The Ugly Underbelly of Veganism in India
This piece was shortlisted for the Conde Nast Excellence Award for Food Writing, 2019.
Is veganism the answer to animal cruelty and a polluted planet? Or is it merely an oversimplification in danger of causing as much damage as its meat-eating counterpart? Manisha Kairaly and Siddharth Rao examine veganism in the Indian context.
Food As A Political Tool & Debunking The Vegetarian Myth
Food is far more than nutrition and sustenance; food is politics. In India, what you eat can mean the difference between life and death, harassment or pride. It is hardly a secret that vigilantism in the name of food is on the rise. Pro-Hindutva groups have been pushing for vegetarianism as a way of life. Last year on Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, October 2nd, the Indian Railways tried to enforce a vegetarian menu across the railway network. In numerous other well-documented incidences, people have been lynched for eating beef, to a point where farmers are now fearful of even taking their cows to the hospital. In a country where ‘pure veg’ is marketed and perceived as superior, we have a problem.
The vegetarian myth, that India is a predominantly a vegetarian country, is false. Actual figures show that only about 23%-37% of Indians are vegetarian. These figures match data from official government statistics, and have been corroborated by independent researchers. This article by Balmurli Natrajan and Suraj Jacob pieces together official government data from multiple sources to bust this myth. Further detailed research by the authors can be found here.
When people’s lives are threatened on the basis of what they eat, an informed opinion on the impact of food choices on the delicate ecosystem of food politics in the country, is critically important. Most recently, veganism is being touted as the answer to climate change, animal cruelty and a multitude of other problems plaguing our times. Increasingly popular in urban India, it seems the practitioners of veganism often share the problematic traits of food shaming and evangelism as certain other fundamentalist groups in the country.
The Rise Of Veganism
The concept of veganism is a direct import from the West, and has not found any form of local nuance as yet; the philosophy behind turning vegan is exactly what is being trumpted in the West. But food, like politics, demands nuance; the ability to see things beyond mere black and white. The present brand of veganism would have you believe that anyone not subscribing to their philosophy is killing the planet, supportive of animal cruelty, and putting garbage into their bodies instead of 'eating healthy.'
Almond butter is a popular vegan food, that comes at a high cost to the planet.
Image credit: Amy in the Kitchen
But let’s take a closer look at the facts: The primary driver behind climate change and destruction of the planet are not everyday lifestyle choices of ordinary citizens, like eating meat or taking the car to work. Yes these do have an impact, as any action to live has impact. But the real culprits behind the planet’s erosion are unlimited growth-based economies, and large-scale corporations that view nature and the planet as a resource to be exploited. While we busy ourselves trying to be eco-friendly by carpooling and using steel straws, happy to take on the blame for climate change, it diverts attention from the real issue. Making personal lifestyle choices and generally reducing your carbon footprint is a great thing, but it is crucial to make the distinction between symbolic action that shows dissent and raises awareness, versus political action that demands systemic change. While there is certainly room for symbolic action, we need to demand laws that reign in corporate greed for unlimited growth, because that is the real, ruthless killer of the planet.
Every region has local context, and that context is almost always significantly different in every part of the world. Making choices without considering context is tantamount to foolishness. When vegans speak of animal cruelty, we must again consider nuance. Unlike in Western countries where meat consumption per capita is considerably higher than in India, industrialized meat production takes place under cruel, inhuman conditions. In the Indian context, free-range meat really does mean free-range: the mutton we eat has been grazed on savannah grasslands, and helps preserve the ecosystem in which these animals are raised. Without doubt, eating meat that has been raised locally, is less cruel to the planet than eating avocados that have been flown in from Chile, where industrialised production has wiped out indigenous species and local biodiversity, to bring you avo-toast with a large carbon footprint.
The Interconnectedness of Landscapes, Ecology, Communities, and Food
When we speak of cruelty to the planet, sustainability, and low carbon footprint, we need to pay attention to the interconnectedness of landscapes, ecology, communities, and food. For example, in the savannah grasslands of India, sheep and goat-rearing is a primary form of livelihood. At times, almost half the diet of the endangered Indian Grey wolf is composed of these livestock. In this context, eating mutton in Rayalseema, Andhra Pradesh, is far more sustainable than importing soya for human protein requirements. Soy plantations for Industrialised production is responsible for the felling of large tracts of rain forest. One of the primary arguments to promote veganism is that large swathes of rainforest are cut down to support cattle farming. But the educated eater will tell you that all forms of industrial farming, whether animal or plant-based, are harmful, cruel and destructive.
A leading pro-vegan organisation put out a study called ‘Meat Is Gross,’ based on the bacterial content of supermarket chicken — an argument to end meat consumption. What they don’t mention are numerous studies on the bacterial contamination of fruits and vegetables. One such study undertaken by Beuchar, shows that human pathogens like L. monocytogenes, E. coli, Salmonella are very often associated with everyday fruits and vegetables. Further, a lot of fresh produce is consumed raw, creating room for these pathogens to cause the widespread outbreak of disease. The point here is that both meat and vegetables can contain pathogens harmful to humans, which is why we need to ask where our meat and vegetables are coming from — are they farmed, grown in the wild, free-range, or industrially produced? Are they injected with antibiotics, are they pesticide-free?
Lierre Kieth, author of The Vegetarian Myth, points out that humans have been eating meat for over four million years, an important factor that has led to our development as the dominant species. However unpalatable, the fact remains that as primates with the largest brain and the smallest digestive tract, we are at the top of the food chain largely thanks to a meat-eating diet. Kieth also points out that fat soluble nutrients like Vitamin K, vitamin K2, vitamin E and Vitamin D are available only in diets with meat.
Using animals for farming, or eating meat, are cultural and personal choices. Different communities and cultures are responsible and accountable in a proportionate manner for the well-being or destruction of the planet. To hold the forest-dwelling Soliga as accountable as a Caucasian New Yorker seems absurd, and unfair, to say the least. We need to bring more nuance into our views on food, communities, and the interconnectedness between humans, plants, animals, and the land. For those who care about the planet, it is important to understand that horizontal hostility is wasteful and destructive. We need to be clear about who we are targeting with our actions, campaigns and wrath.
Siddharth Rao is a conservation biologist and Manisha Kairaly is an organic farmer and trainer. They live on an off-grid farm alongside a host of other domestic and wild creatures.
Banner image: The Minimalist Baker
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