Stop eating fish to help the planet

In India, the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is urging the public to go vegan and especially stop eating fish to help animals and the planet.

Senior coordinator for the campaign, Mr. Nikunj Sharma explained the results of a year-long study confirming that the practice of bottom trawling is one of the most ecologically damaging and unsustainable ever as it involves dragging huge, heavy nets along the sea floor, which in turn empty the waters of all life.

Mr. Sharma also highlighted fish as a health risk, being a major source of mercury and other damaging chemicals. Our sincere thanks Mr. Sharma and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in sharing the message of the connecting our dietary choices to the health of our planet.

Let us step together in choosing the vital plant-based fare to save the lives of marine and all fellow co-inhabitants.

In an October 2009 videoconference in Indonesia, Supreme Master Ching Hai once again emphasized the importance of not consuming any animal products, including fish, if we wish to sustain ourselves and the planet.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: “Meat production” also means fishing. After billions of these underwater animals have been snatched from their homes and killed en masse, our oceans are now gravely imbalanced.

Stopping meat and dairy consumption and fishing, all the animal products – is the fastest and most effective way to cool our planet and halt these dangerous changes.

And now that we also understand the immeasurable benefits for the organic vegan diet, which offers not only better personal health, but literally can save the entire planet, the entire world.

So, please join us, and become part of the trend to save our world.

http://sify.com/news/stop-eating-fish-to-help-planet-says-peta-news-national...
http://orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=17493

Climate change is real and now

A report by Australia's top science bodies, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and the Bureau of Meteorology sounds the alarm about the imminent dangers of climate change.

Saying that temperatures have risen about 0.7 degrees Celsius in the last 50 years, the report also states that both CO2 and methane are at their highest levels in perhaps 20 million years.

As a result, every region of the country is warming during every season, and each decade surpasses the previous decades’ temperature records. Sea levels rising by 9 cm between 1993 and 2009 along with changes in precipitation represent other marked consequences of climate change, with rainfall in the north and central parts of the country increasing substantially while decreases in the south and east have led to severe droughts.

Scientists at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization and the Bureau of Meteorology, we are grateful for this report which is also a call to action.

May we all unite in restoring harmony and balance to our Earth. In an October 2009 videoconference in Indonesia, Supreme Master Ching Hai referred to the experts’ increasingly serious reports on climate change, and reiterated the most urgently needed countermeasures.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Now, according to expert scientists, the atmospheric temperatures are rising so steeply that we do not have much time left to change. And that is just what they have predicted up to date.

The effects of climate change can be seen in so many ways, with increased flooding, droughts, fires and even earthquakes everywhere in the world.

How do we stop these alarming changes The greenhouse gases released from the animals, from their waste, agricultural runoff, and the activities related to these massive operations have been identified as the primary, the number one cause of global warming.

We have to halt the meat consumption and the livestock raising Instead, we should choose to buy organic vegetable and fruit products to save our lives and those of our families, save the animals and the planet.

http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20101603-20714-2.html?...
http://www.france24.com/en/20100315-australia-07-degrees-warmer-over-past-50-years
http://www.gdacs.org/reports.asp?...

Scientists discuss the need for a greener diet

In order to avoid runaway climate change, industrialized countries have agreed to a 2050 goal of a 90% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions compared to pre-industrial levels.

Toward this end, scientists are emphasizing the need for behavioral, rather than technological, approaches for faster results. This is especially true in the area of food.

Multiple studies have suggested that reducing or eliminating meat consumption would be more cost effective and quicker in reducing greenhouse gas emissions than attempting to develop technologies to capture the large-scale emissions involved in meat production.

Dr. Juha-Matti Katajajuuri, senior researcher at MTT Agrifood Research Finland, evaluated the climate impacts of various typical Finnish meals, ranging from meat-based to vegan.

He found that vegetarian main courses had a 50-60% smaller climate impact compared to their meat-based counterparts. Dr. Katajajuuri also highlighted the likelihood of obtaining more immediate results from a behavioral approach.

Dr. Juha-Matti Katajajuuri – Senior researcher, MTT Agrifood Research Finland (M): It is a lot more challenging to find easy and new technological solutions by which we can reduce the environmental effects of food production.

VOICE: Industrial ecologist and climate scientist Dr. Peter Tom Jones of the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium, agreed, saying that personal human action rather than technical change is the key for greener food consumption.

Dr. Peter Tom Jones – Industrial ecologist and author, Vegetarian (M): This entails: more local chains, more organic food, less dependence on oil.

In that manner you can drastically reduce the environmental impact of the production issue.

But then a second essential component of the reduction in the food sector has to do with our meat and fish consumption.

VOICE: Dr. Jones, a vegetarian himself, stated that if governments encouraged the consumption and production of organic vegan foods, the international reducing of emissions by 90% would be attainable, with added health benefits.

Peter Tom Jones, PhD (M): We can easily go to a reduction of 90% if associated with the agro-ecological food model, with even much healthier nutrition.

So there would be less nutritional disease, less cardiac and blood vessel disease, less diabetes, less obesity, etc.

VOICE: Our sincere appreciation, Dr. Katajajuuri, Dr. Jones and associates for your research in the crucial area of food production emissions.

May all governments and co-citizens start now to eliminate costly animal products and switch to organic plant-based fare to halt climate change. Supreme Master Ching Hai has often emphasized the priority of dietary change needed to save the planet, as during a September 2009 videoconference in South Korea.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: In order to call ourselves a low-carbon or carbon-free society, we must eliminate our meat consumption, because that is the number one cause for climate change – that is, our meat consumption.

In fact, if we focus on shifting people to be vegan, it will save us much more money than green technology, and of course it’s much more effective.

And I urge you, the government leaders, because our time is running out, we have to act on this now. Please explain to your co-citizens this important truth and tell them we must work together to become animal-free consumers.

We have a very short time to save our planet. We have a great planet to save. We have a great precious treasure, that is, our children, to save.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=limits-on-greenhouse-gas-emissions
http://www.mtt.fi/english/
http://www.se2009.eu/polopoly_fs/1.24468!menu/standard/file/Juha-Matti...
http://www.petertomjones.be/content/blogsection/6/27/

Climate change taking a toll in Âu Lạc (Vietnam)

With no rainfall since September 2009 in the northern part of the country, forest fires have ignited in the provinces of Lào Cai and Lai Châu. Moreoever, the Red River is at its lowest in more than 100 years, with passage by boat currently impossible while regional rice farmers are in need of water for newly planted seedlings.

