Author Archives: drJina

Harvest Home Sanctuary’s Toast for the Turkeys Thanksgiving celebration

Posted on November 12, 2011 | Leave a comment

Today we fed turkeys and goats, played with dogs and rabbits and learned about the animals that are rescued and supported at Harvest Home Sanctuary. It was Harvest Home Sanctuary‘s Toast for  the Turkeys event.

It felt like  American version of the Jain panjrapol (our traditional animal shelters in India),  with activities that  transformed a very American holiday 0f suffering for turkeys into ahimsa for animals .

 

Please consider supporting Harvest Home Sanctuary or Farm Sanctuary, with shelters in CA and NY, by sponsoring a turkey and/or supporting the shelter animals year round. Visit these shelters! You will be touched by the animals and the humans that care for them.

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Posted in Activism

A Diwali gift from PCRM: Vegan Kickstart for India!

Posted on October 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

OK, PCRM didn’t really time this for Diwali, our holiday celebrating the Nirvana of Mahavir Swami Tirthankar this Wednesday. But how nice that we have a 21 day program complete with Indian menus and a Kickstart program set for early November! Spread the word and check it out here.

Dr. Barnard gave a very nice, positive talk at JAINA last July which we have been meaning to post up.  One point that he made very well is how tastes can change;  many of the uncles and antis could identify with the way they are now able to enjoy fat free or low fat milk, when they used to like only full fat milk; similarly, tastes can change to enjoy even healthier soy, almond, rice and other types of non-dairy milks.

For those who follow a traditional Jain diet, the recipes on the Kickstart menu can be easily modified to eliminate root vegetables.  Just remember the 5 sensed beings that are harmed in our traditional dairy based diet and consider all the compassion you are showing by sparing the cows that suffering!

Happy Diwali, may the light of knowledge guide us towards enlightened action.

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Posted in Health and Nutrition, Jain Philosophy, Uncategorized

On the Plight of Cows in India- our fond memories of the Indian family cow are outdated

Posted on October 1, 2011 | 3 comments
My friend Dr. Tushar, a family doctor in Canada,  organizes a wonderful volunteer opportunity to teach school children about health issues in rural Gujarat, as part of the Bidada health camp. He recently reached out with an email regarding the plight of Indian cows.
I volunteered with him in 2008 and remember visiting a panjra-pol at that time, and talked with the caretaker who informed me sadly that the capacity of the panjra-pol was limited, and that ultimately many of the cows had to be sold to slaughter.
Dr. Tushar’s post  follows:
 India has the highest population of cows in the world, over 280 million (or 28 crores).  This is a massive number.  Now here are a few facts.  A cow in India can live for around 23 years.  She starts producing milk at the age of around 4, and milk production lowers down at the age of around 12.  Each year, as our slave, she must be forced to become pregnant and have a baby, which is taken away by force.  Most cows are now brought up in very crowded conditions, and the percentage in humane conditions is becoming the exception rather than the norm.  These cramped places are out of the public eye, because businesses do not want people to see what goes on there.


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Posted in Dairy in India, Environmental, Musings

Prof Gary Francione’s talk at JAINA 2011

Posted on August 28, 2011 | 1 comment

Here are the links for the first few segments of Prof. Francione’s discussion of veganism and ahimsa at JAINA.
Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

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Posted in Jain Philosophy, Talks

