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. Today we present to you a compilation of excerpts from Supreme Master Ching Hai’s lectures titled “The Only Way to a Sustainable Planet: Be Vegan.”

Thank you, gracious viewers, for your presence for today’s episode of Between Master and Disciples. Join us again next Friday for part 2 of “The Only Way to a Sustainable Planet: Be Vegan.” Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants is coming up next after Noteworthy News on Supreme Master Television. Please stay tuned. Farewell and God bless.

We appreciate your company for today’s episode of Between Master and Disciples here on Supreme Master Television. Join us again tomorrow for part 3 of “The Only Way to a Sustainable Planet: Be Vegan.” And now, Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants is coming up next, right after Noteworthy News. Please stay tuned.

May Heavens grace your life with much peace and joy. It’s been a pleasure to have your cheerful company for today’s episode of Between Master and Disciples. Part 4 of “The Only Way to a Sustainable Planet: Be Vegan” will continue next Friday. Up next is Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants right after Noteworthy News here on Supreme Master Television. Please stay tuned. God bless, and farewell for now.

Thank you, eco-conscious viewers, for your company for today’s episode of Between Master and Disciples. Join us again tomorrow for part 5 of “The Only Way to a Sustainable Planet: Be Vegan.” Up next is Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants right after Noteworthy News here on Supreme Master Television. Please stay tuned. May Divine Providence bless you and your loved ones in the days ahead.

Thank you, Earth-loving viewers, for your company for this series of Between Master and Disciples. Up next is Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants right after Noteworthy News here on Supreme Master Television. Farewell and God bless.

Just leave the meat alone and we have everything else. Even oil is fine. Even oil, if we have it we can use it until we have something better for our planet. But if we stop the animal raising, stop animal products, then we cut a big percentage, 80% of pollution to our planet, and stop 80% of global warming. So, we can continue to have oil and cars. I know people will be surprised hearing me saying this but, no, it is true like that; because we have not invented enough instruments for transportation and other uses, so we may continue to use the oil if we have it. Of course, all the better if we don’t use, but at the moment we must use it. And if we just leave all the meat, animal production alone, then we can use anything.

Sustainable energy, in general, is also showing itself to be very profitable and job producing to people. So, there can be both economic and environmental benefit from developing sustainable energy, and the Earth will be protected. But the animal industry is the number one enemy of our survival.

Imagine if every neighborhood in the United States had an organic veggie garden for sharing fresh, healthy, vegetables with everyone. There are reports about organic vegetable farming that it is quite profitable, and the demand for organic vegan foods now is growing faster and faster around the world. So one thing we can do is to encourage more organic vegan farmers markets. Farmers markets are more and more popular in the United States now because it’s fresh, it’s quality, and it’s local, so there is less transportation pollution. But, interestingly, studies show that eating locally is not as good as eating vegan. For example, scientists at Carnegie Mellon University calculated that a vegan diet reduced over seven times the emissions compared to a 100% local meat diet. So, you see? Eat vegan is better than eat local even, “loco” meat. In Spanish, “loco” means crazy – we don’t eat “loco” meat.

Now, in another study, Foodwatch in Germany found that switching from a meat diet to an organic meat diet saved only 8% of emissions, but switching to a non-organic vegan diet, even non-organic vegan diet, reduced 86% of emissions. So, we save the planet by being vegan, even non-organic. So, actually, organic is good, local is wonderful, but the first step is at least being vegan, organic or not. Organic, of course, is the best, because when we plant all the tillable acres on our planet organically, then the CO2, the carbon dioxide, which exists already in our atmosphere will be absorbed 40%, and the other 60%, we take care by being vegan. Then we’re happy. Our planet will definitely survive. Now, the vegan lifestyle is the greenest lifestyle. Right or not? Yes! Thank you. Thank you, good children of God.

Because even organic meat is actually not eco-friendly at all; it requires even more land, and more energy than the non-organic meat in meat farming. Can you believe that? So, it doesn't even help to try to raise animals organically. The so-called “sustainable,” “free-range,” organic poultry, for example, needs 20% more energy and has a 20% higher, bigger impact on global warming than non-organic poultry farms. Think about that. So, we’ve been misled all the time.

This is a terrible thing about this negative power in this world. It makes us believe things that are not good for us at all. From now on, we have to try to do research and believe only what’s good for us, and we have to research until we really find that this news, this information, is truly reliable and believable by example, by proof. Otherwise, just don’t listen to anything anybody else says if they don’t prove it. Similarly, organic eggs were found to have a 14% higher carbon footprint than non-organic eggs.

So there we are. And even though you don’t use fertilizers, the benefit could be cancelled out because of the increased land use. 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.

Dear Master, greetings to you. There is strong evidence of global warming and climate change in Mongolia from the research and observation of the past 60 years. What can we do to neutralize the effects of climate change or adapt to the forthcoming changes?

Thank you. We must, first of all and the most important thing, we have to stop global warming by choosing a sustainable diet that is vegetarian or vegan. This will almost immediately stabilize the planet, the weather, and then we can think about adapting to the changes. I hope we don’t have to adapt, but otherwise, it might be too late if we don’t take care of the problem at the root right now, we will have no planet to even adapt to. As you all know, based on the scientific research, we are already aware of the main cause of global warming.

Even the Mongolian Nobel Prize Winner, Dr. Punsalmaa Batima, from the UN International Panel of Climate Change, has spoken on Supreme Master Television about the danger from the degradation of the ecosystems. You see, the Gobi desert, which covers the Mongolian landscape, it is a fragile ecosystem that is easily destroyed by overgrazing. This results in the desert land turning into stony wasteland, where not even camels can survive. It’s a very sad affair and very urgent. So, in order to neutralize the effects of global warming, such as these land changes resulting from the ever more severe climate, we must stop the raising of livestock to kill for food. We must live a vegan, animal-free, cruelty-free lifestyle according to Buddhist teaching, and according to scientific evidence that this is the best way for us to stop the global warming, and the fastest and the most efficient and the most long-lasting.

We have a solution. Everybody knows the solution. They are doing some, but it’s not just doing, the government has to really broadcast about it.

On the internet, their internet, they have a lot of money, they can do everything, they’re powerful. But I do my best – the flyers, seminars and everything, just for that. Just to save the planet. And it’s too slow, too slow. Just like a little bit here and there. The government has to say something, just like they ban the smoking, so it is banned, it is done.

The government could do it. It’s easy. Look, they ban cigarettes and it’s banned. And they banned drugs, no? – and it’s banned, it’s not legal. And the cigarette reduction now reduces a lot of illness everywhere in the world. People know that. The same with the climate change policy. If they just do what they know is good, then it’s very quick. In no time we will recover, or we’ll stop the effect. Because if we don’t raise any more cattle or animals, then the Earth will be more sustainable: no more greenhouse gas or methane gas from the animals, no more multiplying all the time, whatever we have already, we keep it; and no more raising for profit and meat. Then the Earth will recover. After a while, the cows will be gone the natural way and then all the land will be planted with trees, vegetables again.

Because if you raise cattle, 50 years later, you still cannot truly cultivate on that land. It’s been stamped hard and deprived of sustainable quality. They just have to stop meat eating because it’s bad karma (retribution) also. It’s not just about the methane gas. And every day we air all kind of warning signs and warning evidence. My God, what are they talking about all day except this? This is the only important thing right now. First you have to survive and then you can do anything else you want, but if you don’t survive, you don’t have the planet, what’s the use?