1 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:13,570 (solemn flute music) 2 00:00:23,370 --> 00:00:26,710 - How can we expect ourselves to have 3 00:00:26,710 --> 00:00:31,510 lives of joy and freedom and spiritual clarity 4 00:00:31,510 --> 00:00:33,920 when we are sowing the seeds 5 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:35,220 of the opposite of that? 6 00:00:35,590 --> 00:00:37,930 - It's almost like some mad scientist 7 00:00:37,930 --> 00:00:42,060 like Satan himself designed these systems 8 00:00:42,060 --> 00:00:45,310 that are being used now to raise animals. 9 00:00:45,310 --> 00:00:47,350 It is absolute insanity. 10 00:00:50,690 --> 00:00:53,860 - I don't get how you can love everything Jesus says 11 00:00:53,860 --> 00:00:55,820 and then participate in 12 00:00:55,820 --> 00:01:00,700 a mechanized system of mass slaughter 13 00:01:00,700 --> 00:01:04,660 that involves pain beyond your wildest imagination. 14 00:01:04,660 --> 00:01:06,790 - Even keeping quiet and silent 15 00:01:06,790 --> 00:01:11,420 about the violence, you are part of that violence. 16 00:01:11,420 --> 00:01:14,840 - There's another passage in the Quran that says that 17 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:17,970 because of the wrongs of humanity, 18 00:01:17,970 --> 00:01:20,470 there has been much corruption 19 00:01:20,470 --> 00:01:23,810 seen in the oceans and on land. 20 00:01:27,390 --> 00:01:30,230 - So for a few moments in which we're 21 00:01:30,230 --> 00:01:33,650 enjoying what is really just a palette preference 22 00:01:33,650 --> 00:01:37,280 we're taking what is most essential to animals, 23 00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:40,700 their very lives and that's the opposite 24 00:01:40,700 --> 00:01:42,540 of compassion, it seems to me. 25 00:01:42,540 --> 00:01:46,000 - We are ashamed of our ancestors who owned slaves. 26 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:48,000 We are ashamed of our ancestors 27 00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:51,090 who believed in segregation 28 00:01:51,090 --> 00:01:54,380 so too, our grandchildren will be ashamed 29 00:01:54,380 --> 00:01:56,880 of what we allowed to happen on our watch. 30 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:00,590 Each of us has to ask ourselves a spiritual question, 31 00:02:00,590 --> 00:02:04,310 what side do I want to tell my grandchildren I was on? 32 00:02:04,310 --> 00:02:08,060 Was I on the side of mercy and compassion, 33 00:02:08,060 --> 00:02:10,400 or was I on the blind side that helped 34 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:11,940 to perpetuate suffering? 35 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:16,690 ♪ This little light of mine ♪ 36 00:02:16,690 --> 00:02:18,860 ♪ I'm gonna let it shine ♪ 37 00:02:18,860 --> 00:02:21,160 ♪ This little light of mine ♪ 38 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:24,290 ♪ I'm gonna let it shine ♪ 39 00:02:24,290 --> 00:02:26,580 ♪ This little light of mine ♪ 40 00:02:26,580 --> 00:02:27,830 ♪ I'm gonna let it shine. ♪ 41 00:02:27,830 --> 00:02:29,750 - This one is for you. 42 00:02:29,750 --> 00:02:33,380 ♪ Let it shine let it shine let it shine ♪ 43 00:02:33,380 --> 00:02:35,420 - [Thomas] This is my daughter Melody. 44 00:02:35,420 --> 00:02:38,630 She's the reason I'm making this documentary. 45 00:02:38,630 --> 00:02:42,050 It's for her and it's for all the children 46 00:02:42,050 --> 00:02:45,140 who will inherit whatever world we choose to leave them. 47 00:02:46,220 --> 00:02:51,230 (OM-ing) 48 00:02:52,980 --> 00:02:55,570 - We've got a potato. 49 00:02:55,570 --> 00:02:56,860 - Thank you for this food 50 00:02:56,860 --> 00:02:59,450 and let it nourish our bodies and our spirits. 51 00:02:59,450 --> 00:03:02,110 Let it keep us healthy and happy 52 00:03:02,110 --> 00:03:04,700 and full of life and love and compassion 53 00:03:04,700 --> 00:03:05,990 for all of creation. 54 00:03:05,990 --> 00:03:07,700 - And be vegan. 55 00:03:07,700 --> 00:03:10,410 - Be vegan and be a champion for the people 56 00:03:10,410 --> 00:03:12,670 and be a champion for the planet 57 00:03:12,670 --> 00:03:15,420 and be a champion for the animals 58 00:03:15,420 --> 00:03:17,670 and be a champion for ourselves. 59 00:03:17,670 --> 00:03:20,420 - And for all of these things we say 60 00:03:20,420 --> 00:03:22,380 thank you and so it is. 61 00:03:23,300 --> 00:03:26,310 - And be champion for the animals, so it is. 62 00:03:28,390 --> 00:03:30,560 - [Thomas] I haven't always been a vegan. 63 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:33,310 I was born in a small town in South Georgia 64 00:03:33,310 --> 00:03:35,110 during the late 60s 65 00:03:35,110 --> 00:03:37,730 and I was raised a southern Baptist 66 00:03:37,730 --> 00:03:39,440 and I grew up eating the a southern version 67 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:41,360 of the standard American diet. 68 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,030 Comprised mainly of meat, dairy, and eggs, 69 00:03:44,030 --> 00:03:46,370 mixed in with huge helpings of fast 70 00:03:46,370 --> 00:03:48,330 and processed foods. 71 00:03:48,330 --> 00:03:51,870 And like so many other kids eating the SAD diet, 72 00:03:51,870 --> 00:03:54,250 I suffered the sad consequences 73 00:03:54,250 --> 00:03:56,250 which ranged from mild asthma to 74 00:03:56,250 --> 00:03:59,300 severe allergies to tons of ear infections, 75 00:03:59,300 --> 00:04:03,880 sties, viruses and zits and too many more ailments 76 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:06,050 that were considered normal to list. 77 00:04:06,470 --> 00:04:11,390 (ragtime music) 78 00:04:13,850 --> 00:04:16,020 Okay...um...I'm making this video 79 00:04:16,020 --> 00:04:19,480 for, you know, my family back home and uh... 80 00:04:22,740 --> 00:04:25,530 Um...I'm making this...okay, 81 00:04:26,490 --> 00:04:29,290 I'm making this video...I'm looking at the mic...okay. 82 00:04:30,540 --> 00:04:34,290 It wasn't until my mid 30s living in New York City 83 00:04:34,290 --> 00:04:37,710 and attending a Unity Church that I became a vegan. 84 00:04:38,590 --> 00:04:40,750 It was studying the teachings of Jesus 85 00:04:40,750 --> 00:04:43,220 about kindness and compassion 86 00:04:43,220 --> 00:04:45,760 and starting a daily meditation practice 87 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:48,600 that really led me to a non violent diet 88 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:51,270 even though no one at Unity or anywhere else 89 00:04:51,270 --> 00:04:54,140 had ever even suggested I be vegetarian 90 00:04:54,140 --> 00:04:56,350 and I had never even heard the word 'vegan' 91 00:04:56,350 --> 00:04:59,150 much less knew any. Though it wasn't long 92 00:04:59,150 --> 00:05:02,570 before I started noticing that during Sunday brunch, 93 00:05:02,570 --> 00:05:05,360 the same ministers and chaplains who were teaching me about 94 00:05:05,360 --> 00:05:09,160 kindness and compassion for all were for some reason 95 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:12,790 not including the innocent animals on their plates. 96 00:05:12,790 --> 00:05:15,710 But who was I to judge the choices of another? 97 00:05:15,710 --> 00:05:18,290 So I decided to live and let live 98 00:05:18,290 --> 00:05:20,090 and try to be a good example. 99 00:05:21,130 --> 00:05:22,880 (baby gurgling) 100 00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:25,300 And that worked for almost a decade 101 00:05:25,300 --> 00:05:28,930 until after my daughter was born and suddenly 102 00:05:28,930 --> 00:05:31,600 I found myself with skin in the game 103 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:34,350 and a reason to care about what happens in the future. 104 00:05:35,390 --> 00:05:37,980 (baby cooing) 105 00:05:37,980 --> 00:05:40,480 Really, is that so? 106 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:43,940 And then I saw the documentary Cowspiracy 107 00:05:43,940 --> 00:05:46,820 where I learned that not only does animal agriculture create 108 00:05:46,820 --> 00:05:49,620 over half the greenhouse gases on the planet 109 00:05:49,620 --> 00:05:53,450 but it's also the number one user and polluter of water 110 00:05:53,490 --> 00:05:56,080 and the major cause of deforestation. 111 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:58,120 Not to mention that the grains we use 112 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:00,710 to feed billions of animals that we breed 113 00:06:00,710 --> 00:06:03,300 just for slaughter could much more effectively 114 00:06:03,300 --> 00:06:05,170 be fed to humans and could help 115 00:06:05,170 --> 00:06:07,170 save the nearly nine million people 116 00:06:07,170 --> 00:06:09,510 who die from hunger each year. 117 00:06:11,300 --> 00:06:13,560 I felt I had to do something 118 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:16,480 but I didn't know what, so I did what I often 119 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:18,850 do when I don't know what to do. 120 00:06:18,850 --> 00:06:21,360 I prayed and I meditated about it 121 00:06:22,310 --> 00:06:24,980 and during that meditation this question 122 00:06:24,980 --> 00:06:27,190 popped into my mind. 123 00:06:27,190 --> 00:06:29,280 How is it possible that a compassionate, 124 00:06:29,280 --> 00:06:31,570 spiritual or religious person 125 00:06:31,570 --> 00:06:34,160 could support an industry that is responsible 126 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:37,750 for the unnecessary suffering of billions of people 127 00:06:37,750 --> 00:06:40,420 trillions of land and sea animals 128 00:06:40,420 --> 00:06:44,130 and the devastation of the very planet we live on? 129 00:06:45,050 --> 00:06:47,800 That question would end up taking me on a journey 130 00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:50,880 throughout the United States and around the globe 131 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:52,930 to explore the teachings of kindness 132 00:06:52,930 --> 00:06:56,100 and compassion that form the basis of all the world's 133 00:06:56,100 --> 00:06:59,600 main religions and the not so main ones as well 134 00:07:00,270 --> 00:07:03,360 and try to understand how so many people of faith 135 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:05,190 are doing unto others that which 136 00:07:05,190 --> 00:07:08,530 they would never wish done unto themselves. 137 00:07:09,450 --> 00:07:11,530 (ragtime music) 138 00:07:11,570 --> 00:07:14,580 The journey started when I traveled back to New York City 139 00:07:14,580 --> 00:07:17,450 to speak to Victoria Moran who I'd met 140 00:07:17,450 --> 00:07:19,790 once years earlier when she spoke 141 00:07:19,790 --> 00:07:21,750 at the Unity church I attended 142 00:07:21,750 --> 00:07:23,290 while living in that beautiful city 143 00:07:23,290 --> 00:07:24,500 that never sleeps. 144 00:07:25,210 --> 00:07:27,170 - I personally don't understand 145 00:07:27,170 --> 00:07:29,920 why some of the people that I admire the most, 146 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:32,220 people whose words and whose writings 147 00:07:32,220 --> 00:07:37,220 I completely revere, are eating our fellow creatures. 148 00:07:37,430 --> 00:07:39,850 - [Thomas] Victoria Moran is a much sought after speaker, 149 00:07:39,850 --> 00:07:41,390 best selling author, 150 00:07:41,390 --> 00:07:43,980 and host of the Main Street Vegan Podcast. 151 00:07:43,980 --> 00:07:46,770 She's been an animal rights activist and vegan 152 00:07:46,770 --> 00:07:48,280 for over 30 years. 153 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:51,490 - A great deal of spirituality is about belief. 154 00:07:51,490 --> 00:07:53,530 That's why we call it faith. 155 00:07:53,530 --> 00:07:56,450 I'm a person of faith. I'm a Christian, 156 00:07:56,450 --> 00:08:00,450 a yogic Christian and yet I understand 157 00:08:00,450 --> 00:08:02,210 that there are people who have other 158 00:08:02,210 --> 00:08:05,250 spiritual beliefs and other spiritual views. 159 00:08:05,250 --> 00:08:08,300 So what can bring all spiritual people 160 00:08:08,300 --> 00:08:12,300 together as a whole believing community? 161 00:08:12,300 --> 00:08:14,840 To me that is compassion. 162 00:08:14,890 --> 00:08:17,100 Because compassion is at the center 163 00:08:17,100 --> 00:08:19,260 of the message of Jesus, 164 00:08:19,260 --> 00:08:21,890 it's compassion that got the Jews 165 00:08:21,890 --> 00:08:25,310 out of bondage and to the promised land. 166 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:28,110 We have all the eastern religions that are 167 00:08:28,110 --> 00:08:30,690 Ahimsa based, non violence based. 168 00:08:30,690 --> 00:08:33,320 So can we all agree that however 169 00:08:33,320 --> 00:08:35,780 we see God, however we see the road 170 00:08:35,780 --> 00:08:40,080 to salvation, being compassionate to one another 171 00:08:40,080 --> 00:08:43,410 and expanding that compassion out to all that has life 172 00:08:43,410 --> 00:08:46,420 is the true essence of spirituality? 173 00:08:46,420 --> 00:08:48,380 What else could it possibly be? 174 00:08:49,340 --> 00:08:51,420 - I think all of the world's religions, 175 00:08:51,420 --> 00:08:53,420 if you distill them, the wisdom down to one sentence 176 00:08:53,420 --> 00:08:54,630 it'd be something like this: 177 00:08:54,630 --> 00:08:56,970 whatever you most want for yourself, 178 00:08:56,970 --> 00:09:00,180 give that to others. That's a basic understanding 179 00:09:00,180 --> 00:09:02,560 to give to others what you would like. 180 00:09:02,560 --> 00:09:05,940 Another way of saying it is whatever you sow, you will reap. 181 00:09:05,940 --> 00:09:07,270 It's also the same thing, 182 00:09:07,270 --> 00:09:09,360 whatever we put out, it'll come back. 183 00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:12,730 - [Thomas] Victoria put me in contact with Dr. Will Tuttle 184 00:09:12,730 --> 00:09:15,650 who's a musician, an international speaker 185 00:09:15,650 --> 00:09:17,160 and the best selling author 186 00:09:17,160 --> 00:09:18,950 of the World Peace Diet. 187 00:09:18,950 --> 00:09:21,490 I sat down with Dr. Tuttle in Ocala 188 00:09:21,490 --> 00:09:23,200 where he and his spouse Madeline 189 00:09:23,200 --> 00:09:25,290 were currently living in the solar powered 190 00:09:25,290 --> 00:09:28,210 RV that they use while traveling around the country, 191 00:09:28,210 --> 00:09:31,380 speaking about animal rights and performing music. 192 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:33,880 - From the time we were born, 193 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:36,010 we were forced to participate in mealtime rituals 194 00:09:36,010 --> 00:09:38,430 by our parents and teachers and 195 00:09:38,430 --> 00:09:39,970 everyone in our community 196 00:09:40,510 --> 00:09:43,600 that essentially numb us and disconnect us 197 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:44,730 so that when we get older, 198 00:09:44,730 --> 00:09:46,390 we take out our wallets and we vote for it 199 00:09:46,390 --> 00:09:48,730 and we don't just vote for it, we then eat it. 200 00:09:48,730 --> 00:09:51,110 So we actually bring it into our body, 201 00:09:51,110 --> 00:09:52,980 we give it to our children. 