Alarmingly, the southern Mekong Delta is also experiencing water shortages. Worsening global warming effects have not only reduced Mekong River water levels to record lows, ocean salt water has encroached an unprecedented 60 kilometers inland this year, threatening 100,000 hectares of rice.

Central Âu Lạc has also been affected, enduring high temperatures that have caused hundreds of people to seek medical treatment at local hospitals for conditions of heatstroke, severe dehydration and other respiratory illnesses.

We are saddened to know of this suffering caused by the increasingly dire state of our planet.

Let us act now to bring relief through sustainable choices that help restore harmony to our Earth’s cycles. As on previous occasions, Supreme Master Ching Hai spoke during an August 2009 conference in Thailand about global warming’s critical tolls and the need to curb them.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: In Âu Lạc (Vietnam), you probably know of global warming related problems such as the untimely flooding and encroachment of the sea of the Mekong Delta region – both of which have caused havoc and further threat to the region’s vital rice and fruit crops.

This is due to a combination of sea levels rising, along with the effect of melting glaciers, which are now causing excessive floods but eventually will cause drought and vastly diminished water supplies as well.

So we must work quickly to avoid such unwanted outcomes.

And the most effective way is the organic vegan diet, organic vegetable farming. This is also the fastest way to reverse the increased warming climate to prevent further damage and disaster.

If everyone does this – be veg – the Earth will begin to cool and we will have more time to implement the measures to eliminate all the carbon emissions. So please, be veg,and tell everyone else of these benefits.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=88320
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/6909249.html
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/Health/201003/Sweltering-weather-sending-kids-elderly-to-HCMC-hospitals-898122/

Climate change to bring more intense tropical storms

A study by the United Nation’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has analyzed four years of peer-reviewed research on the ocean storms that are known as hurricanes in the Atlantic and typhoons in Asia.

Using a mid-range forecast of 2.8-degrees Celsius temperature rise for global warming, the WMO research forecast future storms with more powerful winds and higher amounts of rainfall.

Moreover, some areas would likely see big jumps in the number of severe weather patterns.

The WMO also reported that these findings were consistent with ones published in 2007 by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, noting the likelihood of more intense cyclones, with additional rainfall and higher wind speeds.

United Nations World Meteorological Organization scientists, we sincerely appreciate your careful work that alerts the public to the likelihood of such perilous extreme weather.

Let us join in wholehearted efforts toward planet-protecting lifestyles to ensure a stable home for future generations. Expressing her concern as she has on many occasions for humanity’s plight, Supreme Master Ching Hai spoke of such intensifying weather extremities during an August 2009 videoconference in Thailand.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: If we look around, we can see the growing frequencies and strength of disasters everywhere. Flood events worldwide are now three times higher than in the 1980s. In 2008, there were 40 category 5 storms, the most ever recorded including in the Atlantic, India and Bangladesh, and in the Philippines.

It takes just one category 4 or 5 storm to destroy a major city, just one.
These are truly almost always the consequences of humans’ violent actions. The number 1 action is meat eating. We can stop the disasters, make them go away for good, forever, if all of us switch to the organic vegan diet. Pray it be so.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/tropical-storms-to-be-more-intense-20100222-oo8z.html

Studies show warming oceans driving Greenland ice loss

With melting of the country’s massive ice sheet having more than doubled in the last decade, a study led by scientist Dr. Fiammetta Straneo of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, USA found that warmer waters coming into Greenland’s fjords are eroding the foundation of their glaciers, causing them to descend more quickly into the ocean.

While such an effect is known in the Antarctic, this is the first time it has been indicated in Greenland as well. Senior research scientist Eric Rignot of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the USA conducted a similarly-timed study, which found that up to 75% of Greenland’s ice loss was due to these warming waters.

Climatologists have stated that the melting of Greenland’s ice sheet could rise sea levels by 7 meters, which would cause low-lying coastal cities and deltas worldwide to vanish.

Thank you Drs. Straneo, Rignot and colleagues for your work that shows more of the alarming effects of global warming. May we swiftly turn to eco-actions and kinder deeds to restore our Earth’s balance.

Supreme Master Ching Hai, who has frequently spoken of the actions needed to alleviate our planetary crisis, again addressed the urgency of the situation during an August 2009 videoconference in Thailand.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Everything is heating up so quickly, as we can see from the scientists’ reports on such alarming upheaval, such as rising sea levels and glaciers melting. So we must work quickly to avoid such unwanted outcomes. And the most effective way, as I have mentioned, is the organic vegan diet, organic vegetable farming.

This is also the fastest way to reverse the increased warming climate to prevent further damage and disaster. The more people who understand and change, the more chance our world will be saved in time.

http://www.france24.com/en/20100214-greenland-ice-loss-driven-warming-seas-study
http://news.oneindia.in/2010/02/15/globalwarming-taking-giant-bites-out-of-underbellies-ofgre.html

Copenhagen pledges will not stop planetary demise

US researchers report that the commitments made by governments so far to reduce greenhouse gases are not enough to avert runaway climate change.

A collaborative analysis conducted by a group of scientists from several leading institutions showed that the reductions pledged in Copenhagen would still lead to temperature increases of approximately 3.9 degrees Celsius.

Expert climatologists have already stated that an increase of more than 3 degrees Celsius will bring the collapse of the Amazon rainforest, along with devastating water shortages in the Southern hemisphere, a disastrous loss of species and decreases in food production.

Earlier in the week, European researchers also confirmed that the Copenhagen commitments would lead to a global temperature rise of more than 3 degrees Celsius.

US and European researchers, our sincere appreciation for your work that clearly shows we must do more if we are to save our planet.

May we swiftly choose the most effective ways to live in harmony with the environment. In a speech addressing government magistrates and judges of Mexico City, Mexico, Supreme Master Ching Hai once more urged the world’s governments to go beyond protocol with actions to halt global warming.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: At this most urgent time for the planet, I beseech your honorable graces to please help your country and our world spare lives from the impending global warming calamity.

