Pure vegetarianism or veganism is Indic in origin and is still practiced in India by some adherents of Dharmic religions such as Jainism and in the case of Hinduism, lacto-vegetarianism with the additional abstention of pungent or fetid vegetables.
Plant-based eating is deeply rooted in three of the prominent religions practiced in India – Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. All these religions believe in the concept of Ahimsa, which means kindness and non-violence towards all living things.
Jainism. Jainism is a nontheistic religion based in India that embodies the ahimsa principles of non-violence, so some strict Jains follow a vegetarian or vegan diet.
Today, it's generally the case that vegetarianism is considered a personal choice in Theravada and Tibetan Buddhism: most eat meat, and others are vegetarian, pescatarian, or vegan. Vegetarianism is more common in Mahayana schools, and particularly in the Chinese, Koreaean, and Vietnamese traditions, and in the West.
Responding to the question on what Islam says about vegetarianism, the Islam Online Archive said: “So, Muslims are not vegetarians. However, if someone prefers to eat vegetables, then he is allowed to do so. Allah has given us permission to eat meat of slaughtered animals, but He has not made it obligatory upon us.”
Many biblical scholars believe that Jesus was a vegetarian. Jesus' message is one of love and compassion, and there is nothing loving or compassionate about factory farms and slaughterhouses, where billions of animals live miserable lives and die violent, bloody deaths.
One of the earliest followers of what we now consider a vegan diet was Arab philosopher and poet Al-Maʿarri who abstained from animal products for his health and beliefs on the transmigration of souls and animal welfare.
In this passage, God prescribes a plant-based diet not just for humans, but for all land-based non-human animals. Christian vegetarians and vegans point out that it was this creation—where all creatures ate plants—that God then declared "very good" in verse 31.
According to the Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, a Mahayana sutra giving Gautama Buddha's final teachings, the Buddha insisted that his followers should not eat any kind of meat or fish. Even vegetarian food that has been touched by meat should be washed before being eaten.
But, Most Hindus Are Not Vegetarian
There, roughly, two-thirds to three-quarters of people do not eat meat—representing not just Hindus, but also large concentrations of Jains and Sikhs, who also have strong traditions of vegetarianism. However, in the south and east of India, a tiny minority of people are vegetarian.
And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food. ' And it was so. In these verses, God institutes a plant-based diet for both humans and non-human animals alike.
The Dalai Lama, though, is non-vegetarian. An American journal had in 2010 quoted one of his aides as saying that the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader does a balancing act by adhering to a vegetarian diet in Dharamsala and having meat dishes when offered by his hosts elsewhere.
Is the Pope vegan? The Pope himself is not a vegetarian, but favours a very simple diet, according to a much-quoted article in USA Today. The article from 2013 reports that one of his favourite meals is the raw vegetable dish 'bagna cauda', which is made from garlic and anchovies.
In summary, there is no contradiction between Judaism (and its dietary laws) and veganism. In fact, as argued above, veganism appears to be the diet most consistent with the highest Jewish values.
Hindus don't eat beef. They worship the animals. The Muslims don't eat pork. The Buddhists are vegetarians and the Jains are strict vegans who won't even touch root vegetables because of the damage it does to the plants.
Jains abstain from eating eggs. Many Hindu and Orthodox Sikh vegetarians also refrain from eating eggs. An egg that naturally contains a spot of blood may not be eaten under Jewish and Islamic tradition, but eggs without any blood are commonly consumed (and are not considered to be meat, so may be eaten with dairy).
Veganism is a moral position that opposes exploiting and otherwise harming nonhuman animals. This includes what we do directly, such as hunting or fishing. It also includes what we support as consumers, which affects many more animals.
Buddha advised monks to avoid eating 10 kinds of meat for self-respect and protection: humans, elephants, horses, dogs, snakes, lions, tigers, boars and hyenas.
Even today, however, not all Buddhist monks and nuns are vegetarians. For example, in China and Korea they typically are; in Tibet and Thailand, they are not.
There is no direct statement on the subject by Jesus in the New Testament. The story of Jesus feeding fish to people would support the view that Jesus may have been a pescatarian. Paul seems to have been more open to meat eating, but even Paul was open to vegetarianism.
They ate from the trees in the garden and didn't need to labor for food. While they had dominion over the animals, they didn't need for animals for clothing, labor or food and did not yet have a desire to eat meat, though it seems meat eating was permissible.
Most Christians in the Western Hemisphere eat meat. Though a small vegetarian/vegan minority exists, for the most part Christianity in North and South America is a meat-eating religion.
Breast milk is indeed vegan and is the perfect food to nourish your newborn and future animal rights activist.
The world's strongest vegan, Patrik Baboumian, shows that plants are the perfect fuel—even for record-breaking powerlifters like him. Baboumian is well known for his appearance in The Game Changers.