Indian School Textbook Says Meat-Eaters Lie and Commit Sex Crimes

another random user writes with bad news from the BBC for anybody who enjoys a hamburger now and again: "Meat-eaters 'easily cheat, lie, forget promises and commit sex crimes,' according to a controversial school textbook available in India. New Healthway, a book on hygiene and health aimed at 11 and 12 year-olds, is printed by one of India's leading publishers. 'This is poisonous for children,' Janaki Rajan of the Faculty of Education at Jamia Millia University in Delhi told the BBC. 'The government has the power to take action, but they are washing their hands of it,' she said. 'The strongest argument that meat is not essential food is the fact that the Creator of this Universe did not include meat in the original diet for Adam and Eve. He gave them fruits, nuts and vegetables,' reads a chapter entitled Do We Need Flesh Food? The chapter details the 'benefits' of a vegetarian diet and goes on to list 'some of the characteristics' found among non-vegetarians. 'They easily cheat, tell lies, forget promises, they are dishonest and tell bad words, steal, fight and turn to violence and commit sex crimes,' it says."

Comments

PETA agrees!

[Spy Handler]

except for the God and Adam and Eve part.. they don't believe in that shit

Sounds like American textbooks

[MrEricSir]

Next time an American school demands their textbooks "teach the controversy" of intelligent design or some other bullshit, we should show them this Indian textbook as an example of how doctoring our textbooks is making us look to the rest of the world.

Re:Sounds like American textbooks

[Anonymous Coward]

I applaud your choice of acquaintances if you don't know a racist individual under the age of 70. As a black male, I have not been so lucky. Rather than recount tales from my own life, consider a relatively recent event as an example of how racist attitudes persist. After hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, people were desperate for supplies. Two photos were shown: one, a white couple leaving an abandoned store with items apparently taken from it; the other a black couple in a similar situation. The caption for the white couple read something like "People getting provisions." The caption for the black couple "Looters leave a store." Attitudes like that continue to exist, including in hiring circles. There are even recent studies that find that resumes which hint at an applicant being black get a lower response rate than those who don't (the first few links in a quick search: http://www.nber.org/digest/sep03/w9873.html [National Bureau of Economic Research]; http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/us/01race.html (and links within); http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/06/weekinreview/06Luo.html [NYTimes]).

As far as affirmative action, each program must be judged individually. The idea of such programs is that if people are judged equally competent, a preference should be given to the minority candidate. This is an attempt to help the broader minority community which for years was denied even being considered for certain jobs, regardless of qualifications. It is not ideal. It has been abused. But it should not be understood as designed to give jobs to the under qualified.

Re:MMMMMMMM

[MrEricSir]

According to this Indian textbook I just read, you must have stolen that burrito and now you're lying about how good it tastes.

It's a typesetting error.

[msauve]

'They easily cheat, tell lies, forget promises, they are dishonest and tell bad words, steal, fight and turn to violence and commit sex crimes,' it says.

That was supposed to go in the section on politicians.

Re:It's a typesetting error.

[narcc]

Unless you think every bald guy you've ever met is a lying, thieving, two faced, rapist.

Now that you mention it...

Re:It's a typesetting error.

[TFAFalcon]

Think how much better the outcome would have been if Eve had roasted the snake for Adam, instead of settling for the apple.

Re:Also men don't have Iron problems

[BradleyUffner]

You cut out a tonne of junk food. In Vegan's case it's usually fast food. That's literally why I went vegetarian -> It' keeps me away from Fast Food hamburgers, which I can eat and eat and eat.

You know what else keeps you from eating fast food burgers, yet still allows you to eat meat? Not going to fast food restaurants.

Re:India

[ClickOnThis]

Oh man, where to begin with a post like this...

First of all, it has been my experience that, as ESL speakers, Indians are among the most fluent in the world. It seems to me that they take great care to learn and use English well, unlike the stumbling parody you provided. No doubt a consequence of British colonialism, but perhaps a happy one.

Second, it is my opinion that the English language is very much enriched by hearing it spoken in so many fascinating accents. Let's face it: every one of us has an accent that sounds "funny" to more than one other culture in the world. We can giggle now and then about how weird we sound to each other, but let's keep it at a good-natured level.

Third, learning a second language is difficult. Those who speak something other than English as a second language are all-too-well aware of the challenge. Just imagine how you would sound trying to order a meal in a foreign land. Probably much worse than the example you gave. And yet you just might find that the server is pleased at your effort.