MC(m): And now, we have a question from Mr. Haji Chaerudin, well known by his nickname Bang Idin. He is a farmer and founder of Sangga Buana Environmental Farmers Group.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Welcome，sir.

BI(m): Thank you. Respected and beloved Supreme Master Ching Hai, my name is Bang Idin. I am from the farmers group, Sangga Buana Environmental Farmers Group. Our philosophy “sangga” means poles, “buana” means “universal life.” Every day I work in the river. I clean the river, convert the waste to organic fertilizer for our plants for almost 15 years in the conservation forest region of Pesanggrahan River. That is my work. And my friends and I, 15 year ago, decided to use organic fertilizer for 60,000 plants in the herbs area, the endangered plants area, and the birds area.

Respected Supreme Master Ching Hai, the philosophy in our farmers group's struggle is that nature is not inherited but is our legacy for our great grandchildren. But，even though I am not a vegan farmer, I already do something as part of the vegan movement. We don't eat the fish in the river but we maintain them by working together within our groups. But, how is the solution to be understood when my group consists of poorly educated people such as myself, people with limited insight? Because my parents told me: clever men don't always understand; the one who understands is not always clever. What is the best solution so that my farmers can be part of the high economic society, while still having a philosophy that loves nature? Thank you.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Good afternoon. Hallo，Mr. Bang Idin. Thanks for your presence today. And thanks for being organic farmers. That's great. It's great to know that someone is doing it.

Mr. Bang Idin, as you are fondly called, bravo for your hard work in restoring the balance of your country's natural resources. And also for your time with young people， helping them to be good stewards of the Earth. I appreciate your diligent efforts. God bless you, Allah bless you. I, too, have been saddened at times to see how the environment is treated, especially our animal co-inhabitants. It is better if we remember that land is not like a possession, or something that we just do anything we please with. The land is part of the great being we call Mother Earth which, in a higher sense, belongs to God.

In fact, many religious beliefs describe the role of the humans as the stewards or caretakers of the planet. For example, in the Native American tradition there is a saying, “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” Just like you have said that. The Christian Bible also mentions that, "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till and keep it." To till and keep it, means to farm and keep it, like what you're doing.

When God put the man in Eden to till and keep the Garden of Eden, I don't think God told him to put chemical fertilizers into the land that God has made because God has made it perfect already. It's we who have been destroying the natural resources and underestimate the blessing of Allah who has made everything perfect already for our use. We have no need for any artificial chemicals to feed our crops. I don't hear any mention of chemical fertilizer in the Bible or in the Qur'an or in any other religious scriptures, regardless of what religions we belong to. And the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, has taught us like this. He said, “The world is green and beautiful，and Allah has appointed you his guardian over it.”

So we should tend to the environment carefully the way our Prophet has taught us, as I know you have been doing. The way you have been doing，sir，is great，is according to Allah's will. Because of the critical state of the planet， if we don't act quickly there may be nothing left at all for us to even want to protect. At that time it might be too late. We cannot continue the trend like this forever, and stop whenever we want to save the planet. I'm sorry to say we have a limited time.

According to all the scientific evidence and all the physical evidence up to date，we don't have much time. Even later on，if we want to save the planet， it won't be successful. So we must do it now while we still have a chance. The threats imposed by global warming are more than imminent; they are already here， as you can see through many disasters， upheavals，climate refugees，phenomena around the world. Now，according to expert scientists，the atmospheric temperatures are rising so steeply that we do not have much time left to change.

We do not have much time left to change. And that is just what they have predicted up to date. But they always predicted and telling us that every time they updated something， it was always getting worse and always faster than they had predicted or they had expected， so we cannot sit here and wait. Even with not much time left to change，we cannot even rely on that. There may be even less time than “not much.” The effects of climate change can be seen in so many ways， with increased flooding， droughts，fires and even earthquakes everywhere in the world.

One of the most tragic disasters of our time was the tsunami that struck your country in 2004，that brought so much sorrow for the Indonesian people and the people of the world. We still feel very sad remembering this， it's like just yesterday. Because the people who are affected， they do not forget yet what happened to their children，their loved ones，their houses， their ancestral heritage.

Many things have gone away with the tsunami. It's not just material， it's not just the loss of life. It's the heartbreaks that affect people in the aftermath. It's the living who have to live with the tragedy， with the memories of their loved ones， and everything that's gone with it. I'm so sorry， it should not have happened because Indonesian people are God-fearing people，very good people，hospitable， lovely people. I have been to your country many times and had the chance to experience the love of your countrymen.

