Supreme Master Ching Hai on the Environment: Organic Farming Restores the Healthy Balance of the Planet
I think if you have a garden,
you should plant
more fruit trees and food.
Make it become a habit.
Food that is easy to plant,
short term harvest,
and plenty of vitamins
and nutrition already.
You try to plant those
vegetables that bear fruits,
like beans,
pumpkins and stuff,
cucumbers – those things
that bear fruit
and are simple, easy.
So it becomes a habit,
and then you will eat
your own produce
and it’s also good
for the time being
because we’re
short of food everywhere.
It’s good to be independent.
In case
something happens, you
will have sufficient food
for yourself.
Plant a lot of fruit trees
wherever you can –
different seasons, okay? –
and those vegetables
that are easy to harvest
and quick and do not take
too much water.
Right now
we still have water,
but then you plant also
all kinds… what’s simple.
Corn and all that
takes too long,
but beans you can eat
and live well with it.
It’s a vegetable as well as
a protein provider in one.
For example, beans –
any kind of beans – and
all kinds of fruits – fruit trees
that give you fruits –
and if you don’t eat it
enough, you make it
into, like, jam
or pickled fruits.
Chutney.
You make chutney.
You make something and
put it in a jar or deep-freeze,
something like that,
or like pickles,
and it lasts long.
Then you can eat them
when the season is out.
It’s better
to eat your own produce.
God says in the Bible
that you should
sweat, yourself,
for your food.
That’s why one
of the happiest marriages
is for the farmers,
according to research.
It’s serious,
you plant your food.
Plant whatever’s easy,
simple but plentiful
of nutrition and
always easy and always
can plant again and again.
Of course,
you can plant a variety,
but to be sure concentrate
on those that have protein
and fiber…and vegetables
at the same time,
like beans and fruit.
Beans are easy to plant.
If you have a fence,
you just put your finger
in the ground
and put a bean and then
it will grow in no time,
and a lot of beans
will come out –
and you eat some
and you leave some for
the next planting season;
and very cheap,
easy to plant.
You don’t even need to
take care much.
I remember
I planted some beans
when I was in Germany.
I just put them
around the fence
and they grew so much.
Yes, so easy, easy.
They grow so fast.
I did not remember
I had to water them.
I did not;
it just came out.
And tomatoes and all
that grow in abundance,
especially if you have trees.
Of course,
when you plant trees
there are also leaves
falling down in the fall,
and you rake them together,
you put them in a hole
that you dig in the ground –
some leaves and
some earth, some leaves
and some earth, like that –
and after a while
it becomes
beautiful compost.
And then you just
put it to your use again,
planting vegetables.
Or if you have to
cut grasses then
you use the grass also.
And your waste
of vegetables, the peel
and the old leaves
and whatever,
you put them all together
in there and it becomes a
very, very useful compost.
Try to be independent
from now on.
Do not complain
about food shortages
and food expenses:
do it yourself.
Even if you have a balcony,
you can plant it.
From now on, try to use
useful trees and plants
together with beauty.
For example,
the cherry trees, they are
so beautifully flowering
in season.
And apple trees –
also beautiful flowers.
All kinds are like that.
And on your balcony,
instead of planting
something for fun,
you can plant it
for eating as well.
I have a little pot like this
and it’s a tangerine,
My God, he keeps
growing, growing, growing!
So many tangerines
in such a small tree
about this size.
So much! So much!
Hundreds of them! And
so beautiful. Just in a pot.
And nowadays,
maybe you could even
buy fertilizer if you don’t
want to make compost
or if you don’t have.
Buy those organic fertilizers.
They make it very simple,
easy and it doesn’t smell
that bad or anything.
So you can even plant it
on your balcony.
Make it a habit, okay?
Make it a habit.
Don’t wait. Don’t wait
until you don’t have food.
Do it now.
Even if the world
goes back to normal
and has food, at least
you’ll always have your food.
No harm, no?
It takes
a few minutes
to do these things,
even half an hour a day,
then you have plenty
on your balcony.
Your favorite food,
simple ones.
Not like potatoes and all
that on the balcony, please!
Salads or herbs, just
experiment and have fun.
Have fun.
Read some books
on how to plant
or go to the supermarket.
On every packet they tell you
what year or what month
of the year to plant and
from when to when they
will grow and harvest so
you know the timing of it.
If you don’t want it
too long, three months,
you pick those
with two months,
two weeks or three weeks.
It’s fun to grown
your own vegetables.
Even growing salad
on the balcony
is plenty for you to eat.
You don’t eat salads
every day
so you just grow some
and then it lasts you
at least a week or a month.
And then
you plant another one.
Take turns like that
and you will always
have something to eat.
So it’s a better way
to be independent.
Or if you have a flat roof,
you plant up there.
You don’t plant
everywhere but you can
use some plastic box
or something,
or ceramic box
and fill it with earth,
fill your compost
and just keep planting,
planting – very fun.
You go out and see
the whole roof is green
and edible – beautiful.
It’s really beautiful.
I don’t have much time,
otherwise I like to
plant things myself.
It’s very, very nice.
You can use your hand,
magic hand,
like every day
turn the empty plot
into something
useful and nutritious.
Even if you don’t have
much land, sometimes
just a little bit of garden,
you can do it
and take turns – you see? –
and plant it
and then pick it
and plant another one.
If you don’t eat right away,
you can pickle it
and save it in the cellar
or something,
or put it in a cold area.
In Europe,
almost everywhere is cold
so don’t even need
a fridge.##You put outside.
I also tell Miaoli people
to do that.
They are
planting something
and I have eaten
some of their stuff
for the first time.
Before, we planted
but the worms ate them
and now
they are doing something
so the worms don’t come.
There are some plants
you can mix together
with your plants
to repel those insects
or something
if you don’t want them.