If you don’t, there will be too massive a catastrophe, too immense a suffering upon people, families, the children, that our conscience might never be able to bear it.

We eliminate most of the human-made greenhouse gases by simply adopting the animal-free vegan organic lifestyle.

This also leads to considerable financial savings for world governments. We cannot wait for the sustainable energy and green technology to be available and used by everyone. It would be too late.

We must become vegan to save our planet.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/feb/12/copenhagen-carbon-emission-pledges

Urban dwellers’ meat consumption among the factors of increasing deforestation

In a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience, US-based lead author Dr. Ruth DeFries discovered that along with an increased move to cities has been a rise in the clearing of forests.

This observation reverses previously held beliefs that fast-growing urbanization and technological efficiencies might slow or even reverse such deforestation.

Moreover, the research found that the trees’ decline is due in part to the tendency of city-dwellers to eat more animal products and processed foods.

Dr. DeFries stated, “One line of thinking was that concentrating people in cities would leave a lot more room for nature. But those people in cities and the rest of the world need to be fed.

That creates a demand for industrial-scale clearing.” Some of the nations most affected by the immense land clearing needed for livestock and related products include Brazil, Paraguay, Indonesia and Cambodia.

Related research has found that in Brazil alone, more than 80% of the deforested regions are occupied by cattle or crops grown for animal feed.

Our sincere appreciation, Dr. DeFries and colleagues, for your work in documenting further the immense eco-damage created by meat consumption.

May such findings hasten our actions toward life-giving plant-based fare to save our Earth.

Highlighting as on previous occasions the preciousness of our planet’s biodiversity, Supreme Master Ching Hai addressed once more the need to halt the destructive tolls of the livestock industry during an October 2009 videoconference in Formosa (Taiwan).

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Right now, one-third of the entire Earth’s land surface is used either for grazing animals or growing feed for the animals, not for humans. We humans use very little of this agriculture section.

This is a devastating way to make a cheap profit at the cost of our planet’s and our people’s survival. We are eating our planet by consuming meat. So, without the needless animal industry, not only will we gain forests, we can also have organic vegan farmlands to grow real, decent food for humans, and like the forests, these farmlands can also absorb a lot of heat, a lot of heat from the atmosphere.

And a global shift to organic vegan practices could mean 40% of all greenhouse gases absorbed as well, apart from the 50 plus percent that we eliminate through the terminating of the animals raising practice.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/feb/11/cities-farming-deforestation
http://www.earth.columbia.edu/articles/view/2470
http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/blog/forests/how-cattle-ranching-chewing-amazon-rainforest-20090129
http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/ngeo756.html

Sea deforestation could be another tipping point

Recent studies in Japan have revealed that certain underwater areas of once lush sea grass have all but disappeared. Such regions have been called the “cradle of the seas” because they supply vital food, oxygen and habitat for fish. However, when the seaweed beds vanish, so does all other life, as observed near Shizuoka Prefecture, where an underwater area previously filled with species such as abalone, flounder, sea bream and others is now barren and empty.

According to the Marine Ecology Research Institute in Tokyo, climate change is a contributing factor, as the warming waters cause certain fish to stay active in the winter rather than hibernate, resulting in continued feeding on the seagrass.

Moreover, humans’ revival efforts through replanting alone have thus far been unsuccessful, with a study of 129 seaweed beds indicating that a tipping point may have been reached beyond which no restoration is possible.

A report from Japan’s Environment Ministry corroborated, stating that when the environment changes beyond the stage that the seaweed beds can regenerate naturally, attempts to stem their loss could be too late.

Our earnest appreciation, Japan’s Environment Ministry, Marine Ecology Research Institute and all participating scientists for citing yet another aspect of the dire state of our oceans.

Let us quickly adopt more sustainable ways to protect the Earth and her amazing seas. Speaking during an interview for the July 12, 2009 edition of the Irish Sunday Independent, Supreme Master Ching Hai emphasized as in previous times the critical actions that would not only save lives but would restore the entire ecosphere.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: The truth is that, scientifically speaking, we have a short time left because we have already waited too long to act. Leading scientists and organizations are now saying this as well, especially as they find that the tipping points, which indicate irreversible damage to the Earth, are being reached much faster than anyone had previously thought and calculated.

See, We need the solution, which is organic life-saving vegan diet, then our future is transformed. Life will quickly become better than what you could even imagine. With no more killing, humans and animals alike will flourish in peace, and the world will be restored to beauty and happiness.

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201002070166.html

NASA confirms accelerated ice melt in Antarctica

Using a combination of gravity and laser satellite data, scientists at the US National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) studying Antarctic glaciers have confirmed the region’s warming and consequent loss of ice mass.

Measuring the ice loss has required special techniques because many of the glaciers are underwater and do not rest on land. Nonetheless, a major review published in 2009 found that especially those on the Western Peninsula are retreating at an ever accelerating rate.

The recent NASA satellite data confirms those findings, signaling dangerous changes that could result in massive sea level rise. The retreat of the Western Antarctic’s Pine Island Glacier has quadrupled between 1995 and 2006.

Moreover, melting beneath the large ice shelves is speeding their collapse and leading to losses such as the one in 2002, where the vast, 12,000-year-old Larsen B took only three weeks to disintegrate entirely.

National Aeronautics and Space Agency scientists, we appreciate these factual observations of the rapidly changing Antarctic, disturbing as they are. At this urgent time of planetary crisis, let us join in caring and sustainable lifestyles to preserve our planetary home. Supreme Master Ching Hai has often emphasized the critical need to act in reversing global warming and its adverse effects, as during an August 2009 videoconference in Thailand.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Everything is heating up so quickly, as we can see from the scientists’ reports on such alarming upheaval, such as rising sea levels and glaciers melting. This, along with the effect of melting glaciers, are now causing excessive floods but eventually will cause drought and vastly diminished water supplies as well.

So we must work quickly to avoid such unwanted outcomes. And the most effective way, as I have mentioned, is the organic vegan diet, organic vegetable farming. This is also the fastest way to reverse the increased warming climate to prevent further damage and disaster.

