Esteemed viewers, welcome to Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants. Today’s show features the second and final part of an interview with vegan, Cheri Ezell-Vandersluis, who runs the love-filled Maple Farm Sanctuary along with her husband Jim Vandersluis. The Sanctuary has served as a caring refuge for animals since 1998.

Jim’s family practiced dairy farming for many years on the very same 48 hectare plot of land on which the Sanctuary is now located. Like all dairies, the operation repeatedly cycled through the heartless processes that are associated with meat and milk production.

After meeting Jim, Cheri joined her goat milking business with his dairy farm. Deep within both felt a profound connection with animals, but at the time blocked this love in their hearts because their actions were leading to the deaths of goats and cows. Following an awakening of compassion in their souls, Cheri and Jim took the life-affirming step of closing down their dairy farm and turning it into a sustainable refuge to house and care for the area’s abandoned, abused and homeless farm animals.

We’re not killing anything anymore. We’re growing food for everyone, for all people, for the children that are starving, for everyone! And we’re becoming non-violent and I think if they thought about it enough, the dairy farmers and the beef farmers might begin to embrace such a culture,.

The couple, now a mommy and daddy to some 100 animals living free in their animal village, are both vegans.

When Jim and I made the decision, I knew I was going vegetarian first and then vegan, but I didn’t expect my husband, who really didn’t know much about that, to make that big change. But much to my surprise he said, “Why are you going to cook any differently for me? I want to be vegetarian too.” So first we started being vegetarian, but very quickly we switched over to vegan because of all of the dairy product issues. We were so closely connected to the dairy issue that we knew we couldn’t continue with the dairy also. So it was a very quick transition from vegetarianism to veganism.

Both Jim and I have felt much better, as far as our stamina, and our mood. It’s almost like being more peaceful and I think that’s in combination with what we’re doing and what we’re eating. There’s just a peace about it. We do feel healthier most definitely!

Jim’s family has had a history of heart disease and he was kind of worried about that but I’ve checked his blood pressure and it’s right down there and he seems to be in good health. He says he feels better, he’s lost weight and he feels more comfortable at that weight. But all in all the diet has made us feel better in many different ways.

Cheri Ezell-Vandersluis encourages all those involved in animal agriculture to embrace a bright and promising future by leaving the industry and taking up a constructive and loving occupation that does not involve hurting animals.

I know we’re not the only ones who have changed. I know that there are a lot of dairy farmers out there and beef farmers that are afraid of people like us that say, “Veganism is the way to go.” They’re really afraid that we’re going to destroy their business, their lifestyle. And I’m not personally out to do that. I want to see them improve their lifestyle. I want to see their land be improved upon.

I don’t want to see all the chemicals sprayed to get rid of all the flies that are all over the livestock, the beef cows out in the feed lots. I don’t want to see all the feed lots; I don’t want to see all the slaughterhouses. We don’t need all of that. If all that land could be transitioned into growing food for humans, then we would truly be making progress. It would still support the farmers. Other farmers have done it. And if we can do it, other farmers can do it.

They can still farm. They're working with the Earth. That’s what farming is all about, the Earth, and being good stewards of the land. And by having dairy cows and beef cows, we're not being good stewards of the land. We're destroying the land. We're chopping down rainforest. We're putting up feedlots and spraying chemicals to get rid of the flies and we're killing ourselves. So, I just hope that the livestock folk just look at what they're doing and think a little bit that maybe we do have some good reasons to go towards a vegan based diet.

After these brief messages, we’ll meet some of the intelligent and lovely animal co-inhabitants of the Maple Farm Sanctuary. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.

We still grow hay for the sanctuary animals. What we produce is not sprayed with chemicals and we don't use a chemical fertilizer. We take the feces from the animals here, compost it and then spread it back on the land.

Welcome back to Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants for our program spotlighting the Maple Farm Sanctuary in Massachusetts, USA which once was a dairy farm, but now serves as a safe refuge for animals. Cheri Ezell-Vandersluis and Jim Vandersluis now live with peace of mind because they have changed their profession and found their life mission, which is helping to protect our vulnerable and innocent animal friends.

