"The most important single rule with regard to food， in Buddhist tradition， is especially for the monk， that of restraint in eating， which covers also an obligation （for Theravada monks） not to eat after 12 noon （Fasting）. Alcohol of any kind is forbidden 'as tending to cloud the mind' （Eightfold Path）. The vow， incumbent on all Buddhists， monastic and lay， not to take life， causes them to be vegetarian， though with varying degrees of strictness."
"The motivations for performing such acts （setting free captured fish， refusing to eat meat） are rooted not merely in ethical demands， but religious and psychological factors. When a person kills another sentient being， he breaks the hidden bonds among all forms of life. Violence alienates the violator not only from a sense of cosmic harmony but also， ultimately， from himself. For although the act of killing is extreme assertion of the self， the self which is so isolated and delimited， ironically ceases to have any real life or to have any real meaning. Buddhist vegetarianism is significant when viewed in this context. For even though one does not kill the animal himself， every time one eats meat， one denies the existence of any meaningful relationship between oneself and other beings. By objectifying an animal as 'food，' one can become insensitive to its suffering and regard it as a mere thing. On the other hand， each time he releases a creature from impending death， each time he returns it to freedom， a person reaffirms the original bond among all sentient beings. The act of releasing is a celebration of reunion， during which the selfish human is momentarily obliterated. The person who releases life in fact releases himself from human selfishness."
NOTE:
"If you eat less， will you live longer? It is tempting to quip that life would at least seem longer. But the question is serious and has intrigued scientists since the 1930's， when it was discovered that a very low-calorie diet would lengthen rats' maximum life spans from three years to four， an increase of 33 percent.
Over the years， the finding has been confirmed many times in mice and other small animals， and has proved the only reliable means of extending a mammal's life span...
People are already practicing caloric restriction. Many base their diets on books by Dr. Roy Walford， a researcher at the University of California at Los Angeles who recommends cutting back calories and body weight by about 20 percent. In eight people he has studied on such a plan， Dr. Walford has found beneficial changes in blood pressure， blood sugar and cholesterol. A person who begins 20 percent calorie restriction at age 18 might live to be 140 years old， Dr. Walford has estimated. At 73， he himself eats only 1，800 calories a day， as opposed to the 2，000 to 2，800 normally recommended for a man his age." NY Times， Oct 7/97.