Mongolia, as with
the rest of the world,
is experiencing
more severe weather,
a more fatal pattern
of climate change
due to the effects
of global warming.
So you can see
in Mongolia droughts,
harsher winters,
more frequency of
dust storms and blizzards.
With livestock raising,
we deplete Mongolians’
already limited natural
resources and even
put Mongolia
more in danger
of desertification.
Instead of grazing animals,
we can begin planting
organic vegetables,
which are more healthy
to everyone.
We have to
choose a vegetarian diet
over animal breeding.
If more and more people
choose organic farming
as well,
we help each other
to the best possible
of our ability
and the most gentle way for
all beings and the Earth.
From then,
we can share food since
we have so much food.
We have an abundance of
food, more than enough
for everyone without
even having to buy it,
and we save time
and other resources
to go toward other things,
like ending disease and
helping those in need.
By not subsidizing
the meat diet, we save
trillions of US dollars
per year in tax.
We save a lot of suffering
from meat-related illness.
We save a lot of food to
share with all the hungry
in the world,
so our conscience will
never have to wake up
in the middle of the night
and bite us anymore.
We can do that
through such a method
as hydroponics.
You can even plant
and harvest indoors,
so we can do it
also by ourselves.
There’s no need
for, even, farmers;
if we have a little garden,
we can plant it ourselves.
Or if we have a balcony
we can even
plant it in water.
We must start now
so that you can have
your own vegetables.
It’s very easy.
If you just have a little
pot even, on the balcony,
the size you want,
and you just
sow some seeds in it.
A few days later,
you already have
some vegetables. Salad,
for example
Some are grown
in three days or
one week or two weeks,
and you can always
take turns to grow it again.
And in the garden,
it grows quicker.
In the old time,
if we look into
the Mongolian history,
the people of Mongolia
did not eat so much meat,
then we
should be convinced
that the meatless diet
sustained our ancestry,
and still can sustain us.
And nowadays,
even evidently
through medical
and scientific research,
that vegetarian diet
is absolutely healthy.
It’s just people
don’t know about this
and don’t have time
to do research,
so we have to inform them.
Please do inform
your people.
We are doing that,
but we need your help.
We cannot do everything,
even though we have
Association members
everywhere.
But, it’s not
like the whole planet is
my Association member,
is it?
So, we need your help.
We need everybody’s help.
We need all the help
from the government.
What are the benefits of
organic vegan farming,
and in what ways can MPs
(Members of Parliament)
and the government
push forward
to boost this sector?
There are
so many benefits from
organic vegan farming,
as well as
many benefiting parties.
First, for the farmers,
organic vegan farming
is productive, saving
37% more energy
and even more water
than conventional
farming methods.
Next, there are
environmental benefits,
like, the topsoil stays
and proves better
at withstanding floods
and hurricanes. Wildlife
and ecosystems also win.
According to
the largest study done
on organic farming
in the UK, your country,
compared to
conventional farms,
organic farms contained
85% more plant species,
with 71%
taller and thicker hedges,
and a healthy return
of native animals
across the species.
Furthermore,
organic vegan farming
will halt the runoff of
chemical fertilizers that
have created monstrous
dead zones in the ocean.
Organic soil matter
also absorbs CO2
so effectively that
the Rodale Institute calls
organic vegan farming
a powerful strategy to
reduce global warming,
by up to 40% of
all CO2 emissions now
in the atmosphere.
Imagine?
Then we will be
clear of CO2.
Otherwise,
it will stay here
for thousands of years
and continue to heat
our planet.
Finally, we all benefit
from better health
because it’s free of toxins
and abundant
in nutrients, without
genetic modification
and cancer-causing
pesticides.
In contrast to
animal products – which
are known to cause
cancer, heart disease,
diabetes, and obesity,
etc. – organically farmed
fruits and vegetables
contain abundant
nutrients that help us
to avoid all these
modern conditions.
Surely organic vegan
food is the only food
we should feel safe
and would feel safe
and will feel safe with.
In fact, we will feel
it’s the safest food to give
to our children,
the best food to give
to our children.
The MPs
(Members of Parliament)
and the government
can support this
organic vegan farming
through subsidies.
They can also redirect
the funds away from
the meat industries
and instead
towards 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.
I am glad to see you.
I am chairman of one
of Korea’s biggest
organic farmers’ group.
To adopt a vegetarian diet,
I think an essential step
is to avoid pesticide
and chemical fertilizer.
I hope to see
organic farming
and the vegetarian diet
boom in Korea.
If it happens, I suppose
I will have to work more.
How does organic farming
contribute to
global warming?
What mindset should
organic farmers work with
and what products
should consumers have?
Organic farming produces
a less bountiful harvest.
Could you say
a few words about the
government supporting
the crop yield reduction
or consumers’ role?
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you for your
question, Mr. Lee.
Actually,
it has been found that
a large scale change
to organic farming
could feed the world.
Research in Denmark
and elsewhere has shown
larger yields from
organic farming on land
that was previously
underutilized.
The producing of
less harvests that
you mentioned may be
from fields that were
previously cultivated
with chemical
pesticides and fertilizers,
or trampled by livestock
for a prolonged period
of time.
These can show a drop
in crop yields
when switching to
organic farming,
but that is only initially
because the yields are
shown to increase again
over time.
In fact, the large yields
produced by
conventional farming
are taken at the expense
of the soil, of our health,
and of the environment.
And these enormous
single crops, such as soy,
are mostly produced
to feed animals
for meat production,
not for
humans’ consumption.
In Africa,
the United Nations
Environment Program
did a study in which
they found crop yields
were doubled when
the small farmers used
organic farming methods.
In this case, since
the organic practices
such as composting
and rotating crops
improve the soil –
make it healthier –
instead of buying
fertilizers and pesticides,
the organic farmers
can use their money
to buy better seeds.
I have said before that
governments should also
subsidize organic farmers
until there is enough
volume of demand
to naturally sustain
good yields.
