Dr. Michael Greger, the Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at Humane Society International，the author of the book “Bird Flu: Virus of Our Own Hatching,” :Researchers in 1989 at the German Cancer Research Center showed that although vegetarians and meat eaters have the same number of immune system cells，the white blood cells of vegetarians are twice as effective in destroying target cells. So that means not only cancer cells，but virus-infected cells as well. So a plant-based diet may protect against pandemic influenza both now and in the future.

David Román，President of the Vegetarian Union in Spain:The interest in how eating is impacting the environment has already caused Belgium to officially establish one vegetarian day a week in which everyone is encouraged to lead a vegetarian diet even if it is only that one day a week. This initiative has had an exceptional reception and it is to be extended to many other countries around the world. We believe that it is a very important step. It should serve as an example and motivate us to broaden this initiative.
 
Miss Wendy Lau Cordero，a student of chemistry at the National University Mayor de San Marcos, participants in the Tunza Program，』Treating our Planet with Care and Affection，』 from the United Nations for the Environment :The summit meeting of the top leaders for UNEP is going to take place on September ２２nd，so what we propose for this conference is for young people，as well as adults and children，to take action and strongly promote in our countries the signing of an agreement in December in Copenhagen where Peru has also been invited. And then we have an activity on September １９，which is planting trees. What we want is for countries to plant trees on the same day to prevent the increase of CO２ which is affecting us tremendously with all these new events that are happening in our life. We also have the petition for climate change，which is the petition that has been sent through email，through the internet for all the young people，adults，all of us who want to support this campaign，to sign it. This website is www.pnuma.org／sellemos／index.php. We have as well the date for the assembly of climate change; we are going to present the petition there and we hope to get over １０，０００ signatures from young people and people from all over the world. And on October ２４th，there’s going to be a worldwide event. This is the day when we will demand that the amount of CO２ be reduced to ３５０ parts per million in the air.

One fact is clear: if we stop meat consumption and livestock raising，we will also eliminate one of the most heat-trapping gases，which is methane. And since this gas disappears more quickly from the atmosphere，the planet will cool almost immediately. This will also address problems like the melting permafrost，which will otherwise emit more methane if nothing is done to halt it.

Professor Schellnhuber said that the world’s population cannot be sustained on the energy and land demands of a meat diet. So，a switch to vegetarianism or veganism is needed to continue supporting our life on Earth. So this is the scientific perspective. But you are right also about approaching climate change from a spiritual standpoint. Every religion speaks in some way of the law of karma，or 』as you sow，so shall you reap.』 This is explained through science as a principle of physics，which says every action causes an equal consequence. So the law of karma (retribution) and science are the same - meaning that whatever we do is returned to us. From this perspective，we would obviously wish to avoid killing; otherwise，we will reap the killing karma (retribution) in return.

One of the first things we have to do is to reduce solid waste – what we call 』rubbish，』 we can reduce it. We can use all the organic waste，we can make eco-silos，we can compost，and at the same time，create a by-product that we can use in our patio gardens，or in pot planting，etc. Second，we can reduce our energy consumption by using energy saving bulbs，turning off lights and all the electrical appliances，unplugging things that are on stand-by，that many electrical appliances have，right？ On top of In this way，we can reduce energy greatly. Let me remind you that all energy generated is fossil fuel based，which generates CO２，right？Luckily our country has hydroelectric energy but we can reduce consumption. Another very important thing is to change our consumption habits. For example，we，as an organization，are promoting organic agriculture and we have a campaign called 『Five a Day，』 which encourages families to eat five fruits or vegetables a day，which，besides benefiting your personal health，also
benefits the environment.

Remember，we are all energy consumers and as consumers we have to learn to be responsible consumers. So，when we go to the market，we refuse plastic bags. Because the plastic bags require a lot of energy to be produced，and let me remind you that they are made of fossil fuels. Let’s use our cloth bags. When you go shopping，read the labels in order to know whether the company you are buying from is a responsible company in social and environmental aspects，whether they protect the ozone layer，and whether they fulfill all technical regulations that the country requires. We have to know the market more，because many times，the market，in which we are all involved，affects us and guides us.

