It was with great interest that I read the letter on the subject of diet from Joan Niblett in the January issue of "Bahá’í Journal UK". I admire her for following the "good advice" of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and adopting a diet that "comes from the earth". I myself follow such a diet and like many other people who do so, I enjoy very good health. The conclusion that maybe the time is not right for such a diet has inspired me to write on this issue, one which I believe we Bahá’ís have not properly addressed.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá states: "What will be the food of the future?" "Fruit and grains. The time will come when meat will no longer be eaten. Medical science is only in its infancy, yet it has shown that our natural diet is that which grows out of the ground. The people will gradually develop up to the condition of this natural food." (1) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá also explains that we are not designed to eat meat: "It is therefore quite apparent according to the implements for eating that man’s food is intended to be grain and not meat. When mankind is more fully developed, the eating of meat will gradually cease." (2)

We may think from these statements that such a time is way off into the distant future and has no significance for our lives at all - that it will happen when we’re all ‘perfect’. But what we may have failed to realise is that since ‘Abdu’l-Bahá made these statements many new developments have taken place bringing this ideal ever closer. In not being aware of these developments we could fail to reap the physical and spiritual benefits of a more natural way of eating according to the "good advice" of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

As far as I understand ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s statements, they relate more to what is called a "vegan" diet than to the "vegetarian" diet. The vegetarian diet may include dairy products e.g. milk, cheese, cream, butter and so on, but the vegan diet omits them. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá specifically states fruit and grain are our natural foods, he does not recommend that we should supplement these with dairy products. No doubt many will throw their hands up in horror at such a statement and exclaim "well what shall we eat?" However the wisdom of a vegan diet has become more apparent as humanity advances both spiritually and scientifically. Here are some reasons both spiritual and moral, scientific and rational, as to why a vegan, not a vegetarian diet, best suits humanity - the food of the future.

There is as much "cruelty" in the production of dairy products as in the meat trade, a new idea to many, but it is true. Dairy products are derived from female animals and their reproductive cycles. Like other mammals cows produce milk after pregnancy, while eggs are the products of ovulation. In both instances male animals are superfluous, hence male chickens are used as pet food and male cattle feed the meat industry. To meet demand for eggs and milk, intensive farming methods are adopted. Continual pregnancy and egg production shortens the lives of the animals, damage is also done psychologically because any normal family or herd life is destroyed as their "children" are continually taken from them. Although cows can go on producing milk for a long time after giving birth, the amounts they produce decrease with time.

Therefore, in order to maximize yields and boost a cow’s milk production, dairy farmers normally leave a cow for just a year before impregnating her again after the birth of a calf. At this rate, after about five years their milk yields decrease anyway and then they become part of the beef herd, because they are no longer considered economically viable as dairy cattle. From just such a system do most people derive their milk products today. However, were we to adopt a more humane method of milk production, allowing animals to suckle their young for longer, there would be a large gap between what farmers could supply and current demand.

The milk of the cow is intended for a calf, a large boned animal, which is what we are not. It could be said that it is not natural for us to consume what is not intended for us. Natural milk for humans is consumed from our mothers soon after we are born; to give it to another species would seem absurd.

Plants. Some have argued that eating plants is cruel because you are also destroying life - plant life. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s statement about the Plant Kingdom is that it is the kingdom of growth and the Animal Kingdom is the kingdom of sense perception. Therefore pain can be inflicted on an animal but not a plant. This clear distinction renders such arguments of cruelty to plants as void because it implies we can eat plants without ever having caused physical pain, whereas the eating of meat has involved pain because animals like humans feel pain. Both are sense perceptive.

There are not enough resources for two exploding and competing populations; that of humans and domestically bred animals. The loser in this competition will be the physical environment upon which we all rely. With a plant based society we can feed the world more efficiently on less land and free up more land to increase tree cover. This in turn could help reverse global warming by storing CO². Trees would also stabilise the soil.

