Thursday, August 9, 2012

What the hell do Jains eat?

Adherents of Jainism subscribe to a principle of non-violence so open-ended that I am struggling to think of any carbon-based life that is available for their consumption. Jains, for example, refuse to consume beer or yogurt on the basis of the microorganisms that inhabit it, or eat food stored overnight, to avoid harming the bacteria that have grown in it. The general trend of the Jain diet is lacto-vegetarianism, but with some strange prohibitions on many vegetables, and with the community divided on the acceptability of dairy products.

The following is an incomplete list of foods that Jains cannot consume:

  1. Meat
  2. Eggs
  3. Cabbage, because it is a root plant which is killed by uprooting it
  4. Potatoes, for the same reason
  5. Yeast
  6. Beer
  7. Wine
  8. Vinegar
  9. Gelatin
  10. Garlic
  11. Mushrooms
  12. Fruits that bleed a milky sap when cut
  13. Beansprouts
  14. Carrots
  15. Turnips
  16. Any food item that has been prepared the previous day (it must be thrown out)
  17. Onions (Oh my God no)
  18. Water that has not been filtered in a traditional way
  19. Rennet (used in the production of some cheeses)
  20. Honey, on the basis that it involves violence towards bees to collect (????)
  21. Food cooked at night because it must be done by artificial light, which attracts and may kill insects (?!?!). Jains take a vow to never cook food after sundown for this reason.
Some (but not all) Jains follow even stricter observations, in addition to strict veganism, and abstain from the following:
  1. All cheeses
  2. Milk
  3. Vegetable greens, on the basis of pain to the plant when plucking the leaves
  4. Fruit which is bright red, giving the appearance of meat, like apples, tomatoes, and watermelon
Holy fricking God. No meat or booze or potatoes. Not even onions or apples or honey. This is way beyond vegetarianism or veganism. This is like an intentional abstinence from everything that has flavor. If I end up in Hell, it will be something like this. I'd jump in front of a bus if I felt like I had to live that way.

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