The cost of a hamburger appears to us as cheap. But without the enormous subsidies involved in the meat industry, the real monetary cost of a hamburger would be much higher, much higher, at least US$12. There are so many costs and resources involved for that one hamburger that you are asking about, from the field to the plate, and all the processes in between. From burning the precious forests to growing the corn and soy to feed the cows, to making the fertilizer and watering these feed crops, to giving the cows huge amounts of healthy land and water, hormones and antibiotics are also forcefully fed to the cows, and we will eat all that. Then, the transport over long distances here and there and finally to the slaughterhouse, to freezing the meat so that it does not rot as it is supposed to, then finally, it has to be cooked before reaching the plate - and cooked well because, for example, the US Department of Agriculture found that 89% of beef hamburger patties contained traces of the deadly E. coli bacteria. Eighty-nine percent of the beef hamburger contains traces of E. coli. There is more that goes in the hamburger than what you think you see. Here are just a few examples. Destruction of land: First, land must be cleared to raise the cows. For one hamburger, there are 55 square feet of destroyed tropical rainforest, which is an equivalent of 75 kilograms of CO2, or driving your car for 5 days straight. Also, biodiversity loss. In the process, we lose up to 30 plant species, 100 insect species – I mean the beneficial one as well - and dozens of birds, mammals, etc. Now, it contributes to hunger. Some of the deforested land is used to grow grains. Oftentimes, poor families are forced off their land in the process. One hamburger costs 4 pounds of grain that was consumed by the cow - that’s about 3 loaves of bread or 8 plates of spaghetti that could have fed a number of hungry people. So, another cold cost of a hamburger is human starvation. Now, we have topsoil loss: Also, by the way, For that one hamburger, 8.75 10 pounds of topsoil for farming are eroded and lost for hundreds of years, a very serious problem. Now, greenhouse gases. Next, one hamburger alone is responsible for greenhouse gas emissions. The methane gas emitted for that piece of meat alone weighs 2.5 and approximately 4.7 ounces, but it has the same heat-trapping effect as 3.6 and 6.8 pounds of CO2, because methane is very potent.

There is saturated fat which causes heart disease and stroke, there are also extra things, such as growth-inducing hormones, traces of the antibiotics that are fed regularly to the poor cows – the actual bacteria that are resistant to those antibiotics. These resistant bacteria are called superbugs. So, the added cost here is a multi-fold risk to our health. There are even more costs after the hamburger is eaten. For example, a woman loses 28 milligrams of calcium after eating just one hamburger, which weakens her bones. And there is rampant risk of potentially deadly E. coli infection, as beef is a primary source of this bacteria. And again, there are risks of heart disease, cancer, mad cow disease, bird flu, pig disease, swine flu and other meat-related diseases.

As for the bigger picture of how much meat eating is costing our planet – here are the cows in such unnaturally huge numbers, more than 1 billion on the planet, are responsible for more than 50% or even far more, of total greenhouse gas emissions on Earth. Nitrous oxide, which is 300 times more potent than CO2, is being emitted in vast quantities from the fertilizers required to produce the food crops for the cattle. The livestock industry produces at least 67% of all the world’s nitrous oxide emissions.

We must handle it now, not tomorrow. The smartest way would be to stop the worsening of global warming by being vegan. It sounds very simple but it is the best solution. The most effective and the effect of it will be felt almost immediately. Without this main, most time-effective change, no matter what we try to do, it won’t be enough to repel the worst consequences that we have accumulated. Moreover, the problems we already face now - such as the warming atmosphere, water shortage, food scarcity, desertification – we can quickly eliminate by stopping meat production. Stop it now, no further!.

We can write letters to all these meat-industrial-responsible persons and tell them all these truths. We gather information and send it to them. Tell them they should change their profession. Tell them they should change to save the planet. Tell them they should be organic vegan farmers instead, or many other jobs nowadays –green technology. This truth, our need to stop the killing of animals, is the only one that will stabilize the Earth physically, as well as bringing peace and restoring hope to humans and the planet.

