Korean educators focus on vegetarianism (veganism) for children’s health.

The Korean national assembly recently declared a national Child Health Day, which acknowledges children’s basic right to health, along with children’s health being a requirement for a sustainable society. The Child Health Day event in Seoul was attended by congressmen, school teachers as well as leaders from the Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union.

The Supreme Master Ching Hai International Association was invited to the event to give a presentation on vegetarianism (veganism) and the detriments of meat consumption to children’s health and the environment.

Supreme Master Television in Seoul, South Korea, reports on the educators’ thoughts about the significance of a plant-based diet.

Jung Jin Hwa, Director, The Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union:

What do you think of a vegetarian (vegan) diet and how do you think it affects the fields of children education and the environment?

Teachers Union Director: Elephants are really big, so are giraffes. Vegetarian animals are very gentle, but now Korean children eat a lot of instant food and meat and they become short-tempered and short on attentiveness and suffer from the six big diseases including atopic syndrome. So, if we switch to vegetarian and organic food, our children will become calm and cooperative. That’s what I hope for.

Park Kyeong Yong, Director of Association School Meal Cooks: I thought if we could develop food using meat substitutes and supply it for schools, if we can make more nutritious food based on vegetarian food, it would be most desirable.

The educators were made aware of not only of the health effects of diet, but also the interrelated environmental impact.

Yoon Sook Ja, Director of Korean Parents Association for a Well-Rounded Education: I felt the facts about vegetarianism and the connection between meat consumption and global warming should be made available for more people, and children also need to be educated.

Dr. Lee Ki Young, Professor of Food Biotechnology, Dean of Graduate School of
Education, Hoseo University: The main cause of global warming is not only cars but meat-eating. Raising cows produces a lot of methane gas by their ruminating. And because the forest has to be cut down as much as cows are raised, CO2 absorbancy rate decreases, so the earth is threatened by global warming due to meat-eating.

What can we do to mitigate global warming?

Dr. Lee Ki Young, Professor of Food Biotechnology, Dean of Graduate School of Education, Hoseo University: The most important thing is of course cut down on meat consumption and next is save energy. And this is also good for health, which is really gaining double the benefit.

The benefits of vegetarianism (veganism) are becoming widely known. Meat eating is no longer being seen as a necessity in modern society, but rather as a practice that is fast becoming a liability, and is on its way out.
 

Lee, Su Il, Vegetarian, History teacher, former Director of The Korean Teachers and Education Workers’ Union: I quit a meat-eating habit when I quit smoking in 2001. We once called smoking a “smoking culture.” It’s like a drug, but we called it smoking culture, which used to be the fashion of an age. And seeing it disappear, I believe the day will come when this so-called meat eating culture, sooner or later will be banished just as smoking has been.

Kudos, educators of South Korea and around the world for your genuine care for the future. May more and more people learn quickly about the vegetarian (vegan) diet, the best way to sustains our cherished planet and her inhabitants.

UN report highlights concern for children in climate change.

With global temperatures on the rise, climate change continues to create economic hardship through extreme weather such as droughts and flooding. The UNICEF report, “Our Climate, Our Children, Our Responsibility,” indicates that less fortunate families will likely be compelled to withdraw their children from school, where they now get at least one guaranteed meal per day, to instead help with the family’s subsistence. UNICEF UK director David Bull said, “It is clear that a failure to address climate change is a failure to protect children.”
Many thanks, UNICEF, for bringing to light the potential effect of climate change on the world’s most innocent citizens. We pray all people will act immediately to adopt changes and safeguard the future of precious young lives.
http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSL2862439920080428?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

Climate change could render up to one billion people homeless.

On Tuesday, the Institute for Public Policy Research held a conference in London on the future of global warming for humanity. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) warned scientists and politicians that rising temperatures, ocean levels and food prices, combined with decreasing fresh water, crop yields, and arable land could create disastrous results. Massive migration of up to a billion people would be necessitated by those whose homes became submerged in water, or for whom food was no longer available.
We are grateful, UNHCR, for your warnings on the effects of global warming. May your words bring rapid action from us all!
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/climate-change-could-force-1-billion-from-their-homes-by-2050-817223.html