An Ahimsa Crisis: You Decide: Emerging Trends: Veganism in America

Veganism is a growing trend within the vegetarian community and is considered a stricter form of vegetarianism. The Huffington post report predicts that: “No Lie Can Live Forever: Predicting a Vegan America by 2050”, Vegetarian Times Study Shows 7.3 Million Americans Are Vegetarians and an additional 22.8 Million follow a Vegetarian-Inclined Diet. Approximately 1 million^[1], of those are vegans, who consume no animal products at all. In addition, 10 percent of U.S., adults, or 22.8 million people, say they largely follow a vegetarian-inclined diet.

Outside the non-Jain community, there are vegan societies and vegan restaurants all over. In Houston where I live, there is a thriving Vegan Society with scores of programs every year and a major VEG-FEST in June every year which is attended by at least 3000- 5000 people. In 2013, my family and I went to Guatemala in Central America and even there we ate at many vegan restaurants in many cities and towns.

Hundreds of vegan cookbooks and web sites are easily available.

Fortunately quite many Jains in India, USA, Canada, and the UK have started changing their food habits and lifestyle to veganism. I know of many Jains now who are pure vegans.

The Center for Jain Studies at Claremont Lincoln University, in Claremont, California, USA, served pure Jain vegan meals during its all progams.

At the JAINA conventions, at least one day all the meals are vegan and even otherwise vegan meals are freely available every day. Recently JAINA and many Jain Centers in North America have started one day in October/ November time frame as Vegan Day. The YJA (Young Jains of America) convention also offers vegan meals. Finally, please note; The dichotomy between dairy and meat in our culture is absolutely false. The reality is that meat and dairy farming are two parts of the same enterprise, both completely dependent on each other. Just a few key facts prove this point:

• Over 21,000,000 (21 million) unwanted calves born to dairy
• Over 6 billion male chicks are killed every year by hatcheries and become “filler” in processed meats for human consumption and blended into animal feed.
  
• Over 3 million spent dairy cows (those who are no longer optimally producing milk) or one-third of the entire U.S. herd of 9 million, are sent to slaughter each year and are transformed into products for the meat industry to sell and profit on.

Make no mistake. Dairy is deadly.

NOW YOU DECIDE