Can we eat onion leaves

According to Jain Dharma, we should not eat any part of onion – this includes:

• Onion bulb (the root/underground part)
• Onion leaves / green onion / spring onion

Why onion leaves are also avoided:

1. Onion is a root (kand-mool):

The plant itself is a root vegetable. Using its leaves encourages growing and harvesting that kand-mool, which involves more himsa (violence to many living beings in the soil).

1. Same group as onion/garlic:

In Jain tradition, onion, garlic, leeks, etc. are avoided not only because they are roots, but also because they are very pungent and disturb mental peace and sadhana. Green onion leaves are part of the same plant and are therefore kept in the “to be avoided” group.

1. Both Digambar and Shvetambar:

Both main traditions advise avoiding onion and its forms. Very strict Jains avoid it completely in all ways.

So, from a Jain point of view, you should not eat onion leaves if you are trying to follow proper Jain aahar-niyam (food rules) with ahimsa and saiyam.