The more people who understand and change, the more chance our world will be saved in time.

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/20100108_Is_Antarctica_Melting.html
http://history.nasa.gov/50thannnasaconf/history_50th_bio.html#jump4

Pesticides leading cause of mortality in Bangladesh

A 2009 Health Bulletin published by the Bangladeshi government reported that more than 7,400 fatalities resulted from pesticide-related poisonings for individuals aged 15 to 49. Government figures also indicate that pesticide use has increased by 145% in the six years between 2001 and 2007. Professor of medicine Dr. Muhammad Abul Faiz at Sir Salimullah Medical College in Dhaka stated that the farmers are often exposed to the chemicals without proper protection and that they inhale significant amounts.

According to scientists from Bangladesh’s National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine, farmers also recycle the pesticide containers, which are sometimes used for food storage. Dr. Faiz added that of the 933 poisoning cases admitted to his facility in 2008, 38% were due to pesticides. It saddens us deeply to know of the tragic effects of these hazardous substances.

We pray that the government of Bangladesh and indeed leaders throughout the world adopt sustainable organic vegan practices for safer harvests and protected lives. Noting the grave tolls of such chemical products, Supreme Master Ching Hai has often encouraged the wholesome organic vegan farming alternative, as during an interview published in the July 12, 2009 edition of the Irish Sunday Independent.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Organic vegan farming is what should be promoted

Supreme Master Ching Hai: This one benefits our health because it avoids hundreds of pesticides as well as insecticide residues in our food, the antibiotics, and the unnatural additives which have been linked to countless diseases, yes.

Organic farming absorbs CO2 as well, yeah. Compared to animal products, organically farmed fruits and vegetables contain high levels of nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and antioxidants which protect us from cancer.

Moreover, they taste better—everyone will tell us that. For the environment, organic vegan farming protects and even enriches the soil, helps to preserve wild life habitat, creates much less pollution.

We have 40% CO2 absorbed by organic vegan practices That is 1,000 pounds of carbon per acre absorbed and stored.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: So, for our health and for the planet, organic vegan/vegetarian farming is the solution, yes.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87773
http://www.whoban.org/MR_Launching.html

Pesticides at the root of certain biodiversity loss

Scientists are finding out that even low-level exposure to pesticides can impair immune function in wildlife such as amphibians, with US expert Dr. Kevin Zippel stating that today’s devastation of frog species is comparable to the mass extinctions of the dinosaurs.

Currently over 1,800 species of amphibians are endangered, with growing evidence that many of their afflicting diseases are pesticide-based. University of Padua entomologist, Professor Vincenzo Girolami in Italy has also discovered that low levels of a neonicotinoid, a newer kind of pesticide thought to be safer for wildlife such as bees, still affects them when devices like seeding machines are used as these stir up clouds of the chemicals into the atmosphere.

Bats also may be on the decline due to pesticides. With at least one million that have died in North America since 2006 from a fungal infection called White-nose syndrome, scientists are now evaluating the role of pesticides as environmental contaminants that suppress the bats’ immune system. Many thanks Dr. Zippel,
Professor Girolami and all researchers involved for your diligent work to investigate the harms of pesticides on our natural environment.

Let us quickly turn to sustaining lifestyles that include organic farming methods to preserve all cherished life. As on previous occasions, Supreme Master Ching Hai spoke of the environmental tolls of such toxic substances along with the benefits of adopting more eco-considerate ways during a September 2009 videoconference in South Korea.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Another example of a practice causing harm to both animals and Earth is the use of chemical pesticides. Over 5 billion pounds of pesticides are used throughout the world each year! And only about 10% - 10%! - of these chemicals even reach the areas where they are intended for. So the rest?
What happens?

They go into the air and water where they have been linked to everything from cancer of humans and animals to oceanic dead zones. In Europe, one pesticide was found to be the reason for billions of bees dying across the continent, while others are known to make the eggshells of birds become thinner, resulting in the death of their babies because the shells crack and break before the baby is ready to be born.

Since organic vegan farming does not use pesticides and does not have anything to do with livestock raising, milk production or any such harmful activity, it could be called a practice of compassion, in line with Heaven, with values that are echoed in many spiritual paths and religious teachings.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Organic vegan diet is the best.

http://www.e360.yale.edu/content/feature.msp?id=2228
http://current.com/1itvk4c

UK unveils 20-year plan for low carbon agriculture

British Secretary of the Environment Hilary Benn announced on January 5 long-term agricultural policies to achieve both food security and sustainable farming practices that can mitigate the effects of climate change.

Hilary Benn: Agriculture needs to be at the heart of our efforts to adapt to a changing climate.”

Hilary Benn: The soil, the water, the air, the plants, the forests are the very foundation on which our food and therefore our existence as human beings depends. So in meeting demand today, we must ensure that we do not destroy our ability to feed ourselves tomorrow. It’s not about either environmental sustainability or production, it has to be both.

The plan encourages consumers to eat less red meat and dairy so as to reduce the amount of methane produced by cows, and consume more locally-sourced seasonal fruit and vegetables.

Classes will be offered to teach people how to cook with fresh vegetables. Green labels on food will also display the 'carbon footprint' in manufacturing and transporting products. Secretary Benn highlighted the importance of consumer involvement in achieving a sustainable food system during every phase.

For example, every household would collect food waste to be composted, and more people would grow fruits and vegetables, with gardens also being planted at schools and hospitals along with courses to teach crop growing skills.

Your Excellency and United Kingdom, we applaud your vision for a sustainable future by making sound food choices. May many other leaders be similarly inspired to bring greater health to fellow citizens and the planet. Supreme Master Ching Hai has frequently spoken of the need for governments to implement wiser, plant-based food policies to reduce global warming, as in an interview published in the September 2009 edition of the British Parliament's The House Magazine.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: The government can support organic vegan farming through subsidies. They can also redirect the funds away from the meat industries and instead toward encouraging citizens to plant, to buy and to choose organic vegan food.

And when they do, we will soon have a lot of healthy, happy, productive people, a restored green environment, and minimum climate mitigation costs – something all governments can look forward to and gain the enthusiastic support of all citizens.