This should not have happened. It's just the collective bad karma (retribution) of the whole world. And it has to happen somewhere - somewhere that is more vulnerable than the rest， and most often it's the poor people who are in a vulnerable situation， who suffer the most. I'm so sorry. I'm sure you feel the same and your people still feel the pain of this tsunami even after all this time. The inside wound of the heart doesn't heal too fast. Maybe we can build them houses and give them money， give them food，but we cannot truly heal the pain in the people's heart. Can we? No. Not really，right? We can only pray to Allah to give them strength to continue.

Since then，more than 60 Indonesian islands have become submerged. Sixty islands from your country's islands have become submerged. Gone，disappeared. Underwater. Since 2004， since the tsunami， 60 islands have already gone， disappeared forever. And your government is forecasting that 2,000 more islands may sink below the sea over the next decade also, due to global warming. It could be faster.

Prediction doesn't always correspond to the natural phenomena or the things that happen due to retribution，due to our careless actions. So，the rising sea level's going to submerge， maybe faster than a decade，another 2,000 of your beautiful， beautiful，irreplaceable jewel islands. Most recently， your country endured another earthquake. This is also another pain and heartache for the people of Indonesia and the world. But this one，thankfully， not as devastating; but still with the sorrowful loss of many lives. It was painful for me to hear of the human loss and the suffering， so I did what I could.

Of course， like everybody else， I sent some humble contribution and sent some of our Association members，blessed be their good heart， to try to offer comfort to those most in need. However humble the aid， it contains my shared sorrow and prayers for your people in time of need. I wish of course I could do much more， much，much more. So sorry.

There have also been several quakes since. And scientists have discovered that earthquakes are linked to global warming. Because，as the ice melts at the poles - North and South poles - beneath Greenland, pressure shifts on the Earth's plates that could trigger movement to cause earthquakes. How do we stop these alarming changes， Mr. Chaerudin?

We have to halt the meat consumption and the livestock raising，where animals live so briefly and then are brutally murdered en masse，just for a few seconds of pleasure of the consumers. The greenhouse gases released from the animals， from their waste， agricultural runoff，and the activities related to these massive operations have been identified as the primary， the number one，cause of global warming.

Such facilities，which are known to be utterly inhumane， horribly filthy and extremely overcrowded， have been built in Mexico， in the United States，and in Europe，with one also - maybe more even in your country - on the island of Bulan that contains 250,000 pigs. That's on the island of Bulan in your country. As the harmful emissions of these and other animal raising operation cause atmospheric temperatures to get hotter around the world， especially at the Arctic， the destructive effects are too many to count.

They include disturbances to birds' migration patterns; homelessness of Arctic animals，such as seals and penguins and polar bears，because the ice is nearly gone; ruined wildlife habitat from Amazonian deforestation for cattle pasture and feed; the release of even more carbon dioxide and heat-trapping methane from thawing regions of permafrost; global sea level rise that is forcing people from their homes.

It's not just the earthquakes， it's not just the tsunami， it's not just the typhoon， it's not just the cyclone， it's the rising sea levels as well that force people to lose their home， their ancestral home， to go begging elsewhere; losing also their dignity，the power to take care of their own family; losing their grace; losing their status as the caretaker of the family; losing everything，not just physical possessions, but losing their loved ones as well. And such extreme weather patterns that include extensive flooding along with prolonged droughts. It's easy to see the many forms of environmental harm that are linked to this killing industry， which we call meat consumerism: the mass murder of billions，billions of innocent animals' lives.

Even wild animals， such as the beautiful Indonesian monkeys and the highly endangered Sumatran orangutans，are known also to be hunted and sold for meat.
Mr. Chaerudin， in the Qur'an， Allah forbids killing. Allah tells us to be merciful to all creatures. Prophet Muhammad， peace be upon him， told us to be merciful to all creatures. Allah told even his cousin not to eat meat. Please read the Qur'an again and tell me if I'm right. In our society， ladies and gentlemen， all the powerful people in the world，in our society，the law only punishes someone who has done something wrong to the society.

The animals，they have never done us any wrong. They live their life quietly，they're eating whatever God provides them，they don't harm us in any way. Even if in some cases they do，because we destroy their habitats， because they have nowhere to live， they have no more food in nature for them to eat，so they have to come to us， trusting that we would share with them some food，because we took away their habitat. In our society if we took away something from someone， we pay back something. So the animals trusted that we would pay them back with some food. But，in any case， we always kill them， if they come too near.

