Change Our Diet to Save Water for the World - Compilation of Supreme Master Ching Hai's Lectures
With diverse flora
and fauna, magnificent
natural landscapes, and
an ecological biosphere
that supports life,
this wondrous planet
is our earthly home.
From our animal
co-inhabitants
to the lush rainforests
and life-giving soil,
we cherish all these
as gifts from the Creator.
It is a common theme
in the world’s major
faiths that during
our temporary stay here,
we should be good
stewards of Mother Earth.
Throughout the years,
Supreme Master Ching Hai
has shared
the message of leading
a balanced life
while following
a spiritual path.
Not only must we nourish
our spirits,
but we share
the responsibility
to care for nature
and our fellow beings.
In light of recent
scientific evidence which
pinpoint the raising of
livestock as the number one
contributor to climate change,
Supreme Master Ching Hai
affirms
the important message
she has noted for over
the past two decades:
we must be vegan and
practice sustainable living.
We invite you to listen to
a compilation of excerpts from
Supreme Master Ching Hai’s
lectures titled
“Change Our Diet to
Save Water for the World.”
We appreciate
your company
for today’s episode of
Between Master
and Disciples
here on
Supreme Master Television.
Join us again tomorrow
for part 2 of
“Change Our Diet to
Save Water for the World.”
And now,
Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants
is coming up next, right
after Noteworthy News.
Please stay tuned.
We bid you adieu for now.
It’s been a pleasure
to have your company
for today’s episode of
Between Master
and Disciples.
Part 3 of
“Change Our Diet to
Save Water for the World”
will continue next Friday.
Up next is
Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants right after Noteworthy News
here on
Supreme Master Television.
Please stay tuned.
May Heavens bless you
with much love and light.
Thank you,
for your company
for today’s episode of
Between Master
and Disciples.
Join us again tomorrow
for part 4 of
“Change Our Diet to Save Water for the World.”
Up next is Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants right
after Noteworthy News
here on
Supreme Master Television.
Please stay tuned.
May you be guided
by wisdom and kindness
in your everyday life.
Thank you,
compassionate viewers,
for your company
for our program,
“Change Our Diet to
Save Water for the World,”
on Between Master
and Disciples.
Up next is Animal World:
Our Co-Inhabitants right
after Noteworthy News
here on
Supreme Master Television.
We bid you adieu
and wish you
many joyous moments.
The meat diet consumes
a lot of the world’s
resources, so there is
less water, less land and
even less oxygen, and
more poisonous gases.
It’s because it costs a lot
to produce one piece
of steak.
But it costs very little to
produce a piece of tofu
that we eat,
and tofu provides the
same amount of nutrition –
actually even more
than the steaks –
and tofu doesn’t have
any ill side effects.
So it’s not just
about the disease.
Eating steaks doesn’t just
cause sicknesses.
We can’t say,
“If I am sick, I can go to
the hospital. It’s okay.
It’s my own fault, and I’ll
endure the consequence
myself.” No.
It will affect other people
and the whole world.
It’s because meat eating
hurts a lot of people by
harming the environment:
it causes global warming.
So when you go home,
please be more patient
and pass out more flyers.
If you cannot pass out
flyers, then you can
talk to more people.
Do whatever you can.
Cook vegetarian food
for others.
One serving of beef,
we use 1,200 gallons
of clean, good water;
one serving of chicken,
330 gallons of water,
clean and good;
and one
complete vegan meal,
including rice or bread
or tofu that is full
of protein and vegetables,
it cost
only 98 gallons of water.
Now, we are complaining
about the shortage of water
everywhere on the planet.
We are complaining
about the shortage of food.
We use 90% of grain
to feed animals instead,
and we leave 862 million
people hungry.
That is in 2008 alone.
For the grain that
we use for livestock, we
can feed 2 billion people,
many times over, for
the world hunger people
that we have right now.
So I do not understand,
truly, from all the
intelligence that I have.
Would someone
explain to me
what kind of world
we are living in
and what kind of policy
we are following and
what kind of kindness
we are doing to ourselves
and our fellow beings? - not
to talk about animals yet.
Because we cannot even
love our own species.
So it would be
incomprehensible,
of course,
for many to understand
how to love animals.
Now you know why.
In Ohio alone,
the climate change
is going to cost that state
US$1 billion because
the water bordering
their state, the lake, will
be going down drastically
due to climate change.
And they will have to
rebuild their harbors
and infrastructure to meet
the new level of water,
new demand.
So, that climate change,
it will cost more.
And why?
Because of the meat diet.
All we do is just
forsake that piece of meat
on our plate and
replace it with protein
from the vegetable kingdom.
We have food to eat,
we have choices -
and they are wonderful,
they’re nutritious.
It’s not like
we don’t have choice. We
don’t have to kill to live.
We don’t have to
degrade ourselves
into a murderous agent
of the planet.
We can live and let live.
The way it is right now,
it seems like we
will be working forever,
forever busy
just to pay tax.
