, Proteins, Saturated Fats, and so on) may contribute to depression. (Richard Zwolinski, LMHC, CASAC & C.R. Zwolinski. Nov 24, 2014. Vegans, Vitamin B12 & Depression, Top 10 Controversial Posts. blogs.psychcentral.com › Bipolar Disorder › Blogs › Therapy Soup)
  • PS. This post is interesting, as it reminds me of my late chemist father's comments. He told me that one vegetarian was examined by a doctor for some serious illness. The doctor found that the vegetarian had a blood disorder. So, the doctor told the patient the doctor was going to give him an injection of liver extract. The vegetarian was horrified and exclaimed that he was a vegetarian. The doctor said that there was no alternative. Then the vegetarian came back to see the doctor and told him he had discussed the issue with his guru. His guru said he could take the liver injection as it was a medicine and not a food. Quite an unusual way to bypass the issue!

So, again, there are too much scientific medical evidence of B12 deficiency among vegetarians. Let not vegetarians stubbornly ignore the scientific medical evidence, which is that Man has to eat meat products to get his vital B12.

• While here we concentrate on discussing B12, recent medical evidence also show that the strict vegan diet will also lead to deficiencies in B6, iodine and taurine (EPA) and omega-3 (DHA).