Now，I don't know if there is any law that says that human beings have the right to disturb the wild habitats of the animals. Is there any law from God， from Allah，or from our physical law stating that we have the right to destroy the habitat of the wild，and then kill them if they come near， or don't even come near， like the wild monkeys of Indonesia and the orangutans，and many other wild animals that some noble organizations try desperately to help to preserve? But they don't have enough power sometimes，because the ones who have power do not care.

Please forgive me if I offend anyone; the truth is always the truth. Say it or not say it. Mr. Chaerudin，I hope you and the audience can agree that the legacy to our children should include our promise， our vow，our law， to refrain from killing animals or making them suffer in any way. If we want to call ourselves a civilized human race， we must protect the animals' lives，which are linked to ours. We have to protect them because they are us - because if we don't protect them， we are vulnerable because Heaven will not forgive us， if we treat other co-inhabitants unkindly.

Also because now we are at the point where we must change while there is still time， otherwise we will face disastrous consequences and we might lose the whole world， our lives altogether. If we want to receive the mercy of Heaven for our life here on Earth， we must first be merciful in granting the same dignity and freedom of life to the animals. I hope you agree.

Only then can we have a return of the environmental balance that I know you also seek to protect， Mr. Chaerudin. That's why you are doing what you do. If everyone does this， our world will be transformed. So please，everyone， plant veg， be veg and we can go green later when we've already saved the planet. Save our planet，please. I wish you the best，sir. God bless you.

MC(m): Thank you，Master.

MC(m): The next question is from Ms. Harini Bambang Wahono， a member of the Society of Activist Care for the Environment， and the recipient of the National Champion in Nature Conservation and Planting Award，as well as the Kalpataru Award.

Harini (f): Thank you for this opportunity.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Hallo，Madam. How are you?

HBW(m): Good. Respected Supreme Master Ching Hai， I was raised the child of farmers. I have a close relationship and friendship with animals and nature around me. I like nature very much. I also love the green environment at my father's farm，and right now I am feeling and knowing that life on Earth is in great danger because of climate change. I already try to do as much as I can to spread the information to the society in my neighborhood so that the people will take good care of the environment and make the neighborhood a more comfortable place to live， and to live in harmony with animals. My question is: What should be our roles and also all the roles of the citizens of this country to save our world from destruction? That's my question. Thank you very much.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Yes，thank you for your very loving， concerned question， and the willingness to save the planet. Thank you also for your love towards all beings on this planet. Thank you for your love for nature and the animals which，of course， you inherited from your childhood life，being a farmer's daughter. And congratulations on the awards that you received which you so much deserve，such as the National Champion in Nature Conservation and Planting Award.

It is reported that the Prophet Muhammad， peace be upon him， has said，“Whoever plants a tree and diligently looks after it until it matures and bears fruit will be rewarded.” Correct me if I am wrong. I understand your sorrow about the plight of the lives on our Earth. I feel the same，Madam. Already we have lost countless，precious human lives and animals and life-supporting plants due to climate change.

Every year，at least 150,000 people die due to climate change， including in Indonesia. Also every year， 325 million people are seriously affected by climate change， also including Indonesia of course. That is more than the whole population of your country who are suffering each year due to climate change. Imagine if the whole population of your country suffers due to climate change and in the whole world， 325 million people. That's more than your whole country's population suffering due to climate change.

Scientists calculated the annual number of flood events has tripled since the 1980s， and tropical storms and similar events have nearly doubled，Madam. Furthermore， the United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs， John Holmes，stated that 99% of the people who lose their lives due to natural disasters are in Asia， including Indonesia. And how many more are we bound to lose if we don't change in time? What are we waiting for? Fortunately，we still have hope，Madam. If we still really want to stop all this loss and suffering，we must all become vegans to save the world.

Very simple solution. A little change in the diet， that's all. One piece of meat，put one piece of tofu instead. There are varieties of vegetarian diets, not just tofu. I'm just saying that， because nowadays they make vegan beefsteak or vegan hamburger look exactly like the meat product. It tastes even better， healthier，and is more sustainable. So，it's just a little change in our diet. That's all. One piece of meat eliminate，and one piece of meatless protein. It's the same， just better，healthier. Because animal consumption is killing our world. The war is nothing compared to it. The terrorism - what we call “terrorism” - is nothing compared to it. Anything is nothing compared to the meat industry. It is really killing our people and our planet.