If humans switch to the vegan diet, the Earth will begin cooling immediately and many of these dilemmas can even be reversed. So please, be veg and do good, to save the planet and all the beings on it, including you and me.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/6932602/Restaurants-and-takeaways-to-provide-health-warnings-on-menus.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jan/05/uk-farming-2030-food-report

US town goes veg organic for the environment

Signal Mountain, a town in Tennessee, USA has passed a Green Food Resolution, which is intended to encourage organic food grown from local farms along with sustainable plant-based diets.

Launched by Council member Paul Hendricks, the initiative was unanimously passed by the five-member Signal Mountain Council. To attain the goals of locally produced plant-based fare, the resolution also promotes farmers’ markets, community gardens and other venues that provide more organic produce options.

The US-based organization Farm Sanctuary, which has already been campaigning for awareness of the harms of animal factory farming, is encouraging such Green Food Resolutions to be passed in various cities across the United States.

A big bravo and many thanks Signal Mountain Council members, residents and Farm Sanctuary for your support of this wise and healthy initiative. May such a sustainable veg trend extend throughout your community and across the globe.

As a long-time proponent of organic vegan agriculture, Supreme Master Ching Hai has frequently explained its immense Earth-saving and other values, as during a February 2009 videoconference in Formosa (Taiwan).

Supreme Master Ching Hai: I wish that all the governments in the world would encourage organic farming to save our world. If the governments lead the way with the message that this is how to be green, and how to protect the planet, then the farmers would be happy to grow more vegan food. To spread the practice of organic farming would help in so many ways.

The benefit of organic farming for human livelihood, for human health, and for animals’ health, natural resources and protection of our planet, all these benefits we cannot even estimate all in here. Organic farming not only helps to protect the planet, it will even help to eliminate hunger. So, I just suggest organic vegan.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/12/tennessee-town-passes-nations-first-green-food-resolution.php

Twice as many record high temperatures as lows in the US

According to the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Colorado, USA global warming has triggered unusually mild winters and intense summer heat waves over the past decade.

Research led by NCAR senior scientist Dr. Gerald Meehl surveyed thousands of weather stations across the nation to compare temperatures on a given day to that of the same date throughout the nation’s history.

From the start of 2000 to September 30, 2009, over 290,000 record highs have been set in the US, more than twice the number of record lows in the same time period. As data from the previous 60 years show that record highs and lows have previously been about even, this difference confirms that temperatures are on the rise.

The study also showed that if current trends of increasing greenhouse gas emissions continue, there will be 20 times more record high temperatures than lows by 2050, and 50 times more by 2100.

Dr. Meehl and fellow National Center for Atmospheric Research researchers, our gratitude for your work in revealing this clear but alarming trend. Let us quickly heed such urgent signs and turn to lifestyles that restore the balance of our ecosphere. In an August 2009 videoconference in Thailand, Supreme Master Ching Hai spoke once again with concern about the planet’s perilous state and reminded of the fastest way to stabilize our environment.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Everything is heating up so quickly, as we can see from the scientists’ reports on such alarming upheaval, such as rising sea levels and glaciers melting.

We must work quickly to avoid such unwanted outcomes. And the most effective way, as I have mentioned, is the organic vegan diet, organic vegetable farming. This is also the fastest way to reverse the increased warming climate to prevent further damage and disaster.

The more people who understand and change, the more chance our world will be saved in time.

Livestock reduction is key for Copenhagen’s deep emission reduction goals

At the two-week United Nations Climate Change Conference in Denmark, discussions have continued to revolve around how much global temperatures should be allowed to rise, with low-lying countries vulnerable to sea level rise calling for no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius increase. Even at this level, many such as the tiny island nation of Tuvalu are likely to be submerged. But a new study was presented at the conference on Saturday that highlights a very important component in limiting temperature rise.

Supreme Master Television’s correspondent is on location at the Danish capital with this report.
Supreme Master Television Danish correspondent: As delegates weigh in on proposals leading up to a final agreement, a summarized draft document calls for more drastic emission reductions than have been committed to thus far by industrialized nations.

In addition, for the first time, text has been proposed that would allow “interstate cooperation” to help countries with anticipated relocation of possibly millions of global warming refugees. Meanwhile, countries have been pledging future financial aid to vulnerable nations, with European Union leaders agreeing to funding €7.2 billion
over the next three years.

Anders TURESSON, Chief Negotiator for the Sweden, Presidency of European Union (M): These monies should be used for public support, adaptation, mitigation, and capacity building, with an emphasis on the least developed countries.

Supreme Master Television Danish correspondent: Meanwhile, Brazil stepped up efforts to protect the Amazon rainforest, a vital climate regulator whose deforestation is a major source of greenhouse gases.
Supreme Master Television recently spoke with Brazilian Ambassador Paulo Alberto da Silveira Soares about the government’s plan coinciding with the Copenhagen summit.

Paulo Alberto da Silveira Soares – Brazilian Ambassador to Singapore (M): Brazil is really the only country that came, weeks ago, before any other countries with a very straight forward proposition, a target of curbing CO2 emissions between 36 to 39% and 80% reduction in deforestation in the Amazon area.

Supreme Master Television Danish correspondent: A new study released on Saturday at the Copenhagen conference found that livestock raising is the biggest source of greenhouse gases, at more than 50%, and that about 75% of total Amazon deforestation was to clear grazing land for cattle.

Brazilian sociologist Marley Winckler has more to share about this message.
Marley Winckler – Sociologist, President of Brazilian Vegetarian Society (F): If you really want to mitigate greenhouse gases, you must address meat production. SMTV Danish correspondent: The Brazilian government announced this week that it will use satellite surveillance in an effort to ensure that cattle ranchers do not destroy more land than they are already allotted and that violators will not be granted permits to transport their cattle to be slaughtered.

We asked Ambassador da Silveira Soares his thoughts about changing dietary consumption to being meat-free as an immediate solution for both government and people.
Paulo Alberto da Silveira Soares – Brazilian Ambassador to Singapore (M): We need a big effort, Brazil is net producer of meat. So we have to make more than a campaign and make people more aware that for the health, of me, you and everyone in the world, less consumption of meat only helps your health and climate change.