Because
we earn the money and
then we have to pay tax
so that we can have
our sickness repaired,
our body checked up, and
that’s not even guaranteed
that we can live.
That is the point.
So much suffering,
so much medicine,
so much blood tests
and x-rays and operation
and all that.
All this doesn’t
even guarantee that
our life will be saved
due to the way we don’t
treat ourselves kindly,
due to the way that we
are taking poison for food.
Meat is poison,
scientifically speaking,
physically speaking.
It’s good enough
for me
if people just be veg,
do good deeds.
That’s all I ask:
be vegetarian,
do good deeds.
Whatever good,
you do it right away,
whatever bad, you stop.
Doing good right now
including saving
the planet. That means
go veg as well.
So, it all boils down
to being vegan.
Okay, if you
cannot be vegan,
please be vegetarian first.
Because
if we don’t eat meat, even
though we eat cheese
there will be much,
much less livestock raising
and it would be much less
killing on the planet.
It is the killing
karmic retribution that
contributes to the danger
of our planet right now.
But just
scientifically speaking,
meat contributes
50% of global warming
and pollution.
So, if we just
throw that piece of meat
out of our mind, then
the planet will be saved
and you will
have a longer life.
And mark my words,
you will be a much
happier person.
You will be less anxious,
sleep better at night,
you will have
no sickness.
If all the planet’s people
become vegetarian,
we will have no sickness,
almost zero.
So, God has created
enough water for us,
enough food for us
to last even forever,
if we but know
how to stop abusing
the Earth’s resources
and her sustenance.
We should not
kill our fellow beings
to satisfy our greed.
This is the main point
for planetary problems
right now,
our overly spending
of our moral merit
and world resources.
All these changing bulbs,
new car technology
and sparing water, “don’t
take a shower too long,”
and “don’t turn on
the tap water while you
are cleaning your teeth,”
all this is fine,
but they are
just scratching the itch
outside of the sock.
It will not ease our itch.
It only makes matters
temporarily forgotten and
covers the real problem
and covers
the real solution.
It just distracts us
from our real goal,
real solution, and
the planet will get worse
if we just keep doing
this “scratching
outside the sock” thing.
We have to scratch
on the skin if we
want to ease our itch.
What I mean is
we have to address
the main wound: that
is the meat production.
Everybody who has the
chance to know, and who
has the power to know,
should know by now
that meat production
is the main cause
of global warming,
and stop meat eating
is the main solution
to save the planet.
I do not understand
why we don’t go there.
If somebody
with intelligence
explains this to me,
I would be very grateful
if I have
a good answer for that.
Meanwhile, we have to
continue doing
what we do.
Because we need
to save this planet to pass
onto our grandchildren.
If we live the way
we do now – meat eating,
drugs, alcohol,
cigarettes and all that,
and killing each other,
killing the animals –
I don’t know
how we really can answer
to our own conscience,
not to talk about religious
obligation, nothing at all.
Ever wonder what kind
of example we want
to offer to our children
when they grow up?
From all the goodness,
the well manners that
we expect from them…
If we tell them
to be frugal and
“don’t shower too long,”
or even “don’t leave water running” while brushing their teeth
and all that.
And even suppose we
don’t take baths
anymore, even, all of us,
or suppose we don’t
brush our teeth anymore,
suppose we
don’t even drink water,
how much water
do we save? -
30%, more or less.
What good
will that do to us?
When we just stop
eating meat, then we have
70% plus water to use.
You can take
as long a bath as you want,
you can have
three, four swimming pools
in your house.
Nobody will say anything
and you will
never feel any guilt,
you’ve never done anything
harm to the planet.
Just leave that piece
of meat out of your diet.
Let peace begin
on your table.
The experts told us
a lot of things.
They say that California
right now is headed
toward the worst drought
in California’s
recorded history,
the worst drought
they are heading to.
The Sierra Nevada
Mountains, which supply
much of the rest
of California’s water,
is supplying now 61%
of the usual amount
in this past winter season –
winter season even!
We’re not talking about
summer yet, when it’s dry.
California produces
50% of fruit, vegetables,
and nuts that are grown
in the United States,
but the US government
has announced that
farmers will not be able
to buy any water from
the state. Imagine this?
They supply 50% of
your fruits and vegetables,
but now they’re not able
to buy any water
from the state.
And their state is
in a drought predicament
because the main source
of water for the farmers
is expected to go dry
this year.
Greenhouse gases are
causing deserts
to expand in California,
elsewhere as well
but now we just zoom in
on California.
Moreover, two of the
largest manmade lakes
in the US, Lake Mead
and Lake Powell,
will be dry
in the next decade, 2021.
These lakes and the
Colorado River system
that fills them provide
water to nearly 8%
of the US population.
Now they are drying;
they will be completely
dry soon.
So, picture all this.
Stockholm International
Water Institute states that
70% of water is used
by agriculture.
Of that amount, a lot of it
is going into planting
corn and soy, and
that is to feed animals,
not humans!