Confusing Vegan and Environmental Messages at JAINA 2011

Posted on August 28, 2011 | Leave a comment

Despite the support of many Jain leaders and JAINA convention attendees, there was no clear response to our call for on all vegan menu. At one point, we heard there would be one all vegan day, then a few all vegan meals. An email came out to all attendees prior to the convention regarding the need to sign up for vegan meals, and letting them know to register. I emailed back to suggest that since they had invited vegan speakers, and people may be convinced to try vegan items, to have some excess capacity. But there was no reply, and at the actual event, several people who were persuaded by talks such as Prof Gary Francione’s, and Dr. Neal Barnard’s were turned away from the vegan line. Unfortunately, for those of us who did sign up before the convention, it was difficult  to ascertain what was vegan even in the vegan lines.The volunteers had a lot to handle at this convention and this is not intended to downplay their efforts, but it was very disappointing that they didn’t know what was vegan, and I think the the convention leaders could have been more clear,so that the meals and the message of the talks could have been consistent.
Another disappointing vision was the ubiquity of plastic water bottles, which, even if recycled, create unnecessary environmental resource use, and in many cases were not recycled. Also, as seems to be the norm for JAIN events, there was  egregious use of styrofoam plates with a milk compartment used to serve meals(as pictured on a previous post here about the Jain Center of GA). If we as a community are doing so well financially and hold ahimsa so dear to our ideals, why can’t we figure out a way to replace styrofoam with washable or at least compostable or biodegradable alternatives?

We did appreciate the efforts of Asha Jain to make the meals healthier and all the volunteers’ work. We certainly did not leave hungry or thirsty. Bringing our own water bottles and food containers to the conventions, we participated in the events, without generating so much waste (washing our plates with Dr. Bronner’s soap in the hotel room and reused them for each meal). We met friends and family and had a nice time at the convention.
We will post some of the talks on this site this week to inspire or reinspire our readers!

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Posted in Environmental, Musings

Paryushan Activism:Join Animal sanctuary volunteers and Bay area Jains to oppose backyard slaughter of animals

Posted on August 27, 2011 | Leave a comment

Harvest Home Bake Sale

One Saturday morning, I wandered towards my local farmer’s market and was happy to see a vegan bake sale to supply me with goodies for my friends and family and support the Harvest Home Sanctuary, which rescues animals, at the same time.

That Saturday, as  I continued to shop in my market, I noticed that in addition to the numerous stalls  filled with fresh fruits and vegetables,  bread and other treats, there were a disturbing few stalls of of raw milk and local meat on sale. And then I circled back to the Harvest Home volunteers to chat some more.

As I got to know these lovely volunteers, they informed me that where I live, in Oakland, CA the planning commission has initiated a plan to make slaughter of animals in residential neighborhoods legal, as part of a plan to encourage healthy local eating.  While many vegetarians and vegan fully support efforts to grow plants, we are opposed to allowing animals to be killed, for the sake of our own family’s exposure to slaughter and because we’d rather not have an sanctioned, legal,   killing of animals  in our neighborhood.  For more details on the initiative go to noslaughter.org. To sign the petition directly, click here (note there is an option not to display your signature publicly in order to maintain your privacy). Besides Oakland, other cities around the country are watching and if this passes, you could have the same problem where you live, so make your voice heard!

As Jains we have a tradition of opposing the building of slaughterhouses. In recent times, one of our sadhus was imprisoned in U.P. Our opposition to backyard killing is consistent with our peaceful tradition of activism. Now all your paryushan activitism requires is a click and some typing on your computer.

Read on for more background….

Continue reading →

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Posted in Activism, JCNC

Join the Jains going Vegan this Paryushan!

Posted on August 25, 2011 | 1 comment

I caught up with an old friend a few days ago about an initiative in my city to block backyard slaughter of animals ( that post will go up next). In the course of our conversation, he told me he has made a tradition of going vegan during paryushan. And that’s how a number of people got started on their vegan diets…

Sagar posts on the Jain Vegan list-serv:

Please consider giving up dairy products this Paryushana
As most of you will know, Paryushana, the Jain festival of penance and forgiveness is due to begin at the end of August.

During this festival, members of the Jain faith traditionally fast and participate in pratikraman. For lay members, fasting often entails avoiding activities that are traditionally thought to cause more himsa than others, such as eating root vegetables.
In today’s complex society, the process of milk production causes far more suffering and killing than first meets the eye. Dairy cows are forcefully impregnated by means of artificial insemination to stimulate milk production.

They are immediately separated from their offspring at birth.  Male calves are killed within hours of birth or sold on to be reared for veal or beef (they are of no other value to a dairy farmer), and their sisters are forced to go through the same agony and suffering as their mothers.

