The meaty matter of vegetarianism
JAKARTA (JP): Do we eat to live or live to eat? This question often pops up in my mind whenever I read the column "Thought for Food" by Epicurus in this newspaper on Wednesdays.
I always wonder how people who often eat out in specialty restaurants manage not to have eating disorders, or how they win the "battle of the bulge".
For many of today's wealthy, it is socially unacceptable not to visit such high-class and upmarket restaurants.
Our irresistible urge to eat is also whetted these days by the foreign fast food chains. The fast food business, though highly competitive, is largely controlled by large multinational firms.
The international popularity of fast food can be gauged by the fact that about 5 percent of all Australians eat at McDonald's every day, not far behind the 7 percent of Americans who do so.
Having been a strict vegetarian since birth, I strongly believe in plant-based foods provided by Mother Nature. However, some people here look at me as if I am a strange species from an alien land.
There seems to be no equivalent word in Indonesian for vegetarianism. You have to go round in circles to describe that you are a pure vegetarian and that you can't eat fish, chicken, seafood, beef, eggs, etc. In Pizza Hut, even the "country vegetable" soup will invariably contain either beef or chicken stock. It's a great dilemma for vegetarians to eat out in this country.
In the company parties which I am expected to attend, I am always an odd man out. A colleague of mine once commented that I really didn't know what I missed unless until I tried nonvegetarian foods. I agree, but there is just no way I can reconcile myself to do this.
I don't feel that I miss anything at all and I'm determined to be a vegetarian all my life, although I don't attach any extraordinary virtue to this. I feel strongly that physical fitness does not require that one be nonvegetarian.
I realize the restaurant owners go to great lengths to develop customer intimacy, such as by big investment in innovative and attractive interior decorations, which enhance the ambience and grandeur of their restaurants. The immediate assumption is that there are delicious treats on the menu.
But I personally won't be taken in by manmade mini waterfalls, plants and gardens, wall-to-wall carpeting, soft music, dim lights and the like, though I agree all these fancy frills do make people feel good about the environment.
All I expect is for the eating place to be neat and clean with a comfortable atmosphere. I believe that for customers the bottom line will continue to be price, quality, service and cleanliness, not necessarily in the same order.
Some hoteliers choose to entice customers with claims their establishment is a "home away from home". Which always makes me want to ask why should we travel and waste our hard-earned money in a hotel if it's just another replica of our home? We may as well stay in the comfort of our home, and spend nothing!
I recall from my childhood days the pleasure and happiness which I derived when my brothers, sisters and cousins of the same age group when we used to sit on the floor, reaching up to our grandma and taking turns in receiving food given by her. The food, though simple, used to be quite tasty and was usually sufficient to fill our bellies.
But what really mattered was that every handful of food was accompanied by a sense of love and attachment.
"Let thy food be thy medicine," say Hippocratic teachings. Human health depends mainly on the digestive system. Much ridiculed vegetarianism is actually beneficial for our health. Nutritionists confirm that a healthy, perfectly balanced diet of carbohydrates, protein and high fiber content can indeed be obtained by properly combining rice, wheat, grains, cereals, nuts, nonfat yogurt, fruits, vegetables and of course, plenty of water -- all vegetarian fare.
For exercise, walking at a moderate pace for 30 to 40 minutes every morning should be sufficient to keep the body fit.
Finally, it appears that vegetarians belong to a galaxy of greats like Albert Einstein, John Milton, H.G. Wells, Leo Tolstoy, Benjamin Franklin, George Bernard Shaw, Tenzing and Annie Besant.
Think about it -- isn't it time to choose health and switch to vegetarianism?
-- D. Chandramouli