Another research
in the US found that
organic farming methods
could be used to
triple farm yields.
One of the main factors
in enabling the high yields
was that the farmers were
planting legumes, like
beans or soya beans,
as cover crops between
growing seasons,
which fixed enough
natural nitrogen
in the soil to ensure
high crop yields.
In terms of
global warming,
many practices that come
from organic farming
remove carbon
from the atmosphere.
Even with climate change
and soil variations
around the world,
recent studies have verified
that organic agriculture,
if practiced on the planet’s
3.5 billion tillable acres,
could sequester
nearly 40% of
current CO2 emissions.
So, Mr. Lee,
please continue what
you're doing to
spread the benefits
of organic farming and
encourage and train
more organic farmers.
I dream of a day when
we need not worry
what we are feeding
our children,
whether it has chemicals,
it has harmful substances,
or is unnatural in any way
which is harmful
to the health of us
and of our children.
Organic farming
is the way to go.
It helps to maintain
our robust health and
reduce global warming.
Thank you for
what you're doing, sir.
It’s nice to see you.
I am an environmentalist,
Park Byung Sang.
I agree that
it’s really urgent to
inform consumers about
vegetarianism in order to
stop climate change.
However, I believe
the vegetarian diet
would only help stop
global warming when
we have organic and
seasonal locally grown
vegetables.
What do you think about
the export competition
of agricultural products
that excessively consume
petroleum? Thank you.
Yes, thank you also,
Dr. Park.
I definitely agree with you
that it is important
to eat from local
organic vegan products.
That is the best for our
health and for our planet.
But remarkably,
eating vegan, and
especially organic vegan,
represents such
an incredible savings
for the planet that
eating local is not really
as important.
But, of course, the food
that is grown nearby
is better and fresher
all the time – that, we
should choose, if we can.
A study conducted
recently in Germany
showed that the
emissions of a meat eater
over a one year period
were equivalent to
driving a mid-sized car
4758 kilometers, like
almost 3000 miles per year.
By contrast,
a vegetarian diet
was found to reduce
these emissions by half.
Moreover
an animal-free vegan diet
produced less than
one seventh
the greenhouse gases,
representing
an emissions savings
of 86% by being vegan.
But if you are
an organic vegan person,
then your diet
was calculated
at 94% less emissions.
So we save 94% of
the pollution for the planet.
While we, of course, want
to minimize emissions to
be green overall, they are
not as much compared to
the heat-trapping effects
of greenhouse gases
caused by
the meat industry itself.
So please, just be vegan,
plant organic,
and save the planet.
Thank you, sir, Dr. Park.
Just be an organic vegan,
then you reduce 94%
emissions of pollution
for the planet – 94%!
So we could still
drive our car
until we have better cars,
we could still fly our
airplane until we develop
a better technology.
Just be vegan,
everything else stays
almost the same until
we can invent
something better. ##And we are safe.
If we are all vegans,
the planet is saved and
our lives will be saved,
our generations in the future
will be saved.
Thank you, sir,
thank you, everyone.
Please be vegan,
organic vegan.
I want to report
that the Shanxi
provincial government
wholeheartedly approves
of organic farming.
Fellow initiates
have already cultivated
140 acres of land there.
It is also very successful.
That’s great!
That’s a poor county.
Their provincial
government considers
this to be a key initiative.
That’s great! Good.
If there is a water shortage,
you can plant more
beans or fruits.
Beans are very easy to grow.
They grow very fast,
right?
And they don’t need
that much water, right?
They can grow without water.
In Âu Lạc (Vietnam),
they grow beans
without water.
In arid areas,
they always plant beans.
You can learn
how to grow things
by watching TV,
Supreme Master TV.
It teaches us how to
plant vegetables.
In Âu Lạc (Vietnam),
they grow beans
without water.
The harvest is very good
and they can be sold
at a good price.
That’s great. Good.
You can grow and
sell them yourselves. Good.
The government is very good.
The government
is helping the farmers.
That’s great. (Yes.)
That’s most important:
that they support
organic farming.
Very good.
The soil is very fertile.
Wonderful.
They have good
blessed rewards.
There is an abandoned
school next to the farm.
They are planning
to rent it to promote
organic farming nationwide.
They already have
all the know-how.
Congratulations.
I have asked people here
to plant things themselves.
Anyone with a small
plot of land or a yard
in the back or in the front
of the house can grow
vegetables instead of grass.
It’s also very green
and looks nice
and you can eat them.
If you have extra,
you can sell them or
give them to your neighbors
and friends and advocate
the plant-based diet
at the same time.
Set an example for them,
“You see, I planted these.
They grow up.”
It’s very easy to grow.
Even when I was
in elementary school,
I grew tomatoes.
I grew tomatoes
when I was young.
They had very good yields.
It’s very simple.
Later, after I got married,
I also planted a lot of things
that are easy to grow,
such as cilantro,
tomatoes, mint, etc.
Mint, the kind
that is easy to plant,
grew very well.
It was very easy for me
to grow it.
My husband also helped me.
He collected leaves
and trimmed grass
and put them in a small
hole in the yard for me.
Then, when I was
planting vegetables, I
used that as fertilizer.
We didn’t purchase fertilizers
from outside at all;
they were all
from our own trees,
dried branches,
leaves, and grass.
Every time we cut grass,
we left it there.
All trimmed leaves from
our yard were put there.
Then they became compost.
They grew so fast…
so fast that we couldn’t
finish eating them.
I used to invite monks to
come to eat the vegetables.
I also grew flowers.
They grew so fast.
The few Buddha statues
of mine had new flowers
every day, because
I had too many flowers.
I changed new flowers
for them every day.
I grew different kinds
of flowers.
Okay, continue doing it.
Yes.
Congratulations.
Very good. (Thank you.)
What do you propose
for livestock farmers
about changing
their activity without
affecting their livelihood,
Master?