202 00:09:52,980 --> 00:09:56,190 This is not only toxic from the point of view 203 00:09:56,190 --> 00:09:58,070 of the level of physical heath but 204 00:09:58,070 --> 00:10:01,030 it's toxic from the point of view of our spiritual health, 205 00:10:01,030 --> 00:10:02,740 from the point of view of our cultural health, 206 00:10:02,740 --> 00:10:04,870 from the point of view of our ethical health. 207 00:10:04,870 --> 00:10:07,790 We don't actually hold the knife ourselves, 208 00:10:07,790 --> 00:10:10,540 we don't actually hold the electroshock prod 209 00:10:10,540 --> 00:10:12,710 ourselves, we don't actually hold the 210 00:10:12,710 --> 00:10:15,380 raping sperm gun ourselves and fire it, 211 00:10:15,380 --> 00:10:17,090 but we pay someone else to do that 212 00:10:17,090 --> 00:10:19,220 and so we pay other people to do things 213 00:10:19,220 --> 00:10:21,050 that bring out the worst in them 214 00:10:21,050 --> 00:10:22,720 and yet all we see is something 215 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:25,310 wrapped in plastic and styrofoam, 216 00:10:25,310 --> 00:10:27,770 very often served with a smile 217 00:10:27,770 --> 00:10:29,900 and so there's this deep disconnection 218 00:10:29,900 --> 00:10:31,310 in our society and I think it's that 219 00:10:31,310 --> 00:10:34,820 deep disconnection that is the greatest 220 00:10:34,820 --> 00:10:37,940 obstacle to authentic spiritual awakening. 221 00:10:37,940 --> 00:10:41,030 The authentic inner spiritual teaching 222 00:10:41,030 --> 00:10:44,620 of all the great religious wisdom traditions 223 00:10:44,620 --> 00:10:46,950 are pointing in the same direction. 224 00:10:46,950 --> 00:10:49,080 Kindness and compassion for all living beings 225 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:52,250 is the path of awakening for all of us. 226 00:10:52,420 --> 00:10:55,710 (light rock music) 227 00:10:55,710 --> 00:10:58,760 - [Thomas] My next stop was Encinitas, California, 228 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:00,300 where I would sit down and visit 229 00:11:00,300 --> 00:11:04,140 with Bob Isaacson, Buddhist, dharma teacher 230 00:11:04,140 --> 00:11:08,560 and co-founder and president of Dharma Voices for Animals. 231 00:11:08,560 --> 00:11:11,810 - The teachings of the Buddha regarding compassion 232 00:11:11,810 --> 00:11:14,230 and non harming towards animals, 233 00:11:14,230 --> 00:11:19,240 is not being followed by many many Buddhist practitioners, 234 00:11:19,400 --> 00:11:21,860 teachers, and Buddhist centers. 235 00:11:21,860 --> 00:11:23,660 The Buddha said to his followers 236 00:11:23,870 --> 00:11:27,160 if there is no eater of meat, 237 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:29,790 there will be no destroyer of life. 238 00:11:29,790 --> 00:11:33,000 Whatever the karmic effect is to the person 239 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:36,090 eating the animal, the person who has to slaughter 240 00:11:36,090 --> 00:11:37,800 the animal, the person who has 241 00:11:37,800 --> 00:11:40,340 to raise that animal for slaughter 242 00:11:40,340 --> 00:11:45,350 is incurring extremely unwholesome karma. 243 00:11:45,390 --> 00:11:47,970 Oftentimes people who cannot 244 00:11:47,970 --> 00:11:50,810 find other jobs, people who are exploited 245 00:11:50,810 --> 00:11:55,020 terribly in slaughterhouses and factory farming 246 00:11:55,020 --> 00:11:58,320 why should these people incur negative karma, 247 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:00,940 killing animals and raising animals for slaughter 248 00:12:00,940 --> 00:12:04,110 when all we have to do is eat a plant based diet? 249 00:12:04,110 --> 00:12:06,660 - Compassion is such an important 250 00:12:06,660 --> 00:12:10,080 key part of all traditions, but really 251 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:12,830 looking at what that meant and how 252 00:12:12,830 --> 00:12:15,880 it extends to all living beings is a really 253 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:20,380 important piece. So I have to say 254 00:12:20,380 --> 00:12:24,380 these two lovely guys they don't get along very well. 255 00:12:25,930 --> 00:12:27,430 - They need a little more compassion. 256 00:12:27,430 --> 00:12:28,390 - Yes, yes. 257 00:12:28,390 --> 00:12:30,640 - [Thomas] I'd left Bob and I traveled north 258 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:34,600 to the hills of Topanga where I met Lisa Levinson, 259 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:37,230 the sustainable activism campaign director 260 00:12:37,230 --> 00:12:38,610 for In Defense of Animals 261 00:12:38,610 --> 00:12:40,780 and the founder of Vegan Spirituality. 262 00:12:41,490 --> 00:12:43,740 - I can recall being in a spiritual circle 263 00:12:43,740 --> 00:12:45,740 and raising the energy and doing 264 00:12:45,740 --> 00:12:47,160 some wonderful rituals 265 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:49,790 and then directly after that we went 266 00:12:49,790 --> 00:12:52,120 to have lunch and the lunch was a barbecue 267 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:54,210 and I just felt that energy drop 268 00:12:54,210 --> 00:12:57,040 all the way down to the ground and below 269 00:12:57,040 --> 00:12:59,800 because it was just stunning 270 00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:02,170 to me that no one there thought 271 00:13:02,170 --> 00:13:04,300 wow these animals that they're eating 272 00:13:04,300 --> 00:13:06,640 have anything to do with spirituality. 273 00:13:06,640 --> 00:13:08,220 I had had similar experiences 274 00:13:08,220 --> 00:13:09,760 in other spiritual groups 275 00:13:09,810 --> 00:13:12,850 and my friend Sandy had the same experience 276 00:13:12,850 --> 00:13:14,890 and we were both so surprised 277 00:13:14,890 --> 00:13:19,110 that people who consider themselves spiritual 278 00:13:19,110 --> 00:13:23,070 and loving animals would eat animals. 279 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:26,820 - [Thomas] From Lisa's I headed down to L.A. 280 00:13:26,820 --> 00:13:29,950 to attend my first ever Animal Rights conference. 281 00:13:29,950 --> 00:13:32,660 It was much bigger than I expected 282 00:13:32,660 --> 00:13:36,920 and suddenly I felt a little less lonely as a vegan. 283 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:39,500 - So the Good Food Institute is focused 284 00:13:39,500 --> 00:13:43,460 on making alternatives to animal products 285 00:13:43,460 --> 00:13:48,470 as delicious, as convenient, and as inexpensive as possible. 286 00:13:49,010 --> 00:13:49,930 (applause) 287 00:13:49,930 --> 00:13:52,220 So if we had been having this conversation 288 00:13:52,220 --> 00:13:56,520 150 years ago, people of faith 289 00:13:56,520 --> 00:13:59,690 would be saying slavery is in the Bible, 290 00:13:59,690 --> 00:14:02,520 women are not chosen by Jesus 291 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:05,740 to be his disciples and we need to apply 292 00:14:05,740 --> 00:14:07,990 that sort of central organizing principle 293 00:14:07,990 --> 00:14:10,870 to politics. There certainly are many 294 00:14:10,870 --> 00:14:13,330 times in the Bible, slaves obey your masters, 295 00:14:13,330 --> 00:14:16,750 wives obey your husbands, so these concepts 296 00:14:16,750 --> 00:14:19,420 up until 150 years ago 297 00:14:19,420 --> 00:14:22,710 were used to justify things that 298 00:14:22,710 --> 00:14:24,630 pretty much no Christians are going 299 00:14:24,630 --> 00:14:28,010 to continue to attempt to reconcile with their faith. 300 00:14:28,010 --> 00:14:29,840 - What is the core of Christianity? 301 00:14:29,840 --> 00:14:31,220 It's love. 302 00:14:31,220 --> 00:14:34,220 Is what we are doing to other creatures love? 303 00:14:34,220 --> 00:14:35,850 And for what purpose? 304 00:14:35,850 --> 00:14:38,390 Humans have no need to exploit other animals. 305 00:14:38,390 --> 00:14:40,730 Certainly don't need to eat them. 306 00:14:40,730 --> 00:14:42,810 There's simply no way to be part 307 00:14:42,810 --> 00:14:44,940 of any world religion and not 308 00:14:44,940 --> 00:14:47,740 care about the suffering and the premature 309 00:14:47,740 --> 00:14:49,110 deaths of other animals. 310 00:14:49,110 --> 00:14:51,070 As a moral philosopher I can say that 311 00:14:51,070 --> 00:14:52,950 ethics teaches that any time there 312 00:14:52,950 --> 00:14:55,370 is suffering, it is morally considerable 313 00:14:55,370 --> 00:14:57,080 and religions agree with that. 314 00:14:57,080 --> 00:14:59,790 So there's simply no way to be indifferent. 315 00:14:59,790 --> 00:15:03,210 - I have asked hundreds of people this simple question. 316 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:06,880 The question I ask is 317 00:15:06,880 --> 00:15:08,880 would you ever deliberately hurt 318 00:15:08,880 --> 00:15:11,340 an innocent animal unnecessarily? 319 00:15:12,220 --> 00:15:15,930 And so far 100% of the people I've asked 320 00:15:15,930 --> 00:15:18,310 have said, absolutely not! 321 00:15:18,310 --> 00:15:19,350 We would never do that, 322 00:15:19,350 --> 00:15:22,560 so which means that compassion is at the core of our being. 323 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:24,150 You know that's who we really are. 324 00:15:24,150 --> 00:15:26,570 This is the reason why collectively, 325 00:15:26,570 --> 00:15:28,570 compassion is going to win. 326 00:15:29,320 --> 00:15:31,110 - [Thomas] Sailesh Rao is the founder 327 00:15:31,110 --> 00:15:34,030 and executive director of Climate Healers, 328 00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:36,580 a nonprofit organization whose goal 329 00:15:36,580 --> 00:15:38,450 is to reforest over one sixth 330 00:15:38,450 --> 00:15:41,040 of the ice free land area of the earth. 331 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:43,170 He is the author of Carbon Dharma and 332 00:15:43,170 --> 00:15:47,300 Carbon Yoga and a co producer for the documentaries 333 00:15:47,300 --> 00:15:49,840 Cowspiracy, What the Health, 334 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:52,050 and the Human Experiment as well 335 00:15:52,050 --> 00:15:53,800 as the one you're watching now. 336 00:15:54,300 --> 00:15:57,850 - In the Laudato Si that came out last year 337 00:15:57,850 --> 00:16:00,810 Pope Francis said, it is contrary 338 00:16:00,810 --> 00:16:03,850 to human dignity to cause animals 339 00:16:03,850 --> 00:16:07,730 to suffer or die needlessly and then 340 00:16:07,730 --> 00:16:11,570 he visited the U.S. and in New York City 341 00:16:11,570 --> 00:16:15,870 he had a veal and lobster dinner. 342 00:16:17,030 --> 00:16:18,450 So that's when I realized how much 343 00:16:18,450 --> 00:16:20,370 suffering that these religious leaders 344 00:16:20,370 --> 00:16:22,080 are going through, 345 00:16:22,080 --> 00:16:25,130 because when what we say and what we do 346 00:16:25,130 --> 00:16:28,750 are not in alignment, we suffer. 347 00:16:28,750 --> 00:16:30,340 We suffer tremendously. 348 00:16:30,340 --> 00:16:32,670 - Well concern for animals has long been a part 349 00:16:32,670 --> 00:16:35,930 of Unitarianism and Universalism, 350 00:16:35,930 --> 00:16:39,350 Jeremy Bentham was a Unitarian legal scholar 351 00:16:39,350 --> 00:16:42,430 who in the 1860s said that 352 00:16:42,430 --> 00:16:44,350 the morally relevant question about 353 00:16:44,350 --> 00:16:46,480 animals was not whether they could 354 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:48,650 reason or whether they could talk 355 00:16:48,650 --> 00:16:50,780 but whether they could suffer? 356 00:16:50,780 --> 00:16:53,240 And it's so clear now with 357 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:54,860 today's science as it was clear 358 00:16:54,860 --> 00:16:57,490 then to anyone with common sense 359 00:16:57,490 --> 00:16:59,780 that animals do suffer greatly, 360 00:16:59,780 --> 00:17:02,540 especially those in our food system 361 00:17:02,540 --> 00:17:04,960 as it's been practiced in the last 50 years. 362 00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:07,170 - I was raised vegetarian and went vegan 363 00:17:07,170 --> 00:17:09,090 after I learned about what happens to 364 00:17:09,090 --> 00:17:11,590 dairy cows and egg laying hens 365 00:17:11,590 --> 00:17:13,590 in factory farming and farming at large 366 00:17:13,590 --> 00:17:16,050 so I'm really grateful that I made that decision 367 00:17:16,050 --> 00:17:18,510 now it's also consistent with my Zoroastrian 368 00:17:18,510 --> 00:17:21,100 teachings in that Zoroastrianism teaches 369 00:17:21,100 --> 00:17:23,140 good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, 370 00:17:23,140 --> 00:17:26,390 telling the truth, taking care of the environment, 371 00:17:26,390 --> 00:17:28,900 showing kindness to animals, who are at our mercy 372 00:17:28,900 --> 00:17:31,150 and of course taking care of our body temples as well. 373 00:17:31,150 --> 00:17:35,110 - The concern, a concern is with a capital C, 374 00:17:35,110 --> 00:17:37,820 this is an issue that the spirit has laid upon 375 00:17:37,820 --> 00:17:39,320 the heart of a particular friend 376 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:42,490 or party of friends. That it... 377 00:17:43,700 --> 00:17:46,040 They feel they're called to speak up about it, 378 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:47,710 to do something. 379 00:17:47,710 --> 00:17:50,460 To speak truth to power and 380 00:17:50,460 --> 00:17:53,340 this is one of the reasons why friends have offered 381 00:17:53,340 --> 00:17:57,970 leadership in regard to human slavery, 382 00:17:57,970 --> 00:18:01,260 equality of women, prison reform 383 00:18:01,260 --> 00:18:04,810 and things of this sort, so we who 384 00:18:04,810 --> 00:18:06,600 are Quakers who are concerned about 385 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:08,480 the animals, consider this as a concern 386 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:10,190 that God has laid upon us. 387 00:18:11,110 --> 00:18:13,900 And if people feel uncomfortable with it 388 00:18:14,780 --> 00:18:18,530 to just relax and try to consider perhaps 389 00:18:18,530 --> 00:18:21,240 this is a legitimate concern, 390 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:23,120 perhaps the spirit may be speaking 391 00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:25,250 to you through our words. 392 00:18:25,250 --> 00:18:28,750 Just be open to it if you can. 393 00:18:28,750 --> 00:18:33,420 - I have looked at a lot of different religions 394 00:18:33,420 --> 00:18:36,590 over the years and my book, Peace to All Beings 395 00:18:36,590 --> 00:18:38,590 goes into that quite a bit 396 00:18:38,590 --> 00:18:42,430 about looking for the core truth 397 00:18:42,430 --> 00:18:45,100 in each religion and it turns out 398 00:18:45,100 --> 00:18:47,770 as everybody pretty much knows that 399 00:18:47,770 --> 00:18:51,270 love is the core truth of every religion 400 00:18:51,270 --> 00:18:53,900 and then people come along 401 00:18:53,900 --> 00:18:56,610 and try to organize it 402 00:18:56,610 --> 00:19:01,570 and try to put rules on it and twist it around 403 00:19:01,570 --> 00:19:04,740 so it fits a certain mindset 404 00:19:04,740 --> 00:19:08,200 and in many cases the patriarchal 405 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:10,670 mindset of domination which started 406 00:19:10,670 --> 00:19:15,500 with animal agriculture has affected, infected 407 00:19:15,500 --> 00:19:17,300 a lot of religions. 