One example is fishing. The US-based Pew Commission found that overfishing is the greatest threat to marine ecosystems， followed by agricultural runoff，including livestock manure - means waste - and fertilizers used on animal feed crops. In your country， Indonesia，where overfishing is common in the precious coral reef areas，one report has put it this way， I quote exactly from that report: “Overfishing is causing more damage to the coral reefs than earthquakes or tsunamis.” Can you imagine this， Madam? And we thought earthquakes and tsunamis were already devastating Enough,were already causing too much heartache and sorrow.

But overfishing，even just in Indonesia alone，is causing more damage than earthquakes and tsunamis. My God. Overfishing has caused the remaining fish to be smaller，so the mesh size of the nets has been decreased to capture smaller fish， resulting in other fish being caught as well. The other fish that the fisher don't need， are also being caught there. So，it destroys even more marine ecosystems and destroys more fish life. These are either ground up as animal feed， used as fertilizer， or thrown back into the ocean as dead fish.

I have seen one documentary film from Greenpeace Brazil. Actually，we aired it yesterday on Supreme Master Television. You can see that the dead fish are covering the whole entire surface of water. You don't see water. You only see dead fish floating on top. It's a horrible sight to witness. Now，for example，for every one ton of prawns caught，three tons of other fish are also killed and thrown away. For one ton of prawns， three other tons of other so-called useless fish to the fishermen， commercially useless， are being thrown away.

Can you imagine how much damage we've done to the sea? The Indonesian government also acknowledged the devastated oceans due to fishing，and also said that 94% of Indonesia's coral reefs are dying - just in your country alone. It's very devastating to the environment. The coral reefs are there to protect us. If they are dying， we'll be dying. It's just we don't see the effect immediately so we think it doesn't concern us. It does concern us.

In addition，every year， Indonesia imports 70,000 tons of beef from Australia and New Zealand. It takes 15,000 tons of water to produce 1 ton of beef. So in total，the imported beef production alone， which doesn't even reflect the full amount of beef consumed in Indonesia， causes the waste of almost 1.2 billion tons of water each year. That's why we are short of water in the world.

Sadly，Madam， while this waste is going on right now， 1.1 billion people have no access to clean safe water- 1.1 billion. And 1.8 million children die every year due to sickness from contaminated water. So you can see the animal diet， the animals industry is killing our people， killing our water， killing our planet， killing marine life， killing our sea， killing coral reefs，killing all that is important and protective to us- just for the sake of immediate profit, we're killing our world and we are killing ourselves. If we truly wish to see real harmony born between humans and animals and nature and Heaven， we must be the harmony， we must live in harmony， and act also in harmony， which includes the act of eating harmoniously each time we come to the table.

Peace，compassion， mercy begin on our plate. We cannot truly call ourselves harmonious if every meal is the result of filling our hands with the blood of the innocent and harming the environment and killing our planet on which we live. We must protect the environment and the animals because we have to protect ourselves. They are linked to our safety，comfort and longevity and the life of the planet. If we want to have a home for our children， we must protect the animals. How can we call a dinner of fish harmonious，when slow and painful deaths by mass suffocation had to take place to bring the fish there onto our plate? All the scriptures told us that we receive what we grant，or we reap what we sow. The Prophet Muhammad， peace be upon him，said， “Allah will not give mercy to anyone，except to those who give mercy to other creatures.”

That's stated in the Qur'an. We need your help， Madam Wahono. We need everybody's help as well. It's not just our animals and trees， but human lives that need help saving. And by being vegan， we are not just ensuring everyone's survival，but this is also our chance to have a new，harmonious， noble，peaceful relationship with other species on our planet. We have to live，befitting the children of Allah.

Can you imagine? Suppose Allah would come to our planet， what would Hes do? Imagine Allah comes here and kills every living creature to eat， just to keep Hiers body alive for a hundred years， more or less. Would Allah ever do that? Would Hes，Madam? (No，Master.) No. We cannot imagine God，or almighty Allah， would come here and kill every little，innocent， helpless，defenseless loving creature to eat. So we are the children of God.

All the prophets tell us that. Jesus Christ told us that. Buddha told us that. Prophet Muhammad， peace be upon him， told us that. We are the children of a merciful Father. We have to be like our Father. This is very logical. That would please the Father - that we are like Him， that we are merciful, that we have compassion， that we are in harmony with each other.

All the fathers would love their children to be like that. So，in order to be worthy of Allah's children， of God's children， we must live the way our Father would like us to live. This is the stepping stone that would even stop war among humans and bring Heaven to Earth，in no time.