That’s a good question.
That’s a good question,
concerning question
and, of course,
it’s a very right question.
The livestock farmers
can easily change to
something like organic
vegan farming which will
reduce 40% of the CO2
that exists on our planet
right now.
If all people,
all the farmers,
and all the arable land
on our planet turn to
vegan farming method,
then first, immediately,
40% of the CO2
will be absorbed by
the farming method alone
already – 40% of it.
They already have
the land already
readily available, and to
switch to organic farming
will restore the health
of the soil which
has been depleted
by conventional
growing practices.
Studies have even shown
that organic faming
methods, besides using
less energy and reducing
carbon emissions,
are more
financially profitable
than conventional ones.
With the world food
shortage
continuing to worsen,
more people are going
hungry every day,
so if we just stop the
animal raising practices
and turn instead
to growing organic
vegan food for humans,
everyone in the world
will benefit and
we can save our planet.
If we don’t feed
all the corn and all
the cereals and vegetables
to the animals,
all the food that
we produce right now
could feed
two billion people already.
So, there’s even no
worry about
a food shortage, and then
we have a better future,
a better conscience;
and our planet will
have a bright future
if everyone turns to
organic vegetarian diet
and organic vegan
farming.
The Irish Department
of Agriculture reports
an 80% rise in the
number of new applicants
applying to convert
to organic production.
How does
organic farming benefit
the environment
and our health?
I am so happy
for your country.
Congratulations!
You have
good government, Ben.
It’s a nice statistic.
Truly
enlightened government.
It’s something positive
for a change.
Yes.
I mean, my God,
how many countries do this?
Ireland is the first one
in the region
to ban smoking.
That’s right, yes!
We remember that.
And now it seems like
it’s the first country
to encourage
organic farming.
You see, it doesn’t just
happen from nowhere.
It is your government
who does this.
I remember
your government,
the Minister of Agriculture,
he wrote to
all the farmers
asking them to consider
the organic farming
method. Is that right, Ben?
Yes! That’s right, yes.
Bless him, bless him,
bless your country.
I am so glad to hear of
this good news for Ireland,
and I hope that
many other countries
follow suit.
Yes, so do we all.
If you can, please convey –
please don’t forget,
maybe you can
print it out please –
my heartfelt thanks
to your government’s
bright leadership
and the Irish people
who support it, especially
the smart, responsible,
organic farmers as well.
I want them to know
my appreciation.
Could you please print that?
We will,
we’ll pass that on,
absolutely.
Yes. People who
do good things
deserve some feedback
so that they know that
they are appreciated.
Every one of us
is the same, right?
Yes.
We want to know that
we’re doing the things
that are pleasing
to people and that is
very good to hear that.
Organic vegan farming is
what should be promoted,
actually.
The so-called
organic farming of animals
is still cruel and
unhealthy and unjust to
both animal and human.
What I mean is
organic vegan
farming vegetables, yes?
Yes.
This one benefits our health
because it avoids
hundreds of pesticides,
as well as insecticide
residues in our food,
the antibiotics,
the unnatural additives
which have been linked
to countless diseases.
Organic farming absorbs
CO2 as well.
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
wildlife habitat, creates
much less pollution.
The Rodale Institute
found that it even helps
to overcome
greenhouse gases by
absorbing 40% of carbon dioxide
in the soil if it is
practiced worldwide.
Forty percent is
absorbed already!
We don’t need
to wait even
for solar technology
or anything else.
We have 40% CO2
absorbed by
organic vegan practices –
I mean vegetables, yes.
That is 1,000 pounds
of carbon per acre
absorbed and stored.
Isn’t that good, Ben?
That’s brilliant.
That’s incredible.
Yes, incredible.
So, for our health
and for the planet,
organic vegan/vegetarian
farming is the solution.
Well, “vegan” means
“vegetarian” already, just
to over-emphasize.
Dear
Supreme Master Ching Hai,
what is the farmer’s role,
especially small farmers
in poor countries,
in this entire spiritual
and ecological movement
concerning
the vegan society?
Can we help them so that
their life will be
more prosperous
through this movement?
Thank you.
Thank you, Madam,
for your time
and your concern.
Yes, the small farmers
have an important role
to play.
You’re right to be
concerned and want to
help them, especially
during this urgent time
and in the future.
They have a role
in the veg trend to
feed the world with
nutritious and sustainable
plant-based food.
And wherever possible,
all farmers
should become organic
vegan farmers to help
restore the planet
to a healthy balance,
while improving people’s
health and helping to
stop the suffering of both
humans and animals.
I pray this will be the
multifold, noble role
of all the farmers
of the world.
The climate scientists
are advising us that
we must cut our
meat consumption if we
want to save the planet.
Because the animal farms
are too inefficient,
too costly, depleting
natural resources,
polluting the environment,
creating huge medical
costs, water shortage,
world hunger,
and conflicts.
In contrast to
animal raising, growing
organic vegetables, fruits
and legumes yields
more and better nutrition,
is harmonious for
humans, animals,
and the environment,
and is more profitable.
Organically farmed soil
is also healthy and
even absorbs a lot of
the greenhouse gases
from the atmosphere.
In fact, if tillable land
was globally used
for organic farming, it
would absorb 40% of all
greenhouse gases, at least.
Can you imagine?
Forty percent would be
absorbed by the
organic farming method,
then we have
another 50% that would
be cut off by
abolishing the animal industry.
Then our planet
will be healthy.
Very simple, logical,
scientific and quick.
Contrary to some beliefs,
organic farming is quite
profitable, and especially
for small farmers.
We have examples
everywhere and
we have shown some
of these examples
on Supreme Master
Television, where
the farmers just
sprinkle the seeds
on the land. That’s it.
No water needed,
no fertilizer needed, not
much work to do even.
