BK Food issues

Yes, as perhaps touched upon, the true suffering is not just the killing of the animals, it is the suffering they endure while alive in many cases. Then the suffering it causes those who eat it, or who have been educated to eat it.

The film "Super Size Me" was on last night. A timely movie while we engage this thread again. It is/would be a funny movie, if the subject matter was not so sad and serious. And people wonder why we are so reactionary here towards corporates.

Am I obliged to be polite towards the Dali Lama? I don't know him, so I will stay out of that one. Hmmn, he, like other spiritual leaders, keeps some questionable company at times, or am I being ignorant and negative . And, is the Dali Lama the Buddha soul? Or have we been there? Another thread I guess.

And, it may be worth mentioning that palm fat has nothing to do with coconuts and its production is causing suffering to animals. The human body does not deal with it very well.

You cannot take BK pre-prepared "food for the journey" onto the plane.

Is it true? I have travelled by air twice on domestic airlines in India. And they allowed 'home made food' to be carried as hand-luggage. Do they not allow food items to be carried as hand luggage? I suppose it must have been banned after the 9/11 attack.

In India there are many food items like Parantha, Poori, chutney, etc. which can be carried on long distance train journeys.

Domestic flights are usually okay for anything. I am sure on international flights it is not possible to take any food without having it inspected, quarantined or declared (imagine declaring a chapatee at the custom red channel?).

About meat, the other day I was sniffing some food at a food cooking show and wasn't sure of it due to the colour or texture had been altered. It made me nauseas for a minute. Later I found that it was pork.

Has anyone, whether vegetarian from the beginning, or having converted to vegetarian diet had a similar experience ... i.e. caught the smell of meat and feeling put off?

Anyone ever had fun eating on the plane ?

No. They always get it wrong whatever you ask for. You can never trust them. You have to take your own.

The only thing that is safe is the hot water ...

I have just got my organic veg from the local farmers market. They have a stall with a whole pig roasted which they sell on filled rolls. It reeks the whole market out and is rather vile. The smell they say is similar to human flesh then. A recent news item said that bacon poses a greater threat of cancer than other meat. Is that because a pigs body is so close to the human body?

At the market, there was a guy selling virgin rapeseed oil claiming it to be better than olive oil and the rest. I have my doubts, but who knows. He had a newspaper cutting as proof, yet there was no coconut oil on the list. He was talking about omega numbers.

Refined wheat makes me tired. I have spells when I cannot afford bread and so have the contrast as proof.

The sight, smell and idea even of cooked flesh always made me sick since birth and, for sure, in all previous incarnations.

Often I think, "how can people eat corpses, have no sense of distaste and no feeling for animals?" Is it one of the effects of body-consciousness, the arrogance of the body, of being "humans"? How come this violence is considered legitimate and perpetuated in most parts of the world, even where plenty of veg food is grown and available?? Amazingly, this includes self-calling "pet-lovers".

As a really small kid of under 6 or so, I remember playing princess with my mum's clothes and wearing some cone fairy-like carnival hats, holding magic wands and affirming that "in my kingdom, no violence on animals will be allowed!". This is possibly the thing that made Gyan resonate with me the most: there will be a New Age and that sort of degradation of cruelty and slaughter of animals will be out and over. I will belong there and there will be no need to enforce a law to protect animals. I would need no other evidence to firmly believe that hell is now here and most people are devils. All my pets are sighing and nodding in agreement .

About meat, the other day I was sniffing some food at a food cooking show and wasn't sure of it due to the colour or texture had been altered. It made me nauseas for a minute. Later I found that it was pork. Has anyone, whether vegetarian from the beginning, or having converted to vegetarian diet had a similar experience ... i.e. caught the smell of meat and feeling put off?

Hmmm, a not so nice thing for me is to go the supermarket and if its one I haven't been in before I immediately know where the meat and chicken counter is by the putrid 'smell' coming from its source. Makes me want to gag.