That’s why
we’re short of water,
short of food.
It’s a waste
of precious food –
not just our precious water –
as well.
The experts also calculate
that 1 kilogram of beef
takes 5,000 to 20,000
liters of water to produce,
but 1 kilogram of wheat
takes only 500 to 2,000
liters of water.
That is one-tenth,
10% of the amount
of water for meat.
At a time when we have
water shortage
and all the reservoirs
are dwindling
at such an alarming rate,
we are truly afraid that
even if we don’t
take showers at all,
it will not do much help
because all the humans’
use and everything
comes together
is only 30% of water
around the world.
Everything else is mostly
used for meat industry,
70% of it. You see that?
So even if you and I
go ascetic, we don’t
even wash clothes, we go
like the Himalayan yogis –
the ones who don’t
wear clothes – and
we don’t wash ourselves,
we put ash on our body
forever,
it won’t help the planet.
Meat industry
should be cut.
That will help the planet.
That will help to
reserve our water,
to refill our lakes
and our rivers again.
That is physically and
scientifically speaking.
I’m not talking about
the merit, the bad
karmic contribution that
we are doing to ourselves
by harming others
and torturing animals
and killing them
just to save our stomach.
On the other hand, if we
forgo 1 pound of beef,
we can save more water
than if we stop showering
for half a year.
Just don’t eat
4 hamburgers and you
can shower half a year
every day, generously.
Can you imagine the big,
big, big difference
like that?
So if we really want to
save the water for the
world to be able to use
for our daily necessity,
not to talk about
future generations,
then we have to change
to a vegetarian diet,
animal-free diet.
Animal industry
must be out.
That’s it.
I’d like to ask about
the conflicts between nations
caused by global warming
and their solution.
In March 2007,
the United Kingdom
suggested that
climate change
and the conflict problem
should be discussed
as an urgent agenda for
the UN Security Council,
and it was actually
discussed seriously.
It shows that people have
begun to recognize that
climate change caused
by global warming has
become a serious threat
to national security.
Global warming
can cause not only
natural disasters such as
floods, storms, and
rising sea levels, which
threaten national security,
but also a large number of
climate refugees flowing
over national borders.
These series of incidents
will cause not only
worldwide insecurity
but also can be
a definite reason
for increasing conflicts
between nations.
Could you tell us what
efforts and measures
each country should
develop in order to be
ready for conflicts
between other countries
as a result
of global warming?
Hallo, Colonel
and Professor Yeo.
Thank you for your
very important question.
It is true exactly
as you have said, that
we are facing
a very serious situation.
However, we hope it
does not have to come to
the point of more conflict.
We already have plenty.
However,
the most effective effort
that can be made by
any country to avoid
further catastrophe,
whether natural or
manmade, is to promote
a compassionate,
noble lifestyle.
Not only does this benefit
the planet in its reduction
of greenhouse gases,
but being veg opens up
land and delivers crops
to humans that were
previously being grown
for animal feed.
Moreover,
a plant-based diet saves
immensely on water.
Meat production uses water
in excessive amounts
that we cannot imagine.
You see,
all this is important
because if humans are
in shortage of food or,
of water, then conflicts,
of course, will break out.
That is what
the United Kingdom
means by “climate change
is affecting
national security” – not just
for the United Kingdom
but everywhere
in the world.
When our family members
are in danger of
hunger or thirst, maybe
we would do anything
to bring food to them.
So reluctantly, some
virtuous or good people
might even go astray
and cause conflict
between neighbors
and then, on a larger scale,
it will cause conflict
between nations.
Scientists have documented
that one serving of beef
takes more than
1,000 gallons
of water to produce.
By contrast, sir,
the vegan diet uses about
one-tenth of that amount.
So the water problem
would also be
completely solved
if everyone is vegan.
And as the killing karma
(retribution) is reduced with
people becoming vegan,
all disasters
will diminish,
a more loving atmosphere
will envelop our Earth,
and we would not even
have to worry about
war between countries,
because the vegetarian diet
will make people
feel peaceful,
more clear-headed.
So, consequently,
each nation would
naturally have
sufficient resources and
wholeheartedly exchange
help to each other.
So the best way to
prepare for conflict is to
take complete prevention.
The vegan diet will help
us to achieve that goal,
and almost immediately.
Most respected
Supreme Master Ching Hai,
ladies and gentlemen,
I’m truly touched
to be able to attend
the conference this time.
Respected
Supreme Master Ching Hai,
my friends and I are
extremely grateful
for your contributions
to create a better and
more beautiful world.
Respected Master,
thanks to your guidance,
humankind is transitioning
in a positive direction.
However,
is that change quick
and sufficient enough
to stop global warming
and save this
beautiful planet?
Hallo, Ms. Vân.
Madam Vân Anh,
not quick enough yet
at the moment.
I wish we could be much
quicker, like yesterday,
but we still have hope.
I appreciate your concern
and certainly hope
that all beings and
the planet can be saved.
Perhaps
we cannot save all, but
we can save the majority
if we hurry up.