They just sit there and
wait for the rain to come –
or even not rain much –
then they will harvest,
and harvest
in abundance.
Now, we have also
multiple studies in
the United States, India,
and New Zealand.
They
all have confirmed this,
that some of the reasons
for the greater profits are
that the production costs
are lower than
conventional farming.
There are more
crop varieties that could
be rotated, such as corn,
soybean and alfalfa.
Also, the organic system
is naturally more resistant
to drought
than conventional
farm systems.
In the United States,
crop yields were at least
the same and even up
to three times higher
than normal after
the switch to organic,
vegetable farming.
Can you imagine?
We harvest
three times more
on the same piece of land
if we do organic farming.
At the same time,
the environment is more
protected, the produce
is healthier and tastier.
The good news is
more and more people
are realizing the many
benefits of organic,
vegan products,
making it a trend
in many countries,
and many cities,
including Indonesia.
Besides, we are facing
a food shortage
with high food prices.
Small farmers can
help us develop
our economies in a better
direction that is no longer
dominated and hampered
by the meat industry.
The United Nations
announced that
as of 2009 the world is
now seeing the highest
number of hungry people
in four decades.
To be exact, there are
1.02 billion people
with not enough food
in the world. Hungry.
1.02 billion people are
hungry in the world
right now.
That is one in every
six persons, including
children, the elderly...women.
While we are sitting here
in safety and comfort,
and have sufficient food
for ourselves
and our family,
our neighboring people,
our world co-citizens –
more than one billion
of them –
are living in poverty,
in hunger, in thirst.
No sufficient water,
no clean water,
no food to eat.
Children are dying
every few seconds.
Statistically,
every five seconds
one child dies of hunger.
I’m sorry to inform you
of all this bad news,
but I guess some of you
already know and
the truth has to be told.
Organic vegan farming
is also part of the solution
to solve hunger.
Small farmers have
a spiritual role
in veganism as well.
The vegan diet itself is
a spiritual movement
because it is the single
most effective way
to expand
our human compassion
and noble quality
and loving quality.
It can reverse the cycle
of violence and
bad karmic retribution,
“as we sow,
so shall we reap,”
and it places us
within a circle of love,
protection, and mercy
from any negative
happenings
in the physical realm.
So, the vegan organic
farmer supports
countless others to
have this great merit by
providing them with food
that has minimal,
or is free of, violence,
and through that
he surely gains many
spiritual merits himself.
In many cases,
organic farming is not
different at all from
conventional methods.
Not much.
So, besides some labor,
the technologies to
become organic vegan
don’t require
a lot of investment.
But in case the farmers
need help, the
government can provide,
because the government
subsidizes
the meat farmers anyway.
So, instead of subsidizing
the meat industry,
we subsidize the
organic farming industry.
So the government
can give them
vegetable seeds and
training on better ways
to farm without using
chemical fertilizers,
because sometimes
the farmers are just
not well informed
about the harms of
livestock raising or
the chemicals or the
fertilizers or insecticides.
They are not informed
about a better way
to grow vegetables
and make more profit.
The government can
help them implement
the measures to conserve
the land and improve the
quality of their products
so that their buyers
will have trust in them, etc.
The government can also
set up a certification and
quality standardization
system to further
promote the organic
vegan industry.
Now, regarding your
question on how we can
help the small farmers,
we can ask
the government to
support them in
becoming organic vegan,
by letting them know
that this is what
the citizens want, and
this will save the world.
We can encourage
our supermarkets,
our schools,
our companies, etc.,
as well as consider
this healthier,
more practical way of
nourishing people.
Ultimately,
as consumers, we,
the ordinary citizens,
have a lot of power in our
hands, and it’s up to us
to create the demand
for the right foods and
boycott the wrong ones –
the harmful foods,
the dangerous foods to us
and to our children,
the foods that are leading
our planetary home
to destruction.
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.
Even if organic vegan
is not yet possible
or available to you, the
most important first step
is to stop buying and
eating meat, fish, eggs,
dairy, and any animal
products for you and
for your family’s sake,
for the natural resources’
sake, and
to plant the seeds for a
better agricultural system
for everyone.
In this way, not only can
all the farmers prosper –
we help them in this way –
but everyone will
prosper and enjoy
a long and thriving life.
For the majority of
the workers in the meat
business, it’s not a safe
working place either.
It’s one of
the most dangerous jobs
with some of the highest
rates of injury and
exposure to chemicals
and diseases like
influenza, swine flu,
bird flu, etc., etc.,
and mad cow disease,
which is always fatal,
always deadly.
Mad cow disease,
up to now,
we can’t even cure it.
Anybody who contracts
mad cow disease,
their life is terminated.
Now,
we have to ask ourselves:
Is it all worth it?
This is not to talk about
the effect on the meat
consumers in terms of
all the sickness – cancers,
diabetes, and health
problems, heart diseases –
almost all diseases that
you can name come from
the meat diet or related.
So, given a better choice
for livelihood,
wouldn’t we choose the
one that helps ourselves
and others stay healthy
over a profession that
made people and ourselves
sick and die young?
Would you say yes or no?
Yes!
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
I have suggested before
that we should talk to
the farmers, write to them,
even going to them
one by one
if you can afford it, to try
to show them that there
are better alternatives,
such as growing
organic vegetables.
Nowadays, organic food
is very in demand,
very “in.”
Many people turn to
vegetarian or vegan now,
and everybody knows
organic vegetables
are very healthy.
You see, if you
eat organic vegetables,
you will hardly have to
go to the hospital, and
all the money we can save
for a better education
for the children,
better care for the elderly,
and building
more beautiful roads,
more equipment,
inventions, and use it more
for sustainable energies,
for free for everybody.
Free energy for everybody,
free education
for all the children,
free care for all the elderly,
and free food for all the
1 billion, at least, hungry
people in the world.
The benefit has no end.
