Title: Exploring the Cultural and Familial Reasons Behind Indian Coworkers’ Avoidance of Meat
Introduction:
In today’s globalized world, workplaces bring together individuals from diverse cultures, fostering opportunities for cross-cultural exchange and learning. One such experience encountered by the writer relates to their Indian coworkers, specifically those from Gujarat who recently emigrated to a predominantly white region. This article aims to delve deeper into the cultural and familial reasons behind their avoidance of meat, while dispelling any misconceptions or prejudice. By understanding the cultural nuances and traditions of these coworkers, we can foster a more inclusive and informed workplace environment.
1. Cultural and Religious Significance of Meat Avoidance:
In Indian culture, especially among Hindus, the avoidance of meat stems from religious beliefs and cultural practices. Hinduism promotes the principle of ahimsa, which denotes non-violence and respect for all living beings. Many Hindus, particularly those from Gujarat, adhere to vegetarianism as they believe it aligns with their spiritual and ethical values.
2. The Influence of Jainism:
Another significant source of vegetarianism in India is Jainism, a religion that places greater emphasis on non-violence and non-harming. Many Gujaratis adhere to Jainism, which practices strict vegetarianism. This means not only avoiding meat but also refraining from consuming root vegetables and certain spices, and adhering to a diet free from animal products.
3. Familial Tradition and Custom:
Within Indian families, dietary practices are often passed down through generations, creating a strong sense of tradition. It is likely that the writer’s Indian coworkers’ avoidance of meat is influenced by their familial customs, particularly if they come from a long line of vegetarians. In such cases, it becomes more of a cultural norm rather than an individual choice.
4. Cultural Differences and Language Barriers:
The writer mentions the language barrier faced with their Indian coworkers, which may hinder their ability to fully explain their reasons for avoiding meat. It is important to be mindful of this when discussing sensitive topics, such as cultural practices and dietary choices. Patience, empathy, and open-mindedness can help bridge these gaps and foster understanding.
5. Importance of Food Handling Practices:
The writer refers to their coworkers’ aversion to touching meat and dairy products. In Indian culture, certain communities adhere to specific food handling practices to maintain purity and hygiene. These practices may include vegetarian-only cooking utensils, separate storage areas for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, and avoiding cross-contamination between meat and vegetarian items. The coworkers’ dislike of touching meat might be related to these cultural practices and personal preferences.
Conclusion:
By exploring the cultural and familial reasons behind the avoidance of meat by the writer’s Indian coworkers, we gain insight into the diverse beliefs and practices that shape their dietary choices. Understanding these nuances promotes cultural sensitivity and helps foster a more inclusive workplace environment. Embracing diversity and actively seeking knowledge about different cultures allows for meaningful connections and enhances understanding among colleagues.
India and Pakistan have the highest % of vegetarians than any other country.
meat isnt a big part of Indian diet, and the meat that is, often needs to be prepared in a special way for religious reasons.
many in India believe in reincarnation, and cows in particular are seen as being the reincarnation of people.
Many people from that culture are vegetarians. I could be wrong, but from what I remember, it’s a respect for all living creatures thing. And also, cows are sacred.
Some of them will most likely be followers of Hinduism.
Which encourages vegetarian diets .
Vegetarianism is very common across India for religious reasons, lots of Hindus worship cows and other animals as sacred.
It depends on which branch of hinduism they are adherents of. Some will eat goat and chicken, but not beef. Some abstain from all meat.
I had a wonderful boss back in the 90s who was a hindu and ate very little meat . It was an occasional chicken meal.
It all depends on their own conscience. I worked with a hindu woman who would not touch any meat on certain occasions.
Born and raised vegetarian means they are not only unaccustomed to eating meat, but also handling it, smelling it cooking, preparing it. Even if they aren’t terribly religious, there is a cultural aspect to be considered.
Have had a few Indian roommates.
If they are Hindu and are of the Brahman caste (Priests, Intellectuals, Teachers), they are traditionally forbidden to eat meat or eggs. They will eat dairy.
The other castes are allowed to eat meat… mostly chicken, fish etc… Never beef and rarely pork.
If they are of the Jain (Jainism) religion, they are prohibited from eating any type of animal products including meat, egg, dairy etc… They are also prohibited from eating anything below the ground… e.g. rice, fruit, greens==> Yes, Potato, peanuts –> No.. I don’t know about mushrooms?