408 00:19:27,850 --> 00:19:29,810 (laughter) 409 00:19:30,690 --> 00:19:31,980 Sign me up. 410 00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:34,480 - [Thomas] It was during the AR conference 411 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:35,770 that we had our first meeting 412 00:19:35,770 --> 00:19:38,320 of the Interfaith Vegan Coalition. 413 00:19:38,320 --> 00:19:41,570 Judy Carman, Lisa Levinson, and myself 414 00:19:41,570 --> 00:19:43,620 had started the coalition to provide 415 00:19:43,620 --> 00:19:45,990 faith specific resources and tools 416 00:19:45,990 --> 00:19:48,040 for spiritual and religious individuals 417 00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:50,080 and institutions to help them 418 00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:52,040 widen their circle of compassion 419 00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:54,130 to include all of creation. 420 00:19:54,670 --> 00:19:56,840 (Native American flute music) 421 00:19:56,920 --> 00:19:58,590 - You know I think a lot of people 422 00:19:58,590 --> 00:20:00,670 are under the impression that 423 00:20:00,670 --> 00:20:02,380 all Native American people 424 00:20:02,380 --> 00:20:04,470 ate all meat all the time 425 00:20:04,470 --> 00:20:07,560 and the fact is they actually ate very little meat 426 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:09,770 depending on the region that they were in. 427 00:20:09,770 --> 00:20:11,310 - [Thomas] After the conference I drove 428 00:20:11,310 --> 00:20:13,520 up the coast to Petaluma, a small city 429 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:15,310 north of San Francisco. 430 00:20:15,310 --> 00:20:17,650 There I spoke to Linda G. Fisher, 431 00:20:17,650 --> 00:20:20,240 an artist, inter-species communicator 432 00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:22,030 and Native American tribal member 433 00:20:22,030 --> 00:20:23,610 of the Ojibwe nation. 434 00:20:23,610 --> 00:20:26,070 - I had someone say to me 435 00:20:26,070 --> 00:20:27,870 oh gee you know you're vegan, you've 436 00:20:27,870 --> 00:20:30,080 been vegan for so many years, 437 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:33,000 it must be quite a sacrifice. 438 00:20:34,330 --> 00:20:38,340 And I kind of smiled and said, 439 00:20:38,340 --> 00:20:40,380 it's no sacrifice at all 440 00:20:40,550 --> 00:20:42,760 once you know that animals 441 00:20:42,760 --> 00:20:47,390 feel, think, and love, and hurt 442 00:20:47,390 --> 00:20:50,430 and cry and embrace their babies, 443 00:20:50,430 --> 00:20:53,310 you know that it's not a sacrifice at all. 444 00:20:53,310 --> 00:20:54,980 And so I explained that to her. 445 00:20:54,980 --> 00:20:57,190 I said what would be a sacrifice was 446 00:20:57,190 --> 00:20:58,650 if someone forced me to eat meat 447 00:20:58,650 --> 00:21:02,530 to save somebody else - that would be quite a sacrifice. 448 00:21:02,530 --> 00:21:05,030 I think if some of our great chiefs 449 00:21:05,030 --> 00:21:09,120 were alive today they would be horrified 450 00:21:09,120 --> 00:21:12,040 and they would be incredibly heartbroken 451 00:21:12,040 --> 00:21:15,500 because they themselves would never do 452 00:21:15,500 --> 00:21:17,540 what we're doing today. 453 00:21:17,540 --> 00:21:19,880 If they didn't have to hunt, 454 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:22,590 if they didn't have to kill, I don't believe 455 00:21:22,590 --> 00:21:24,510 there's any way they would've ever done that. 456 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:27,260 (flute music) 457 00:21:29,260 --> 00:21:31,100 - [Thomas] I wasn't back from California 458 00:21:31,100 --> 00:21:33,020 very long before Melody and I 459 00:21:33,020 --> 00:21:35,730 loaded up our trusty hybrid, Sophia 460 00:21:35,730 --> 00:21:38,350 and left on a road trip down into Florida. 461 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:43,740 Our first stop was Ocala, where Melody's grandpa Mike 462 00:21:43,740 --> 00:21:46,280 joined us for a potluck at Kindred Spirits 463 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:48,530 Farm Animal Sanctuary. 464 00:21:48,530 --> 00:21:50,160 - Mike actually was bought as a gag gift 465 00:21:50,160 --> 00:21:51,410 for somebody's wedding 466 00:21:51,410 --> 00:21:52,660 and then after the wedding they just 467 00:21:52,660 --> 00:21:54,540 tied him up outside the church and left. 468 00:21:54,620 --> 00:21:56,500 - [Thomas] The next day, our friend Logan 469 00:21:56,500 --> 00:21:58,670 the director of Kindred Spirits gave 470 00:21:58,670 --> 00:22:00,880 us a private tour of the sanctuary 471 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:03,340 and introduced us to several of her furry friends. 472 00:22:03,340 --> 00:22:04,960 - Do you want to say hi to her? 473 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:06,470 You can, she's very nice. 474 00:22:06,470 --> 00:22:09,510 She has a big nose and it's soft. 475 00:22:09,510 --> 00:22:12,510 You can pet her if you want, she's very nice. 476 00:22:12,510 --> 00:22:13,720 - There you go. 477 00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:15,980 Her nose is almost as big as your hand. 478 00:22:18,900 --> 00:22:20,980 That's how she says hi, when she opens 479 00:22:20,980 --> 00:22:23,440 her mouth and she says (pants) 480 00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,400 that's how a pig says hi, it's nice to meet you. 481 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:30,160 So Felicia and Gomer are from a factory farm 482 00:22:30,160 --> 00:22:34,370 in Iowa that flooded back in 2008 and so 483 00:22:34,370 --> 00:22:37,080 the farmers, they evacuated but they 484 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:39,960 left all their pigs locked up in buildings 485 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:41,920 so a couple of the pigs were able to 486 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:45,510 escape and swim to freedom and Felicia and Gomer 487 00:22:45,510 --> 00:22:47,970 and their friend Calypso who's since passed 488 00:22:47,970 --> 00:22:51,340 were part of a group that was rescued by Farm Sanctuary 489 00:22:51,340 --> 00:22:52,550 and then they were placed here 490 00:22:52,550 --> 00:22:54,260 with us a couple years ago. 491 00:22:54,260 --> 00:22:56,600 They both kind of retired to Florida. 492 00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:59,060 They both have pretty severe arthritis 493 00:22:59,060 --> 00:23:01,190 which is pretty common in factory farm pigs 494 00:23:01,190 --> 00:23:03,770 because we bred them to only live about 495 00:23:03,770 --> 00:23:06,280 six months before they're used for food 496 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:08,490 so they're really not bred to live a long time 497 00:23:08,490 --> 00:23:10,450 and they're bred to get as big as they can 498 00:23:10,450 --> 00:23:12,820 as quick as they can which means that 499 00:23:12,820 --> 00:23:15,740 it puts a lot of pressure on their leg joints. 500 00:23:15,740 --> 00:23:18,750 So these two are both about nine now, 501 00:23:18,750 --> 00:23:21,370 so arthritis is fairly common at that age. 502 00:23:21,370 --> 00:23:22,380 Their friendships are just 503 00:23:22,380 --> 00:23:23,580 really deep with each other, 504 00:23:23,580 --> 00:23:25,550 like these guys came out of the factory 505 00:23:25,550 --> 00:23:28,010 together and they've been together ever since. 506 00:23:28,010 --> 00:23:30,430 It's just I think really important 507 00:23:30,430 --> 00:23:32,970 to them to have that kind of connection with each other. 508 00:23:32,970 --> 00:23:34,800 Especially the guys from factories 509 00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:37,310 'cause they kind of start life without 510 00:23:37,310 --> 00:23:39,560 it like they can't touch their moms which is really 511 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:41,730 important and the only real physical 512 00:23:41,730 --> 00:23:43,350 contact they have with anybody 513 00:23:43,350 --> 00:23:44,940 is a negative. So I think 514 00:23:44,940 --> 00:23:46,770 when they come in a sanctuary it's really 515 00:23:46,770 --> 00:23:48,650 nice for them just to be able to have 516 00:23:48,650 --> 00:23:51,360 time with each other and quality relationships 517 00:23:51,360 --> 00:23:52,240 with each other. 518 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:54,160 And they grow to like us too, like these two 519 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:56,870 really like everybody, they love to meet new friends 520 00:23:56,870 --> 00:23:58,950 all the time 'cause now they know it's safe 521 00:23:58,950 --> 00:24:00,500 and nobody's gonna hurt them. 522 00:24:01,500 --> 00:24:04,380 - [Thomas] From Ocala we traveled down to Tampa 523 00:24:04,380 --> 00:24:06,880 where we visited with our friends and I had a 524 00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:10,130 chance to meet and speak with Bawa Jain, 525 00:24:10,130 --> 00:24:14,300 Secretary General of the World Council of Religious Leaders. 526 00:24:14,300 --> 00:24:16,720 A body that brings together the world's preeminent 527 00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:19,520 religious leaders and see if these people can 528 00:24:19,520 --> 00:24:23,390 work together on the issues that impact us most. 529 00:24:23,440 --> 00:24:26,020 Whether that be the environmental challenges, 530 00:24:26,020 --> 00:24:28,270 the issues of poverty, health, 531 00:24:28,270 --> 00:24:30,900 conflict, they’re just harnessing 532 00:24:30,900 --> 00:24:33,610 the power of religion of the global good 533 00:24:33,650 --> 00:24:35,320 of all, not just some. 534 00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:38,490 I come from a tradition, a way of life 535 00:24:38,490 --> 00:24:41,250 called the Jains, it's one of the oldest 536 00:24:41,250 --> 00:24:42,540 way of life in the world. 537 00:24:42,540 --> 00:24:45,170 Live and let live that's what we try and follow. 538 00:24:45,170 --> 00:24:48,210 Why are Jains vegetarian? Let's just understand that. 539 00:24:48,210 --> 00:24:49,960 When you talk about non violence, 540 00:24:49,960 --> 00:24:52,130 in thought action and deed, 541 00:24:52,130 --> 00:24:56,760 how can you be a practitioner of Ahimsa non violence 542 00:24:56,760 --> 00:24:59,350 if you're going to consume any living beings? 543 00:24:59,350 --> 00:25:02,520 My guru came from the tradition where 544 00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:04,100 the Jain monks wear face masks. 545 00:25:04,100 --> 00:25:06,480 They also carry a little broom made out of cloth 546 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:08,360 that before they sit anywhere they can 547 00:25:08,360 --> 00:25:10,070 brush off any form of life so they 548 00:25:10,070 --> 00:25:13,030 do not commit any form of violence and kill them. 549 00:25:13,030 --> 00:25:15,610 Similarly the mask on the face is also 550 00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:18,740 that even the micro organisms in the atmosphere 551 00:25:18,740 --> 00:25:20,370 should not be killed. 552 00:25:20,370 --> 00:25:22,200 Now it is proven beyond doubt 553 00:25:22,200 --> 00:25:25,410 that if you want to get rid of the greenhouse gases, 554 00:25:26,170 --> 00:25:28,130 get rid of the slaughterhouses. 555 00:25:28,330 --> 00:25:30,040 It's a ticking bomb. 556 00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:33,260 It's a ticking bomb! Do we want 557 00:25:33,260 --> 00:25:36,380 that for our children and our children's children? 558 00:25:36,380 --> 00:25:39,970 How will they judge us at that time? 559 00:25:39,970 --> 00:25:43,100 What karma are we sowing that knowingly 560 00:25:43,270 --> 00:25:45,140 we are not taking any action? 561 00:25:45,140 --> 00:25:47,770 When we know something and we don't 562 00:25:47,770 --> 00:25:51,650 do anything, that also is creating karma 563 00:25:51,650 --> 00:25:52,900 which is negative for us. 564 00:25:54,650 --> 00:25:56,780 - Hey Melody you know where we're going? 565 00:25:56,780 --> 00:25:58,200 - To the Cookie Contest. 566 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:01,240 - That's right, to the vegan cookie contest. 567 00:26:01,330 --> 00:26:02,830 There's gonna be like what, 568 00:26:02,830 --> 00:26:07,830 1,200 cookies to be eaten tonight 569 00:26:08,120 --> 00:26:10,920 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 570 00:26:12,170 --> 00:26:14,630 Susan Hargreaves, of Animal Hero Kids 571 00:26:14,630 --> 00:26:17,510 invited several local Fort Lauderdale bakeries 572 00:26:17,510 --> 00:26:19,970 to offer up their best vegan cookies 573 00:26:19,970 --> 00:26:22,890 and then everyone there got to eat one of each cookie 574 00:26:22,890 --> 00:26:24,310 and vote for their favorite. 575 00:26:24,310 --> 00:26:26,480 Melody and I thought all the ones we tasted 576 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:28,190 were yummy but didn't have enough room 577 00:26:28,190 --> 00:26:30,730 in our bellies to try them all. 578 00:26:30,730 --> 00:26:33,360 - In the early 80s, 1980, 579 00:26:33,360 --> 00:26:36,690 I learned how most animals are treated 580 00:26:37,570 --> 00:26:41,740 by visiting stock yards and slaughter houses 581 00:26:41,740 --> 00:26:45,790 and for 34 years now, I have been 582 00:26:45,790 --> 00:26:48,370 teaching kids about being kind to all animals. 583 00:26:48,370 --> 00:26:52,290 AnimalHeroKids.org is my baby 584 00:26:52,290 --> 00:26:56,210 because I know from visiting the schools 585 00:26:56,210 --> 00:26:58,670 that the children are naturally compassionate. 586 00:26:58,670 --> 00:27:01,470 They want to help animals. They want 587 00:27:01,470 --> 00:27:03,680 to make sure no one gets harmed. 588 00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:05,260 They're genuine and sincere 589 00:27:05,260 --> 00:27:08,730 and their clear voices hearten me. 590 00:27:08,730 --> 00:27:10,730 - Can you tell me any reason why 591 00:27:10,730 --> 00:27:12,190 you don't want a pet monkey? 592 00:27:12,190 --> 00:27:15,320 Yes I can tell you lots of reasons, they smear their poop, 593 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:17,530 they urine wash, they masturbate in public, 594 00:27:17,530 --> 00:27:19,110 they will bite your children 595 00:27:19,110 --> 00:27:23,530 and they have big teeth. 596 00:27:23,530 --> 00:27:24,990 I had said that to one woman 597 00:27:24,990 --> 00:27:27,790 she said, "Oh, that sounds like my husband!” 