I can write 10 thousand
books about the benefit
of the vegetarian diet
and the harm
of the meat industry,
but I’ll let you
do research a little bit,
because you know all the
good technique nowadays
with computers and
information on the internet.
Nowadays, there are
more and more
good opportunities for
the farmers, retailers,
transporters.
They just do the same:
instead of transporting
pigs, they transport
organic vegetables, etc.
Or the farmer retailers,
they could switch
from the meat business
to organic
vegetable farming.
Returning to traditional
organic farming methods
is already proven
by success in Africa,
for example,
and in some places like
the Americas, Europe,
and Australia.
Organic vegan farming is
growing very, very fast,
and very, very profitable
right now,
because there is
a growing demand.
People are
more informed about
the harms of meat
and more informed about
the benefits of
a vegetarian diet.
So organic vegan
vegetable farming should
be very, very, very good
for anyone who wants
to switch business.
On the Supreme Master
Television, we also
feature a whole section
about organic farming;
on our website as well,
On this website, we share
a lot of info about how
to do organic farming,
which is very profitable,
costs less water,
a lot less work and is very
beneficial to our health,
to the workers
and to the planet.
So please,
feel free to take a look
and discover for yourself
the great benefits
of harmonious farming.
It’s high time
we turn away from the
harmful, unsustainable
meat business
and go toward
a more civilized,
more efficient,
more sustainable,
more humane means to
earn a living, namely
organic vegan farming,
or vegan restaurants,
vegan products, vegan
product selling, etc.
Everything to do with
compassionate living
is good for you and
it’s pleasing to Heaven.
And it will save
the planet.
It’s not just
good business, it will
save the planet, and it
will save countless lives,
now and in the future,
including
the ones involved
in the meat business.
That’s why the Buddha
named the meat business
as one of the five
businesses that people
should not engage in.
Do you want to know
another four as well?
Yes.
Okay.
The meat business
is a bad business.
It’s very bad for you.
And the other four are
business in weapons,
business in
human trafficking,
business in intoxicants
and business in poison.
All these harmful
businesses are bad for you,
now and in the future.
If you believe in the life
hereafter, if you believe
in Heaven and hell,
you should stop
the meat business
immediately,
like yesterday,
because nothing good
awaits you
in the life after if you
cause suffering to others,
be it human or animal.
You will have multiple
suffering in return, and
for a long, long time.
So instead, these people
in the meat industry
should join in the trend,
which has already begun
and expands hugely
every day,
I am happy to say.
Thank you.
Be veg!
Go green!
Plant organic vegetables!
I agree with
Supreme Master
Ching Hai’s words that
all humans should change
to a vegetarian diet
to prevent
global warming.
I am confident
that organic farming is
eco-friendly and life-saving,
and the most suitable
farming method that can
prevent climate change,
but many people
still do not realize
how important it is.
After changing
to organic farming,
I feel much more
at peace mentally.
I feel the soil,
living beings, and crops
all reviving healthily,
and feel respect
towards all lives.
If we eat organic
agricultural products
that save all living beings,
it will offer peace
and coexistence;
therefore, this is
the farming method and
diet style for our future.
I would appreciate it
if you could share
your words on the inner
or spiritual aspects
that organic farming
has to offer to us.
Good question.
Good question, Mr. Kim.
Thank you.
Good question.
Thank you so much for
this thoughtful question.
When you speak about
organic farming
and the Earth,
your love for living beings
is very clear and evident.
So you have already
conveyed some of
the inner spiritual aspect
of organic farming
through your deep care.
That really is the
most important principle:
the love for all beings.
But we can talk about it
to perhaps
clarify a little bit more.
Of course, when we say
organic farming, we are
talking about vegan –
fruits, vegetables,
legumes and
other plants only –
no animal products,
because this clearly
already indicates
a spiritual high level
of living standards.
When we live and let live,
when we love all beings
as if we love ourselves,
then that is already
very highly spiritual,
and of course,
that is in line with
all the greatest religions
on Earth.
That will be very pleasing
to Heaven.
This allows us more
to completely extend
our respect and care
to all life.
And that’s why you feel
more peaceful, you see?
You feel more connected
with the surroundings
around you because
they all pulsate with life.
The Earth is pulsating
with love and life –
the trees, the plants, they
are pulsating all this love
for life and life.
When we sit under a tree,
we feel this protective
love from the tree.
When we enjoy
a delicious fruit,
we feel the connectedness
of this unconditional love
from the tree
to offer us nutrition
and a pleasing taste.
If we are
in the organic vegan trend
or planting organic vegan
farming method,
then you will feel that
more and more – the love
from nature, the love
from the planet Earth,
the love from the trees,
the love from
even a blade of grass,
from flowers.
We will feel
so much love in the air
that we breathe.
We feel so much love
from the earth
that we walk on.
This we cannot
even explain
in human language.
We must feel it.
I always feel it,
but I can’t transmit
this spiritual message
to other people.
Everyone must
experience it for himself.
Once we turn to
a compassionate
Heaven-intended lifestyle
of a vegan diet,
then we will feel
more and more love,
more and more connected
all the time.
Just like the way you feel.
So you have your own
experience to speak of
and to tell people.
The way you describe
organic farming, Mr. Kim,
sounds quite like
a spiritual principle
known as “ahimsa,”
or non-violence.
Ahimsa means not harming
any sentient beings,
beginning with
a vegan diet.
Organic vegan diet
is the best.
“As we sow,
so shall we reap.”
If we sow
these benevolent seeds
on the Earth, as well as
in our heart, as a vegan,
we avoid
all animal products.
For example, most of
the milk production
causes suffering,
first of all because the
babies of the mother cows
are taken away at birth.
Not many people
know that,
including myself, before.
And these baby cows
will soon be killed.
Deprived from mother’s
milk and mother’s love,
they’ll be killed as soon
as they’re taken away.
