Oct 2 1975 Mauritius
Brahmānanda: The acreage… For a cow to eat requires so many acres for that one cow, and then that cow is slaughtered and it only feeds a few men, whereas that same acreage could feed hundreds of men by grains.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Devotee: Seventeen times.
Prabhupāda: So these things are to be noted, how they are engaged in sinful activities. And the solution is given in the Bhagavad-gītā, that “Produce food grain.” Annād bhavanti bhūtāni.
So I see in your this Mauritius land, you have got enough land to produce food grains. You produce food grain. I understand that instead of growing food grains, you are growing sugar cane for exporting. Why? And you are dependent on food grains, on rice, wheat, dahl. Why? Why this attempt? You first of all grow your own eatables. And if there is time and if your population has got sufficient food grains, then you can try to grow other fruits and vegetables for exporting. The first necessity is that you should be self-sufficient. That is God’s arrangement. Everywhere there is sufficient land to produce food grains, not only in your country. I have traveled all over the world—Africa, Australia, and other, in America also. There are so much land vacant that if we produce food grains, then we can feed ten times as much population as at the present moment. There is no question of scarcity. The whole creation is so made by Kṛṣṇa that everything is pūrṇam, complete…
Both Srila Prabhupada and Lord Krsna tells us the same thing-to grow your own food, specifically starting with grains of some sort, so that we can become self sufficient.
Now what happens when we don follow the plan of the Lord? And this deviation is just one scenario among thousands. See below….
Nov 21 1975 Bombay
Prabhupāda: Molasses. Ferment molasses with sulphuric acid and then distill. It is wine, liquor. People are producing unnecessary quantity of sugarcane; therefore the drinking habit is increasing. Because from sugar the molasses is the by-product, so they have to use. They are finding out what is next industry, and the next industry is liquor, wine. So when they produce more wine, then they must sell, and the people must drink. This is going on, one after another. And in Hawaii, Mauritius and in so many other places we see they have produced unnecessary quantity of sugarcane. And then molasses… (aside:) Hare Kṛṣṇa. And then wine, and they must be sold.
Devotee (2): So this is sinful activity, then.
Prabhupāda: All sinful activity. Ugra-karma. And if you drink wine, then you must require meat. Otherwise your liver function will be bad. There must be lump of meat. And as soon as wine and meat combine, then you require illicit sex. It is one after another. This is scientific. So we stop immediately: “Stop these four principles.” Then one will be free from sinful life. Then he’ll understand what is God. Otherwise not possible. A sinful man cannot understand what is God. Why the whole world is godless? On account of the sinful life, they cannot understand.
Devotee (2): So the means of production have to be changed into pious type of…
Prabhupāda: No. If you stop sinful activities, the production will automatically stop. If there is no market for wine, then it will stop automatically. So you stop drinking, and the market for liquor will stop
Some Conclusions–
So in this short segment we can see that first of all, we should all be growing our own food, that is already a given, and then the next thing is to grow only what we actually need to keep healthy . Not vast amounts of sugar cane, which is turned into molasses for brewing into alcoholic drinks. The Supreme Lord tells us in His Bhagavad Gita that all living entities need food grains, so we should grow them. Very clear, very specific, no committees needed to understand or legislation to be passed.
Hare Krsna
damaghosa das
Cutting the wheat with sickle
clean wheat ready for grinding then cooking