If we stop the killing， Heaven will be here. God would be among us， and we can feel Hirm. We may be able to even see Hirm， not just in vision of meditative prayer，but maybe just like normal. In addition，we should do good deeds to further strengthen the loving， positive atmosphere of our planet. You see，just like when we walk into a room， some people are quarreling with each other or even fighting with each other， we feel very frightened and uncomfortable. Yes? That is the atmosphere of the fighting， argument，discord，that makes us feel we want to step away， we want to run，because we are scared; we feel very uncomfortable. But if we walk into a room where people are sitting together， having a happy party or a wedding，we'll feel so happy，blissful， because the atmosphere is happy. So that is what I mean by “atmosphere.”

We have to create a happy，loving atmosphere for our planet， then we can live in that atmosphere，be protected and be happy. This is very scientific. We don't need even to believe in any religions to understand this: we create our atmosphere. Just like at home， if you're in harmony with your wife，your husband， your children，you'll feel so nice and happy. But when you are not happy with each other- you're fighting or arguing- the atmosphere is really very uncomfortable， sometimes suffocating. That is the atmosphere that I'm talking about. So，we create the atmosphere we live in. If everyone creates the harmonious atmosphere， our planet will be in peace，and we will be like in paradise. We have to create the loving atmosphere for our planet.

This will also help protect us. And also，we should pray to Heavens， to the great mercy of Allah， and the angels， to all divine beings，to help awaken humankind- awaken us， so that we understand right from wrong. We understand that we must walk the way of God's children. With your admirable， strong，proactive spirit， we have more hope， Madam Wahono. So，please help us， help us， help your loved ones and those around you， to all be veg， and do good deeds. Please remind them. Thank you so much. May God bless you.

MC(f): Thank you，Master，for those words of wisdom.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Thank you!

Francine Roosenda (f): I'm very inspired by what Master Ching Hai said: her way to motivate people to be vegan by helping the planet and then reducing the greenhouse emission gas and all the bad methane effects on our planet, simply by turning ourselves to be vegan. It's really，really inspiring and really motivating to be a vegan!
If that very noble intention can help do something to save this planet， then why not? And I'm going to willingly do that and help that.

Hallo， Supreme Master Ching Hai. I'm very honored to listen to your seminar, and I wish I have a chance to one day really actually meet you face to face because there are a lot of things I want to ask and discuss with you. Thank you so much. The Supreme Master brought us the enlightenment, the science of intelligence and intellectualism. She gives us an explanation, a practical way to live in tune with nature.

Be veg! Go green! And save the planet!

Let there be peace.

I think it's a great seminar. It's an important initiative， especially talking about organic farming. My name is Tessa. I work for Greenpeace's climate and energy campaign and I'd like to say to everyone: Be veg! Go green! And save the planet!

MC(m): The next question is from Mr. Teguh Wibowo who is a Red Cross volunteer.

Mr. Santino (m): Thank you, Madam.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Welcome! Welcome.

Mr. Santino (m): Dear Supreme Master Ching Hai, we have been together with your Association members doing some humanitarian missions at disaster areas recently. We were very touched and admire the sincerity and enthusiasm of your disciples in helping those people, the victims of natural disasters. They are always enthusiastic even though they eat only simple vegan food. Our question is: if we shift to a vegan or vegan organic diet, will our good humanity side be developed more? Thank you.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Yes, hallo.
Thank you for doing the good deeds with the Red Cross, helping your countrymen. God bless you. Allah bless you.
Thank you for your kind words also about our Association members. They are trying to be the best humans that we want to be. And I am glad that you are happy with the stamina and vitality of their vegan nutrition. I also appreciate very much your efforts and those of the Red Cross in offering comfort and aid to those in the most needed hour in Indonesia, and of course for the Red Cross around the world. In answer to your question about whether the organic vegan diet will help develop our good humanity side - yes, of course it will.

Meat poisons the body, first of all, and that leads to inevitable disease and heartaches for both the individual and their loved ones. And also, because it makes us sick by poisoning our body, our mind will also be clouded. So we cannot always think straight, we cannot always follow our instinct to be the best human that we want to be. So, even from a purely physical perspective, foregoing animal products is a choice of goodness. Consciously turning to veganism for reasons of compassion means that the good humanity side is developed even more.

And it's so easy. It's just expanding a little more of what you are already doing. In your work for the Red Cross as a volunteer, you offer your free time, your physical aid, to care for the people in times of disaster. You give them food and basic necessities with, perhaps, a kind word, a comforting gesture, and you see that they feel heartened and uplifted with hope to have the strength to continue in such a dire situation.

