On Wednesday, March 10, 2004, at 12:55  AM, Amadeus Schmidt-Philipp
wrote:

> (scandals are
> always about animals, did you notice?)

Actually, no. Some recent big scares are involving animals, but in
terms of actual deaths caused by food-borne illness, the biggest source
in plant matter, according to the US government statistics. You can
trust them or not as you please.  ;--)

> Vegetarianism isn't real human history, like inuit eating (low carb)
> isn't.
> Would you consider some thousand of years of Indian history too short
> term?

Another question that isn't answered yet. A recent scandal in India
concerned a historian who claimed that only fairly recently have Hindus
stopped eating beef, for example. And only a few Hindu sects have
adopted strict vegetarianism, though those are the ones popular in the
west. Most Hindus will eat some meats but not others, depending on
which exact sect they belong to. Some friends eat no pork, beef, fish
etc, but do eat birds and lamb, for example. Besides, India is hardly
the place to go to find vibrant health and longevity! Heart disease is
very high, I have read, even among the south Indians, who tend more
towards vegetarianism.