This is why the members
of our Association
and myself, as well as
the staff at the
Supreme Master Television,
are working as much as
we can to get the
message out to the world
about the dire state
of the globe and the
rescuing vegan solution.
Scientists
have already stated that
the livestock industry is
the single highest human
cause of methane gas
in the world.
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.
In your country,
Âu Lạc (Vietnam),
you probably know of
global warming
related problems such as
the untimely flooding,
and encroachment
of the sea upon
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,
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.
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.
Not only that, through
the organic veg diet
worldwide, we will see
the planet revived
to her original beauty
and flourishing state
even more so in the future.
So please, be veg,
and tell everyone else
of these benefits.
The more people who
understand and change,
the more chance
our world
will be saved in time.
Dear
Supreme Master Ching Hai,
I’m very concerned
about the effects
of climate change
and global warming
on Âu Lạc (Vietnam),
especially
the southwestern region,
the “granary of Âu Lạc
(Vietnam),” where people
are still impoverished.
Please shed some light on
the following questions.
How much longer and
what is the size of land
that will be under water?
How many people
will be affected?
Could it be possible that
the fertile rice fields in
the southwestern region
will turn into
U Minh’s type
of salt water swamp?
At that time,
could science create
food-bearing plants
or some kind of plant
that is valuable
and salt-bearing?
In summary, what should
we do to help the farmers
in the Mekong Delta?
Thank you, Master.
Yes.
As we discussed briefly
in the previous question,
this situation
is serious indeed.
A combined report
from experts
at the United Nations,
CARE International,
and the US-based
Earth Institute forecasts
that more than
14 million farmers would
lose their rice fields
if sea levels
rise by two meters.
Already
the growers are seeing
salt water contamination
in some crops, along with
the excessive flooding
that ruins harvests.
Scientists say that
the floods are due to
upstream, melting glaciers,
which cause the rice
to be inundated at times
when it needs to be dry.
Moreover, as the glaciers
continue to melt,
the great Mekong River
will begin to dry, because
there’s no more support
of flowing water –
meaning further hardship
for farmers as water
becomes more scarce.
As it currently supports
18 hydropower stations
as well, the drying of
the Mekong River would
also have adverse effects
on power supplies,
and the drought, combined
with sea level rise,
would cause further
salt water contamination.
The government
has instituted programs
to relocate people whose
homes and growing areas
are most vulnerable
to these effects,
but this does not really
address their livelihoods
or how to save the crops.
Research indicates that
a one-meter sea level rise
could result in up to
2 million hectares of land
in the Mekong Delta
being submerged.
Depending on
how quickly
global warming accelerates,
this could happen
in a matter of years.
As for how to
best help the farmers
in the delta region to cope
with this urgent problem,
I also wonder myself.
It concerns me deeply
to see the effects
of global warming
on this region.
Dr. Cao mentioned
scientistsdeveloping
a salt-bearing plant.
Perhaps we can,
perhaps not.
Even if we can, imagine.
You see, some researchers
have suggested building
additional levees to
hold back the floodwaters.
Both of these ideas
could probably work over
the short term and would
help for a little while,
but not for long term.
We have to ask ourselves:
for how long
and at what price
this will work?
What kind of world
will we have left
if these global warming
changes continue?
What kind of
drinking water, what kind
of air we will have,
even if the rice plants
can grow in salt water?
This is a
complex ecosystem with
a long, long history of
supporting human life,
so there is no easy answer.
But the most effective one
I know,
which is so simple,
easy and also
scientifically proven,
is to adopt the meat-free,
animal-free lifestyle.
If everyone
stops the killing and
consumption of meat,
these destructive changes
will also stop.
Just be veg and do good.
That’s all there is.
This is really
the way to go.
It is the best thing
to help us,
to help the farmers
and the entire country
of Âu Lạc (Vietnam),
not just the Mekong Delta.
If you turn in
this direction
and get as many people
as possible to
come with you,
I guarantee
that you will see
good changes around you.
And you will be proud
to walk the Earth
as a compassionate vegan
and Earth protector.
You see, in the world
we have many bad news,
which is not published,
which is not informed
by the governments,
or many governments,
or many medias, that is,
our world's major rivers
are dying.
One third are gone,
or going – the rivers,
the source of our life,
the water that feeds us,
billions of us.
The major rivers
are dying, going or gone.
Groundwater wells
for three billion people
are drying up as well –
not just rivers
but groundwater
to make wells are dying
for three billion people.
We have six billion people
in this world and the
sources of groundwater
for wells, which supports
half of our world population
are dying, drying up.
And the top ten
global river systems,
drying or ebbing away:
China’s
Salween River,
Europe’s Danube River,
South America’s La Plata,
North American
Rio Grande,
India's Ganges –
the famous Ganges,
the holy,
the life sustaining Ganges –
Pakistan's Indus River,
Africa's Nile River
and Lake Victoria,
Australia's Murray-Darling,
Southeast Asia's
Mekong/Lancang,
China's Yangtze, etc., etc.
