Stop the livestock
industry - that would be
the most effective way
to halt global warming
and restore our planet.
It will save
our precious forests,
which takes decades
to grow, and create
more natural forests
that we need to
reduce global warming.
Without our lungs,
we cannot survive.
So Prince Charles has
lately been highly active
about climate change, and particularly about
protecting
the tropical rainforest.
He said to the European Parliament, “The lives of billions of people depend on your response and none of us will be forgiven by our children and grandchildren if we falter and fail.” I’m sorry to say, but I cannot even guarantee that our grandchildren will have a chance to be born to say that, if the leaders don’t agree together to stop the meat industry. Talk direct to the subject, not talk around it. It’s really that urgent. I pray the world leaders will awaken to this reality, immediately, and act properly, now. I’m very touched by the noble qualities that you lovingly convey to all beings, not just those in the conference hall today. Attending the premiere of your two books today, I have a small question and I wish to hear some of your insights. That is: according to Darwin’s theory on species evolution, it’s a struggle for survival and natural selection. Human beings are the greatest testimony of this. Please kindly share with us your views on Darwin’s theory. Thank you. Yes. Yes, Mr. Đoàn. Scientifically speaking, it has always been good the way nature unfolds naturally, yes, naturally. Darwin’s theory is about a natural evolution, not a forced, artificial, cruel, disturbing, interfering by human’s way, the way we’re doing. So, Darwin’s suggestion is that we leave nature alone as much as possible, interfere as less as possible. The natural evolution is that we let it evolve. But here, we come interfering with everything. We raise the animals, we force them in cramped little crates that they could not even move around, so we breed disease and we cause suffering to ourselves by eating these disease-filled flesh of animals – cause suffering to them, cause suffering to us. In the natural world, there is no force-fed foie gras, there are no forced-fed cows, no cramped pigs, no forced pregnancy for pigs and cows and dogs and birds - any kind. We just let it evolve the way nature intends. So eating animals will not help them to evolve at all. Even if we say we want animals to evolve, then we have to let them live first in order to evolve. If we eat them all, how do they have a chance to evolve? And we can see for ourselves already that killing, torturing animals, eating animals has not been helpful to our evolution ecologically, economically, scientifically, medically – nothing. And it only brings us trouble and suffering up to now, like the mad cow disease, the swine flu, the bird flu, so many diseases, etc., etc., that now we can’t even deal with. Even AIDS/HIV also came from eating the wild animals. So, if we live the way nature intended, like you have mentioned that Darwin’s theory that we have to let everything evolve, then we just let nature evolve. Here we force nature into our will; we want to change nature. That’s why we have so many unnatural outcomes, diseases, disasters - earthquakes, typhoon – more and more every day. And now our planet is going because of our interfering with nature, because we don’t live according to nature. So if we want to live according to nature and let things evolve accordingly, then we should respect all nature. Right now, we interfere too much with nature and we even breed animals unnaturally, like at least 55 billion livestock per year, and billions more fish, etc. These are not natural made. We even breed fish in a confined area; and these numbers have since increased and are continuously increasing. Can this be called ecological or natural at all? How can any species evolve when we keep forcing them, torturing them, and killing them? Moreover, we went against our own human evolution as well, as we were biologically made to digest only plant-based food. Humans are naturally herbivores, not carnivores. It is explained in detail by Dr. Milton Mills in a well-known article called “The Comparative Anatomy of Eating,” and confirmed by others such as the famous evolution expert Dr. Richard Leakey and the editor-in-chief of The American Journal of Cardiology, Dr. William Roberts. So, the answer of where humans belong in species evolution is clear. We are not their predator. We are their protector and friend. We have to protect all species so that we can keep our biodiversity and keep a natural evolution for all beings, including humans. Hallo, Master. I watched your DVD and saw the magnificent Lake Amoura. To my knowledge, there are not many places left nowadays that are peaceful for the wild animal friends like the surroundings of Lake Amoura. What can be done to help the wild animal friends have a peaceful and good life similar to that of those in Lake Amoura region? Thank you. Director Nguyễn Thị Nhiệm, thank you for your caring and thoughtful question. One of the words that you mentioned is actually a key to providing a good life for our animal co-inhabitants, that is the word “peace.” Where there is peace for the animals, they also can have a good life. The best is that we can protect their abodes, leaving them as untouched and unharmed as possible. The wilds really don’t need much help from us if we can just allow them their freedom and their sovereignty. If the animals know the atmosphere is safe and they will not be harmed – and this they do know, very well – then they are far more comfortable and at ease. So, one thing we can do is to encourage governments’ and individuals’ protection of their habitats to ensure that it is not continually lost to other purposes such as deforestation and hunting and fishing. Just to give an example, the rainforests of Southeast Asia have some of the highest deforestation rates in the world. This means the animals are constantly losing their homes, with many that have become endangered or even extinct. Along these same lines, the other step that we can take to enhance the animals’ sense of peace is to not eat them. It’s one thing to try to imagine how they must feel having their homes invaded, with trees crashing down around them or on top of them, and all their food and cover, gone, but then having to fear being eaten as well – there can be nothing more terrifying! So, Madame Nguyễn, to ensure the peace and comfort of all our animal co-inhabitants like that in Lake Amoura, we really should first cease to consume them, any animals at all. This will broadcast a message of peace that will go around the entire planet and will help immensely with their sense of well-being. Then, the wild areas and habitats will be restored as will be the animals’ natural lives. That’s the best way to protect them, to show our love to them. We have to hurry and make Heaven so that everything will go well, not just physically, emotionally, health-wise, but even technologically. We will develop unimaginable inventions, technology. And then we can understand each other like the beings in Heaven, without even spoken language, if we don’t want to speak. |