Vegetarians are no longer in the majority in India.

In a country whose religions and economy encouraged a vegetarian lifestyle there has been a huge change.

Economic growth can be attributed with raising the living standards of Indians as well as their expectations to indulge in more Western habits.

Food in India was once a symbol of tradition. Now food is a symbol of status.

Yes, even though there are some 300 million vegetarians here, in the new affluent urban India, meat has become a status symbol. In the U.S. vegetarianism is a lifestyle choice. In India, once, it wasn’t even an “ism” — it was just the way some of us were brought up for generations, a part of our cultural DNA.

The impact of all this meat eating on the environment is posing a whole new set of problems.

Rising incidents of heart disease aside, pollution and pharmaceutical toxicity need to be addressed to keep us all safe.

Exhaust from cars and diesel trucks contain high concentrations of the ultrafine particulate matter.

These particles have a high degree of toxicity, with concentrations directly related to traffic density.

Studies link pollution from vehicles with brain damage.

A substantial and growing body of scientific evidence has linked airborne toxic pollution from motor vehicles, trains and aircraft to significant health problems, especially in children, including aggravated asthma, chronic bronchitis, reduced lung function, irregular heartbeat, heart attack and premature death in people with heart or lung disease.

But now we’re learning more about what it does to our brains as well as the fact that it may increase the risk of lung and vascular damage.

The same study also found that the fields close to major highways exposed children to levels of ambient ozone above levels shown to cause airway inflammation, abnormal lung function, and asthma exacerbation, with the highest levels in the warmer afternoon hours when games and practices are held and traffic is at its peak.