Killing of animals for food - is it a sin?

Which act is a sin? And which is not? Human beings or any group of human beings cannot decide for themselves as to what does, and does not, constitute a sin since they do not possess the ultimate knowledge of everything. Even if they decide what and what not are sins, their decisions will be influenced by emotions, selfishness, etc. Something good for someone might be bad for others. Something which appears just for someone may be unjust according to others. Whereas God Almighty to whom belongs the universe and all that it contains, is Omnipotent and Omniscient. He knows ultimately what is good and what is bad for His creations. He is the Designer, Planner, Sustainer and Master of the universe. He only knows the ultimate purpose and role of each and every creation in this vast Universe. His knowledge is the most perfect and ultimate. He is the highest Authority to say which is right and wrong or which is just and unjust. Further, He is going to judge our deeds on the Day of Judgment. We have to admit that Whatever He commands us to do are good deeds and whatever He prohibits us from are bad deeds.

1. The present short and temporary life which we are all undergoing is a test conducted by our Creator. Here we are tested amidst emotions, feelings, hunger, sorrow, happiness, justice, injustice, right, wrong… and so on. The test is whether we are following God’s commandments in all the circumstances we come across in our life time. If we follow Him we are rewarded with Paradise in the hereafter and if we do not follow Him we will be punished with Hell fire. So  it is wise to accept the standards set by Him as the criterion to decide between right and wrong.
2. God Almighty has revealed to us what is good and what is bad through His Messengers (Rishis) and the Holy books (Vedas) sent through them from time to time. All His Holy Books prohibit killing of life unjustly. The last and final version of His holy books is the Qur’an which say this: “Do not take life, which Allah has made holy except for just (and true) cause...” (Qur’an 17:33). But killing of animals for the sake of food is allowed in all His Holy Books.
3. Manusmriti, which is considered a holy book by Hindu brethren says: “The diner, if he is a meat consumer, the meat does not harm him, even if he consumes every day. Because it is God who has created some creatures for eating and some as food.” (Manusmriti 5:30)                                                                                                                  

“Consuming meat is also considered as sacrifice. This is known traditionally as Commandment of God.” (Manusmriti 5:31)

“God has created certain cattle for sacrifice. So slaughtering cattle for sacrificing will not be considered as killing of the cattle. (Manusmriti 5: 39, 4) 

Plenty of such references are found in other Hindu Holy scriptures. A few are given below.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Rig Veda: (VIII 42. 1), (X 91. 14.6), (1. 114.101), (5. 29-7), Adarva Veda (X.11. 1.48)

4. However big or small, visible or invisible the forms of life, all are to be treated alike. Elephant, cow cat, flies, birds, mosquito, bacteria, germs and so on... All of them carry life. To protect only the big and visible ones and to ignore the small and invisible ones is not an act of justice. We have to equally feel pain when we drink as each drop of water contains millions of bacteria. Lakhs of silk worms are killed for the silk industry. Can we stop all this?
5. Today, it has been scientifically proved that plants are living beings which see, hear and smell. They even have emotions. If we conclude that killing of life is sin, where can we go for food?
6. In nature, God has created, distributed and perfected every creation in the right proportion. The Qurán says:

“Exalt the name of your Lord, the Most High, Who created and proportioned; And who destined and [then] guided.” (Qurán 87: 1–3)

Manu says, “The law of nature is that the stronger living beings eat the weaker ones. So it is natural to eat meat.”                                                                                                                

“God has created moving and unmoving creatures for the purpose of food. Unmoving living beings form the food for moving ones. Toothless creatures are food for the toothed ones. Armless beings are food for the armed ones. Innocent creatures are food for cruel ones.” (Manusmriti V.15)

7.  Tempted by our emotions and shortsightedness if we tamper or disturb the ecological balance set by our omniscient Creator, the consequences will be extremely disastrous. Let’s see a few examples:
1. If the rapid growth of population of rats is not curtailed by snakes and reptiles which feed on them, it will lead to drastic scarcity of food grains and spread of epidemic diseases.
2. If deers in jungles were not hunted down by wild animals which feed on them, with the unchecked growth of their population, the plants and trees will be consumed rapidly by them. Thus, the jungles will vanish which leads, in turn, to loss of rain.
3. A minimum of 3, 84, 000 animals are slaughtered all over the world every day. If the slaughtering is suspended for one month the number of animals for which we have to feed will be 1, 15, 20, 000. The food requirement for them will be 34, 50, 00, 000 Kilograms per month. In the process of meeting this demand for food, the existing food-grains, plants and trees will vanish fast. This further stops the rain and the whole earth will become a desert within six months.
4. Farmers have to sell their aged / unyielding cows or bulls to continue earning their livelihood. When he brings it to market the only buyer for him is butcher. If you stop him from selling his animal, you are stopping his livelihood. The poor farmer has to bring beck the animal and has to feed it for nothing whereas he himself starves. If he lets it go free he will be blamed by the neighbors. If he ties it the poor cow will step by step starve to die. Is it not both violation of human right as well as animal right?
8. By stopping the killing of animals for food, can we afford to lose the following?
1. In beef export, India occupies eighth place in the world.
2. By export of leather, foreign exchange earned is Rs. 3, 160 crores and the number of people employed in this industry is 13.5 lakhs.
3. By export of fish and fish products, exchange earned is Rs. 6, 308 crores.
4. In silk production, India occupies third place. A lakh of people are employed in this industry. The benefits as well as job opportunities that arise out of such industries are too numerous to be ignored. Further, can we really forego by-products like belts, shoes, bags, purses, detergents, animal feed, pharmaceuticals, tar, heart valves, insulin, pepsin, surgical sutures, medical capsules, glue, fertilizers and so on?
9. The vitamins (particularly B12) proteins, minerals and other nutrients required for efficient function and stamina of human body are very meager in vegetarian food. Manual workers, farmers and others who exert physically cannot work long hours if they only take vegetarian food.
10. The human body is so designed by God that it can consume and digest meat. Like herbivorous animals, man is equipped with flat teeth, and like carnivorous animals he also has canine teeth. Our digestive system is also equipped to digest meat.

Those who find faults with the ecological order set by the ultimate wisdom of the Creator and tamper with it are warned by the Creator thus:                                                                    

“Do no mischief on earth, after it has been set in order…” (Qurán 7: 56)

“… and those who cause mischief in the land, upon them is curse and a evil home (i. e. Hell) is for them.” (Qurán 13: 25)                                                             

The Creator and Master of this universe also warns those who ban things which are made lawful by Him:                                                         

“And do not say about what your tongues assert of untruth, ‘This is lawful and this is unlawful,’ to invent falsehood about Allah. Indeed, those who invent falsehood about Allah will not succeed.  [It is but] a brief enjoyment, and they will have a painful punishment.” (Qurán 16: 116, 117)