598 00:27:27,950 --> 00:27:29,750 - [Thomas] Our next adventure would take us 599 00:27:29,750 --> 00:27:33,630 to Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary in Gainesville, Florida 600 00:27:33,630 --> 00:27:35,460 where Kari and her dedicated team 601 00:27:35,460 --> 00:27:37,000 of compassionate caregivers 602 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:39,090 provide a healthy, happy life to 603 00:27:39,090 --> 00:27:41,680 over 300 primates who are ex pets, 604 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:43,590 or retired from lab experiments 605 00:27:43,590 --> 00:27:45,970 and others who have suffered exploitation, 606 00:27:45,970 --> 00:27:46,970 abuse, and neglect. 607 00:27:47,310 --> 00:27:49,270 - I talked to a researcher actually 608 00:27:49,270 --> 00:27:53,150 where I said whatever happened with your project? 609 00:27:53,150 --> 00:27:55,190 Did you figure out, and I won't 610 00:27:55,190 --> 00:27:56,610 go into exactly what they were trying 611 00:27:56,610 --> 00:27:59,360 to figure out? And he said, they're never 612 00:27:59,360 --> 00:28:00,900 going to figure it out because 613 00:28:00,900 --> 00:28:02,950 even if they did and they could, 614 00:28:02,950 --> 00:28:05,530 they won't have their jobs and their grant money will end. 615 00:28:05,530 --> 00:28:07,870 So it's just going to always be something 616 00:28:07,870 --> 00:28:10,410 that they're going to be trying to figure out. 617 00:28:10,540 --> 00:28:12,540 They're meant to be in the wild 618 00:28:12,540 --> 00:28:15,290 I mean there's no way you can make it right 619 00:28:15,290 --> 00:28:17,290 with them living like this. 620 00:28:17,290 --> 00:28:19,300 I mean this is wrong I wish none of these guys 621 00:28:19,300 --> 00:28:20,920 had to live like this. 622 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:22,800 - In cages, you want all of them to be free of course. 623 00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:24,640 - I want them to be free, I don't want them 624 00:28:24,640 --> 00:28:26,010 in your living room, I don't want them at the lab, 625 00:28:26,010 --> 00:28:27,510 I don't want them at the zoo and I don't 626 00:28:27,510 --> 00:28:29,770 even want them here but there's no where for them to go 627 00:28:30,730 --> 00:28:32,020 - [Thomas] It was at Jungle Friends 628 00:28:32,020 --> 00:28:34,480 that I reconnected with Maya Barak 629 00:28:34,480 --> 00:28:37,520 a holistic veterinarian from Tel Aviv, Israel 630 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:40,190 who I had met at the Animal Rights Conference in L.A. 631 00:28:41,110 --> 00:28:43,400 Maya joined Melody and me 632 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:45,490 for a two week road trip that would take us 633 00:28:45,490 --> 00:28:49,450 through 13 states on our quest of compassion. 634 00:28:49,450 --> 00:28:51,660 Our journey started with a visit to 635 00:28:51,660 --> 00:28:55,370 Rooterville Animal Sanctuary where Maya would 636 00:28:55,370 --> 00:28:58,420 introduce us to her friend, Elaine West, the founder 637 00:28:58,420 --> 00:29:00,960 of Rooterville and a devout Christian. 638 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:02,840 - You change your diet and you change your life 639 00:29:02,840 --> 00:29:04,340 that's what I love to tell people 640 00:29:04,340 --> 00:29:06,300 because it's true and it's not just your health, 641 00:29:06,300 --> 00:29:09,220 it's physically, emotionally, spiritually, 642 00:29:09,220 --> 00:29:12,180 in every way this will change your life 643 00:29:12,180 --> 00:29:14,810 and it's gonna open you and soften your heart 644 00:29:14,810 --> 00:29:17,020 and we're not supposed to have hard hearts. 645 00:29:17,020 --> 00:29:21,400 Adam was a gardener. God put us in a garden, 646 00:29:21,400 --> 00:29:23,150 that's our first clue. 647 00:29:23,150 --> 00:29:25,650 You know our body is a temple of the Lord, 648 00:29:25,650 --> 00:29:28,490 the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Bible tells us, 649 00:29:28,490 --> 00:29:31,950 and we treat our bodies like dumpsters, right. 650 00:29:31,950 --> 00:29:34,460 You don't put trash in a temple. 651 00:29:34,460 --> 00:29:37,250 I know a lot of people my age in their 50s 652 00:29:37,250 --> 00:29:40,090 are facing this where they go to the doctor 653 00:29:40,090 --> 00:29:41,750 and all they get are more pills 654 00:29:41,750 --> 00:29:43,840 and told this is the way that you're 655 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:45,090 gonna live for the rest of your life 656 00:29:45,090 --> 00:29:48,090 and you're gonna just have to manage these diseases. 657 00:29:48,090 --> 00:29:51,850 Well when we choose God's way our body can heal itself 658 00:29:51,890 --> 00:29:53,680 and to me this was amazing. 659 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:55,770 My arthritis, after three months, 660 00:29:55,770 --> 00:29:58,560 I woke up one morning and I had no more pain 661 00:29:58,560 --> 00:30:00,770 and that was a miracle for me. 662 00:30:00,770 --> 00:30:03,780 And I had lived with an inhaler 663 00:30:03,780 --> 00:30:05,280 and on all kinds of medication 664 00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:06,900 because my allergies were so bad. 665 00:30:06,900 --> 00:30:08,860 I had pneumonia twice. They told me 666 00:30:08,860 --> 00:30:11,700 if I had pneumonia again, I could possibly die. 667 00:30:11,700 --> 00:30:12,830 They told me that I would have 668 00:30:12,830 --> 00:30:15,250 to live with that inhaler and my condition 669 00:30:15,250 --> 00:30:16,660 would only get worse and worse. 670 00:30:16,660 --> 00:30:17,830 You know the doctors are quick 671 00:30:17,830 --> 00:30:19,210 to give you more medication. 672 00:30:19,210 --> 00:30:22,130 They're not very quick to give you any hope. 673 00:30:22,130 --> 00:30:24,300 When you share this information 674 00:30:24,300 --> 00:30:26,510 with Christians, it's almost 675 00:30:26,510 --> 00:30:29,550 like - I don't know - like a wall goes up. 676 00:30:29,550 --> 00:30:32,470 That they would rather believe 677 00:30:32,470 --> 00:30:35,770 the world’s system that is pills 678 00:30:35,770 --> 00:30:39,310 and procedures and...you know...medications 679 00:30:39,310 --> 00:30:41,440 and problems your whole life, 680 00:30:42,730 --> 00:30:45,440 they would rather choose that than God's way. 681 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:47,070 Plants heal our body. 682 00:30:47,070 --> 00:30:49,150 We're digging our graves with our forks 683 00:30:49,150 --> 00:30:51,530 and it's really sad when you see people 684 00:30:51,530 --> 00:30:54,080 that have things like diabetes and heart disease 685 00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:59,000 and cancer even and they're praying for a miracle 686 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:00,210 while continuing to eat 687 00:31:00,210 --> 00:31:03,040 the western diet, the world's diet. They continue 688 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:06,960 to put that in their body which is causing the problem. 689 00:31:06,960 --> 00:31:10,300 They don't see that they're killing themselves. 690 00:31:10,300 --> 00:31:13,970 - Genesis 1:29 is part of the first conversation 691 00:31:13,970 --> 00:31:16,390 between God and human beings 692 00:31:16,390 --> 00:31:18,640 recorded in the Bible 693 00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:21,850 and God tells Adam and Eve 694 00:31:21,900 --> 00:31:26,360 you are to eat the plants and the seed bearing fruit, period. 695 00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:29,190 And immediately after that, God says 696 00:31:29,780 --> 00:31:32,280 and it was very good, and it's the first time 697 00:31:32,280 --> 00:31:34,370 in the creation story that God 698 00:31:34,370 --> 00:31:37,200 describes creation as very good. 699 00:31:37,620 --> 00:31:38,580 [speaks Hebrew] 700 00:31:39,250 --> 00:31:41,290 Up until that point God just says 701 00:31:41,290 --> 00:31:44,420 it's good, it's good, it's good 702 00:31:44,420 --> 00:31:46,550 but when we get the instructions 703 00:31:46,550 --> 00:31:48,210 to eat a plant based diet, 704 00:31:48,210 --> 00:31:50,670 now creation is very good. 705 00:31:51,800 --> 00:31:54,350 - [Thomas] After Rooterville we drove Sophia 706 00:31:54,350 --> 00:31:56,810 up to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 707 00:31:56,810 --> 00:31:59,020 where we spoke with Jeffery Cohen, 708 00:31:59,020 --> 00:32:02,100 the executive director of Jewish Veg, 709 00:32:02,100 --> 00:32:04,520 whose mission it is to help Jews to embrace 710 00:32:04,520 --> 00:32:07,070 plant based diets as an expression 711 00:32:07,070 --> 00:32:09,070 of the Jewish values of compassion 712 00:32:09,070 --> 00:32:11,740 for animals, concern for health, 713 00:32:11,740 --> 00:32:14,070 and care for the environment. 714 00:32:14,070 --> 00:32:16,910 - Considering what Genesis 1:29 said, 715 00:32:16,910 --> 00:32:19,040 it got me thinking what does 716 00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:21,790 the rest of the Bible say, why aren't 717 00:32:21,790 --> 00:32:25,130 all rabbis and clergy and ministers 718 00:32:25,130 --> 00:32:28,000 vegetarian or vegan if this is what it says 719 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:31,970 in Genesis 1:29, so I started 720 00:32:31,970 --> 00:32:34,260 reading, researching and to my pleasant 721 00:32:34,260 --> 00:32:36,550 surprise, it's actually a pretty 722 00:32:36,550 --> 00:32:39,310 consistent theme in the Bible 723 00:32:39,310 --> 00:32:42,560 that plant based diet is the ideal, 724 00:32:42,560 --> 00:32:45,440 that meat eating, while permitted, is usually 725 00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:47,610 framed in a fairly negative 726 00:32:47,610 --> 00:32:49,860 and sometimes extraordinarily 727 00:32:49,860 --> 00:32:53,400 negative light and that we're supposed 728 00:32:53,400 --> 00:32:55,450 to be treating animals, not just 729 00:32:55,450 --> 00:32:58,620 with compassion but with exquisite sensitivity. 730 00:32:58,620 --> 00:33:01,330 You know there's a whole slew of 731 00:33:01,330 --> 00:33:04,370 verses in the Bible that command 732 00:33:04,370 --> 00:33:07,630 that we treat animals with such sensitivity. 733 00:33:07,630 --> 00:33:10,000 Collectively these are known in Hebrew, 734 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:12,720 (speaks Hebrew) which translate to 735 00:33:12,720 --> 00:33:15,220 the prevention of suffering to animals. 736 00:33:15,220 --> 00:33:16,470 And it says in our Talmud 737 00:33:16,470 --> 00:33:19,560 which is the main rabbinic commentary on the Bible 738 00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:21,850 that not only are we to prevent 739 00:33:21,850 --> 00:33:24,690 animal suffering, we are to relieve the suffering 740 00:33:24,690 --> 00:33:26,940 of animals whenever we have occasion to do so. 741 00:33:26,940 --> 00:33:28,610 And on that basis alone, 742 00:33:28,610 --> 00:33:31,070 given how animals are treated today 743 00:33:31,070 --> 00:33:32,940 in modern animal agriculture, there's no way 744 00:33:32,940 --> 00:33:35,110 we should be consuming animal products. 745 00:33:35,110 --> 00:33:37,820 Probably the most misunderstood, 746 00:33:37,820 --> 00:33:41,700 the most distorted verse in all of the Bible 747 00:33:41,700 --> 00:33:45,290 is not Genesis 1:29, it's what comes right before that. 748 00:33:45,290 --> 00:33:48,420 Genesis 1:26, that is the famous 749 00:33:48,420 --> 00:33:50,880 dominion verse. So yes it does 750 00:33:50,880 --> 00:33:53,960 say in Genesis 1:26 that human beings 751 00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:56,220 were granted dominion over the animals 752 00:33:56,220 --> 00:33:57,470 but two important things 753 00:33:57,470 --> 00:33:58,930 to consider about that. 754 00:33:58,930 --> 00:34:01,640 Number one is that's part of the exact 755 00:34:01,640 --> 00:34:03,930 same conversation in which 756 00:34:03,930 --> 00:34:07,140 we're instructed to eat plants exclusively. 757 00:34:07,140 --> 00:34:10,310 So clearly dominion, did not give human beings 758 00:34:10,310 --> 00:34:13,570 the right to kill animals for food. 759 00:34:13,570 --> 00:34:16,820 Secondly, that dominion verse is part 760 00:34:16,820 --> 00:34:18,780 of the exact same verse, not just 761 00:34:18,780 --> 00:34:21,410 the same conversation but the same verse, 762 00:34:21,410 --> 00:34:23,490 where we're told that human beings 763 00:34:23,490 --> 00:34:28,500 are created (speaks Hebrew) in the image of God. 764 00:34:28,540 --> 00:34:31,290 Therefore we are to exercise dominion 765 00:34:31,290 --> 00:34:34,050 the way that God exercises dominion 766 00:34:34,050 --> 00:34:35,960 over human beings. 767 00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:39,340 And any rabbi will tell you the primary attributes 768 00:34:39,340 --> 00:34:44,350 of God's dominion are mercy and compassion. 769 00:34:44,680 --> 00:34:46,390 - [Thomas] From Pennsylvania 770 00:34:46,390 --> 00:34:48,730 we headed northeast to Athens, New York 771 00:34:48,730 --> 00:34:50,600 and visited with Frank Hoffman 772 00:34:50,600 --> 00:34:52,360 who serves on the advisory board 773 00:34:52,360 --> 00:34:54,730 of the Christian Vegetarian Association, 774 00:34:54,730 --> 00:34:57,400 and is co founder with his wife Mary 775 00:34:57,400 --> 00:34:58,860 of the Frank and Mary Hoffman 776 00:34:58,860 --> 00:35:01,280 Family Foundation which is dedicated 777 00:35:01,280 --> 00:35:02,830 to cruelty free living through 778 00:35:02,830 --> 00:35:04,120 a vegan lifestyle. 779 00:35:04,280 --> 00:35:06,580 - We became vegan for reasons of compassion. 780 00:35:06,580 --> 00:35:08,830 But the side effect was that 781 00:35:08,830 --> 00:35:10,710 our health improved dramatically. 782 00:35:11,790 --> 00:35:13,290 We had all kinds of problems, 783 00:35:13,290 --> 00:35:17,050 aches and pains and arthritis starting 784 00:35:17,050 --> 00:35:19,720 and coughing and sneezing things, 785 00:35:19,720 --> 00:35:22,720 the head colds, irritable bowel syndrome, 786 00:35:22,720 --> 00:35:24,430 all kinds of things like that 787 00:35:24,430 --> 00:35:27,930 and we found that within about three weeks 788 00:35:27,930 --> 00:35:30,890 of becoming vegan our health improved. 789 00:35:30,890 --> 00:35:32,560 We didn't have these same symptoms. 790 00:35:32,690 --> 00:35:35,820 Both Mary and I are in our late 70s 791 00:35:36,980 --> 00:35:40,030 and we haven't taken medication - I don't know - 792 00:35:40,030 --> 00:35:42,030 it's gotta be at least 25 years now, 793 00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:45,490 But we don't get the chronic diseases that people get. 794 00:35:45,490 --> 00:35:49,120 The Bible tells us that if we're a child 795 00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:51,460 of God we're to be a peace maker 796 00:35:51,540 --> 00:35:54,750 and as peace makers and Paul picks up on this 797 00:35:54,750 --> 00:35:58,090 and he says as peace making children of God, 798 00:35:58,090 --> 00:36:01,220 we're to help free creation from its present corruption. 799 00:36:02,090 --> 00:36:04,640 Well part of that corruption is the way 800 00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:07,760 we live. We've heard people say 801 00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:10,350 when I buy an animal product in the supermarket 802 00:36:10,350 --> 00:36:12,640 I didn't hurt the animal, I'm just 803 00:36:12,640 --> 00:36:14,730 buying the product that's sitting there. 