Then, the mother
is forcefully hooked up
to a machine that can
cause tormenting pain
along with illness,
just so that humans
can take her milk.
Another example of
a practice causing harm
to both animals and Earth
is the use of
chemical pesticides.
If you can imagine,
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,
such as the followers
of Buddhism
and Confucianism, and as
written in their scriptures.
Like the Dhammapada Sutra
states: “A man
is not noble because
he injures living creatures.
He is called noble
because he does not
injure any living beings.”
And from
the noble teachings
of Confucianism:
How does a
saintly king treat animals?
It’s stated: “He would
like to see them live
and cannot bear
to see them die.
Hearing their wails,
he cannot eat their flesh
for he does not
have the heart to do so.”
I’m just referring to
two of the great religions
in our world.
And many other religions
say the same,
but I’m not here
to be a priestess today
and preach to the
whole audience,
moreover,
we don’t have time.
So forgive me,
other religions,
if I did not mention yours,
but it’s the same.
Now, organic
vegan farming also
brings positive benefit
to our own karma.
Karma means the
retribution, bad or good.
So karma
follows the law
of the universe that says:
for every action there is
an equal consequence.
So, if we injure
or kill others, we could
be injured or killed
in return, sooner or later –
not could be,##but surely will be.
Organic vegan farming,
with its approach
of causing the least harm
to others,
offers the least burden of
bad karma (retribution).
And we can even
go a step further,
only harvesting from plants
that bear fruit, or harvest
in such a way that the
plant continues to grow.
It is thus much better
to grow our own food
as you do, Mr. Kim,
so that we can,
for example,
pick the outer leaves
of the lettuce instead of
killing the entire plant.
In fact, some practitioners
of one religion
called Jainism don’t even
eat root vegetables
because they wish to
avoid unintentional harm
to the beings
living in the soil, such as
earthworms, which are
beneficial to our farming.
They are there
to fertilize the soil,
to air the soil so that
our plants grow better,
our harvest
will be more abundant.
They risk their lives
to save ours.
We should even
consider their lives
and spare their lives and
be protective of their lives.
Hi, Master. (Hi.)
I would like to ask:
To help the planet out,
will we eventually all
have to be organic farmers,
like planting
and growing vegetables
in our backyard?
Is this the most
sustainable method?
Yes, it is.
It is the most
sustainable method and
I think everybody
should try to do that.
Even in your own
backyard
or in your balcony,
wherever you can.
And the one who has
a garden, of course,
do it in the garden,
and the one who has
a garden but doesn’t want
to cultivate can lend it
to somebody else
and share the food.
Because we have to learn
to be self-sufficient
from now on already.
You never know
what is going to happen
to the planet, truly,
because the people’s heart –
it’s difficult to predict.
If they change to a
compassionate lifestyle,
then the planet
will survive for sure,
and we will have better
than what we have now,
in time.
But if they don’t change,
then I cannot tell you
what happens.
Even if the planet
survives,
it’s also a good idea to
grow your own food.
It’s more wholesome.
It has your energy, and it
will be very good for you,
and you can control
what you eat, and
what kind of food
that you have,
wholesome or not,
organic or not.
And also, it’s very
economy and it’s nice to
watch your food growing
by your own labor.
It will be like living
according to the Bible,
“Earn your food by
the sweat of your brow.”
It will be very nice,
and at least
for some of us,
that will be very helpful.
It’s a very good idea,
and you will know
what kind of cultivation
you have.
You can control;
it will be less violent,
even less bad karma (retribution) –
less killing worms
and things like that.
Although we are
practicing the vegan diet
already,
Master also mentioned
in several cooking shows,
“Gift of Love,”
about karma-less eating.
Can Master give us
a few examples?
That’s my preferred food.
For example,
you can eat anything that
is from the trees,
without harming the trees.
For example,
all the fruits you can eat.
“Fruit” doesn’t mean only
sweet like orange, apple,
but “fruit” also means like
cucumber, lady fingers,
zucchini, squash –
those things are also fruit
that grows from the tree
and you can take it
without harming the tree,
without even taking
the leaves from the tree.
And fruit that is organic
of course, organic fruits,
that would be the best.
And if you want to eat
any plants or any herbs
in this trend, you wait
until they fall off
the trees or wither,
and then you can
take them and use them.
Then
there’s no bad karma (retribution)
and no harm to the trees.
And you can have nuts,
all kinds of nuts,
from the trees.
And there are also
other things that
you can eat, of course.
Hi, Master.
Hi.
Can you tell us
more details about like
what kind of food does
Master eat and why?
Yes, I told you already,
I eat the fruit-like food –
nut stuff and fruits,
cucumber
and those things – which
I don’t have to
cut the plant, which
I don’t have to break
the leaves from the plant.
Because they are also
getting afraid
when we do that,
but if we take the fruit
from them,
they offer it free.
They know
the fruits are there for us.
If you cut the plant,
before you cut,
they already get
very afraid and nervous
and I don’t like to
cause them this feeling.
And if I eat it,
then other people
have to cut for me.
So, for the sake
of everybody…
I used to cook all kinds
of vegetables, and now
I think is the time that
people should know
my preferred food.
If they want to do
the same, it’s up to them,
but vegetarian’s
already very good,
the least harmful
and the least bad karma (retribution),
the least contributing
to the global problem;
and that’s what I eat.
Even rice or wheat,
the plant is already withered
and yellow and brown
before they harvest,
so the plant practically
dies already before we get
the rice or the wheat,
so it’s okay.
Fruit means also corn.
What about
root vegetables,
like potatoes?
You can eat them.
I don’t eat them
at the moment because
I don’t plant it myself,
so I don’t know
what kinds of things
they are doing to the root.
But if you plant yourself,
for example,
then you plant them
on the elevated earth bed.
In Vietnam (Âu Lạc),
I saw them do that.