A dairy cow will normally get killed before the age of 10, even though she could live up to 30 years if given the chance.  This is because her milk yield drops after about 5 lactations, and it is not does not make financial sense for a farmer to keep her alive when he is able to obtain milk from her younger (and more productive) daughters.

[My addition to Sagar’s post, with the photo above is to show how they are treated like machines. It is also easy to see how infections, such as mastitis, are likely to develop in these mama cows, adding to their suffering].
It is an unfortunate truth that our consumption of milk and dairy products contributes to the killing and suffering cows. In light of this, it seems natural that Jains (and all adherents of Ahimsa) should acknowledge and consider the suffering caused to cows in the milk production when undertaking pratikramana.
So, in addition to the other activities you undertake this Paryushana, why not also consider giving up dairy products?

For hints and tips on how to avoid dairy products, beyond the resources on this site, you are invited to  e-mail sagar@jainvegans.org and/or visit the Vegan Society website.

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Posted in General, Jain Philosophy

Nutritionfacts.org- Great resource from Dr. Greger!

Posted on August 17, 2011 | Leave a comment

Just after I posted the links to my talk at JCNC yesterday, I listened again to the lecture. I noticed a few areas that were less than crystal clear. And then today someone posted information about a new website with searchable posts on nutritional topics by Dr. Michael Greger. He is knowledgable and entertaining in person, and the website is a great resource for all kinds of topics, especially related to vegan nutrition, based on scientific evidence. Search on vegan vs. omnivore nutritional deficiencies and you’ll see how omnivores have 7 deficiencies, while vegans tend to have 3. Which 3– B12, iodine and calcium. And then you can look up each of these topics.  You’ll see info on good, bad and killer fats, which sweeteners have nutritional value, and many other topics. Continue reading →

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Posted in Health and Nutrition, Musings

The Birth of the Spiritual Leader Who Gave us Ahimsa

Posted on April 18, 2011 | Leave a comment

By Gary L. Francione,
Distinguished Professor of Law
 & Nicholas deB. Katzenbach Scholar of Law & Philosophy
Rutgers University School of Law

Although many are aware of the Buddha or the deities of Hinduism, few know anything about Mahavir (599-527 BCE), whose birth the Jain community around the world celebrates on [and around] April 16. This celebration is known as Mahavir Jayanti.
Jainism, along with Hinduism and Buddhism, are the three primary spiritual traditions of India, and archeological evidence indicates that although Mahavir was a contemporary of the Buddha, Jainism predated Mahavir by hundreds of years and, therefore, is the oldest religion in India.  Mahavir is considered to be the last in a line of what the Jains call “Tirthankaras,” which literally means “maker of a ford” and refers to a human being who achieves omniscience and then teaches the path to liberation to others, thereby establishing a ford across the river of rebirth.
A Tirthankara is also referred to as a “Jina,” which means “spiritual victor,” or as an “Arihant,” which means “destroyer of enemies.”  A Jina or Arihant is a victor or destroyer in that he or she has conquered inner emotions and passions, and has complete equanimity that is characterized by an absence of attachment and aversion.  
Mahavir was a social revolutionary.  He rejected the caste system and the sexism that pervaded the society of his time (and that unfortunately persists), and promoted a radical social justice movement based on complete equality and equal inherent value.  He did not limit this revolution to humans and was the first historical figure to regard all nonhuman animals as full members of the moral community. 

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Posted in Jain Philosophy

Green juice

Posted on April 5, 2011 | 1 comment

Passed down from a nutritionally minded MD to patient, to friend, to cousin is the following healthy drink recipe

Green  Juice!

– 2 cups of Kale
– ¼ cup of Spinach
– ¼ cup of Coriander (Cilantro)
– ½ Beet
– 1 stalk Celery – optional
– ½ Carrot – optional
– 5 or 6 seeded Grapes – optional
– ½ Apple – optional

The juice below is  red, because of the beets. She uses a Blendtech, but Christian is loyal to his Vitamix and I think you can use a lower-tech blender too.Veggie juice Continue reading →

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Posted in Healthy drinks!, Recipes, Uncategorized