804 00:36:14,730 --> 00:36:17,730 And I'm saying no, you're actually contributing to it. 805 00:36:17,730 --> 00:36:20,820 The first thing you can do 806 00:36:20,820 --> 00:36:23,820 and the most important thing to do 807 00:36:23,820 --> 00:36:25,070 in saving this world 808 00:36:26,530 --> 00:36:28,620 and to living in the heavenly world 809 00:36:28,620 --> 00:36:30,700 of God starts on your dinner plate. 810 00:36:30,750 --> 00:36:35,750 (upbeat mariachi music) 811 00:36:39,170 --> 00:36:40,960 - [Thomas] When we left Frank and Mary’s, 812 00:36:40,960 --> 00:36:42,670 we drove down to New York City 813 00:36:42,670 --> 00:36:45,510 where we parked Sophia and traveled by transit. 814 00:36:46,760 --> 00:36:49,560 Our first stop was on the upper east side 815 00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:51,350 where I had the honor and pleasure 816 00:36:51,350 --> 00:36:53,560 of meeting Pramoda Chitrabhanu, 817 00:36:53,560 --> 00:36:56,440 who is the director of the Jain Meditation International 818 00:36:56,440 --> 00:36:58,860 Center in New York City as well 819 00:36:58,860 --> 00:37:00,730 as on the board of PETA India. 820 00:37:00,730 --> 00:37:02,990 She is the author of several books including 821 00:37:02,990 --> 00:37:07,240 the Book of Compassion and Rainbow Food for the Vegan Palate. 822 00:37:07,240 --> 00:37:10,410 - Only because of the taste buds, 823 00:37:10,410 --> 00:37:12,830 only because of our own greed, 824 00:37:12,830 --> 00:37:16,830 only because of our own satisfaction 825 00:37:16,830 --> 00:37:19,840 of the senses! When are we going 826 00:37:19,840 --> 00:37:21,800 to become sensitive? 827 00:37:21,800 --> 00:37:25,050 When are we going to understand? 828 00:37:25,050 --> 00:37:28,470 Because each and every living being 829 00:37:28,470 --> 00:37:31,220 is given a different instrument 830 00:37:31,220 --> 00:37:33,810 and it's a symphony 831 00:37:33,810 --> 00:37:38,650 and we are creating music out of that instrument 832 00:37:39,150 --> 00:37:41,860 and we forget that each and everyone's 833 00:37:41,860 --> 00:37:44,530 life is intertwined with each other. 834 00:37:44,530 --> 00:37:47,950 How can we disturb one living being? 835 00:37:47,950 --> 00:37:50,120 But when we take the dairy, 836 00:37:51,490 --> 00:37:54,830 the meat industry, the cows, you are 837 00:37:54,830 --> 00:37:59,670 snatching away the five senses of those living beings 838 00:37:59,670 --> 00:38:03,760 who can hear, who can see, who can feel, 839 00:38:03,760 --> 00:38:06,800 who can taste, who can smell. 840 00:38:06,800 --> 00:38:10,430 We have no right to take the life of any living being 841 00:38:10,430 --> 00:38:12,060 even though they are not human beings 842 00:38:12,060 --> 00:38:14,850 but they have already got five senses 843 00:38:15,850 --> 00:38:18,560 and with one shot we destroy that. 844 00:38:20,190 --> 00:38:23,110 Our hearts should really tremble 845 00:38:23,110 --> 00:38:25,940 to do all these things and we don't 846 00:38:25,940 --> 00:38:28,410 have any qualms. But the violence 847 00:38:28,410 --> 00:38:30,490 is not because of the bad people, 848 00:38:32,200 --> 00:38:35,120 it is because of the silence of the good people. 849 00:38:35,950 --> 00:38:39,580 So be a whisper, or be a scream, 850 00:38:39,580 --> 00:38:42,090 just be the voice for the voiceless being. 851 00:38:46,880 --> 00:38:48,430 - [Thomas] After we left Pramoda’s, 852 00:38:48,430 --> 00:38:50,930 we traveled down to Union Square 853 00:38:50,930 --> 00:38:53,060 where we were approached by Mike, 854 00:38:53,060 --> 00:38:55,180 a compassionate wildlife activist 855 00:38:55,180 --> 00:38:57,730 who was out raising awareness about the plight 856 00:38:57,730 --> 00:38:59,770 of the elephants. 857 00:39:06,530 --> 00:39:08,820 - Yeah, just go for it, explain me on it right. 858 00:39:08,820 --> 00:39:10,660 - So a keystone species basically is a species 859 00:39:10,660 --> 00:39:12,910 of animal that has such a disproportionate 860 00:39:12,910 --> 00:39:14,410 effect on the ecosystem that were 861 00:39:14,410 --> 00:39:17,290 they to disappear, things would change very rapidly. 862 00:39:17,290 --> 00:39:20,000 So, elephants are a keystone species, 863 00:39:20,000 --> 00:39:21,630 bees are a keystone species, 864 00:39:21,630 --> 00:39:24,000 even humans are, but in a bad way. 865 00:39:24,000 --> 00:39:25,250 So, like if we all suddenly disappeared 866 00:39:25,250 --> 00:39:27,670 everything would just start getting better. 867 00:39:27,670 --> 00:39:28,880 - Everything would change for sure. 868 00:39:28,880 --> 00:39:29,970 - Yeah it would change exactly. 869 00:39:29,970 --> 00:39:32,340 So, elephants are a keystone species, 870 00:39:32,340 --> 00:39:34,390 chickens are not, you know what I mean. 871 00:39:34,390 --> 00:39:36,260 And that's not to say that they're less important 872 00:39:36,260 --> 00:39:37,720 because they're still very important 873 00:39:37,720 --> 00:39:39,680 and I do think that our meat industry 874 00:39:39,680 --> 00:39:42,690 is really, really messed up, really, really bad 875 00:39:42,690 --> 00:39:44,860 and I would love to see that change. 876 00:39:44,860 --> 00:39:46,230 - [Thomas] Can I ask you this question? 877 00:39:46,230 --> 00:39:47,070 - Yeah yeah. 878 00:39:47,070 --> 00:39:48,440 - [Thomas] Did you know that in order 879 00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:50,860 for a cow to produce milk she had to be 880 00:39:50,860 --> 00:39:53,570 impregnated every year and her baby taken away 881 00:39:53,570 --> 00:39:55,530 after the first day of her life 882 00:39:55,530 --> 00:39:58,370 and if it's a male it usually goes to the veal industry, 883 00:39:58,370 --> 00:40:00,080 if it's a female she ends up in there... 884 00:40:00,080 --> 00:40:01,210 within four years of their life 885 00:40:01,210 --> 00:40:02,870 they are slaughtered for meat 886 00:40:02,870 --> 00:40:05,380 and usually they would live 25 years of their life. 887 00:40:05,380 --> 00:40:06,630 Did you know they were taken away? 888 00:40:06,630 --> 00:40:07,960 - No no, I didn't know that. 889 00:40:07,960 --> 00:40:10,300 I mean again I'd have to - 890 00:40:11,550 --> 00:40:14,340 it's very difficult to take the word of somebody, 891 00:40:14,340 --> 00:40:16,680 not to say that I don't think you're informed but-- 892 00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:19,020 - But first of all do you think the cows just make milk? 893 00:40:22,640 --> 00:40:25,730 - I don't know, I don't know enough about them. 894 00:40:25,730 --> 00:40:27,150 That's really what I can-- 895 00:40:27,150 --> 00:40:28,900 - [Thomas] That's the best answer. 896 00:40:28,900 --> 00:40:29,730 - Yeah I don't know. 897 00:40:32,400 --> 00:40:34,950 - [Thomas] While we were in Manhattan we stopped by 898 00:40:34,950 --> 00:40:37,280 to see Victoria who told us about a cow 899 00:40:37,280 --> 00:40:39,580 she met many years ago 900 00:40:39,580 --> 00:40:42,960 during her visit to a slaughterhouse in southern Missouri. 901 00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:44,920 - I meet a lot of people who say 902 00:40:44,920 --> 00:40:48,000 well I only eat humane meat, I only 903 00:40:48,000 --> 00:40:51,260 eat meat from small family farms. 904 00:40:51,260 --> 00:40:55,180 Well these cows came from a small family farm, 905 00:40:55,180 --> 00:40:57,890 the farmer drove them in himself. 906 00:40:57,890 --> 00:41:00,720 You could tell that these cows knew people 907 00:41:00,720 --> 00:41:03,940 and trusted them so the first couple 908 00:41:03,940 --> 00:41:07,940 just walked up the chute and onto death 909 00:41:07,940 --> 00:41:11,690 but the third one was not having any of it. 910 00:41:11,690 --> 00:41:14,110 She saw her friends go first, 911 00:41:14,110 --> 00:41:17,910 she heard the screams and she smelled the smells 912 00:41:17,910 --> 00:41:19,740 that I'd been smelling all day. 913 00:41:19,740 --> 00:41:22,870 She was not about to walk up that ramp, 914 00:41:22,870 --> 00:41:26,330 so she just planted herself and stood there. 915 00:41:27,250 --> 00:41:30,670 And the man up at the top of the ramp, 916 00:41:30,670 --> 00:41:33,130 about time to go home, he was ready to 917 00:41:33,130 --> 00:41:36,970 go see his kids, he whistled to her. 918 00:41:38,850 --> 00:41:42,720 He whistled to her the way he'd whistle to his dog 919 00:41:42,720 --> 00:41:45,730 when he went home in 20 minutes. 920 00:41:45,730 --> 00:41:50,730 And this cow seemed to trust him, 921 00:41:50,900 --> 00:41:54,860 she kind of turned her head and looked at him 922 00:41:54,860 --> 00:41:57,610 and it was as if she was deciding whether 923 00:41:57,610 --> 00:42:00,700 or not to override all her instincts, 924 00:42:00,700 --> 00:42:03,410 what she was hearing, what she was smelling 925 00:42:03,410 --> 00:42:06,830 and instead do something that 926 00:42:06,830 --> 00:42:08,920 we pride ourselves as humans 927 00:42:08,920 --> 00:42:13,630 in being able to do, trust another person. 928 00:42:13,630 --> 00:42:17,590 So with this trust, misplaced as it turned out, 929 00:42:17,590 --> 00:42:20,930 she walked to the man who had whistled to her. 930 00:42:21,850 --> 00:42:24,890 He got her with the captive bolt pistol, 931 00:42:24,890 --> 00:42:28,350 she was hoisted up her throat was slit, 932 00:42:28,480 --> 00:42:31,900 her beautiful skin was sliced off her 933 00:42:31,900 --> 00:42:35,900 and into a pile to go for shoes and boots 934 00:42:35,900 --> 00:42:40,780 and belts and handbags and all of a sudden 935 00:42:40,780 --> 00:42:43,290 she was no longer a being, 936 00:42:43,290 --> 00:42:46,450 she was in the process of becoming beef. 937 00:42:47,580 --> 00:42:51,590 Now I knew that in a few days 938 00:42:51,590 --> 00:42:54,800 her parts and pieces would wind up 939 00:42:54,800 --> 00:42:57,670 at a supermarket in St. Louis. 940 00:42:57,670 --> 00:43:00,180 They would be on a styrofoam tray 941 00:43:00,180 --> 00:43:02,300 and cellophane wrapping 942 00:43:02,300 --> 00:43:06,060 and they would be purchased by good people. 943 00:43:06,060 --> 00:43:10,100 They'd be purchased by people who love their children 944 00:43:10,100 --> 00:43:13,520 and give to charity and go to church. 945 00:43:13,520 --> 00:43:15,980 Well they didn't know her. 946 00:43:17,030 --> 00:43:19,650 I did, for just a few minutes 947 00:43:19,650 --> 00:43:21,990 at the very end of her life, 948 00:43:21,990 --> 00:43:27,000 but because I knew her, it's my obligation 949 00:43:27,250 --> 00:43:28,750 to share her story. 950 00:43:30,080 --> 00:43:32,630 - In the Muslim faith we have this really beautiful 951 00:43:32,630 --> 00:43:35,420 saying from the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings 952 00:43:35,420 --> 00:43:38,170 be upon him, in which he says 953 00:43:38,170 --> 00:43:41,800 that none of you truly have attained to faith 954 00:43:41,800 --> 00:43:44,100 until you love for one another 955 00:43:44,100 --> 00:43:45,890 what you love for your own self. 956 00:43:45,890 --> 00:43:47,640 Which is very similar to the golden rule 957 00:43:47,640 --> 00:43:50,730 that was preached by all of the great prophets and sages. 958 00:43:50,730 --> 00:43:53,150 You know I think as time has gone on 959 00:43:53,150 --> 00:43:54,690 the spiritual and ethical tradition 960 00:43:54,690 --> 00:43:56,940 has been able to widen that to not only 961 00:43:56,940 --> 00:44:00,650 humanity but to a lot of the creation of God 962 00:44:00,650 --> 00:44:03,070 both in terms of the environment as well 963 00:44:03,070 --> 00:44:07,040 as the animals and just every living being. 964 00:44:07,040 --> 00:44:08,660 - [Thomas] From Manhattan, we drove 965 00:44:08,660 --> 00:44:13,040 to Princeton, New Jersey to speak with Imam Sohaib Sultan 966 00:44:13,040 --> 00:44:16,000 Princeton University's first Muslim chaplain 967 00:44:16,000 --> 00:44:19,010 and author of the Koran for Dummies, 968 00:44:19,010 --> 00:44:21,880 and the Qur'an and the Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. 969 00:44:21,880 --> 00:44:24,090 - We are living in a time in which 970 00:44:24,090 --> 00:44:27,430 there is a great exploitation of the environment 971 00:44:27,430 --> 00:44:30,600 and of animals and the way that we 972 00:44:30,600 --> 00:44:33,310 see the farming practices evolve 973 00:44:33,310 --> 00:44:35,520 to fit the consumer societies and the materialistic 974 00:44:35,520 --> 00:44:38,570 societies has formed has greatly 975 00:44:38,570 --> 00:44:40,530 harmed the environment and has 976 00:44:40,530 --> 00:44:42,700 greatly affected animals 977 00:44:42,700 --> 00:44:46,700 at a level unprecedented in our history as human beings. 978 00:44:46,700 --> 00:44:49,120 One should really consider the mass production 979 00:44:49,120 --> 00:44:52,080 of food and the unethical means by which 980 00:44:52,080 --> 00:44:55,040 that food is produced in our modern age 981 00:44:55,040 --> 00:44:56,500 and we should really consider whether 982 00:44:56,500 --> 00:45:00,380 we want to be part of that evil practice or whether 983 00:45:00,380 --> 00:45:02,300 we want to be part of the solution, 984 00:45:02,300 --> 00:45:04,590 to restore the balance to the environment 985 00:45:04,590 --> 00:45:07,720 to restore the balance to the ecosystem 986 00:45:07,720 --> 00:45:09,760 and to restore the balance to the human beings, 987 00:45:09,760 --> 00:45:11,810 because when the human begins are exploiting 988 00:45:11,810 --> 00:45:14,020 the environment, the environment is going 989 00:45:14,020 --> 00:45:16,730 to turn its wrath against the human beings. 990 00:45:16,730 --> 00:45:18,020 And we're constantly seeing that 991 00:45:18,020 --> 00:45:20,610 from the lack of access to water 992 00:45:20,610 --> 00:45:25,110 to air pollution to scarcity of food, 993 00:45:25,110 --> 00:45:27,070 all of this is being caused by 994 00:45:27,070 --> 00:45:29,740 our mistreatment of God's earth. 995 00:45:29,740 --> 00:45:31,580 You know there's a really important passage 996 00:45:31,580 --> 00:45:34,910 in the Koran that says that oh humanity 997 00:45:34,910 --> 00:45:37,580 your actions are certainly bound 998 00:45:37,580 --> 00:45:40,840 to rebound against your own selves. 999 00:45:40,840 --> 00:45:43,510 So there's this idea that whatever we do 1000 00:45:43,510 --> 00:45:45,300 we're going to see its consequences 1001 00:45:45,300 --> 00:45:47,180 both the good and the beautiful, 1002 00:45:47,180 --> 00:45:49,550 and the ugly and the wrong. 1003 00:45:49,550 --> 00:45:52,270 And it's also important as Muslims 1004 00:45:52,270 --> 00:45:54,770 to understand that this idea 1005 00:45:54,810 --> 00:45:57,100 of karma or this idea of our actions 1006 00:45:57,100 --> 00:45:59,730 rebound against our own selves is not only 1007 00:45:59,730 --> 00:46:01,690 limited to this life but there's also an 1008 00:46:01,690 --> 00:46:03,530 afterlife reality to it. 1009 00:46:03,530 --> 00:46:06,030 The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, 1010 00:46:06,030 --> 00:46:08,320 he said that on the day of resurrection 1011 00:46:08,320 --> 00:46:10,200 when people have to answer for their deeds 1012 00:46:10,200 --> 00:46:12,910 before God, one will even have to answer 1013 00:46:12,910 --> 00:46:16,460 for the innocent sparrow that they killed. 