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There are Muslims in India that will eat Beef, but not pork.
I have an Indian friend who has explained this to me before. India just has a bunch of recipes that don’t require meats, only vegetables.
Lot of misguided and wrong answers here.
1. Gujaratis, Tamil brahmins and several sects don’t eat meat for religious and cultural reasons. Almost every Indian doesn’t eat meat on specific days or times to honor one God or another
2. Hinduism specifically doesn’t reject meat, however the equally ancient Buddhism and Jainism abhor the taking of life. Their values have seeped into Hinduism over time.
3. Reincarnation was originally not part of Hinduism, but of Buddhism. Like my point #2, it has seeped into some sects/variants of Hinduism.
4. Hinduism wasn’t one religion for a long time. Indians worshipped several local deities and our history is filled with internecine conflicts. Several religious leaders (Adi Sankara is famous among those) walked throughout the country, establishing mutts (or religious centers) across the country, weaved the gods into a familial network and created the modern Hinduism. This is why Hinduism comprises of thousands of gods, thousands of modes of worship (gnana, bhakthi, karma and hatha paths are the major ones) and several ways that Hindus live.
5. Gujaratis, in general, don’t eat meat or drink alcohol, and it’s valid in Hinduism. Most Keralites, Bengalis and Tamils eat meat, and that’s valid too in Hinduism.
Ignore the angry comments, OP. How else are you suppose to learn about other cultures than asking questions? People are so ignrotant
Some branches of Hinduism and Buddhism promote a vegetarian lifestyle.
Of course, they might also just be vegetarians or vegans for personal reasons.
Though I’d argue that if that’s a big issue for you, you might not neccessarily wanna work at a fast food joint unless that joint explicitly specializes in tha cuisine.
I heard an interview of an Indian immigrant talking about the cultural dynamic of immigrant communities in white countries, and in some cases, it’s used as a way to identify the caste someone might have been from.
Many people desire to escape the very real cultural effects of the caste system by coming to America. But some people will still try to “figure out” if someone is a particular caste by looking for cultural signifiers.
I believe one caste separation was eating meat, so being particular about only making Indian food without meat is one way to signal to others that they ought to treat you as superior because you would have been from the higher caste.
I am a white girl, not an expert on the cultures involved, and probably bungled my explanation, but I was just really fascinated by that episode of the podcast bc I never would have thought about social hierarchy in communities like that.
It’s a cultural and possibly religious thing. I don’t know why people would get mad at your for asking if you just didn’t know. Is there something you can do for them where you do all the meat parts of your job so they don’t have to? That’d be very nice of you.
Why people would say you’re racist ? You’re not offensive or insulting anyone, you’re just curious
To add to other people’s responses: Indian food actually has some of the most tasty vegetarian options due to how prevalent that type of diet is in that culture.
So it’s like barely an inconvenience. That might be why they can’t put it into words.
A very similar situation happened to me where I worked for a Nepali man who owned a Subway! He had a niece that I got to work with who was an English major so we only had problems speaking if we were trying to explain certain expressions (I’m a southerner) a few times it made me really examine why we even say some things.
She told me that most of her people don’t eat much meat at all but that some of the men in her family enjoyed chicken sometimes. She didn’t like to handle the meats either so I would do that for her, which I actually enjoyed because cutting bread open is actually so satisfying.
I don’t know why people would be upset with you for just being curious, I’m a very curious person and I love hearing about other cultures. My friend would show me pictures of all her beautiful outfits and the different art she would do for different holidays and such. Other parts of the world are so rich in culture that just hearing about it second hand can be awe inspiring. When I was leaving that job she gifted me a treat she really enjoys. If I’m not mistaken and I may be it’s called churppi? It’s a really hard cheese that you can suck on and chew like a hard candy/gum. The idea is wild at first but it was smoky and delicious.
I think it’s worth it to encourage people to share about their culture when they’re comfortable. I hope you get the chance to talk to them more Op, I learned a few words here and there while working and my friend loved it so maybe you guys could help each other out. Good luck to you Op!
My local subway has a lovely Indian couple. I loved ordering from them because at the time I was a vegetarian and they would both pack my sandwich full and never made a comment about it, unlike some of the others that always made a “really no meat?” Comment Or joke about it.