If you were not there, if the Red Cross were not there, maybe they'd have lost their spirit of fighting, maybe they would die also, of sorrow and hopelessness. So you are saving lives by being there. Well, you just do a little bit more, saving animals' lives, and you'll be perfect. Well, the choice of the vegan diet is like doing the same thing with the animals, you see. Same thing with humans: you save human lives, give them love, give them help to continue to live.

So now, we're doing the same with animals. Just leave them be, let them live. Only in this case the so-called disaster site is what we can call the massacre site, or mass-murder site, where the animals are brutally killed en masse, usually in windowless places where we cannot see so we don't know what's going on, we don't know how horrible the place is inside. We don't know how they're treated. They're screaming, they're dragged alive, they are stabbed, they're hung upside down - every possible cruelty is inflicted upon them.

If we don't eat animals' meat, these things will not happen, so we save their lives indirectly. Some animals are shocked electrically to supposedly stun them to no feeling, but this often fails, so they are still conscious while being suspended upside down from a hook, and their throats mercilessly slit - bleeding to death. Some are dragged screaming to their death, while others have been filmed having their heads crushed by the boots of a human. Imagine. We are civilized people.

Even if we do not directly partake in this killing, we are still responsible if we eat the meat or dairy products or even fish for that matter. Even eggs are being bred very cruelly, very cruelly. Milk, eggs, they're all very cruelly bred. We cannot imagine what cruelty we humans inflict upon the innocent harmless animals. Even just a little chick like this, so puffy, so cute, so sweet. I have talked about that in other lectures, in other answers, so I would not want to elaborate further here to make pain in your heart. But we have all this information on Supreme Master Television and www.SupremeMasterTV.com, if you care to look at how humans treat innocent, harmless and helpless animals.

Okay, even fish, since they are produced with the similar cruel practices as meat; we should not consume fish. If we engage on any level in the unspeakably inhumane practices of the animal industry, we also carry the burden of the animals' murder - I'm sorry to say - indirectly. We carry the murders, the effect.

Scientists find more and more that animals are just like us in feeling pain and even knowing when they are being taken to their massacre. To know for ourselves that this is true, we only need to see pictures showing the anguish of the animal as he or she is led to the final stop in his or her tragically short and horrible life. To deepen our compassion - for these and other horrors endured by our endlessly forgiving, loving animal friends - anyone can watch videos available from www.SupremeMasterTV.com/Stop-Animal-Cruelty.

It's all free of charge, free of obligation, free of any strings attached. Or you can watch them from organizations such as PETA and the like, animal protection groups. The animals are not only like us in having intelligence, emotions and intuition, they are our friends and helpers. So many blessings from Heaven come through their very existence! Truly it's like that. Through meditation, through inner knowledge, I understood this, and I'm telling you the truth. We do not kill our benefactors or our friends.

Making a vegan choice is thus a true advancement in the evolution and goodness of our humanity. And then we also know that like attracts like, goodness attracts more goodness. As we share this compassionate truth with others, not only will our own humanity be further uplifted, so will the world's. Thank you very much for your sincere and caring question. May Allah bless you in your work and your life. And bless the Red Cross of Indonesia.

MC(f): Thank you, Supreme Master Ching Hai, for such a beautiful answer.

MC(f): The next question comes from Mr. Hardianto. He is an Indonesian travel agent, as well as a vegan.

Q(m): Thank you.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Happy, happy!

Mr. Hardianto (m): Dear Supreme Master Ching Hai, climate change brings new questions to the modern society. From economic development, increasing standards of living to luxurious ways of living, even for daily activities, compared to the earlier ages. All these are now challenged once again by the catastrophic climate change that is believed to be caused by human activity. One phenomenon that is also very contributive to GHG emission to the atmosphere is the rapid increase in global population, also as one of the consequences of increased living standards. The question is: How should we human beings develop? Is there or will there be a limit for this development? How should the society be built? Thank you, Master.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Thank you, sir, thank you. It is true that we must be careful of our way of life, and try to be more frugal and protective of our precious resources. We should not lose ourselves in the material aspects of life without paying attention to our moral standards and spiritual development as well. This is important also, even more important than material development. Or else, we will be in trouble sooner or later. We might even lose everything, including our material development, our lives and our planet, like we are, in fact, facing now. I am glad to see that you walk the talk because you are a vegan.

Thank you, thank you. The animals thank you. And you look so handsome and healthy. Can you stand up and let everybody look at you? Turn around. He really looks handsome, yes. Look at him. Please don't be shy, you must save the animals at all cost.

