Jains and Food

The Jains are a religious sect in India, comparable in certain respects with Buddhists, who practise vegetarianism and who are prohibited from taking life, even in its smallest forms. Thus Jain monks sweep the paths in front of them, to avoid treading on insects, and may wear masks to avoid inhaling tiny flying creatures. Jain lay persons not only abstain from obviously prohibited occupations such as fishing, but are also debarred from agriculture, where the risk of inadvertently taking life (e.g. when tilling the soil or gathering crops) would be high. They have therefore tended to engage in commerce, with the result that they are on the whole a prosperous group.