I am a non-vegetarian. For those who are in any doubt as to the meaning of the term, it means that my diet includes the meat of erstwhile living creatures which did not belong to the Plant Kingdom. Enough said.

There are a species of vegetarians, who will take every chance to belittle those who eat meat. One of them even called me an "eater of the dead." So, it seems a little putting in perspective seems to be in order.

Humans are by nature omnivorous - which means that both the Plant and Animal kingdoms are sources of food for us. Early man, before settling down in villages and eventually cities, was a hunter and gatherer. Meat formed an important part of his diet, and this was supplemented by plant foods he foraged for.

Gradually, as man settled down in hamlets and villages, agriculture became the mainstay of his life. But nevertheless, food remained essentially non-vegetarian. A lot of us forget that farms were used to grow cattle and sheep as well as food crops. Then, as food began to surplus and storage started being practiced, new classes of society began to emerge. Among them were the ritualists. Inititally feared and hated and kept away except when needed, they soon managed to work their way into the centre of all social activity.

Never indulging in physical labour, they lived off the people. They got their food from those who toiled hard and raised crops and animals. As it was easier for them to get plant food, and as it was easier for the people to give them plant food, they stayed off animal food. Not out of anything else but the sheer inability to get it.

Over time this became crystallized as vegetarianism and a lot of reasons have been invented to cover up this unnatural practice. Religion has been a convenient excuse from the beginning, and today we see millions still following this. Animal rights, perhaps the most misunderstood term on earth today, is the new religion that some use to justify their unnatural food habits. Yet others, and this I find highly amusing, talk of conservation and vegetarianism going hand in hand. What rubbish - equating eating meat with anti-conservationism is like equating rice harvests with the clear-felling of rainforests.

But wait. This seems to be a tirade against vegetarians and vegetarianism. Nothing could be farther from my intent. I do not have anything against vegetarians. Nor do I have anything against vegetarianism. My sword is drawn against those vegetarians who look down upon us meat eaters as though we were barbarians. These people flaunt their vegetarianism as a badge and put down meat eaters and meat eating at every opportunity. It is these people that I abhor. And this is what I want to tell them. Lay off. We eat meat. It's natural. Like breathing. And we like it.

Cheers.