They are dying,
drying up, ebbing away,
day by day.
And many major lakes,
dried up or drying,
not including
the dangerous side effects,
such as they release CO2,
methane, and other gases
after they dry
or while they're drying.
In conclusion,
I can only tell you that
many, tens of thousands
of rivers and
great lakes are dying, dead,
gone or going,
and I don’t know
how many more we must
wait for to die
in order for us
to wake up.
The leaders of the nations
must do something.
The people of all nations
must do something.
Just because we can still
sit here pretty and talk,
just because in our area
there is not yet
water shortage
or food prices going up
doesn’t mean it will not
happen to us soon.
We have to do something
to avoid the tragedy
that is already happening
to billions of other people.
There are one billion
people hungry already
because of
climate change, and
short of water and food.
One billion already!
And three billion people
are short of water.
How many more,
I don’t know,
how many more
of suffering people
are we waiting
before we take action?
Please do it now!
Just be veg. Stop the
stop the meat, dairy, fish industry.
Be benevolent.
Create a merciful energy
that will envelop our world,
that will emit
mercy, love, protection
for us and our children
on this planet.
Please take action now.
Very simple. Just be veg.
Just be veg
is truly enough for now,
and it will be enough
for a long future to come.
Just be veg so we have time
to save our planet
in order to implement
any other green measures
that we want to implement.
But everything
is not as efficient
as being veg. Just be vegan.
Please be vegan.
How do we handle
the situation in the future
if the effects
of global warming
continue, Master?
Yes, it’s
a difficult question.
Not only us but
so many world leaders
and scientists are also
worrying about this.
The truth is, we are
already not able to handle
such situations in places
where global warming
is already reaching
extreme degrees.
Some countries
and communities have to
cope with worsened
drought situations.
There is not enough water
to raise crops
or even to drink.
Their rivers and lakes
are drying up
or completely gone.
Please refer to
for more information.
Glaciers melt
in many places
so dramatically
that one moment
there are massive floods,
and soon after, a drought.
So how can we handle
the mass migration of
tens of millions of people
all at once
due to desertification,
the rising sea levels
or the permanent loss
of crop fields?
It’s very difficult and
maybe even impossible.
And it’s not just numbers:
every child, family, and
society will be affected
in some way
by this experience
of trauma and tragedy.
We are not ready
for the changes
that are coming.
We are not ready at all.
We are not prepared enough.
Some of the changes
are even anticipated
to be unexpected,
because there are
many complicated
interacting factors.
The wisest action would be
to fix the situation
we have now and
prevent further damage.
Then we won’t even have
to worry about the future.
All the leading scientists
we have spoken to
tell us one and the same:
that we must handle it
now, not tomorrow.
The smartest way would be
to stop the worsening
of global warming
by being vegan.
It sounds very simple
but it is the best solution,
the most effective,
and the effect of it will be
felt almost immediately.
Without this main,
most time-effective change,
no matter
what we try to do,
it won’t be enough to repel
the worst consequences
that we have accumulated.
Moreover, the problems
we already face now -
such as
the warming atmosphere,
water shortage,
food scarcity,
desertification – we can
quickly eliminate by
stopping meat production.
Stop it now, no further!
Let’s choose the vegan diet.
The future effects
will be greatly eased.
Only then will we have
a manageable situation.
Be veg, go green,
so we can all
save the planet.
By the way, I would like
to report to you
something apart from that.
I want to report to you
about the current
climate change effects
in your country
because it’s important
that you know about this.
The latest report by the
UN Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change
spoke of Latin America’s
vulnerability to
severe climate impacts.
Peru is among the first
to feel these impacts,
as seen in the following:
1. Farmers
in the Cusco highlands
are suffering already
from irregular, scarcer rain
and extreme heat.
2. Due to excessive heat
and droughts
over the last 12 years,
140,000 hectares
of potatoes and corn
have been ruined –
equal to food
that could have fed
11 million people
in the country.
It’s been ruined.
3. In the central Piura area,
springs that used to
provide drinking water
until recently
are drying up.
4. Mosquitoes
causing dengue fever
are also being seen
for the first time in Piura,
as they spread to new areas
due to climate change.
5. Peru is home to
70% of the entire range
of Andean glaciers,
with peaks that supply
the country’s people
with both water
and hydroelectric power;
however,
these are all expected
to disappear by 2015 –
just a few more years.
6. The glaciers in
the Andes mountain range
have so far lost more than
20% of their volume.
This is threatening
the water supply
for 30 million people.
In Peru,
the loss to glaciers
is equivalent to
10 whole years
of water supply
for Lima city.
7. The Cordillera Blanca,
a snow-topped
northern mountain range
of your country,
sometimes called
“Peruvian Switzerland,”
you know about it, has been
steadily disappearing
due to climate change.
8. A warming climate
has resulted in the 2008
disappearance of
the Quilca Mountain
snow cap, and in 2007
the Broggi Glacier
also vanished,
disappeared, completely.
