jain dining etiquette



prohibited food & drink

  • Meat
  • Fish
  • Eggs
  • Honey
  • Figs

Strict Jains do not eat root vegetables, garlic, onions. All foods that might have meat, fish and eggs.

food laws and beliefs

The reason Jains don't normally eat or drink anything after sundown is because it is believed that doing so would cause the death of minute microorganisms that emerge in the dark. The entire lifestyle is geared towards causing least harm to other creatures and the environment.

Apart from not eating meat, fish and eggs, strict Jains do not eat onions and garlic because they increase sexual desires.

Strict Jains also do not eat any root vegetables like potatoes because smaller insects are killed in their harvest and the vegetable itself will have millions of bacteria.