Now, if we, the human race, develop as a vegan society, and better yet, a spiritual vegan society, there will be no limit to our material development. Because then, sir, we will have the wisdom and the love to propel us on a balanced, straight course for the future, bright future, for our planet and our children. If we have the spiritual eye, we will find that past civilizations, both on Earth and other planets, sometimes developed too quickly in the technological sense.

But the spiritual development, their store of love, was low or empty. And what do we see? We see the pattern is that no society can last long if they refuse to sustain the lives of their own members and fellow beings; I mean, including all the beings, like animals and trees. Or, if they destroy the environment they live in, then that society cannot live long. We can see that also in historical records. Just like the proverb that says, “The frog does not drink up all the water in the pond in which he lives.” Because he needs the water, you see? So we cannot destroy the environment and live in it as well. It is not the rapid increase in global population that is the problem, sir. It might contribute, but a little bit; we have enough to sustain everybody, more than that.

We have enough food to feed the world twice over, right now even, if we don't feed all the food to the animals. Yes, you know that. The real problem is our meat consumption, the tendency of mass killing that we have made a part of our lives, and we look at it as a normal life. It is not normal. It is not normal that we cause suffering to others who have feelings and who shed red blood, and call that “food” or “earning a living.” We cannot earn a living or sustain a living by death.

Meat consumption is the way of not just cruelty but of waste on an unimaginable, gross scale. To illustrate, let's compare a meat eater to a vegan. One meat eater requires two hectares - that's four acres of land - to support him. But that same two hectares, or four acres of land, could support the healthy lifestyle of 80 vegans. Compare that. Now, let's look at water. A meat eater uses up 15,000 liters of water per day, because of the meat diet, which is 15 times as much water as a vegan would use. Because we use a lot of water to raise cattle and to wash them, to clean them, etc., and to water the crops that feed the animals as well, so we use a lot of water, just for one piece of meat.

Now, there is also a dramatic difference in terms of emissions from the diet. The meat-based diet's emissions is equivalent to driving a car 4,758 kilometers - that is 17 times the emissions of an organic vegan diet, which is equivalent to only 281 kilometers. In other words, an organic vegan diet produces 94% less emissions than a meat-based diet -94% less emissions! So if we just choose the vegan diet, we will save the world in no time. Ninety-four percent less pollution emission from a vegan diet, compared to meat diet. Now, vegans also save immeasurable pollution costs, energy costs, resource costs, disease treatment costs, global warming costs, tax costs, plus the emotional costs related to the sorrow and suffering of the people.

That is much more than money or anything we can imagine. Now, added together, the impact of a meat-eating population is just unimaginably huge and wrong, whereas the impact of a vegan population always comes out to be a tiny fraction of the meat eaters' terrible impact. So, if we don't eliminate meat consumption, we could never reach even a low, low impact on the environment, no matter what else we do.

We must stop the most inefficient, unsustainable, life-destroying practice of murdering animals and stop it now. Stop it yesterday.

The animal-meat industry has to go - be it animals from the air, the land or the sea. Can we imagine? The animals they're just flying in the air, they don't even touch us, they don't do anything to us; we shoot them down, we trap them, drag them home and eat. We call that food. The fish swimming in the sea, minding his own business, doing nothing harmful to us ever, doesn't even know us, doesn't even see us - we net them up, suffocate them, drag them to our table and we call that food. That fish might have a lot of babies waiting for him. That bird might have a lot of babies waiting for her.

And the land animals, they have not been so many. It's just we breed them - meaning inviting them to our planet. Now, if we invite somebody to our home, what do we call this person? A guest, no? Is that true? MC(m): Yes.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Okay. Now, we invite these poor innocent animals to our planet and then we torture them all their miserable lives. Confine them in a little cage that they could not even turn around in, all their lives, including pregnant animals, including little baby animals. We invite them to our planet by breeding them, by inseminating, by using all kinds of techniques to invite them to our planet, then we torture them, molest them, suffocate them and murder them en masse. What kind of hosts are we?

What kind of hosts are we? Why do we invite them here and treat them thus? If somebody invited us to their home and treated us like that, imagine how we'd feel. Imagine if we were in the position of that confined pig or chained cows, or suffocating chickens or ducks in an overcrowded animal factory. Imagine it's us, then you'll understand what I'm talking about.

