With the emergence of the Asian economic powers including China and India and their increasing energy demands, what goals would you like to see such nations set in this regard?

I would imagine, of course, a Heaven on Earth. And to achieve this, it would be best for these energy-spending countries to develop in a wise and sustainable way. They all know that already. The question is to put into practice the knowledge that we have already accumulated. They should set goals to use sustainable energy and minimize their greenhouse gas emissions in their industries, because every effort is worth the benefits to their citizens’ health, environment, and even the economy. This is the true meaning of prosperity.

Unfortunately, as countries develop, their demand for meat also increases as they can more easily afford it. However, this is extremely counterproductive because the demand for meat pushes up energy demands enormously, while worsening global warming. Raising animals is responsible for 80% of all greenhouse gas emissions from the agriculture sector. Here are three reasons why these developing countries should also set no-meat and instead propagate the vegan lifestyle as their number one goal. First, it’s to save energy for better purposes. Meat production is energy intensive and grossly energy inefficient.

To produce 1 kilogram of beef consumes 169 megajoules of energy, or enough energy to drive an average European car for 250 kilometers! One 6-ounce beef steak costs 16 times – 16 times! – as much fossil fuel energy as one vegan meal containing three kinds of vegetables and rice. The UN IPCC’s chair, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, further points out that meat requires constant refrigerated transportation and storage, the growing and transportation of the animals’ food, a lot of packaging, a lot of cooking at high temperatures for long periods, and a whole lot of animal waste products that also need to be processed and disposed of. Meat production is so costly and inefficient, so unsustainable that it is bad business to produce meat. Second, besides energy, precious land, food and water resources, already scarce in these very countries, are also wasted or degraded to unacceptable degrees.

To produce 1 kilogram of beef requires 7 kilograms of grain for feed instead of direct human consumption, while yielding less than one-third the amount of protein. The poor are bound to suffer from hunger. And, overall, increased meat consumption has always been correlated with jumps in chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, whereas before that, these ills were virtually unknown.

Finally, one reason why developing countries should say no to meat production and consumption is that by turning to the plant-based diet, they will gain invisible benefits as well. In India and China it is already taught in their traditions, in the law of ahimsa – meaning nonviolence – and the law of karma, which says “as you sow, so shall you reap.” Meaning, by turning to the virtuous, compassionate diet of vegan alone, they would generate such a positive, constructive energy. This new loving power could even stop the effects of climate change in their vulnerable lands and open up people’s innovative thought to solve all manner of economical, social, and technological problems, and every country, whether developed or developing, will flourish in ways beyond our imagination. I promise it is true. Hallo.

As a model province of climate change, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province is implementing pioneering policies to cope with climate change. We have made a database of the greenhouse gas emissions of Jeju Province, monitoring changes to the forest, underground water, and the ocean ecosystem. We are expanding new sustainable energy such as wind power, solar energy, and bioenergy, and we are reducing fossil energy, thus enabling a carbon-free island.

Supreme Master Ching Hai, I know you’ve discussed a lot with global climate change experts, politicians, NGOs and are working actively in this area. What do you think about our policies and the direction we are taking in Jeju where the influence of climate change is fast appearing and whose people are very concerned? Could you share with us any supplementary information or ideas that we can refer to? Hallo,

Assembly Member Ms. Oh. How are you? Certainly, I will try to comply with your request. If you allow me, there is something important to consider. First of all, I am glad to hear that Jeju’s government leaders, including yourself, are very, very passionate about halting climate change. The autonomy of the Jeju government and the proactive, pioneering spirit of your people is laudable.

Perhaps it’s because you call yourselves “pristine Jeju province” that you put pride and love in your home’s natural beauty, so you want to preserve and cherish it more. Jeju is blessed with an abundance of sunshine and wind, so I’m glad you have been expanding your sustainable energies, like wind and solar power. This is going in the right direction. Bravo and bravo! And I personally humbly encourage you and your fellow citizens to continue in this way. But, if I may point out, if the goal is to be a truly carbon-free society, we should consider all the major sources of greenhouse gases emissions.

You see, we are emitting greenhouse gases not just through the fumes from factories, houses, and cars, but also through the products that we choose to consume. Besides, CO2 is cancelled out by aerosols, which are released at the same time from burning fossil fuels. So, it means that even though we have CO2, the CO2 also has been cancelled out by the aerosols at the same time. Even though aerosols are very detrimental to our health, they actually have a cooling effect that cancels out the CO2 heat in the atmosphere. So up to now, the climate warming heat is not from CO2 – is not from CO2. The warming climate problem is not from CO2, is not from carbon dioxide.

I repeat, it’s not from carbon dioxide. It is from other sources, mainly methane. As I told our student friend earlier, at least 50% of total greenhouse gas emissions are coming from animal meat and dairy products – and it’s not I who said this; it’s all proven, researched, confirmed and published by the top scientists of the whole world.

If we only focus on the green energies, like solar panels, wind power, etc., it won’t have much of an effect, I’m so sorry to say. I have to tell you the truth because this is also my planet. Your island could be my residence at any time in the future. I might love your island, I might want to go there. So, I want to protect your island, I want to protect my planet, so I have to tell you everything, although I might offend somebody or I might not be very popular for doing this, but I have to tell you the truth because green energy is not an urgent task for us to handle right now. Because green energy only tackles the effect of, maybe aerosol or CO2, which is not the urgent issue of global warming, the producer.

The global warming effect comes from raising livestock, from animals. So if we continue on the green energy, then we don’t have much of an effect to stop global warming, because their effectiveness will be cancelled out by the large amounts of greenhouse gases that we generate by consuming meat, and the meat industry. Besides the livestock methane that is responsible for a portion of 50% of greenhouse gas emissions – but 50% is still a low estimate; I would say 80% – there is also the burning of forests to make pasture land, to grow food for the animals, and making the chemical fertilizer and pollution to grow the feed, the transportation involved, the constant refrigeration involved, etc., etc. And all the medical effects, all the costs of the sickness of the people – billions, trillions of dollars – goes into the treatment of the people for meat-related diseases.

And it’s not always even effective, it doesn’t always even cure people permanently or perfectly, even. Even we spend so much money and people have to go through so much suffering, the diseases are not always completely cured, or in many cases, not at all. So people suffer, people die for nothing also, because of the meat diet. So, to produce the meat for consumption, it costs us too much: it costs sorrow, it costs suffering, it costs trillions of dollars. All these add up to many more times greenhouse gas emissions than all the world’s transportation combined, and apparently, more than all the heavy industries and fossil fuel power stations combined even.