IV. VEGETARIANISM AND ITS SCIENTIFIC BASIS
Animals know to find food when they are hungry and drink when they are thirsty. This is their natural instinct. Humans, being more intelligent than animals, do not only eat when they are hungry and drink when they are thirsty, but also eat for pleasure. They choose delicious and nutritious food, calling this dish a delicacy and that dish a delicacy. Today there is a feast, tomorrow a banquet.
However, if we do not know how to distinguish between nutritious and harmful foods, eating delicacies can be dangerous to the body. Therefore, food hygiene has been established based on physiology and chemistry to preserve human life.
The human body is like a machine that works continuously. This movement causes wear and tear on the body, so some of the living matter in the body must be consumed. What can we use to replenish this consumed living matter? We must rely on food.
Not only that, the human body is also like an engine that produces energy. To make this engine run, we need to add fuel. Food is the fuel that powers the body. In short, food has two benefits for the body:
1. To replace the living matter in the body that is worn out and consumed.
2. To provide energy.
Science has proven that foods that provide energy are those that contain a lot of carbohydrates, and all carbohydrate-rich foods are plants. (*1)
This is strong evidence that laborers need to eat plant-based foods (vegetarian food) to have enough energy for heavy work.
An American industrialist wanted to study which group, vegetarians or non-vegetarians, worked better. He divided his workers into three groups: one group was given a pure vegetarian diet, one group was given meat and fish, and one group was given a half-vegetarian and half-non-vegetarian diet.
After a short time, it was clear that the vegetarian group was working better than the other two groups. The man then switched the meat-eating group to a vegetarian diet, and that group worked better than when they were eating meat. The results were the same for the group that ate a half-vegetarian and half-non-vegetarian diet.
In 1898, near the city of Berlin (the capital of Germany), the Minister of War of that country organized a race with 23 participants, including eight vegetarians. The eight vegetarians won the race.
There are many other evidences, but to save space, please read the book “La philosophie de l’Alimentation” by Dr. Jules Grand and the book “Faut-il être Végétarien” by Dr. Henri Collière for more information.
*(1) Among animal products (matière animale), only chicken and duck eggs contain hydrocyanic acid.
(*) The book was written in 1928, when coal was still the primary fuel for engines.