Supreme Master Television Danish correspondent: This is Supreme Master Television reporting from Copenhagen, Denmark.

VOICE: We thank His Excellency Mr. Alberto da Silveira Soares, Ms. Winckler, and all negotiators and leaders who are working to chart our world’s best future course. May we work together to halt climate change through the organic vegan diet and farming practices, for the survival and happiness of all.

In a March 2009 videoconference with government dignitaries and the public in Mexico, Supreme Master Ching Hai once more highlighted the exceptional government measures required to address the current crisis of global warming.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: I suggest all world leaders and governments to please promote the animal-free lifestyle and quick so that we can save our planet. We have not too much time left. This is no longer even about politics.

It’s about the survival of ourselves and our children. If all governments encourage people toward the healthy, animal-free diet, the planet could be saved in no time.
And the activities that are good for our Earth can also gener ate livelihoods. We have a shortage of food, so the government can easily support organic vegan farmers and the advancement of other green practices.
This will help greatly. The government must make a priority, saving the planet, organic vegan farming subsidies.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/carteret-islands/6771651/The-sea-is-killing-our-island-paradise.html
http://www.ipsnews.net/africa/nota.asp?idnews=49630
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_465710.html
http://www.france24.com/en/node/4945985
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5BA29S20091211?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0
http://www.brazzilmag.com/content/view/11524/1/

At Copenhagen, a focus on the immediate veg solution

As the climate change conference in Denmark gains momentum, European Union delegates have been working to reach agreement on the matter of assistance to developing nations for adapting to current and future onslaughts of global warming.

From prolonged droughts and water scarcity to increased floods and food shortages, disasters have already begun striking the regions with the least infrastructure and resources to cope with them.
Organizations like the World Bank have estimated mitigation costs at up to hundreds of billions of US dollars each year. However, one solution being advocated by groups in Copenhagen that would reduce both climate cost mitigation and global warming itself is the organic vegan diet.

With that, let's go to our corrrespondent in Copenhagen. With livestock production now known to account for more than 50% of global warming, one of its primary greenhouse gases, methane, leaves the atmosphere in about a decade.

Moreover, as a previously published report from the Netherlands has stated, 80% of environmental stabilization costs could be saved if everyone adopts an animal-free diet. Thus, the vegan solution would rapidly lead to a cooler planet, while dramatically lessening both costs and the need for adaptation in all countries.

We have been working in Copenhagen to spread awareness of the crucial importance of the vegan diet, handing out tens of thousands of SOS and Alternative Living flyers along with other informative materials.
The flyers and prominent banners have received a great amount of attention and positive feedback, including from international journalists, radio and television groups as well as public officials at Copenhagen.

In European Union media coverage of the wide range of activities taking place in and around the conference venue, officials such as European Environment Agency Deputy Director Gordon McInnes showed they were also supportive of the need to address livestock industry impacts on the climate.

We asked Deputy Director McInnes for his thoughts on livestock's impact to the environment.
Gordon McInnes – Deputy Director, European Environment Agency (M): Cattle and other animals, there is a lot of methane produced, which also contributes to global warming.
So less meat production, less meat eating will help reduce impact. This is Supreme Master Television reporting from Copenhagen, Denmark.

VOICE: We thank Deputy Director McInnes, European Union delegates, and all participants of this historic summit. Our prayers that the organic vegan diet will be considered a vital part of the climate agreement and wishing world leaders Godspeed in arriving at the most enlightened planet-saving strategies for all.
In a speech addressing government magistrates and judges of Mexico City, Mexico, Supreme Master Ching Hai called upon their leadership to instate the highly beneficial vegan policy to halt further human suffering and save the planet.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: If all tillable land were turned into organic vegetable farmland, not only would people be fully fed, but up to 40% of all the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere could be absorbed.
This is in addition to the elimination of over 50% of emissions caused by livestock raising. Therefore, in sum,we eliminate most of the human-made greenhouse gases by simply adopting the animal-free vegan organic lifestyle.

This also leads to considerable financial savings for world governments. At this most urgent time for the planet, I beseech your honorable graces to please help your country and our world spare lives from the impending global warming calamity. If you don’t, there will be too massive a catastrophe, too immense a suffering upon people, families, the children, that our conscience might never be able to bear it. We must become vegan to save our planet.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8407112.stm
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/environment/Billionaire-Soros--Finance-Gap-Climate-Talks-10DEC09--78983462.html
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i9TuMrvrknh-ZXwqmZ2N-48kff3wD9CGJKJO1
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/only-5050-chance-that-2c-climate-target-will-be-met-1837373.html
http://www.spa.gov.sa/English/details.php?id=726449

Food insecurity looms with more rapid climate change

With recent research doubling forecasts due to new information about accelerated ice melt in Antarctica and other regions, a 1.4-meter sea level rise is now being anticipated in coastal areas and islands before the next century.

Countries such as Âu Lạc (Vietnam) are thus calling attention to the issue of food security ahead of the upcoming international negotiations in Copenhagen. Deputy Director of the Aulacese (Vietnamese) Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate Change Department, Mr. Nguyễn Khắc Hiếu has stated that the anticipated flooding would inundate 31,000 square kilometers of the Mekong Delta – an area about the size of Belgium.

As the world’s second largest rice exporter, the effect to both Âu Lạc and many other countries would be profound. Deputy Director Nguyễn is thus asking that adaptation issues be addressed at the Copenhagen climate summit.

Our appreciation, Deputy Director Nguyễn and Âu Lạc for calling attention to this vital topic at such a crucial juncture for humanity. May the decisions of our world leaders bring unified steps to restore the balance of our ecosphere. During an August 2009 climate change conference in Thailand, Supreme Master Ching Hai further highlighted the tolls of the current global crisis, while emphasizing the critical need for appropriate action to reverse the situation.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: In Âu Lạc (Vietnam), you probably know of global warming related problems such as the untimely flooding and encroachment of the sea of the Mekong Delta region – both of which have caused havoc and further threat to the region’s vital rice and fruit crops.
This is due to a combination of sea levels rising, along with the effect of melting glaciers, which are now causing excessive floods but eventually will cause drought and vastly diminished water supplies as well.
So we must work quickly to avoid such unwanted outcomes.