9. In early 2009,
the Quilca Glacier
disappeared completely.
Now it’s gone.
It’s gone now.
10. With 8 of the country’s
water basins
already noted
as being insufficient
to meet people’s needs,
Peru’s President
Garcia announced
in 2008 the construction
of two desalination plants
to try to address
the water scarcity.
It’s that urgent already
in Peru.
11. Dwindling water supplies
have caused
escalating tensions and
even conflicts to erupt
as many people, including
disadvantaged farmers,
don’t have enough water,
or are struggling
for their share.
12. By 2020, it is predicted
that up to 77 million
people in Latin America
will face water shortages.
13. In the past six years,
Peru had at least three extreme
temperature events
and floods affecting
more than 500,000 people.
Within just 30 years,
floods increased
by more than 60%,
and mudflows increased
by 400%.
14. President Garcia
declared
a state of emergency
in 2009 due to
climate change-related
severe cold
and freezing conditions
in the southern Andes
that caused the death
of nearly 250 children
and sickened many others.
I have contributed
my humble share
to purchase
children’s warm clothes
for this matter.
But this is not
the permanent solution.
The permanent solution
is we have to stop this
happening again.
We have to
stop climate change.
We have to
stop this kind of disaster
that kills the children
in Peru and sickens
many other children
as well as adults and the
vulnerable like the elders,
the weak and already sick.
15. In Chimbote, Peru,
heavy pollution from 40
fishmeal manufacturers
causes documented
human illness
and increasing
oceanic dead zones,
with the ground-up fish
being fed to caged salmon,
creating yet another
environmental imbalance,
and sickness to humans.
Thank you very much
for your attention.
I hope this report
gives the people of Peru,
Latin Americans,
and the world
a little more wake-up call.
I thank you
for your attention and
I thank you in advance
for whatever you will do
on your part
to save your country
and to save the world.
Supreme Master,
it’s been reported that
a large industrial animal
farm can produce
as much waste
as a large city, and that
it takes thousands of
liters of water to produce
a pound of beef, which
puts a severe demand
on the world’s limited
fresh water supply.
Is this correct?
Yes, absolutely.
The connection between
livestock industry and
global warming has been
clearly established.
Factory farming
takes an extreme toll
on our vital resources.
We will take water,
for example.
As drought and water
crises are spreading
silently across the globe,
affecting 44% of
the world’s population,
even triggering conflicts
in some areas,
the livestock industry is
guzzling much of
our precious fresh water.
Livestock feed crop
production alone
takes up one-third of all
arable land on the globe,
most of which
requires irrigation.
So in reality, 4,500 liters
of clean water
goes down the drain for
just 1 serving of beef.
In contrast, only 370
liters of water are needed
to produce one complete
vegan meal, with plenty
of calories and nutrients
from rice, vegetables,
and soy protein.
So, a massive package
of resources goes into
producing meat, namely,
water, fertilizer,
cleared land,
chopped down forests,
fossil fuel energy,
and grains, soy, that are
fed to the animals.
This is even more
staggering than when
we consider the epic
pollution levels inflicted
by animal production
on our water resources,
such as Ireland’s
own rivers, lakes,
and groundwater.
Your country’s
Environmental Protection
Agency reported that one
of the top contributors
to water pollution is
agricultural runoff,
which is the discharge of
nitrogen and phosphorus.
A huge portion of nitrates,
for example, comes
from animal manure.
In fact, the Agency
further expressed concern
because of the presence
of the highly deadly
E. coli bacteria
in the groundwater,
due to agricultural runoff.
E. coli is always originally
from an animal source,
and it’s found in
livestock fecal material,
which can also be
distributed through
waterways to contaminate
plant-based food even.
The large scale of this
health risk can be seen if
we consider the fact that
livestock produces
130 times more waste
than humans.
So, as pigs produce
three times as much
excrement as humans do,
the 1.8 million pigs
in your country, Ireland,
generate more waste than
the whole country’s
entire population
of 4.2 million!
This is not to mention the
21 times of human waste
that each cow produces,
and the huge amount
from poultry that over
70 million birds produce.
As the land cannot
absorb it all, much
of the excess runs into
our rivers and soil.
We are talking about
a horrific amount of toxic
material that poses an
appalling set of problems,
including poisonous gases
like hydrogen sulfide
and ammonia, residues
of pesticides, hormones,
antibiotics, and bacteria
like E. coli that could,
and do, cause food
poisoning and also death.
Cities worldwide,
including Dublin –
Dublin, in your country –
are already struggling
with water shortages.
Even in your country,
in Dublin.
But all the while,
livestock production is
hazardously wasting
and polluting any
remaining water supply.
If we really want to
conserve our clean, safe
water for ourselves and
our children, we must
stop livestock production
and adopt the
plant-based diet.
Sometimes it takes
an impending catastrophe
to make us change and
become much greater
than we were before.
Is this what’s happening
with climate change?
