Cows are sacred because of Hindu religious principles and therefore are not
eaten. Technically, any other animal may be eaten, though some devout Hindus
eat no meat, but lots of eggs, cheese, yogurt, sometimes fish and fish eggs.
Only southern India is predominately Hindu and therefore semi-vegetarian. They
also have one of the shortest life-spans on earth. In northern India, all
kinds of foods are eaten and the life span is much longer. I don't remember
the exact citation, but the above is from Sally Fallon and Mary Enig's book
Nourishing Traditions (available from the Price Pottenger Nutrition Foundation
at 1-800-FOODS4U).

Mac