It is not that most humans intend to destroy. Many simply do not understand, are not informed. They don’t realize the harmful emissions of the livestock industry, or that killing begets killing, and they are not aware that meat is another kind of addictive poison. They are not aware that meat is destroying our planet. God does not interfere with free will. And if the people don’t know, they may sadly choose from ignorance. But we have the chance to change all that now, because we know what we need to change.

I have mentioned before that we have already reached the veg critical mass on Earth - meaning that the momentum created by the number of people who have already become veg is like a wave that is helping others join in. But we still need everyone in the world to be veg. Because of how long we have waited to make such a change. So now we need 100% of the world population to be veg to save our world. We have to change before it is too late to change. Because if we don’t change now, later when we want to change, it won’t be helpful anymore.

We must protect their lives because their lives are our lives. They’re here to balance the planetary atmosphere. They’re here to help heal us and heal the planet. We must protect their lives. We must act in a compassionate way. It is true that we need to stop the global warming emissions, but equally important is to stop killing the beings that have done nothing wrong but only offer us their love and immeasurable services. Besides my own inner communication with the animals, there are many other people who are very gifted in this realm, known as animal telepathic communicators, who themselves have revealed messages from such noble beings, such as dogs, horses, birds, seals, whales, etc. These animals wish to convey only their abiding love for humanity and their desire to remain on Earth so that they can continue transmitting that love.

The latest report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change spoke of Latin America’s vulnerability to severe climate impacts. Peru is among the first to feel these impacts, as seen in the following: 1. Farmers in the Cusco highlands are suffering already from irregular, scarcer rain and extreme heat. 2. Due to excessive heat and droughts over the last 12 years, 140,000 hectares of potatoes and corn have been ruined – equal to food that could have fed 11 million people in the country. It’s been ruined. 3. In the central Piura area, springs that used to provide drinking water until recently are drying up. 4. Mosquitoes causing dengue fever are also being seen for the first time in Piura, as they spread to new areas due to climate change. 5. Peru is home to 70% of the entire range of Andean glaciers, with peaks that supply the country’s people with both water and hydroelectric power; however, these are all expected to disappear by 2015, just a few more years. 6. The glaciers in the Andes mountain range so far lost more than 20% of their volume. This is threatening the water supply for 30 million people. In Peru, the loss to glaciers is equivalent to 10 whole years of water supply for Lima city. 7. The Cordillera Blanca, a snow-topped northern mountain range of your country, sometimes called “Peruvian Switzerland,” you know about it, has been steadily disappearing due to climate change. 8. A warming climate has resulted in the 2008 disappearance of the Quilca Mountain snow cap, and in 2007 the Broggi Glacier also vanished, disappeared, completely. 9. In early 2009, the Quilca Glacier disappeared completely. Now it’s gone. It’s gone now. 10. With 8 of the country’s water basins already noted as being insufficient to meet people’s needs, Peru’s President Andy Garcia announced in 2008 the construction of two desalination plants to try to address the water scarcity. It’s that urgent already in Peru. 11. Dwindling water supplies have caused escalating tensions and even conflicts to erupt as many people, including disadvantaged farmers, don’t have enough water, or are struggling for their share. 12. By 2020, it is predicted that up to 77 million people in Latin America will face water shortages. 13. In the past 6 years, Peru had at least 3 extreme temperature events and floods affecting more than 500,000 people. Within just 30 years, floods increased by more than 60%, and mudflows increased by 400%. 14. president Andy Garcia declared a state of emergency in 2009 due to climate change-related severe cold and freezing conditions in the southern Andes that caused the death of nearly 250 children, and sickened many others. I have contributed my humble share to purchase children’s warm clothes for this matter. But this is not the permanent solution. The permanent solution is we have to stop this to happening again. We have to stop climate change. We have to stop this kind of disaster that kills the children in Peru and sickens many other children as well as adults and the vulnerable like the elders, the weak and already sick. 15. In Chimbote, Peru, heavy pollution from 40 fishmeal manufacturing manufacturers causes documented human illness and increasing oceanic dead zones, with the ground-up fish being fed to caged salmon, creating yet another environmental imbalance and sickness to humans.