And the most effective way is the organic vegan diet, organic vegetable farming. This is also the fastest way to reverse the increased warming climate to prevent further damage and disaster. If everyone does this – be veg – the Earth will begin to cool and we will have more time to implement the measures to eliminate all the carbon emissions. So please, be veg,and tell everyone else of these benefits.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iUQUHqrFNSnyGROkjhbTqf2dOWwQ
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977925407&grpId=3659174697244816&nav=Groupspace
http://www.rfi.fr/actuvi/articles/120/article_5911.asp,
http://www.france24.com/en/node/4938440
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/02/content_12571641.htm
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iNBHb6KnUMTIa-zGMZ_bgwwgAM5w

European Parliament Members welcome hearing from veg advocate Sir Paul McCartney

An animal-free vegan diet could save up to 94% greenhouse gas emissions, while also greatly solving issues of land degradation, biodiversity loss, and ever-intensifying food and water shortages. These were some of the aspects highlighted in Thursday’s European Parliament hearing that specially invited Sir Paul McCartney, former Beatles artist and vegetarian who has been promoting a Meat-Free Mondays campaign since June 2009.

Sir Paul McCartney – Former Beatles member, Vegetarian (M): What can the European Parliament do, and the governments of the world? I suggest that they could encourage and guide people to reduce meat consumption.It's no longer a personal choice. This is something that’s going to affect the whole of the planet.

VOICE: The hearing titled “Climate Change and Food Policy: Less Meat = Less Heat” was chaired by European Parliament Vice President Edward McMillan-Scott, an open vegetarian advocate, and comes on the eve of the key Copenhagen Climate Change Conference.

Edward McMillan-Scott – European Parliament Vice President, Vegetarian (M): We can decide for ourselves now how to slow climate change. Less Meat = Less Heat.

VOICE: Also lending their supportive voices was European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek, among other officials.

Jerzy Buzek – President of European Parliament (M): Everybody can give up meat for one day, at least one day a week.

Chris Davies – European Parliament Member (M): I think this is a matter that is serious. I think diet needs to be addressed.

Caroline Lucas – European Parliament Member, VEGAN (F): We’re going to have to have a much less meat-based diet, because it’s simply an incredibly inefficient way of using grain resources in a constrained world.

VOICE: Our gratefulness, Sir Paul McCartney and leaders of the European Parliament and United Nations for your concern and noble initiatives on the vital issue of diet change to address global warming.
Let us all quickly make the necessary transition to the planet-saving veg lifestyle. In her dedicated efforts to help humanity avoid a dire planetary outcome, Supreme Master Ching Hai once more emphasized the immediate and powerful effects of organic vegan fare, in an interview published in the July 2009 edition of the Irish Sunday Independent.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: The truth is that, scientifically speaking, we have a short time left because we have already waited too long to act. It is better if we concentrate on the solution to save the Earth. We can still do it.

If everyone becomes part of the solution, which is the organic life-saving vegan diet, it's so simple really, it's so simple. It's no sacrifice, it's even better for health, better for everything!

Organic vegan diet, that's all we need to do, for the time being. And any other green technology, we can slowly develop.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jzc3oulh3mmDKPGEEZKrSXK08gBA
http://www.kentucky.com/512/story/1044284.html
http://www.examiner.com/x-29556-Cleveland-Vegetarian-Food-Examiner~y2009m12d3-Paul-McCartney-promoting-Meat-Free-Mondays-to-EU
http://europa.eu/eucalendar/event.shtml?eventId=1241128

Food insecurity looms with more rapid climate change

With recent research doubling forecasts due to new information about accelerated ice melt in Antarctica and other regions, a 1.4-meter sea level rise is now being anticipated in coastal areas and islands before the next century.

Countries such as Âu Lạc (Vietnam) are thus calling attention to the issue of food security ahead of the upcoming international negotiations in Copenhagen. Deputy Director of the Aulacese (Vietnamese) Meteorology, Hydrology and Climate Change Department, Mr. Nguyễn Khắc Hiếu has stated that the anticipated flooding would inundate 31,000 square kilometers of the Mekong Delta – an area about the size of Belgium.

As the world’s second largest rice exporter, the effect to both Âu Lạc and many other countries would be profound. Deputy Director Nguyễn is thus asking that adaptation issues be addressed at the Copenhagen climate summit.

Our appreciation, Deputy Director Nguyễn and Âu Lạc for calling attention to this vital topic at such a crucial juncture for humanity. May the decisions of our world leaders bring unified steps to restore the balance of our ecosphere. During an August 2009 climate change conference in Thailand, Supreme Master Ching Hai
further highlighted the tolls of the current global crisis, while emphasizing the critical need for appropriate action to reverse the situation.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: In Âu Lạc (Vietnam), you probably know of global warming related problems such as the untimely flooding and encroachment of the sea of the Mekong Delta region – both of which have caused havoc and further threat to the region’s vital rice and fruit crops.
This is due to a combination of sea levels rising, along with the effect of melting glaciers, which are now causing excessive floods but eventually will cause drought and vastly diminished water supplies as well.
So we must work quickly to avoid such unwanted outcomes.

And the most effective way is the organic vegan diet, organic vegetable farming. This is also the fastest way to reverse the increased warming climate to prevent further damage and disaster. If everyone does this – be veg – the Earth will begin to cool and we will have more time to implement the measures to eliminate all the carbon emissions. So please, be veg, and tell everyone else of these benefits.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iUQUHqrFNSnyGROkjhbTqf2dOWwQ
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977925407&grpId=3659174697244816&
nav=Groupspace
http://www.rfi.fr/actuvi/articles/120/article_5911.asp,
http://www.france24.com/en/node/4938440
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/02/content_12571641.htm
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iNBHb6KnUMTIa-zGMZ_bgwwgAM5w

UK government supports reducing meat for the planet and human health

Following a year’s investigation by 55 scientists in nine countries,the report “Public Health Benefits of Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse-gas Emissions” was published in the prestigious British medical journal the Lancet. It concluded that reducing livestock production by consuming fewer animal products would provide the greatest benefit for reducing emissions, improving health, and containing climate change mitigation costs.

