ETS wishes you a green Happy World Vegetarian Day!!!

Every year, we lose 17.3 million people to heart diseases . The earth's current average temperature is over 1 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels, and as much as a third of the global population is at severe risk of contracting heart disease. If these statistics appear to be unrelated to you, think again.
The global rise in meat eating and factory farming is responsible for all these ills, and many more. In an attempt to encourage people to give up meat eating and create a healthier world, the World Vegetarian Day is held each year on the 1st of October.

The World Vegetarian Day was first celebrated by the North American Vegetarian Society in 1977. The International Vegetarian Union endorsed it in 1978. Over the years, the concept has been further built upon, and currently, many vegetarians consider October to be the Vegetarian Awareness Month.
Some of the other days of this month have also notched up exciting associations: the 4th of October has become popular as the “Hug a Non Meat-Eater Day”!!(though the 4th does have a rival-the 27th of September is the “Hug a Vegan/Vegetarian Day”!!).

Different vegetarians celebrate this day in different ways. Many share their favourite vegetarian recipes online. You don't need to be a master chef for this: all that one needs is a basic kitchen, a few vegetables and above all, a wildly innovative mind capable of creating exciting dishes out of existing recipes!! Traditionally, the highly popular Indian dessert, the burfi, is made from cottage cream. Now, however, it can serve as the perfect starter-thanks to the creation of the bread burfi-a fudge-like sweetmeat which can even serve as the staple of your meals!!!

Another innovative recipe involves using that much-hated vegetable, the spinach, as the topping and the principal ingredient of the artichoke pizza. Does it taste better than the more common chicken pizza? Try it out using this popular recipe and let us know at Eclipse Technoconsulting Global Pvt. Ltd.!!!

One thing is for certain however-the spinach pizza is incredibly novel, yet highly simple to make!!

Having vegetarian food, however, is but one small cog in the greater wheel of environmental consciousness. It is therefore imperative to avoid wasteful habits not only on this day, but also on all others.
Carelessly tossing away the plastics used to pack vegetables can lead to the painful death of many a stray cow or goat-something which no vegetarian would want!!! Using biodegradable containers would be a great way of promoting an overall pro-environment lifestyle.

The more prolific writers among the vegetarians often spend this day discussing the factors which drove them to give up on meat. Health and environmental considerations are discussed most often. Methane, one of the major byproducts of factory farming, is 8 times as potent as Carbon Dioxide as a greenhouse gas.
Furthermore, meat production uses immense amounts of water and contributes greatly to deforestation. Red and processed meats greatly increase the risk of cancer and heart disease, and as a result, a vegetarian lifestyle is hugely popular among the health conscious.

At its heart, however, the increasing shift towards vegetarianism is based on a sombre reality. In addition to the ever more terrifying problem of climate change, the physical and psychological trauma which factory farming inflicts upon livestock has motivated many to cut out meat from their lives completely.

The documentary “Cowspiracy” highlighted the brutal treatment meted out to cows in slaughterhouses. It contained jarring video clips of cows being confined to tiny pens, and being force-fed antibiotics in order to ensure optimal muscle growth.

Many slaughterhouses kill cows while they are fully conscious. Similar cruelty is forced upon other varieties of livestock as well. The brutal and bloody beheading of chickens is a common sight in open-air bazaars in many developing countries. Many have begun asking themselves the question “do we have any right to deprive a sentient organism of its life, subjecting it to great pain in the process?”.

Let your innovative mind thrive as you bring out the chef in you while preparing vegetarian recipes!!! You could also try your hand at growing vegetables through organic methods!!! Above all, however, keep the millions of enslaved livestock in your mind as the day brings out the humanist in you.

Has the shift in vegetarianism been timely enough to secure mankind's future? Let us know at #eclipseindia or Eclipsetech12. Eclipse Technoconsulting Global Pvt. Ltd has always promoted environmentally responsible practices and thus cherishes this day. Happy World Vegetarian Day!!!