Jim bought the farm to carry on the tradition. And the tradition has changed a little bit. He gets to love the animals now. He gets to care for the animals. He doesn't have to worry about them going to slaughter and having miserable lives.

We get to reach our heart out to these animals and love them and care for them and do the best that we can for them right now. But we get to love the animals a lot more, that’s the important thing. We get to embrace them, we get to talk to them and not feel guilty that “I’m forming a bond and it’s about to be broken in a week.” The bond stays forever.

Jonathan Calabria, a yoga instructor and a Maple Farm Sanctuary board member, believes in peaceful living and thus follows a vegan diet. He tries his best to get the word out about why this compassionate way of eating is so wonderful.

I really thrive on this diet. And I don’t believe I’m special; I don’t believe that I have this special genetic makeup allows me to be vegan. I’m a pretty regular guy brought up on a very heavy meat diet and now I don’t feel a need for that at all.

He now introduces us to a new friend from the haven!

Hey, this is Pidge, she’s a real sweet chicken. And she really loves to be held. She doesn’t usually get outside, so she is feeling a little nervous. But she can still see her sanctuary, you know. Hey, honey, it’s alright. Yes. Beautiful bird.

Cheri took us around to meet some of the other joyful residents of the Maple Farm Sanctuary. Kali the Brown Swiss calf is one of the most recent arrivals and is a truly cheerful youth. Receiving plenty of tender loving care in her new home, Kali is now one of the happiest cows in Maple Farm. She’s full of life and warmth and comes running for petting whenever there’s a visitor to the Sanctuary.

She’s just the light of our life right now. She is the most gentle Brown Swiss Cow. She’s doing really well and she’s a happy girl. She loves to play.

Jonathan the pig is a splendid fellow who loves the Sun. He has a warm personality, is quite jolly and is good friends with Kali. He was brought to the Sanctuary when he was only four months old.

Jonathan is a pig that we originally got in very serious condition. He had an umbilical hernia, and we had to have him have surgery. The vet donated her time to help Jonathan out and saved his life, and he started out maybe this big, and now you can see how large he is and he still continues to grow and he’s quite a happy pig; he’s quite the boss pig.

Other members of the Maple Farm family include Smokey the cat, Ivan the Icelandic horse, Cassie the cow, Lucky the miniature pony, Tara Anna the sheep, goats Sid and Chloe, and many more. The different species of animals at the Sanctuary live in harmony with one another.

Most of the people that come to the sanctuary are animal lovers, and they’re very interested in what we do. And they want to visit with the animals and experience the animals. Some want to learn about the animals. Some are willing to muck out the stalls, bless their hearts. And feed them treats. And there are others that help to chop up the produce that we get from Whole Foods and get that for the pigs and the goats. And we have some elderly animals that need to eat the softer foods. So these volunteers help with all of that.

Even if they’re vegan or vegetarian, they still haven’t had the experience with the cow or the goat or the calf. They haven’t had that one-on-one experience. So it does help make the further connection.

Before we say our farewells to our friendly host and the warm residents of the Maple Farm Sanctuary, let us find out what Cheri Ezell-Vandersluis’s vision is for the world’s animals and people.

My hopes and dreams are that we can all live in peace and that there is no violence and that we are no longer consumers of the flesh and that we are only consumers of that which we were meant to eat, which are plants.

We salute Jim and Cheri Vandersluis of Massachusetts USA for making the noble and wise decision to switch from dairy farming to operating a caring shelter for animals. Their selfless heroism and ongoing efforts to save lives are truly inspirational.

For more details on the Maple Farm Sanctuary, please visit:

Compassionate viewers, thank you for joining us today for Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants on Supreme Master Television. Coming up next is Enlightening Entertainment, after Noteworthy News. May all hearts be awakened so that the animals are treated as brothers and sisters.

For this year's World Environment Day, the United Nations has chosen the theme “Many Species. One Planet. One Future.” As animal agriculture continues to devastate our ecosystems, this theme highlights the importance of embracing the compassionate plant-based diet in order to secure our planet's future.

Agriculture alone has changed the landscape of the planet more than any other driver. So I would advocate getting off of the meat diet, that it really is not sustainable.

Learn more about how a vegan diet promotes this year's World Environment Day theme, Wednesday June 2, on Planet Earth: Our Loving Home.