Is it, in fact,
an opportunity for us to
make an unprecedented
leap in evolution?
Good question, sir,
good question.
You see, we should not
have waited until
we have a catastrophe
like this, or impending
catastrophe, to change.
But, nevertheless,
you’re right.
It’s possible that
when we’re faced with
such a great upheaval,
then we will change
and we’ll make a leap
into the next level.
Especially now,
we still have a little time
to change. It’s just that
we need to act now,
you see, to profit
from this so-called
catastrophic future
awaiting us.
We have to act now
for all of humanity.
Because along with our
own survival and health,
there is an entire planet
that is in trouble,
and everyone needs to be
vegan to save it.
It’s a very simple solution
that we might overlook.
Because if we all change
to vegan, put down
the animal products,
then we would have
a dream world –
that I promise.
Because like begets like.
We forget that the Bible
told us that “as we sow
so shall we reap.”
That means if we create
peace, compassion
and harmony, then
that’s what we will get.
Now, the impending
catastrophe that
you mention, it might be
motivating us to change,
the whole humanity.
But to benefit from
this opportunity,
more people must
act now. All of us must.
We face
a very dangerous future if
global warming continues.
German Chancellor
Angela Merkel was just
here in Washington D.C.,
making an historic address
to the US Congress,
and asked the United States
to help to lead
in halting climate change.
I would ask the same
even though
I am not a Chancellor.
I’m sure many of you
are aware of
the increasing number of
global warming effects
noted worldwide, so
I will share just a few
from the world and
from the United States.
1. In the Arctic, North Pole,
so much ice has
already melted that
scientists are forecasting
an ice-free summer within
as little as 3-6 years,
which would be
the first time
in one million years –
first time
in one million years!
Meanwhile, Greenland is
shedding 85 million tons
of icebergs each day
due to warming, and
at a rate that is increasing
by 7 percent each year.
The West Antarctic
Ice Shelf is also melting,
with 3.3-meter sea level
rises forecast that would
threaten cities like
your country, New York,
Washington, D.C.,
and San Francisco.
And if all of Antarctica
and Greenland were to melt –
meaning the ice –
then the sea levels could
rise to as much as
70 meters, which would
be deadly or disastrous
to most lives on Earth.
2. Glaciers across the globe
are shrinking
more quickly than
researchers ever expected,
leaving rivers and lakes
gone, disappearing
or drying, with no water
for crops and billions
who face food shortages
due to water shortages,
as well.
3. Due to rising sea levels,
islands are sinking
as we speak, with
Tuvalu, Tonga and some
40 other island nations
having to plan their
whole country's migrations.
They are being forced
to join the already
20 million climate
refugees today.
The International
Organization for Migration
stated that there may be
200 million
climate refugees by 2050.
4. According to researchers
at Georgia Institute
of Technology,
United States of America,
worldwide the number
of the most destructive
Category 4 and 5
hurricanes doubled
over the past 35 years.
Category 5 storms yield
the highest level of
destruction in major cities.
Their intensity and
duration also increased
by 75 percent
since the 1970s.
One of these storms
whose effects can still
be seen and felt was the
2005 Hurricane Katrina,
which devastated,
especially, areas
of New Orleans,
with people who are still
recovering their homes
and their lives today.
I am so sorry
the American people
have had to suffer
through such tragedies.
Now,
in the United States:
1. Close to a million acres
of pine forest
have been lost in the
Rocky Mountains
due to beetle infestation
from global warming.
Similar also in Canada
but, due to the time limit,
I cannot report to you
everything, so now
we just report about
United States.
2. In the state of Montana,
the famous glaciers
of Glacier National Park
are now expected to
disappear within a decade.
3. According to
a new study
by the Scripps Institution
of Oceanography,
the Colorado River,
which supplies water to
seven Western states, is
going dry. Famous river.
4. In fact, researchers say
that the US West
is facing a devastating
drought crisis
as snows from mountains
are releasing
vast reservoirs of water.
5. The sea level
in North Carolina, USA,
rose three times faster
during the 20th century
than during
the previous 500 years.
6. The US National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration said
that for the first time
on record, in 2008,
six consecutive tropical
cyclones made landfall
on the US mainland.
The North Atlantic Ocean
and the Indian Ocean
are the two areas
with the strongest
hurricane trends.
You may ask, what is
the main cause of this
damage and destruction
to the environment?
Perhaps surprisingly, it’s
not the coal industry
or cars or planes or trains
or boats or ships.
It’s methane,
which is produced
primarily
by the livestock industry.
A new and just-published
report from the respected
Worldwatch Institute
states that livestock is the
largest single contributor
to greenhouse gases,
responsible for more than
51% of the total emitted.
This report factors
in an atmospheric
heat-trapping effect
of methane that is
72 times - 72 times! –
larger than CO2,
when averaged
over a 20-year period.
Furthermore,
just days after the
Worldwatch Institute
report was released,
NASA announced that
methane actually
contributes much more
to global warming than
previously understood
and it traps 100 times
the atmospheric heat
over 20 years.