1014 00:46:16,960 --> 00:46:20,340 - What is the difference between pity and compassion? 1015 00:46:20,340 --> 00:46:24,170 So pity is, you know, I see the cow, 1016 00:46:24,170 --> 00:46:27,050 they just ran it through a factory farm, 1017 00:46:27,050 --> 00:46:29,510 it lived this awful life, they slaughtered 1018 00:46:29,510 --> 00:46:33,680 it in this awful way and I'm like, “Poor cow, that's bad 1019 00:46:33,680 --> 00:46:35,350 they're torturing all these cows. 1020 00:46:35,350 --> 00:46:38,440 This is terrible. Wow, I'm hungry. 1021 00:46:38,440 --> 00:46:40,900 Where's the closest McDonald’s, you know? 1022 00:46:40,900 --> 00:46:43,980 No link whatsoever, versus compassion 1023 00:46:43,980 --> 00:46:47,490 which is you know they're suffering in this industry, 1024 00:46:47,490 --> 00:46:49,200 they're suffering in the way that 1025 00:46:49,200 --> 00:46:51,320 we treat animals, they're suffering 1026 00:46:51,320 --> 00:46:54,410 in eating suffering from the way 1027 00:46:54,410 --> 00:46:56,500 that this animal was killed. 1028 00:46:56,500 --> 00:47:00,170 I don't want to contribute to the suffering. I quit. 1029 00:47:00,170 --> 00:47:02,380 I'm not gonna contribute to your suffering. 1030 00:47:03,000 --> 00:47:05,710 - [Thomas] It was in Tacoma Park, Maryland where we met 1031 00:47:05,710 --> 00:47:08,800 Nazirahk Amen, a naturopathic doctor, 1032 00:47:08,800 --> 00:47:11,010 a practitioner of Chinese medicine 1033 00:47:11,010 --> 00:47:13,180 and an organic farmer who's been vegan 1034 00:47:13,180 --> 00:47:15,640 for over 25 years. 1035 00:47:15,640 --> 00:47:17,350 - In the beginning I worked actually 1036 00:47:17,350 --> 00:47:20,480 as an EMT. I was an intermediate level medic 1037 00:47:20,480 --> 00:47:22,650 and you know working in the medical system 1038 00:47:22,650 --> 00:47:27,610 while studying to become a doctor at that time 1039 00:47:27,610 --> 00:47:29,820 and just seeing the contradictions. 1040 00:47:29,820 --> 00:47:31,910 It's not focused on prevention, 1041 00:47:31,910 --> 00:47:33,780 it's really focused on these sort of 1042 00:47:33,780 --> 00:47:37,200 quick fix pharmaceutical interventions 1043 00:47:37,200 --> 00:47:39,500 and you know as a provider, you know, 1044 00:47:39,500 --> 00:47:41,960 when someone's having an asthma attack 1045 00:47:41,960 --> 00:47:44,170 and you go in and you give them drugs 1046 00:47:44,170 --> 00:47:47,210 and you know you see that asthma attack break 1047 00:47:47,210 --> 00:47:49,050 and those people can breathe again, 1048 00:47:49,050 --> 00:47:51,840 that's beautiful you know but 1049 00:47:51,840 --> 00:47:55,100 in another four weeks, six weeks, three months 1050 00:47:55,600 --> 00:47:57,810 and you get the same call, 1051 00:47:57,810 --> 00:47:59,930 you know, it sort of takes some of the glamor out 1052 00:47:59,930 --> 00:48:01,770 and you walk into these people's homes 1053 00:48:01,770 --> 00:48:04,230 and you see they're having this asthma attack 1054 00:48:04,230 --> 00:48:06,820 or this sickle cell crisis or whatever other 1055 00:48:06,820 --> 00:48:08,610 disease and here, you know, right 1056 00:48:08,610 --> 00:48:11,150 next to the bed, they just got through 1057 00:48:11,150 --> 00:48:13,360 eating a three pack for a dollar 1058 00:48:13,360 --> 00:48:15,070 glow in the dark set of cookies 1059 00:48:15,070 --> 00:48:17,870 with a big glass of cow’s milk 1060 00:48:17,870 --> 00:48:19,790 and you're asking yourself the question, you know, 1061 00:48:19,830 --> 00:48:24,330 do you think that any of what you just ate 1062 00:48:24,330 --> 00:48:25,880 has anything to do with 1063 00:48:25,880 --> 00:48:27,750 how you're feeling right now? 1064 00:48:28,250 --> 00:48:31,130 We don't really get to ask that question. 1065 00:48:31,130 --> 00:48:33,340 You know, I mean, I felt better immediately 1066 00:48:33,340 --> 00:48:37,600 from going vegan, but in a couple years 1067 00:48:37,600 --> 00:48:39,680 after I went vegan I was probably the strongest 1068 00:48:39,680 --> 00:48:42,560 I've ever been in my life and 1069 00:48:42,560 --> 00:48:46,190 you know I maintain that on a day to day basis. 1070 00:48:46,190 --> 00:48:51,190 So, you know, anyway, I'm 95 years old and (laughter). 1071 00:48:53,950 --> 00:48:57,370 - I had this one case I remember this woman very well. 1072 00:48:57,370 --> 00:49:00,120 I said to her, I said your problem 1073 00:49:00,120 --> 00:49:03,540 is not that you have spastic colon. 1074 00:49:03,540 --> 00:49:06,210 I said you're eating foods that are gonna 1075 00:49:06,210 --> 00:49:08,710 make you sick because they contain lactose 1076 00:49:08,710 --> 00:49:09,920 and to my surprise, she said 1077 00:49:09,920 --> 00:49:12,170 “Oh I know that,” and I said, “Well, 1078 00:49:12,170 --> 00:49:13,590 if you know that these foods are gonna 1079 00:49:13,590 --> 00:49:16,050 make you sick, why are you continuing to eat them? 1080 00:49:17,220 --> 00:49:19,600 She said, “Because the government says I have to. 1081 00:49:19,600 --> 00:49:22,180 The U.S. dietary guidelines say that I have 1082 00:49:22,180 --> 00:49:24,980 to include dairy foods in my diet 1083 00:49:24,980 --> 00:49:27,900 in order to be healthy.” And I, of course, 1084 00:49:27,900 --> 00:49:30,570 explained to her that, no, you don’t, 1085 00:49:30,570 --> 00:49:34,650 that you don't need dairy foods for any reason, 1086 00:49:34,650 --> 00:49:36,660 that they're, as I said to her, 1087 00:49:36,660 --> 00:49:38,240 “Cows don't drink milk but there's 1088 00:49:38,240 --> 00:49:39,620 plenty of calcium in their milk 1089 00:49:39,620 --> 00:49:40,870 and it's because they get it from 1090 00:49:40,870 --> 00:49:43,330 the green plants that they eat 1091 00:49:43,330 --> 00:49:45,290 and that if you eat green leafy vegetables, 1092 00:49:45,290 --> 00:49:47,790 you'll get plenty of calcium in your diet.” 1093 00:49:47,790 --> 00:49:52,260 But it really upset me that people were being 1094 00:49:52,260 --> 00:49:55,510 made ill by listening to recommendations 1095 00:49:55,510 --> 00:49:56,550 from the government that were 1096 00:49:56,550 --> 00:49:58,640 not based on science but rather 1097 00:49:58,640 --> 00:50:00,680 were based on marketing. 1098 00:50:01,640 --> 00:50:03,060 - [Thomas] We left Nazirahk's farm 1099 00:50:03,060 --> 00:50:04,980 and crossed over into Virginia 1100 00:50:04,980 --> 00:50:07,980 where we had a conversation with Dr. Milton Mills, who 1101 00:50:08,020 --> 00:50:11,940 practices urgent care medicine in the Washington D.C. area 1102 00:50:11,940 --> 00:50:14,360 and is on the National Advisory Board 1103 00:50:14,360 --> 00:50:17,490 of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. 1104 00:50:17,490 --> 00:50:20,070 He is a practicing Seventh Day Adventist 1105 00:50:20,070 --> 00:50:22,160 which is one of the very rare Protestant 1106 00:50:22,160 --> 00:50:24,040 denominations that recommends 1107 00:50:24,040 --> 00:50:26,580 a vegetarian diet to its members. 1108 00:50:26,580 --> 00:50:29,630 - God designed us and he gave us an owners manual 1109 00:50:29,630 --> 00:50:31,630 and it's called the Bible and in the Bible 1110 00:50:31,630 --> 00:50:34,090 he tells us what we should be eating. 1111 00:50:34,090 --> 00:50:36,840 He tells us what he designed us to eat 1112 00:50:36,840 --> 00:50:40,550 and if we care about ourselves and 1113 00:50:40,550 --> 00:50:42,810 if we care about what God wants then 1114 00:50:42,810 --> 00:50:46,480 we will follow his instructions for a healthy life. 1115 00:50:46,480 --> 00:50:49,310 And when I see people who call themselves Christians 1116 00:50:49,310 --> 00:50:52,070 eating fried chicken and pork chops 1117 00:50:52,070 --> 00:50:54,190 and all this stuff that they know 1118 00:50:54,190 --> 00:50:55,780 are unhealthy and that's 1119 00:50:55,780 --> 00:50:57,280 going to destroy their health 1120 00:50:57,280 --> 00:50:59,610 simply because it tastes good 1121 00:50:59,610 --> 00:51:02,240 then I have to ask, “Do you love 1122 00:51:02,240 --> 00:51:04,410 the pleasure of eating this unhealthy food 1123 00:51:04,410 --> 00:51:06,120 more than you love God? Because 1124 00:51:06,120 --> 00:51:07,710 if you really love God, then you 1125 00:51:07,710 --> 00:51:09,540 would do what he asked us to do 1126 00:51:09,540 --> 00:51:12,380 and that is eat a plant based diet.” 1127 00:51:12,590 --> 00:51:16,260 And when you realize the type 1128 00:51:16,260 --> 00:51:18,720 of misery and pain and suffering that's 1129 00:51:18,720 --> 00:51:20,590 inflicted on other animals 1130 00:51:20,590 --> 00:51:23,810 in order to raise them by the billions 1131 00:51:23,810 --> 00:51:26,020 just so they can be killed and dismembered 1132 00:51:26,020 --> 00:51:28,730 so people can eat them, it's impossible 1133 00:51:28,730 --> 00:51:31,190 for I think a feeling person 1134 00:51:31,190 --> 00:51:33,560 to justify that, particularly someone 1135 00:51:33,560 --> 00:51:35,690 who says that they believe in a loving God. 1136 00:51:35,690 --> 00:51:38,320 It's one thing if it's a matter 1137 00:51:38,320 --> 00:51:41,030 of life, death and necessity but 1138 00:51:41,030 --> 00:51:43,700 in modern life, it's not. 1139 00:51:44,330 --> 00:51:48,120 - [Thomas] The next day we had to say a sad goodbye to Maya 1140 00:51:48,120 --> 00:51:51,420 who was off to a holistic veterinarian conference 1141 00:51:51,420 --> 00:51:54,090 before she headed back to Israel. 1142 00:51:54,090 --> 00:51:56,550 And then Melody and I and Sophia 1143 00:51:56,550 --> 00:51:59,920 made our way back to the sacred woods of North Florida. 1144 00:52:00,550 --> 00:52:02,510 - Abra cadabra. 1145 00:52:04,100 --> 00:52:06,220 - The environmental crisis is not a crisis 1146 00:52:06,220 --> 00:52:07,770 of the bees and the birds 1147 00:52:07,770 --> 00:52:10,100 or the trees and the toads, it's a crisis of 1148 00:52:10,140 --> 00:52:14,770 how we live as spiritual beings in a physical reality. 1149 00:52:14,770 --> 00:52:17,690 Therefore in order to address this crisis we're 1150 00:52:17,690 --> 00:52:20,950 going to need to address the spiritual roots. 1151 00:52:20,950 --> 00:52:22,660 - [Thomas] Just a few days after Melody's 1152 00:52:22,660 --> 00:52:24,870 fourth birthday, I found myself 1153 00:52:24,870 --> 00:52:27,910 on an airplane headed to Marrakesh, Morocco 1154 00:52:27,910 --> 00:52:30,790 to join our producer Sailesh who'd invited 1155 00:52:30,790 --> 00:52:33,540 me to attend the 22nd United Nations 1156 00:52:33,540 --> 00:52:36,630 Climate Change Conference - COP22, 1157 00:52:36,630 --> 00:52:38,500 where people from all over the world 1158 00:52:38,500 --> 00:52:40,840 come together to work on finding solutions 1159 00:52:40,880 --> 00:52:42,510 to the climate crisis that is 1160 00:52:42,510 --> 00:52:45,050 threatening the future of life on our planet. 1161 00:52:45,050 --> 00:52:47,970 - What are some of those spiritual roots? 1162 00:52:47,970 --> 00:52:51,140 This includes the desire for instant 1163 00:52:51,140 --> 00:52:54,020 self gratification, consumerism. 1164 00:52:54,020 --> 00:52:59,030 We are facing a climate crisis, a planetary emergency 1165 00:53:00,030 --> 00:53:01,740 which is really messaging to us 1166 00:53:01,740 --> 00:53:04,740 that the human way of living is out of balance. 1167 00:53:04,740 --> 00:53:08,120 By the end of this 21st century, human beings 1168 00:53:08,120 --> 00:53:10,910 are likely to extinct five million 1169 00:53:10,910 --> 00:53:13,460 of the ten million species on this planet. 1170 00:53:13,710 --> 00:53:17,040 And so, according to the Jewish tradition, 1171 00:53:17,040 --> 00:53:19,170 it is forbidden to extinct a species. 1172 00:53:19,170 --> 00:53:23,420 We have a mandate to be stewards, to care 1173 00:53:23,420 --> 00:53:24,800 for the creation that God 1174 00:53:24,800 --> 00:53:27,640 has entrusted to us, to be righteous, 1175 00:53:27,640 --> 00:53:30,100 to be mindful and that comes 1176 00:53:30,100 --> 00:53:34,190 down to the smallest level of human consumption. 1177 00:53:34,190 --> 00:53:37,150 Everything that we consume, we need to think, 1178 00:53:37,150 --> 00:53:40,570 “Am I elevating this object in the highest way? 1179 00:53:40,570 --> 00:53:44,240 Am I using it in holiness? Am I reusing it? 1180 00:53:44,240 --> 00:53:45,990 Do I actually need this? 1181 00:53:45,990 --> 00:53:48,660 If we do that, then we're living at a higher 1182 00:53:48,660 --> 00:53:50,200 vibrational frequency. We're living in resonance 1183 00:53:50,200 --> 00:53:54,370 with the divine. We're living in resonance 1184 00:53:54,370 --> 00:53:57,670 with the planet that God has given us. 1185 00:53:57,670 --> 00:54:01,130 - We know that of all the energy 1186 00:54:01,130 --> 00:54:03,340 that human beings are putting into the climate 1187 00:54:03,340 --> 00:54:06,260 system via the greenhouse gases, 1188 00:54:06,260 --> 00:54:09,930 93% of that is ending up in the ocean. 1189 00:54:09,930 --> 00:54:13,980 This has led to an increased acidification 1190 00:54:13,980 --> 00:54:16,020 of the ocean. The acidity 1191 00:54:16,020 --> 00:54:18,060 makes it very difficult for shelled 1192 00:54:18,060 --> 00:54:20,900 animals to continue to fabricate 1193 00:54:20,900 --> 00:54:22,980 their shells and so we're beginning 1194 00:54:22,980 --> 00:54:25,860 to see threats to coral reefs. 1195 00:54:25,860 --> 00:54:28,530 We're beginning to see threats to 1196 00:54:28,530 --> 00:54:30,660 shelled animals, in general. 1197 00:54:30,660 --> 00:54:32,240 And the most important ones are the little 1198 00:54:32,240 --> 00:54:34,540 coccolithophores, part of the plankton 1199 00:54:34,540 --> 00:54:36,830 population and if their shells 1200 00:54:36,830 --> 00:54:39,250 are compromised, they can't live 1201 00:54:39,250 --> 00:54:42,550 and the danger will be that...these are the guys, 1202 00:54:42,550 --> 00:54:44,800 the plankton are the ones that are actually 1203 00:54:44,800 --> 00:54:48,010 manufacturing the oxygen in the atmosphere 1204 00:54:48,010 --> 00:54:51,550 that we breathe a few weeks after it leaves the ocean. 1205 00:54:51,550 --> 00:54:55,600 So ocean acidification is a 1206 00:54:55,600 --> 00:54:59,480 global issue that affects absolutely everybody 1207 00:54:59,480 --> 00:55:01,520 and all of the living things in the ocean. 1208 00:55:01,610 --> 00:55:05,320 It's my belief that societies in which 1209 00:55:05,320 --> 00:55:07,070 people care for each other 1210 00:55:07,780 --> 00:55:09,660 are societies that will also take 1211 00:55:09,660 --> 00:55:12,410 care of the environment and so there's 1212 00:55:12,410 --> 00:55:16,250 a relationship between our human compassion 1213 00:55:16,250 --> 00:55:18,870 and our compassion for nature 1214 00:55:18,870 --> 00:55:21,710 and now both are needed to assure 1215 00:55:21,710 --> 00:55:25,050 the survival of our civilization. 1216 00:55:25,050 --> 00:55:27,510 - I would say that compassion is central 1217 00:55:27,510 --> 00:55:29,760 to our religious tradition within Islam 1218 00:55:29,760 --> 00:55:31,890 and as a Muslim trying to be faithful 1219 00:55:31,890 --> 00:55:35,890 to its teachings, I have to strive to become 1220 00:55:35,890 --> 00:55:37,600 more compassionate in my life. 1221 00:55:37,600 --> 00:55:40,900 As an example, every chapter of the holy Koran's 1222 00:55:40,900 --> 00:55:44,860 114 chapters begins with (speaks Arabic) 1223 00:55:44,860 --> 00:55:46,730 which means in the name of God, 1224 00:55:46,730 --> 00:55:49,240 most compassionate, most merciful. 