But what about the practicalities of veganism? Although B12 is abundant in the soil and water around us, and it is found in our lower intestines, it is not found in plants. All other nutrients can be gained from plants except B12 and vitamin D (which can be gained from sunlight). Until this was known anyone contemplating a vegan diet could encounter the health problems caused by a deficiency. Today there are a variety of vitamin supplements: tablets, fortified foods and so on, that can be taken to acquire B12 and vitamin D. In a previous age when humans did eat a "natural" diet these vitamins may have been gained from the environment at a time when we were in close proximity to it. Only a very small daily amount of B12 is needed and it can be stored for long periods in the liver. While our ancestors probably gained it from the environment, in our hygienic world of today, we need to take a supplement. Nonetheless in China it has been discovered that some villages have traditionally lived as vegans for generations due to lack of land to do anything else on. This demonstrates that veganism is not a modern phenomenon that needs supplements to work. It is a natural way of eating and has been for generations in parts of the world.

We are gaining more and more understanding of our bodies and our diets. Events in the world and current farming practices are making people think twice about how they eat. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was correct, people are gradually realising the truth and vegetarianism is growing. In 1944 the Vegan Society was born signifying a development in certain people’s consciousness of the concept of compassion towards animals. As the science of nutrition has developed we are better able to understand how to feed ourselves on a plant-based diet. New foods from around the world have arrived, improving the range and quality of food. Vegan substitute foods from ice cream to pizza abound. New animal-free products have been developed so that you can now wear comfortable high quality clothing and footwear free of animal cruelty. New local and national civil societies besides the Vegan Society have sprung up to offer help and advice to those contemplating a vegan diet. Vegan world societies exist and vegan world conferences take place. Among vegans can be counted eminent doctors and nutritionists. But perhaps one of the greatest testimonies to the idea that the vegan diet advocated by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, has come of age is the existence in the West of vegan families, of three or four generations. Healthy children are born to healthy vegan parents. Healthy vegan children grow up and become healthy vegan parents.

But what about the Bahá’í response to this? I believe that we must look at what ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has said and act upon it. We must answer spiritually and reap the spiritual and physical rewards of a natural diet. What we eat is the basis of our physical well being. I believe "the future" ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke of when he referred to our natural food, is now. The basic tools needed for the changeover in diet are in place and we can begin to embark on a more natural way of eating.

To finish I would like to mention two great thinkers of our day, the Bahá’í, Richard St Barbe-Baker, and the Hindu, Mahatma Gandhi. Both aspired to a vegan diet and saw it as the ideal, although circumstances did not permit either of them to embark on it. In particular Gandhi had to abandon a plantbased diet and revert to drinking milk; he referred to this as "the tragedy of my life".

In 1944 the world’s first vegan society was founded in Britain, one hundred years after the Báb’s revelation. Soon after this a group of scientists led by Lester Smith discovered B12 and a way of producing it from a source suitable to vegans. The scientific knowledge, the range of products, the practical help and associations of people are all there to help us to take the spiritual step. It is up to us to take that step. By doing so we will reap the spiritual and physical benefits of a way of eating that is closer to what God has intended for us.

Sam Taylor

1. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Health and Healing, p475

2. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Promulgation of Universal Peace, p171

Useful address and websites:

Vegan Society, Donald Watson House, 7 Battle Road, St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex TN37 7AA Tel: 01424 427393

Movement for Compassionate Living, 47 Highlands Road, Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 8NQ Tel: 01372 372389

Viva Vegetarians International Voice for Animals, 12 Queen’s Square Brighton E Sussex BN1 3FD Tel: 01273 777688

To walk where there is no path

To breathe where there is no air

To see where there is no light -

This is Faith.

To cry out in the silence,

The silence of the night,

And hearing no echo believe

And believe again and again -

This is Faith.

To hold pebbles and see jewels

To raise sticks and see forests

To smile with weeping eyes -

This is Faith.

To say: "God, I believe" when others deny,

"I hear" when there is no answer,

"I see" though naught is seen -

This is Faith.

And the fierce love in the heart,

The savage love that cries Hidden

Thou art yet there!

Veil Thy face and mute Thy tongue

Yet I see and hear Thee,

Love, Beat me down to the bare earth,

Yet I rise and love Thee,

Love! - This is Faith.

Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyíh Khánum