And the largest source
of methane is?
You know - livestock.
Now, facts such as these
have caused people like
esteemed climate expert
Lord Stern
of the United Kingdom to
state in an interview that
“Meat is a wasteful use
of water and creates
a lot of greenhouse gases.
It puts enormous pressure
on the world’s resources.
A vegetarian diet
is better.”
So I quote exactly
what he said.
There is an advantage
of time here, because
one aspect of methane
is that it dissipates
in around 12 years’ time,
whereas carbon dioxide,
CO2, stays
in the atmosphere for
up to thousands of years.
So, we remove
the livestock-generated
methane
and the planet cools fast!
You see the logic? Yes.
Therefore,
only the vegan lifestyle
is truly sustainable.
Now, once we become
vegan and urge others
to join through
grassroots seminars,
flyer distribution, letters,
email, whatever, we could
practice sustainability
in other ways.
As I have suggested
before, we could plant
organic vegetables
and trees.
Better still are those
fruit trees and nut trees,
and those vegetables
or legumes like beans
and stuff that
need little water.
That, we can do research
to know which ones need
less water, because
right now we’re short of
water as well.
We’re short of everything
right now.
So we should be frugal
not to waste precious
energy and water. Use our
own shopping bags even.
We encourage sustainable
energy development.
And we can write or
talk to the government
and the media, and
the farmers even,
because we really
do need all the help
from the government,
from the media,
to accelerate the trend.
Another good way to
quicken our movement
to a sustainable planet
is to generate
more positive energy:
do good deeds and
be loving and kind.
Expand our loving quality.
This is what will create
a shield, invincible, to
protect us and the planet.
Finally, we can pray
that divine power
manifests on Earth to
awaken leaders, media,
influential people,
and all the world citizens
to take the right steps
to preserve our planet,
and fast – fast
before it’s too late,
because at this point,
we do need
Heaven’s intervention
to save our planet.
Not to pray to them
to protect us; just to pray
so that they awaken
everybody to the solution
of the vegan diet, because
that is the solution
that will save our planet.
If we can do these things,
starting with
being veg,
we would realize not just
a sustainable planet,
but a real paradise
of peace in our lifetime.
Respected Master,
thanks to your blessings,
we have the opportunity
to gather here today
in this house full of love
to discuss
these important issues.
I would like to ask: What
would you like to convey
to the leaders of nations,
organizations, individuals
and all humankind
in this urgent time?
Thank you, Master.
Thank you, sir.
Yes, Mr. Nguyễn,
my message is the same
as I have spoken all along
during this time together.
To sum up,
to all the leaders,
I call on them once more
to put their love first
for their countrymen
and women,
and for all the children,
to accept with courage
the deed that must be done,
to use the mighty power
in their hands
entrusted by people
to save the world.
The global
livestock industry is now
contributing almost about
as much to global warming
as the energy sector,
or even more;
and I know it contributes
at least 80% of it.
Meat production
is depleting
your people’s water,
damaging their health,
pushing them to war
and breeding new
deadly diseases each day.
It’s killing your people.
Only you can stop it.
They need your shining
heroic vegan example
because they really look
to their governments,
to their leaders.
They would be
greatly facilitated
by your laws for
organic vegan farming
and campaigns or laws
to make the much needed
lifestyle vegan change.
Your co-citizens,
your subjects,
will appreciate you,
praise you, love you,
support you and
they will remember you
for saving the world for
generations to come even,
for saving their lives
and the lives
of their loved ones,
as well as
their future children.
And Heaven
will reward you greatly.
Lead the veg change.
Promote forgiveness
and peace and then
even all other troubles,
like poverty, conflict,
even financial crisis,
pandemics,
will also subside.
I thank you,
leaders of nations,
for all the efforts
in this direction so far.
But if you allow me,
I honestly say
that what we are doing
and planning now
is not enough,
and not fast enough,
and I bid you
the courage and faith
to do more and faster.
To the organizations
of the world,
including the media who
understand the strength
of a social movement,
thank you for your work
to inform and encourage
people to the exciting
and humane, beneficial,
chic, animal-free,
the vegan way of life.
To the individuals,
thank you
for doing your part
to save our planet, but
please, to make it in time,
we have more to do
and we have little time.
We have to continue
to urge our leaders and
our fellow human beings,
neighbors to change,
be vegan
to save themselves
and their families and
children and the animals,
and everything they feel
is worth living for.
We can get out of
the danger but through
the right direction.
Our house is on fire
but the water hose is
right there in front of us.
Just pick it up and use it.
It’s as simple as that.
Just be vegan.
And please, be quick.
Our days are numbered.
To all humankind,
Heaven loves you so much,
so we have hope
for the planet’s survival,
more than ever before.
We shall awaken
to a new compassionate
vegan planet that is
full of loving energy,
kindness and blessings
no end from Heaven.
I pray you all
will continue towards
this peace in our reach.
Thank you so much,
all of you. Thank you.