1225 00:55:49,240 --> 00:55:51,280 A small chick fell out of its nest 1226 00:55:51,280 --> 00:55:52,820 in the tree onto the ground 1227 00:55:52,820 --> 00:55:54,410 and one of the Prophet's companions 1228 00:55:54,410 --> 00:55:58,080 was playing with it in quite a ruthless manner, a ruthless way. 1229 00:55:58,080 --> 00:55:59,660 When the Prophet came upon him, 1230 00:55:59,660 --> 00:56:02,120 he became very stern and angry 1231 00:56:02,120 --> 00:56:04,000 and he said, “What are you doing?” 1232 00:56:04,000 --> 00:56:07,170 He said, “Amusing myself.” He said, 1233 00:56:07,170 --> 00:56:08,960 “How can you amuse yourself 1234 00:56:08,960 --> 00:56:12,430 with the child of someone else that's 1235 00:56:12,430 --> 00:56:15,930 not your child? Return the child to its mother.” 1236 00:56:15,930 --> 00:56:17,680 And what's very interesting is 1237 00:56:17,680 --> 00:56:19,100 in the Arabic language they have 1238 00:56:19,100 --> 00:56:20,980 two words, the word normally used 1239 00:56:20,980 --> 00:56:23,020 for baby chick is one word. 1240 00:56:23,020 --> 00:56:25,520 The word that is used for child 1241 00:56:25,520 --> 00:56:28,730 which is exclusively used in the human sense 1242 00:56:28,730 --> 00:56:30,780 which means (speaks Arabic) 1243 00:56:30,780 --> 00:56:33,200 is the term that he used for this chick. 1244 00:56:33,200 --> 00:56:35,660 So, in other words, its relation to its mother 1245 00:56:35,660 --> 00:56:37,490 is the same as the relationship 1246 00:56:37,490 --> 00:56:39,750 of a human mother to her own child. 1247 00:58:17,090 --> 00:58:19,510 - Last year in the run up to the Paris 1248 00:58:19,510 --> 00:58:22,060 climate talks, a number of religious 1249 00:58:22,060 --> 00:58:24,810 organizations issued statements on climate change 1250 00:58:24,810 --> 00:58:26,600 and so our organization issued 1251 00:58:26,600 --> 00:58:29,810 the Hindu Declaration on Climate Change for 2016 1252 00:58:30,150 --> 00:58:32,190 and that was signed by over 60 Hindu leaders 1253 00:58:32,190 --> 00:58:34,490 and organizations from across the world. 1254 00:58:34,490 --> 00:58:36,150 And within that, we put forward 1255 00:58:36,150 --> 00:58:38,780 the case for why Hindus should be concerned 1256 00:58:38,780 --> 00:58:41,240 about climate change and what Hindus 1257 00:58:41,240 --> 00:58:44,120 should and could be doing to address climate change. 1258 00:58:44,120 --> 00:58:46,160 And within that, one of the key things 1259 00:58:46,160 --> 00:58:48,330 we spoke about was diet 1260 00:58:48,330 --> 00:58:51,170 and to live a lifestyle which minimizes harm 1261 00:58:51,170 --> 00:58:54,130 on the environment, on animals, and on other people. 1262 00:58:54,130 --> 00:58:56,130 And so within that, the advocation 1263 00:58:56,130 --> 00:58:58,550 of a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle 1264 00:58:58,550 --> 00:59:00,010 was something that we strongly said 1265 00:59:00,010 --> 00:59:01,930 that Hindus, actually not just Hindus, 1266 00:59:02,010 --> 00:59:03,890 all concerned people of the world 1267 00:59:03,890 --> 00:59:05,220 should take very seriously. 1268 00:59:06,350 --> 00:59:08,560 If we want to create a world which is full of compassion 1269 00:59:08,560 --> 00:59:10,980 which is full of love, which is full of peace, 1270 00:59:10,980 --> 00:59:12,900 then we have to imbibe that and live that 1271 00:59:12,900 --> 00:59:14,980 within our own hearts and minds. 1272 00:59:15,780 --> 00:59:18,200 - Because we have a system, a socioeconomic system 1273 00:59:18,200 --> 00:59:21,910 that's growth oriented and that's based 1274 00:59:21,910 --> 00:59:24,830 on consumption as an organizing value, 1275 00:59:24,830 --> 00:59:27,660 and competition as an organizing principle. 1276 00:59:27,660 --> 00:59:30,080 And because it's growth oriented, 1277 00:59:30,080 --> 00:59:32,590 we have been growing our population 1278 00:59:32,590 --> 00:59:36,210 and our livestock, continuously. 1279 00:59:36,210 --> 00:59:37,800 See, if you look at what has happened 1280 00:59:37,800 --> 00:59:40,630 to the biomass distribution of the planet, 1281 00:59:40,630 --> 00:59:42,220 our weight is now double the weight 1282 00:59:42,220 --> 00:59:45,600 of all the wildlife from ten thousand years ago, 1283 00:59:45,600 --> 00:59:47,600 and our livestock is two and a half 1284 00:59:47,600 --> 00:59:50,440 times our weight and what is worse 1285 00:59:50,440 --> 00:59:51,900 is that our livestock eat 1286 00:59:51,900 --> 00:59:54,020 five times as much food as we do 1287 00:59:54,020 --> 00:59:56,190 because they are mostly young animals 1288 00:59:56,190 --> 00:59:58,990 and they're eating a lot in order to grow. 1289 00:59:58,990 --> 01:00:00,700 So, it's as if you have a bunch of weight lifters 1290 01:00:00,700 --> 01:00:03,070 who are lifting five times their weight 1291 01:00:03,070 --> 01:00:04,870 and they discover that they are on quicksand 1292 01:00:04,870 --> 01:00:06,540 and they're sinking. 1293 01:00:06,540 --> 01:00:08,250 So what is the first thing they should do 1294 01:00:08,250 --> 01:00:09,830 with the weight they're lifting? 1295 01:00:10,790 --> 01:00:12,960 Should we not drop those weights 1296 01:00:12,960 --> 01:00:15,840 or should we continue to hold on to them? 1297 01:00:15,840 --> 01:00:18,260 That's the situation we are in at the moment. 1298 01:00:18,260 --> 01:00:20,470 But we are in a society where we are taught 1299 01:00:20,470 --> 01:00:23,640 to look outside for happiness. We are taught, you know, 1300 01:00:23,640 --> 01:00:26,850 that's where it is, and the entire socioeconomic system 1301 01:00:26,850 --> 01:00:28,720 depends on us believing this. 1302 01:00:28,720 --> 01:00:30,640 That the happiness is outside us. 1303 01:00:30,640 --> 01:00:33,810 So we really are at a position where 1304 01:00:33,810 --> 01:00:36,520 we have to change our socioeconomic system. 1305 01:00:36,520 --> 01:00:38,480 We have to change it so that 1306 01:00:38,480 --> 01:00:40,280 we are looking for happiness inside, 1307 01:00:40,280 --> 01:00:42,450 all of us, so that we are reducing 1308 01:00:42,450 --> 01:00:45,450 our demands on the earth and therefore 1309 01:00:45,450 --> 01:00:46,830 allowing the earth to come back, 1310 01:00:46,830 --> 01:00:48,490 you know, to regenerate again. 1311 01:00:48,620 --> 01:00:50,750 Veganism is a way of living where 1312 01:00:50,750 --> 01:00:53,120 we seek to never deliberately hurt 1313 01:00:53,120 --> 01:00:55,210 an innocent animal unnecessarily. 1314 01:00:55,210 --> 01:00:57,750 No longer is it necessary to eat animal foods. 1315 01:00:57,750 --> 01:01:00,420 So knowing that, we can now get in alignment 1316 01:01:00,420 --> 01:01:02,760 with who we really are, because all of us 1317 01:01:02,760 --> 01:01:05,010 want to be compassionate to all life 1318 01:01:05,010 --> 01:01:06,390 because that's who we are. 1319 01:01:06,390 --> 01:01:08,260 So the most important step that an individual 1320 01:01:08,260 --> 01:01:12,810 can do today to address environmental destruction 1321 01:01:12,810 --> 01:01:14,730 is to adopt a plant based diet 1322 01:01:14,730 --> 01:01:16,900 which is as local as possible, 1323 01:01:16,900 --> 01:01:18,980 which is as organic as possible. 1324 01:01:18,980 --> 01:01:23,570 So it's Local Organic Vegan Eating - that’s L.O.V.E. 1325 01:01:24,610 --> 01:01:26,410 - [Thomas] The day before I left Morocco, 1326 01:01:26,410 --> 01:01:28,370 I joined thousands of environmental 1327 01:01:28,370 --> 01:01:30,740 activists from all over the world 1328 01:01:30,740 --> 01:01:33,210 as we took to the streets of Marrakesh 1329 01:01:33,210 --> 01:01:35,580 in a march for climate justice, 1330 01:01:35,580 --> 01:01:37,960 hoping one day that these marches 1331 01:01:37,960 --> 01:01:41,670 will include justice for animals as well. 1332 01:01:41,670 --> 01:01:46,220 - I am a ladybug from the forest. 1333 01:01:46,220 --> 01:01:50,260 Do you like to ask some questions? 1334 01:01:50,260 --> 01:01:52,730 - How does India have the largest export 1335 01:01:52,730 --> 01:01:54,890 of leather products in the world 1336 01:01:54,890 --> 01:01:57,650 and can still be a cow friendly country? 1337 01:01:57,650 --> 01:02:00,440 - [Thomas] On the second day of 2017 1338 01:02:00,440 --> 01:02:04,150 I once again found myself flying over the ocean. 1339 01:02:04,150 --> 01:02:07,740 Holger Eick, one of our producers who lives in Hong Kong, 1340 01:02:07,740 --> 01:02:10,160 had invited me to join him in India 1341 01:02:10,160 --> 01:02:11,540 where we would explore 1342 01:02:11,540 --> 01:02:13,910 the teachings of compassion in some of 1343 01:02:13,910 --> 01:02:16,870 the world's most ancient spiritual traditions. 1344 01:02:16,870 --> 01:02:20,210 We would start our journey in the city of Mumbai 1345 01:02:20,210 --> 01:02:23,550 where we spoke to Nithya Shanti who lived six years 1346 01:02:23,550 --> 01:02:26,880 as a Buddhist monk and now travels internationally, 1347 01:02:26,880 --> 01:02:28,840 sharing practical wisdom teachings 1348 01:02:28,840 --> 01:02:30,970 for happiness and enlightenment. 1349 01:02:30,970 --> 01:02:32,140 - I used to think for a long time 1350 01:02:32,140 --> 01:02:33,270 I need to be like the Buddha, 1351 01:02:33,270 --> 01:02:34,270 I'm not enough like the Buddha 1352 01:02:34,270 --> 01:02:35,680 I need to be more like the Buddha. 1353 01:02:35,680 --> 01:02:37,020 Then one day, it settled on me 1354 01:02:37,020 --> 01:02:39,350 that I'm not the Buddha. I'm not the Buddha. 1355 01:02:39,350 --> 01:02:40,650 Even if I tried my very best, 1356 01:02:40,650 --> 01:02:42,400 I'll be a second rate Buddha. 1357 01:02:42,480 --> 01:02:44,860 But my eyes shone when I realized 1358 01:02:44,860 --> 01:02:46,280 even if the Buddha tries his best 1359 01:02:46,280 --> 01:02:49,240 he'll be a second rate Nithya Shanti. 1360 01:02:49,240 --> 01:02:51,660 In the Buddhist tradition, the word 1361 01:02:51,660 --> 01:02:53,990 for compassion is Karuna. And Karuna 1362 01:02:53,990 --> 01:02:56,080 is known as one of the noblest states 1363 01:02:56,080 --> 01:02:57,500 we can experience as a human being. 1364 01:02:57,500 --> 01:03:00,630 One of the most noble qualities... 1365 01:03:00,630 --> 01:03:03,130 It's called actually a boundless state. 1366 01:03:03,130 --> 01:03:04,630 When your mind is in unbalanced 1367 01:03:04,630 --> 01:03:06,010 all you are concerned about is about me and my little world 1368 01:03:06,010 --> 01:03:07,840 and at most the people around me. 1369 01:03:07,840 --> 01:03:09,300 But as your mind gets more and more balanced 1370 01:03:09,300 --> 01:03:11,850 you realize - all beings we're in the same boat, 1371 01:03:11,850 --> 01:03:14,430 we all seek to be free from suffering. 1372 01:03:14,470 --> 01:03:16,230 And so the response of 1373 01:03:16,230 --> 01:03:17,940 a balanced mind to suffering 1374 01:03:17,940 --> 01:03:19,440 is compassion, is a desire 1375 01:03:19,440 --> 01:03:21,480 to alleviate that suffering in whatever 1376 01:03:21,480 --> 01:03:23,940 way they possibly can and that's compassion. 1377 01:03:24,400 --> 01:03:28,030 - Vedanta is Indian philosophy which 1378 01:03:28,030 --> 01:03:30,780 originated in the Vedas but 1379 01:03:30,780 --> 01:03:32,830 it is simply knowledge of yourself. 1380 01:03:32,830 --> 01:03:35,450 Vedanta says there are three distinct 1381 01:03:35,450 --> 01:03:38,080 types of thoughts in a human being. 1382 01:03:38,960 --> 01:03:42,920 The highest is sattva which is called pure thoughts 1383 01:03:42,920 --> 01:03:46,130 and unselfish thoughts, compassionate thoughts, 1384 01:03:46,130 --> 01:03:48,970 loving thoughts, thoughts that contemplate 1385 01:03:48,970 --> 01:03:51,090 on the higher, the transcendental. 1386 01:03:51,130 --> 01:03:54,010 A person who is in sattva, pure thought 1387 01:03:54,050 --> 01:03:58,100 will not do anything that harms others 1388 01:03:59,270 --> 01:04:03,150 and to eat the flesh of another creature 1389 01:04:03,150 --> 01:04:06,070 because you find it tasty or even 1390 01:04:06,070 --> 01:04:07,570 if you think it's nutritious 1391 01:04:08,490 --> 01:04:12,280 is abhorrent to a person with pure thoughts. 1392 01:04:12,490 --> 01:04:16,870 Vedanta says at all times in your life 1393 01:04:16,870 --> 01:04:20,330 you must have an attitude of not wanting 1394 01:04:20,330 --> 01:04:24,880 to injure, hurt, or be nasty 1395 01:04:24,880 --> 01:04:28,380 to anyone in thought, word, or deed. 1396 01:04:31,130 --> 01:04:32,760 - [Thomas] While in Mumbai, 1397 01:04:32,760 --> 01:04:35,390 we had the wonderful opportunity to visit a 1398 01:04:35,390 --> 01:04:37,680 beautiful, world renowned Jain temple, 1399 01:04:37,970 --> 01:04:39,980 where we had the pleasure of speaking 1400 01:04:39,980 --> 01:04:42,270 with Urvi Shah, a devout Jain 1401 01:04:42,270 --> 01:04:44,690 who gave us a tour of the temple. 1402 01:06:07,690 --> 01:06:10,770 - Often I ask my patient, do you take milk 1403 01:06:10,770 --> 01:06:12,650 and they say oh no no, I hardly take milk, 1404 01:06:12,650 --> 01:06:14,610 I don't take milk, and then 1405 01:06:14,610 --> 01:06:16,200 we sit down and start writing down 1406 01:06:16,200 --> 01:06:20,450 chai, yes, curd, yes, maybe ice cream yes, 1407 01:06:20,490 --> 01:06:23,080 maybe paneer yes, maybe ghee yes, 1408 01:06:23,080 --> 01:06:25,370 and it can be literally like half a liter 1409 01:06:25,370 --> 01:06:28,290 of milk every day, so you do consume milk. 1410 01:06:28,290 --> 01:06:30,710 If you have just consumed one slice of cheese 1411 01:06:30,710 --> 01:06:33,170 you have already consumed 16 ounces of milk. 1412 01:06:33,170 --> 01:06:35,380 The Indian subcontinent in Asia 1413 01:06:35,380 --> 01:06:37,880 is very obsessed with dairy products 1414 01:06:37,880 --> 01:06:39,680 because it's so deeply ingrained 1415 01:06:39,680 --> 01:06:41,010 that they think it's vegetarian. 1416 01:06:41,010 --> 01:06:42,850 Milk production is very high, 1417 01:06:42,850 --> 01:06:44,470 it's highest in the world. In fact, 1418 01:06:44,470 --> 01:06:47,520 India is one of the largest exporters of beef 1419 01:06:47,520 --> 01:06:50,230 in the world, thanks to the dairy industry, 1420 01:06:50,230 --> 01:06:55,150 because after repeated artificial insemination, 1421 01:06:55,150 --> 01:06:58,570 three or four times, about six or seven 1422 01:06:58,570 --> 01:07:01,240 year of age, now cow is spent. 1423 01:07:01,240 --> 01:07:04,200 She's of no use. Also, the young calf, 1424 01:07:04,200 --> 01:07:07,000 you know, the baby male cow is allowed 1425 01:07:07,000 --> 01:07:09,750 to just die and so the veal is produced 1426 01:07:09,750 --> 01:07:12,290 because there's no use of male cow 1427 01:07:12,290 --> 01:07:14,250 anywhere in any industry. 1428 01:07:14,630 --> 01:07:16,880 From the times of Lord Krishna, 1429 01:07:16,880 --> 01:07:19,340 we consume so much dairy, it's there 1430 01:07:19,340 --> 01:07:21,180 in our temples as prasad. 1431 01:07:21,340 --> 01:07:23,220 It's there at any good occasion, 1432 01:07:23,220 --> 01:07:25,560 marriage, everything's made from dairy. 