For example,
if you want to plant
some sweet potatoes, and
you make the airy bed
like that,
high above the ground,
so the soil is very airy
and you plant them
on the high elevated bed,
row after row like that,
and there will be
no worms to hurt.
The reason
I don’t want root is because
sometime they dig it
and they hurt the worms,
and the worms are
the diligent workers
to till the soil,
to make the soil arable, to
make the soil cultivatable.
And then,
just because of that,
they sacrifice for us and
we accidentally kill them.
It just hurts my heart.
So, I prefer to avoid it
often before even,
but now I don’t eat that at all.
It’s time that I stop.
I have to show people
what is preferable,
what is the alternative.
But if you cultivate it
yourself,
if I cultivate it myself,
on the elevated ground
like that, there will be
no worms in it,
because the worms
only go where
the soil is clogged,
and they dig it to
make the soil more airy.
So if the soil is airy,
the worms know;
they don’t go there.
So, first you don’t hurt
the worms
if you dig the potatoes.
Second, you could even
just pull it up, you don’t
even need to dig anything.
Third, you can wait
until the plant, like
the sweet potato plants,
already wither and die.
There will be
no more leaves,
no more green leaves,
nothing.
It’s only the small stems
left and the root
underneath, then
the plant has already died,
then you can take the root.
Then
you don’t hurt the plant,
you don’t hurt the worm,
nothing. In that case
you can eat the root.
Also the same
with other roots.
Thank you, Master.
If you don’t want to
kill just the worms,
then we have
many techniques,
organic ahimsa farming.
Like you can plant them
in the water, then you
don’t hurt the worms,
or you can plant them
on elevated soil beds
like that, and
you don’t hurt the worms.
But I also don’t even cut
the plant to eat, unless
it’s already withered
and the spirit of the plant’s
already left.
Then it’s okay
in that case.
Because you were asking
me what kind of root,
so there are many
organic farming methods
that at least you don’t
hurt the worms.
Thank you, Master.
Thanks for asking.
Also, many of the roots
are like that.
If you can wait
until the green leaves
all wither and die, then
you can take the root.
Like carrots, you will not
hurt the worm because
you just take it
from the root,
it’s easy just to pull it up.
You don’t need to dig or
anything, so, accidentally,
you won’t kill the worm,
for example.
But if you really want
not to harm the plant, and
not to make them afraid,
then you wait
until they wither and
you still have the root
under there and then
you just pull the root up –
no harm to the plant
and no harm to the root.
In that case,
you can eat those.
The root will not
feel much,
will not feel anything.
When the plant dies,
the root also doesn’t feel
anything.
For example,
if you like some herbs,
and if the leaves,
already by wind or
by some natural cause,
broke and fell
on the ground,
or are half-broken already,
then you can take them
and eat.
In that case, there’s
no himsa (violence) involved at all.
The thing is, I don’t want
to cause any nervousness
or anxiety to any being,
even to a plant,
that’s why.
That’s why I don’t want
to eat vegetables
anymore.
We have enough, actually,
even just fruit, even like
tofu is from soya.
Soya is like the fruit
of the plant, can eat them.
Beans, all kinds of things,
they are the fruit
of the plant.
Not just fruit like apples
and oranges,
but beans,
all kinds of beans,
they’re also fruit.
The sesame nuts,
they’re fruit, they grow
from above the ground,
from the trees,
and in Âu Lạc (Vietnam)
they cultivate,
for example, peanuts
in the sandy soil.
There’s no soil
and no worms at all
ever live there.
So the peanuts, they
thrive in a sandy area,
and these you can wait
until the peanut plants die,
wither – mostly they go
yellow and then brown,
then they just dry up –
and then you can pull
the peanuts up without
hurting anything at all.
Even if you dig,
there is nothing hurt at all.
And you can plant,
like cassava plants. They
don’t need much water,
and no worms nearby.
That you can plant
anywhere.
You don’t even need soil
to plant that.
You can plant in the sand
or some kind of
very dry soil.
There are many
vegetables and plants
we can plant
without water or with
very, very little water.
It’s very suitable
right now because
we are short of water.
Plant your own
vegetables, then you
have absolute control
about how you harvest
and what you harvest,
and what you eat.
I pray that our world’s
leaders will take
swift actions to ban
the destructive meat
production and, instead,
use subsidies for organic
vegan farming which
helps absorb emissions.
Then we can have
an immediate effect
on climate change
and have more time
to develop and perfect
our green technology
to address CO2.
I call upon the media
to help as well.
And most important,
individuals must turn to
the planet-saving, organic
vegan lifestyle, because
the dangers are mounting
and time is urgent.
If every one of us would
only switch now,
we would ensure a future
for our children
and generations to come.
Now you can see,
we have to prioritize
our choices.
Either the abundant,
beautiful, peaceful planet,
or sorrow, suffering,
or worse: loss of all lives.
And ALL these crimes of
killing – from MEAT,
ALCOHOL, DRUGS,
TOBACCO –
MUST AND WILL stop.
In their place,
what will we have?
Happy, longevity
for animals
and humans alike;
limitless health
and wellness;
intelligence
and creativity;
and a shared love and joy
as never before
remembered.
In short,
we will have a newly,
wondrously elevated
humanity in all aspects.
Together,
let's envision this future,
our well deserved
beautiful future, in which
all lives are upheld
and cherished as one
and the same.
Let’s be happy, because
it seems that this day
is already dawning.
May Heaven bless us all.
And God loves us.
So for the sake of all that
lives on this planet,
let us make a wiser choice.
For example,
instead of meat,
we be vegan.
Instead of polluting
the world, we go green.
Instead of intoxicants,
we will be merged
in the blessing of God,
through prayers, yoga,
meditation, etc.
And instead of
planting drugs,
we plant organic
vegetables and fruits.
I wish you all the best
in the embracing love
of Heaven.
So be it.
Thank you
for doing your part.
May you be blessed.