A food experience for me was to go to Hong Kong last year and try and find completely veggie food to eat. I went into one restaurant and tried to order from the pictures and 'bad English usage' presented on the menu - the waiter eventually understood I did not want any meat, chicken or fish but when the dish eventually arrived there was something ominous in it.

Very upset waiters reply, "you say 'No meat, no chicken, not fish' you not say no pork" ... uhhhhhhh, OK ~!~ For me the very smell of it is gross.

Same for me. I avoid walking by the meat department in supermarkets. The very smell of it make me sick. I hope I could hold my breath when they serve the meals during flights.

One of the biggest shames in the West is the recent trend for wholefood shops to stick organic meat and animal products. Wholefood shops used to be 99 to 100% vegetarian and vegan but a mixture of macrobiotic influence and big business put paid to all that as the market became more trendy.

BK food issues are one thing (no big thing really except a bit of over eating and problems with eating non-BK food) but being vegetarian of vegan is still quite tough out in the |real world". And only confused by Western-style vegetarians who thought eggs were vegetable and "vegetarians" that eat fish ... hohum.

Fine, eat what you want ... but why confuse the issue and steal someone else's respect whilst you are at it. I also agree with Paul's point about Far East Asians, Chinese mainly, not getting that po'k is also meat too. let's face it, pork is about the worst meat. Although there are some fantastic Chinese Buddhist vegetarian restaurants/temples/recipes and products

... whatever went wrong with Buddhism out there?

Chinese restaurants are the worst to eat out of after Indians/Bengalis because everything gets cooked together in the same wok with the same sauce. Can I recommend the vegan passport - a guide in how to eat veg about in 53 languages.

Om Shanti

I wrestle with my food habits so much, i was wondering what you all feel about eggs (only the highest quality free range with no antibiotics or suffering from the chook)? Has anyone ever seen it in the Murli where Baba says no eggs?

I have had the Murli for over 5 years and never noticed Baba give a specific directive about eggs, please let me know if he does and i missed it. I don't eat them, as that is the instruction from Seniors, but boy do i miss them and sure i love Tofu but boy do i miss my poached, scrambled etc etc ...

In Baba's sneh preet & pyar, thanks for this wonderful much needed family forum. Now when are we going to divest ourselves of the Mausoleum at Ashfield and rent the building for the Multi-national BK meditation, media, toli, lassi, coffee, chai, shop in Darling Harbour!! Mmmmmm a satvic envioroment for BKs like me to eat, meditate etc etc in. Now that would be seva, yes??

Looking forward to the Diamond Age within the Diamond Age with the real (Royal) independence of loveFull interdependence without fear or favour!! Coming to the First family soon ... surely it must be soon Baba, yes ??

BK mike

I have had the Murli for over 5 years and never noticed Baba give a specific directive about eggs ... Now when are we going to divest ourselves of the Mausoleum at Ashfield and rent the building for the Multi-national BK meditation, media, toli, lassi, coffee, chai, shop?

Eggs ... I have never heard of it either. You are right, it might just be another part of the Vaishnavite tradition stuck on top of Gyan out of convenience. Personally, I do not think eggs are vegetarian and it was one of the great travesties of Western vegetarianism to introduce them just to confuse issues ... but, in the bigger picture, I think we put too much emphasis on food and over play the significance of food (e.g. I don't cook and buy onions, and they do make one smell, but the last time I ate something with some in, I did not become some ravishing, aggressive, sex slave overnight).

What it does suggest to me though, and your posts confirm this, that you diet is too "Yin" and what you are craving is some "Yang" to try and balance it. Read up on Macrobiotics to understand what I am saying. Try cutting down on the sugary, sweet, fruity things and instead used more baked, fried and salted foods, and well cooked wholegrains.