If you ask a South Asian person “Are you veg or non-veg?” That’s an easily understood phrase in English for that person to tell you their dietary style.
I met an older lady at an Indian-hosted party and offered her some chicken and she smiled and said “I don’t eat non-veg.” Love the double negative but the message was clear!
I’ve worked with/met/dated/married South Asians from India, Pakistan, East Africa and “veg” folks have been Hindus, some “pure vegetarian” so they don’t eat eggs either. “Non-veg” can be Hindus or Sikhs who eat chicken, lamb goat and seafood or Muslims who loooooooooooooove meat for the most part (not pork). I do not have any close friends from Goa but I have heard some people from that region with Christian influences will eat pork.
My non-religious, culturally Muslim in-laws don’t eat pork because they didn’t grow up with it and having the message that a certain kind of food is dirty or taboo your whole childhood just makes it unappealing.
There is nothing racist in asking a question like this.
Totally valid question to ask and not racist AT ALL. Gujaratis tend to be vegetarian for religious sentiments/superstitions. Indians (who are Hindu) can be at all ends of the spectrum… from being strictly vegetarian (no eggs, no garlic, ginger, honey, dairy) to eating whatever they want. Even among the meat eaters, beef is still a taboo in most of India. But, there are parts of India where hindus do tend to eat beef.
There are a lot of Jains from that area of India. Probably the most hardcore vegetarian people in the world. They won’t even eat root vegetables. I’m in a relationship with a Jain witch is pretty wild because I’m punjabi and eat meat and they are super strict about only being with vegetarians
Barely anyone here knows what they’re talking about lol
There are different kinds of vegetarianism among Hindus. There’s the typical no meat, no eggs, no fish vegetarianism. They won’t eat eggs even if you tell them the eggs are unfertilised so baby chickens won’t be born from them. Then there are some who take this further (mostly Brahmans) and won’t consume garlic, onions, ginger etc. either. Some people add mushrooms to this list. I had an aunt who even stayed away from table salt. She would only consume rock salt.
And then there are some people who adhere to strict diets only on certain days and holy occasions. (My mom becomes a vegetarian only on Tuesdays. It’s a religious thing.)
It’s very much a cultural/religious thing. Like the others have said, if they’re from a religious sect that forbids you from consuming meat, they’ll probably not eat it.
Many Hindus are vegetarian, and most Indians are Hindu. It’s probably an important part of their culture.
As a vegetarian Gujarati who grew up in India and now lives abroad, I can clarify some points made here by others..
Gujarat is just a state in India. Some of us do eat meat, but most demographic is vegetarian. India as a whole is fairly more vegetarian than most of the other countries.
Quite a few Indian religions and cultures around those religions recommend a strictly vegetarian diet. Some prohibit certain meats. So people who grew up in those religions, like myself now an atheist, don’t know how to work with meat. Some wouldn’t want to handle certain types of meat. Some are even disgusted by it.
Some of these immigrants may not have any other work options and may be in the need of the cash. So they adapt. It is very brave and impressive.
Pay no heed to the haters, it’s awesome that you’ve actually reached out to ask this. Dietary habits are super diverse in India and is deeply connected to the states and community you’re from. Gujaratis (whether from Gujarat, Maharashtra or elsewhere) tend to be vegetarian. The part of the country I’m from – Bengal – tends to be overwhelmingly non-vegetarian. But I say that as a Bengali. If you were from the Marwari community (originally from Rajasthan and very similar to Gujaratis) but lived in Calcutta, you’d likely still be vegetarian.
In general, the East, Northeast, and the South tends to skew towards meat-eaters (between 70-100%) with the Central, Western and Northern (with the exception of Kashmir) regions being between 50-80% vegetarian. It’s often traditional, rooted deeply in the culture, and is tied to their interpretation of Hinduism. There’s a whole caste angle in this as well which I won’t go into cause it requires quite a lot of explanation despite being nothing more than an artificial social construct readily believed by an astonishingly large number of people in the Central, Northern, Western and parts of Southern India.
Don’t sweat it, it’s quite nice of you to be open to learning cultural nuances. The world could use more people like you.
OP, I appreciate that you were thoughtful enough to tell us specifically where they’re from and what language they speak. You clearly have a legitimate desire to fill in your knowledge gaps.
Never lose that, friend.
Ignore the haters. Our world becomes better as we take time to learn about those around us.