In many cultures religion is a major factor affecting the diet of people belonging to that culture. E.g., Islam and Jewish religion forbid the eating of a pig whereas Hindus worship the cow as a deity and a mother and are forbidden to eat the flesh of a cow.
It is important to know that while all the religions permit or prohibit the use of certain animals in a diet, they do not prescribe that an animal product must be consumed in order to be accepted in that religion. A non-beef eating person can still be Jewish or a Muslim and worship the appropriate God. Similarly is not required for a person to consume dairy to be a true Hindu.
Most religious leaders today ignore these simple facts and tolerate or even encourage consumption of animal products ( e.g. ISKCON ) misleading the general public into almost believing that if they must consume certain animal products to be accepted in that religion.
Acharya Prashant is one of the very few progressive thinkers and an authority on the Hindu scriptures. Acharya Prashant prescribes that not only it is not necessary to consume animals and dairy products but it is actually unethical to do so. Please watch this video to learn from Acharya Prashant on why we need to lead a vegan lifestyle. In order to learn more on this topic, please view the videos in this collection on YouTube. You may learn all about Acharya Prashant at https://www.advait.org.in