With regards to a BK run restaurant/coffee, I should think that would be such a complete hit it is a wonder that the Beakies have not done one before now. Imagine ... single BKs could go there, invite non-BKs, and pretend that they could go out and eat at restaurants. It would be a wonderful pretense for service. Remember where you read this first folks!

All the same, I would have to check in with the PBKs as to whether that would be in accordance with Shrimat and whether Brahma Bhogan bought over a counter still REALLY counts as pure food ... I am not sure but it works for the Hare Krishnas. I suspect at best ONLY if the restaurant is ethical and not-for-profit.

What a laugh if we become the incubator for "good service ideas" within the BK family.

Eggs ... listen to your body, try one or two, and let us know what difference it makes to your Yoga and consciousness. Go free range and organic; some happy chicks scratching in the dirt with a handsome cock. It will not kill you nor destroy your Kalpa's worth of karma.

All those things they told you REALLY are not such big things ... whereas some of the dirty tricks they get up to SERIOUSLY are. Its all a question of keeping things in proportion.

Omshanti. Here is a Murli point that has become relevant to today's food crisis in the world:

"The first class food when compared to others is daal (curry made of pulses), rice and potatoes. If anyone gets used to this, then you will never fall ill. Ascetics eat daal & rice, but are so healthy." (Revised Sakar Murli dated 26.6.70, pg.4 published by BKs in Hindi and translated by a PBK)

There is an article in today's Times of India newspaper, Pg. No. 21 as follows:

"Food crisis? Eat potatoes, say experts - Poor Nations Can Grow Spuds To Supplement Or Even Replace Grains Like Rice and Wheat

Spain: With governments having trouble feeding the growing number of hungry poor and grain prices fluctuating wildly, food scientists are proposing a novel solution for the global food crisis: Let them eat potatoes.

Grains like wheat and rice have long been staples of diets in most of the world and the main currency of food aid. Now a number of scientists, nutritionists and aid specialists are increasingly convinced that the potato should be playing a much larger role to ensure a steady supply of food in the developing world. Poor countries could grow more potatoes, they say, to supplement or even replace grains that are most often shipped in from far away and are subject to severe market gyrations ..."

These unnamed scientists are idiots and they have learned nothing from the past, e.g. the famines caused by potato blights and the difference in nature and nutrition between grains and potatoes. They probably work for the potato manufacturing board ... or some company that wants to sell genetically modified potatoes, special pesticides and fertilizer. Potatoes are very bad food in comparison to grains ...

I appreciate that you are a man of faith but I also think that it means NOTHING in relationship to that random Murli quote.

Its idiocy on both sides ... the problem with the world's grain markets is NOT the poor, developing nations, God or the environment ... it is ECONOMICS ... the rich countries are using their financial power to buy all the grains to feed them to cattle and other livestock so that the West ... read AMERICA ... can eat its self obese on meat which is a very poor conversion of food to energy. I am sure we have all read that it take 10 kilos of vegetable protein to make 1 kilo of meat protein etc ...

The answer is for the West to stop so much meat and stop thieving across the world using unfettered, free market, so-called capitalism as an excuse. The West has to connect in its mind its greed and the developing worlds famine.

I appreciate that you are a man of faith but I also think that it means NOTHING in relationship to that random Murli quote.

But the Murlis don't say that one should leave the grains and eat only potatoes. Murlis advocate simple and cheap food like rice, wheat flour (roties), pulses. Among vegetables, Baba advocates potatoes probably because potatoes are one of the cheapest vegetables even today. This year India has experienced heavy and regular rainfall in most areas which has led to vegetable prices sky rocketing since last few months. But potato continues to be affordable at about Rs.10/- per kg in the retail market.

Potatoes are very bad food in comparison to grains

Yet there are many nations/tribes of people only have this kind of root vegetable as their staple - could genetics/DNA play a role in health and diet dependant on where we live? Let us say that someone from Siberia who only has potatoes as a staple moves to let's say a warm climate where only rice is grown - this must play a huge role in their physical health processes?