Culture affects the individuals world view. Religion and culture are two different thing. Religion is one of the aspects of culture. Eating or not eating beef solely depends on one culture. However, if there is cultural diffusion in an individual than he/she might not adhere to the previous culture but may have intermediate culture. I have seen many Nepalese eating beef in the United States, and also many Americans taking complete abstinence from beef. The  reason behind this is cultural diffusion. I personally don't eat beef because i like the idea of seeing cow as a mother. Seeing cow as a mother has very ancient story. You need to learn about Indus valley civilization and how cow saved the lives of children. Beside giving milk, cow also have many advantages from her urine and stool. Cow can be used as a multi-purpose. So, cow is like our mother who protects us. This is my personal view, and as i told you that people have different culture and world view. Beside this, killing cow or any other living creature is an inhumane act, we should stop it. We talk about human rights, but where is the animal right !!