We have to stop all this cruelty, because we're civilized, humane people. We are civilized, we are educated, we are religious. We have been taught by all the greatest prophets since time immemorial to be a dignified human being. So we have to stop all this mass murdering of the animals from air, from land or from sea, from anywhere at all. That's the only way we can and should develop sustainably for our children and grandchildren and future generations. That's the only way we should develop. And after all, the vegan way of building society is the most befitting to the human standard of compassion. It is truly the way of most peaceful, paradise-like, children-of-God-like civilizations, because we save lives.

Not only do we save the animals, we save our lives, we save the lives of the world, of the people in the world. Then we are heroes.
The planets that were saved from destruction, like Venus, were saved because their societies became vegan - I mean the ones that are saved. I mentioned there are four Venuses - only two of them were saved because their societies became vegan. The other two Venuses were destroyed - one is completely gone, one is boiling hot, uninhabitable, because they have not been vegan. The two Venuses are saved because they have become vegan. Many planets that did not survive, like Mars, perished with meat still in their mouths, between their teeth.

So, it is up to us, sir. If we alone are vegan, we ourselves will change at least, and if there are enough of us, our society will change. You know how it changed your life, the vegan diet. We become smarter, more sensitive, more compassionate, more considerate to other people and the environment and the animals around us. We became a different person; and we are happy to become so different. If everyone in the society becomes vegan, we will develop in an incredible way as a whole planet in the universe.

And that time, there will be no limit to our spiritual development and even our social, technological, material development, once we turn to our compassionate God-like nature. Everything else will naturally be built on this new foundation, and the correct foundation, the only foundation we should have - of loving kindness - and the society will develop itself and manage itself accordingly: in peace, wisdom, compassion, and dignified co-existence among all living beings. Thank you, Mr. Hardianto.

Q(m): Thank you, Master.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: Please advise your clients to do the same.

MC(f): Thank you very much, Master, for your answer.

Adeline Friends of Nature Spoken in Indonesian Adeline (f) : In my opinion, being vegetarian is a good thing because we can reduce the methane effects worldwide which cause a lot of climate change and global warming.

Supreme Master TV (f): Do you have plans to change your diet to a vegetarian or organic vegan one after attending this seminar?

Adeline (f) : I plan to do just that, because I have already witnessed the results before and it's great. I will definitely try, but because since we were born, we were already taught to eat meat, it's kind of hard to change that habit. But, if we care to try, there is nothing that we cannot do. I am Adeline from Friends of Nature.

Be veg! Go green! Save the planet!

Ning Purnomo HadiLandscape architect Spoken in Indonesian Interviewee (f): She (Supreme Master Ching Hai) is so touching, so touching because she is so inspiring.
She works so hard. Seminars like this must be held everywhere. Protect nature, help nature to recover like before.

VJ Surya & VJ AditMTV Insomnia Spoken in Indonesian (m 1): We know the global warming issue is already very grave. It's time for us to start something new. Hopefully through this we can be even faster in overcoming the global warming issue. I am VJ Surya from MTV Insomnia.
I am VJ Adit from MTV Insomnia Indonesia.

Please be veg! Go green! And save the planet!

How much money would we save if the world becomes vegan?

Dr. Joop Oude Lohuis - Team Manager, Climate and Global Sustainability unit, Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency: We are now at the point that science has more and better numbers on the effect of changing our diet and eating less meat.
 
A study by the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency found that global dietary change would reduce the cost of mitigating global warming.

The cost to lower atmospheric greenhouse gas levels: US$40 trillion by 2050.

A global shift to a low-meat diet could save 50% of total mitigation cost.

A global shift to a meat-free diet could save 70% of total cost.

A global shift to an animal-free vegan diet would save climate mitigation costs by more than 80%.

That is a substantial cost reduction in getting to the same climate targets.

Not only governments, but individuals save too.

It's a lot cheaper than buying photovoltaic cells on your house, or buying a hybrid car. It's a very easy way to change your buying behavior and have a fantastic quality of your meal.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: We still have a chance to halt global warming and should be optimistic. We don't have much time but we still have time. We meanwhile do our best by adopting the quickest and the most efficient measure to reverse climate change. We must change to a vegan diet ourselves, so that we become a part of the solution. To help the government to change, we can write letters explaining how a vegan diet is a solution for the planetary crisis, is the most practical way to prevent future calamities due to global warming. Because the plant-based lifestyle is more sustainable, and opens up land. It restores the balance of our ocean and forest and preserves our finite natural resources. This is truly the best way to restore our environment and ensure the highest degree of peace. Such a simple solution, being veg, that's it.

Be Veg. Go Green. Save the Planet. For more urgent details, please visit www.SupremeMasterTV.com/SOS