The new report, which described the health benefits of various global warming mitigation strategies, including lifestyle changes, was officially endorsed during a launch event in the United Kingdom by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and leaders of the World Health Organization, the UK Department of Health and Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the US Department of Health. Supreme Master Television spoke with lead author Professor Sir Andrew Haines, Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Professor Sir Andrew Haines – Director of London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK (M): You can't ignore the food and agricultural sector if you're serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions quite dramatically, which is what we know has to be done. So we look first of all at the potential for technological change. Could it all be done just by improving technology of farming? And we concluded that that would be not sufficient.

VOICE: The report found that a 30% reduction in the number of livestock animals had the benefit of reaching 50% greenhouse gas reduction goals by 2030 and improving overall health. In particular, heart disease rates alone would be reduced by 15%, saving 18,000 lives in the UK per year from the country's #1 killer.

Sir Andrew Haines (M): Since we already consume sufficient nutritional content from the Western diet, we can quite safely reduce our saturated fat consumption by let’s say, 30%.
There's many people who don't consume very much animal products and meat and other animal products, some who are purely vegetarian and vegan, and all these different dietary patterns are compatible with a healthy lifestyle.

VOICE: We thank the dedicated world scientists and The Lancet medical journal for this very important study integrating climate change and health. We also laud the British government and United Nations officials for supporting this call to global action in reducing meat production and consumption.

May world citizens enjoy the multifold benefits of a plant-based diet including longevity, vitality, and above all, a saved planetary abode. Supreme Master Ching Hai has frequently discussed the effective role of governments in reducing global warming, as in an interview published in the September 2009 edition of the British Parliament's The House Magazine.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: The government can support organic vegan farming through subsidies. They can also redirect the funds away from the meat industries and instead toward encouraging citizens to plant, to buy and to choose organic vegan food. And when they do, we will soon have a lot of healthy, happy, productive people, a restored green environment, and minimum climate mitigation costs – something all governments can look forward to and gain the enthusiastic support of all citizens.

Chief Executive Officer Magazine publishes interview with Supreme Master Ching Hai

On November 23, Chief Executive Officer Magazine’s November 2009 edition will present a discussion with Supreme Master Ching Hai on solutions to the urgent matter of climate change, also regarded as a highly important issue by the business world today.

After the interview was originally published in the September 18, 2009 British Parliament’s The House Magazine and again in the European Parliament Magazine's September 2009 issue, Chief Executive Officer Magazine invited the further publishing of Supreme Master Ching Hai’s message to reach a global corporate audience.

With a readership that includes nearly 12,000 of the world’s most successful top-level company executives along with 25,000 email subscribers, the Magazine provides up-to-date information as well as in-depth perspectives contributed by respected fellow business leaders.

The November 2009 issue, which contains editorials from chief executive officers (CEOs) of Virgin Media and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will feature Supreme Master Ching Hai's remarks about animal agriculture as the main cause of climate change along with the vital benefits and savings of the organic vegan solution.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: By turning to the virtuous, compassionate diet of vegan alone, they would generate such a positive, constructive energy. This new loving power could even stop the effects of climate change and open up people’s innovative thought to solve all manner of economical, social, and technological problems. And every country, whether developed or developing, will flourish in ways beyond our imagination.

VOICE: Following its November 23 distribution, the magazine will also be available for the public to read online at www.The-ChiefExecutive.com.

Our thanks, Chief Executive Officer Magazine, for your work in bringing relevant and timely information to your distinguished readers. We join in appreciation of the views shared by Supreme Master Ching Hai, which have helped groups and individuals better understand our choices for humankind and the planet.
May companies worldwide quickly direct their strengths toward charting the most sustainable course possible for our future.

A call for mercy toward all beings

At a recent event in Orizaba, Mexico, issues of animal cruelty and climate change were the focus as Veracruz state government dignitaries and citizens gathered in the wish to do their part to halt global warming.
Invited by the Veracruz state government, Supreme Master Ching Hai shared her thoughts via videoconference on the effectiveness of showing compassion for other lives by not eating meat in achieving the urgently needed care of all of nature.

To honor the efforts of Supreme Master Ching Hai and the international association that developed around her example of service, Mr Alonso Domínguez Ferráez, Coordinator of Environment of the State of Veracruz, presented our Association with a certificate of appreciation.

It read:(in Spanish)

“The State of Veracruz, through the Office of General Coordination for the Environment, hereby grants this Award to the Supreme Master Ching Hai [International] Association for its valuable contribution in raising awareness to reduce the effects of climate change though the conference “SOS: A Quick Action to Stop Global Warming.”

Lic. Alonso Domínguez Ferráez General Coordinator for the Environment Orizaba, Veracruz,
November 16, 2009

VOICE: During the conference, Supreme Master Ching Hai emphasized that halting the livestock industry would not only reduce greenhouse gases, but would reward humanity through a peaceful co-existence with other animals on Earth.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Cows, pigs, chickens, fish, etc. are no different from our beloved animal companions. Perhaps people would do differently if they could just see their piece of meat for what it is, as real beings who had a strong will to live in dignity but had to die in anguish.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: There are many stories in the news about cows who ran away to escape being slaughtered. There was one such case of a cow who was seen in the streets of New York City even, because she escaped.

And one of the animal control staffs was so moved by the cow’s plight, she became vegetarian on the spot. This cow was no different nor special compared to the rest of the thousands of her kind, murdered every day for meat.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Because people are so misinformed, that’s why we do what we did. But from now on, if we are informed and if we want to save the planet, we have to stop killing any animals at all.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: We have lived so long with them on this planet; it’s about time that we should get to know them, make friends with them for the wonderful, respected and noble beings that they are.

Thank you for being concerned. God bless you.

VOICE: Our appreciation, respected state government officials and dignitaries, as well as conference participants for your open hearts. We are thankful to Supreme Master Ching Hai, who continues to support the restoration of the Earth’s biosphere. May we all choose the compassionate organic vegan diet that
will beget the protection most needed at this crucial time.Please tune in to Supreme Master Television’s Words of Wisdom for the full rebroadcast of this live event at a later date, with multi-language subtitles.