Chapter 12 is very similar to the previous section. Meat, more specifically beef, is highly frowned upon by some groups in India based on cultural norms of the caste system. He argues that a rise in population density and the depletion of regional resources led to the cultural shift against beef since groups in ancient India had no qualms about consuming beef. Compared to nearby China, crop production in India was less productive. That would make raising animals even more resource taxing than it already is. He does not deny the cultural significance of the trend but instead suggests that there can be multiple reasons for a trend like this to arise.