1433 01:07:25,560 --> 01:07:27,980 Ghee, particularly, is used a lot 1434 01:07:27,980 --> 01:07:30,650 so it just doesn't go out of the psyche 1435 01:07:30,650 --> 01:07:32,900 of the Indian mind. So, I had to write a book 1436 01:07:32,900 --> 01:07:34,360 on dairy alternatives 1437 01:07:34,360 --> 01:07:36,940 and show them the way that you can make 1438 01:07:36,940 --> 01:07:38,860 butter milk, you can make yogurt 1439 01:07:38,860 --> 01:07:41,110 you can make ice creams, you can make 1440 01:07:41,110 --> 01:07:43,700 all the Indian sweets same way, exactly 1441 01:07:43,700 --> 01:07:47,200 same, tasting even much better and healthier. 1442 01:07:47,370 --> 01:07:49,870 - One of the first patients I remember 1443 01:07:49,870 --> 01:07:53,420 was a man who had diabetes but that's 1444 01:07:53,420 --> 01:07:56,090 not why he came to me. He had diabetes 1445 01:07:56,090 --> 01:07:58,130 and he was being given medicines 1446 01:07:58,130 --> 01:08:00,130 and the blood sugar wouldn't come under control 1447 01:08:00,130 --> 01:08:01,760 but he came to me because he had 1448 01:08:01,760 --> 01:08:03,550 the complications of diabetes, 1449 01:08:03,550 --> 01:08:05,180 he was losing his eyesight. 1450 01:08:05,180 --> 01:08:07,180 And when I suggested to him 1451 01:08:07,180 --> 01:08:10,810 to stop all the dairy, within two weeks 1452 01:08:10,810 --> 01:08:12,230 his blood sugar came down 1453 01:08:12,270 --> 01:08:14,020 and his eyesight came back. 1454 01:08:14,360 --> 01:08:16,730 It was just so amazing and then over 1455 01:08:16,730 --> 01:08:18,240 a period of time he went on a 1456 01:08:18,240 --> 01:08:21,530 whole plant based diet and improved even further. 1457 01:08:21,530 --> 01:08:24,370 So, this was one of my early cases which 1458 01:08:24,370 --> 01:08:27,660 brought to my mind how much changing 1459 01:08:27,700 --> 01:08:30,500 our diet really helps because our body 1460 01:08:30,500 --> 01:08:31,960 always works to heal. 1461 01:08:32,500 --> 01:08:34,500 I actually realized that medicines 1462 01:08:34,500 --> 01:08:36,960 come in the way of healing. 1463 01:08:36,960 --> 01:08:40,760 In fact medicines never cure, but the body heals. 1464 01:08:40,880 --> 01:08:45,350 I also run a 21 day residential program 1465 01:08:45,470 --> 01:08:47,850 where we have people coming in 1466 01:08:47,890 --> 01:08:49,430 with all kinds of diseases 1467 01:08:49,470 --> 01:08:51,850 and we do all the lab reports at the beginning 1468 01:08:51,850 --> 01:08:54,600 and as they get better, we take off 1469 01:08:54,600 --> 01:08:57,190 medications and they're given buffet meals. 1470 01:08:57,230 --> 01:09:00,320 We have cooking classes every day, we have yoga, 1471 01:09:00,320 --> 01:09:04,110 meditation, and within 21 days, 1472 01:09:04,110 --> 01:09:08,450 most of them get off at least 70% of the medication. 1473 01:09:08,450 --> 01:09:11,410 Many of them are off all their medications 1474 01:09:12,000 --> 01:09:13,500 and they have more energy than 1475 01:09:13,540 --> 01:09:15,130 they ever had before and we do 1476 01:09:15,170 --> 01:09:17,880 lab reports all over at the end 1477 01:09:17,960 --> 01:09:20,050 so that they can actually see the difference 1478 01:09:20,050 --> 01:09:23,510 between the two reports and even I'm amazed. 1479 01:09:23,510 --> 01:09:25,680 Not only they are amazed but I'm amazed 1480 01:09:25,680 --> 01:09:28,850 every time, how fast the body can actually 1481 01:09:28,850 --> 01:09:32,640 heal if we take away all the things that make it sick. 1482 01:09:34,440 --> 01:09:36,980 - [Thomas] Holger and I left Mumbai and flew 1483 01:09:36,980 --> 01:09:40,610 over to Udaipur where we met up with Sailesh 1484 01:09:40,610 --> 01:09:43,450 and I ran into Dharmada, a friend I had made 1485 01:09:43,450 --> 01:09:46,030 during the Animal Rights conference in L.A. 1486 01:09:46,030 --> 01:09:48,780 She introduced us to her friend, Ashutosh, 1487 01:09:48,780 --> 01:09:51,910 and together we all traveled out to Animal Aid Rescue 1488 01:09:52,250 --> 01:09:54,540 where we met the founder, Jim Meyers, 1489 01:09:54,540 --> 01:09:56,540 who along with his wife, daughter, 1490 01:09:56,540 --> 01:09:59,750 and 50 full time staff members and volunteers 1491 01:09:59,750 --> 01:10:01,050 from around the world, have rescued 1492 01:10:01,050 --> 01:10:04,630 over 65,000 injured and ill street animals 1493 01:10:04,630 --> 01:10:08,260 including dogs, cows, camels, and donkeys, 1494 01:10:08,260 --> 01:10:12,850 just to name a few, since they opened their gates in 2003. 1495 01:10:12,930 --> 01:10:16,350 - In the state of Rajasthan, it is not legal 1496 01:10:16,350 --> 01:10:18,230 to euthanize a cow. 1497 01:10:18,770 --> 01:10:20,980 Any of the other animals you see here, 1498 01:10:20,980 --> 01:10:24,570 the monkey, the blind dogs, the 1499 01:10:24,570 --> 01:10:28,280 handicapped dogs, all can be euthanized 1500 01:10:28,280 --> 01:10:31,830 but the cow is given this special protection. 1501 01:10:31,830 --> 01:10:33,540 A dairy in the city, 1502 01:10:33,540 --> 01:10:37,000 somebody, that cow, there, this one, that one 1503 01:10:37,000 --> 01:10:39,830 stopped giving milk and at night, 1504 01:10:39,830 --> 01:10:42,170 it was pushed out into the street. 1505 01:10:42,170 --> 01:10:44,460 And cruelly, the same one that you say, 1506 01:10:44,460 --> 01:10:47,510 is so holy, we aren't even going to euthanize them, 1507 01:10:47,510 --> 01:10:50,430 we're so enraptured with their 1508 01:10:50,430 --> 01:10:52,890 spirit to keep it alive, every single 1509 01:10:52,890 --> 01:10:56,020 cow represents an abandonment that it was 1510 01:10:56,020 --> 01:10:59,940 not profitable to feed that cow anymore, to do anymore 1511 01:10:59,940 --> 01:11:03,440 with it so you've removed it and you've broken a law. 1512 01:11:03,440 --> 01:11:05,440 This animal at night 1513 01:11:05,440 --> 01:11:08,320 would be eaten out by dogs and pigs 1514 01:11:08,320 --> 01:11:10,820 alive in the street, 1515 01:11:10,820 --> 01:11:15,790 with no medicine to alleviate pain, no one 1516 01:11:15,790 --> 01:11:19,830 to shelter its eyes in a 49 degree Celsius day, 1517 01:11:19,830 --> 01:11:24,000 to move the flies away and here it was 1518 01:11:24,000 --> 01:11:27,260 the only way I could get, not happy, 1519 01:11:27,260 --> 01:11:29,680 because it's nothing to be happy about, 1520 01:11:29,680 --> 01:11:31,800 but I could get satisfied 1521 01:11:31,800 --> 01:11:34,560 that some justice was being done 1522 01:11:34,560 --> 01:11:38,060 so that this cow which this dear lady 1523 01:11:38,060 --> 01:11:41,230 is helping us with, this cow 1524 01:11:41,230 --> 01:11:43,900 is going to die in a few days. It's not gonna be, 1525 01:11:43,900 --> 01:11:45,440 it's legs aren't gonna get stronger 1526 01:11:45,440 --> 01:11:47,190 and get better and return to the city, 1527 01:11:47,190 --> 01:11:50,030 find its long lost brothers and sisters. 1528 01:11:50,240 --> 01:11:53,580 The least favorite question a serious 1529 01:11:53,620 --> 01:11:55,790 politician in India wants to hear 1530 01:11:55,790 --> 01:11:58,620 is, “What happens to the male cows?” 1531 01:11:58,620 --> 01:12:01,170 And so that story has to be suppressed 1532 01:12:01,170 --> 01:12:03,920 if you're gonna keep up all the sensitivity. 1533 01:12:03,920 --> 01:12:06,000 So, no one shows the links. 1534 01:14:18,600 --> 01:14:21,100 - [Thomas] After visiting the royal palace 1535 01:14:21,100 --> 01:14:25,270 and two Hindu temples, the Jagdish and the 1536 01:14:25,270 --> 01:14:28,980 Karni Mata, I had to say goodbye to Holger 1537 01:14:28,980 --> 01:14:31,070 as he flew home to Hong Kong 1538 01:14:31,070 --> 01:14:33,610 and I journeyed forward to New Delhi 1539 01:14:33,610 --> 01:14:35,530 where I would have the unique opportunity 1540 01:14:35,530 --> 01:14:38,160 to speak to two Digambara Jain sadhus, 1541 01:14:38,200 --> 01:14:41,450 sky clad Jain saints who have freed 1542 01:14:41,450 --> 01:14:44,620 themselves of all attachments and worldly possessions, 1543 01:14:44,620 --> 01:14:49,040 including clothing, money and even dishes and silverware. 1544 01:15:06,100 --> 01:15:09,690 The Jain religion is said to be around 5,000 years old 1545 01:15:09,690 --> 01:15:13,690 and it has a rich history of non violence and vegetarianism. 1546 01:15:13,690 --> 01:15:16,280 It has libraries filled with their collective 1547 01:15:16,280 --> 01:15:19,030 knowledge and wisdom, yet there was really 1548 01:15:19,030 --> 01:15:21,570 only one question I wanted to ask 1549 01:15:21,570 --> 01:15:24,120 these holy saints of Ahimsa. 1550 01:15:25,500 --> 01:15:29,330 - (foreign language speaking) 1551 01:15:47,850 --> 01:15:51,690 - (foreign language speaking) 1552 01:16:00,320 --> 01:16:03,160 As much as I loved and felt at home in India, 1553 01:16:03,240 --> 01:16:05,660 two weeks was as long as I could keep 1554 01:16:05,660 --> 01:16:09,330 myself away from Melody and our sanctuary in the woods. 1555 01:16:09,500 --> 01:16:12,040 - When you were a kid did you get really dirty 1556 01:16:12,040 --> 01:16:13,630 and your mom get mad? 1557 01:16:14,960 --> 01:16:16,670 - I did get really dirty but you know 1558 01:16:16,670 --> 01:16:18,130 I had a pretty cool mom. I don't think 1559 01:16:18,130 --> 01:16:19,470 she got mad about it. 1560 01:16:19,630 --> 01:16:21,300 - How old are you now? 1561 01:16:21,800 --> 01:16:24,970 - I will be 50 in a few weeks. 1562 01:16:25,100 --> 01:16:27,220 - Aaahhh, I forgot. 1563 01:16:27,270 --> 01:16:29,930 - One of the great Hasidic rabbis, Rabbi Nachman, taught 1564 01:16:29,930 --> 01:16:31,480 that the day you were born 1565 01:16:31,480 --> 01:16:33,560 was the day that God decided the world 1566 01:16:33,560 --> 01:16:35,520 could not exist without you, 1567 01:16:36,110 --> 01:16:38,230 and that is true for every being, 1568 01:16:38,230 --> 01:16:40,780 that every being that has breath 1569 01:16:40,780 --> 01:16:42,570 God has said the world cannot 1570 01:16:42,570 --> 01:16:45,830 exist without them. And to honor 1571 01:16:45,830 --> 01:16:48,120 God is to honor the holy breath 1572 01:16:48,120 --> 01:16:50,500 of every being and to see 1573 01:16:50,500 --> 01:16:54,290 that the world needs each of us. 1574 01:16:54,500 --> 01:16:56,170 - [Thomas] I was very excited to have 1575 01:16:56,170 --> 01:16:57,750 the honor and delight of sitting down 1576 01:16:57,750 --> 01:16:59,670 with Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz 1577 01:16:59,960 --> 01:17:02,300 while he was attending a rabbinical conference 1578 01:17:02,300 --> 01:17:04,140 in Atlanta, Georgia. 1579 01:17:04,140 --> 01:17:06,800 Rabbi Yanklowitz is a social justice activist, 1580 01:17:06,800 --> 01:17:08,510 a sought after educational 1581 01:17:08,510 --> 01:17:10,980 and motivational speaker and the author 1582 01:17:10,980 --> 01:17:14,440 of seven books on Jewish spirituality and ethics. 1583 01:17:14,600 --> 01:17:18,070 He is the founder of the Shamayim V'Aretz Institute, 1584 01:17:18,070 --> 01:17:20,860 a graduate of both Harvard and Columbia 1585 01:17:20,860 --> 01:17:22,990 and the only person I've personally met 1586 01:17:22,990 --> 01:17:25,740 who's donated one of his kidneys to a stranger. 1587 01:17:26,030 --> 01:17:27,780 - The book of Psalms teaches 1588 01:17:27,780 --> 01:17:30,870 that the world is built through kindness. 1589 01:17:30,870 --> 01:17:34,540 We bring heaven down to earth by perpetuating kindness. 1590 01:17:34,670 --> 01:17:37,420 In every interaction, in every act 1591 01:17:37,420 --> 01:17:40,670 of food consumption, in every choice we make, 1592 01:17:40,670 --> 01:17:43,050 we have the opportunity to elevate 1593 01:17:43,050 --> 01:17:46,510 the sparks of holiness in whatever we encounter. 1594 01:17:46,510 --> 01:17:49,470 We have the opportunity to objectify 1595 01:17:49,470 --> 01:17:52,770 and abuse or we have the opportunity 1596 01:17:52,770 --> 01:17:55,020 to see the holiness in everything. 1597 01:17:55,020 --> 01:17:56,810 When my children were born 1598 01:17:56,810 --> 01:17:58,860 and I held them for the first time, 1599 01:17:58,860 --> 01:18:02,570 the level of love I felt was so infinite! 1600 01:18:02,570 --> 01:18:06,910 This is how God experiences all of God's creatures. 1601 01:18:06,910 --> 01:18:10,910 Each creature is held with infinite love 1602 01:18:10,910 --> 01:18:13,000 and to take the Godly perspective 1603 01:18:13,000 --> 01:18:17,420 of the universe is to treat every being with love, 1604 01:18:17,420 --> 01:18:21,420 to treat every being as an end in themselves. 1605 01:18:21,420 --> 01:18:24,340 All of our religions teach this, 1606 01:18:24,340 --> 01:18:25,880 in their purest form. 1607 01:18:26,340 --> 01:18:27,800 So the most central question we can 1608 01:18:27,800 --> 01:18:29,640 ask ourselves every day is 1609 01:18:29,640 --> 01:18:32,470 how can I increase compassion in the world today, 1610 01:18:32,470 --> 01:18:34,310 through my every choice? 1611 01:18:35,350 --> 01:18:37,150 - I long ago started just saying 1612 01:18:37,150 --> 01:18:38,770 I'm a follower of Jesus Christ 1613 01:18:38,770 --> 01:18:40,650 because even if you are not a Christian 1614 01:18:40,650 --> 01:18:42,150 coming into that conversation 1615 01:18:42,150 --> 01:18:44,320 you know enough about Jesus to think that you're gonna 1616 01:18:44,320 --> 01:18:45,530 generally agree with most stuff 1617 01:18:45,530 --> 01:18:47,910 Jesus says. I mean turning the other cheek 1618 01:18:47,910 --> 01:18:49,700 and forgiveness and goodness. 1619 01:18:49,700 --> 01:18:51,910 I mean most people agree that Jesus 1620 01:18:51,910 --> 01:18:54,620 was teaching the right values 1621 01:18:54,620 --> 01:18:56,370 even if they're not Christians. And it's because 1622 01:18:56,370 --> 01:18:59,130 I love Jesus so much that I'm a vegan. 1623 01:18:59,130 --> 01:19:03,550 I'm not a vegan who also coincidentally 1624 01:19:03,550 --> 01:19:07,510 is a Christian. I am, full on, 1625 01:19:07,510 --> 01:19:11,390 a vegan because I love Jesus Christ. 1626 01:19:12,050 --> 01:19:14,270 - [Thomas] Although I'd already shot several hundred hours 1627 01:19:14,270 --> 01:19:16,390 of footage and I was a quarter way 1628 01:19:16,390 --> 01:19:18,730 through the rough cut, I couldn't pass up 1629 01:19:18,730 --> 01:19:20,980 the amazing opportunity to travel back 1630 01:19:20,980 --> 01:19:24,400 to Manhattan and speak to Suzy Welch, 1631 01:19:24,400 --> 01:19:26,820 who is a business journalist, bestselling 1632 01:19:26,820 --> 01:19:30,070 author and a regular contributor on the Today Show. 1633 01:19:30,700 --> 01:19:33,200 She's a devout, evangelical Christian 1634 01:19:33,200 --> 01:19:35,240 and an Animal Rights activist, 1635 01:19:35,290 --> 01:19:37,370 who currently sits on the advisory board 1636 01:19:37,370 --> 01:19:39,210 of the Good Food Institute. 1637 01:19:39,210 --> 01:19:41,380 - Jesus' earliest followers, many of them 1638 01:19:41,380 --> 01:19:43,290 were vegan because they got it. 1639 01:19:43,290 --> 01:19:45,170 They got that Jesus was about mercy, compassion 1640 01:19:45,170 --> 01:19:47,130 and love, and life. 1641 01:19:47,130 --> 01:19:51,140 Choose life, give life, stop killing, 1642 01:19:51,140 --> 01:19:53,180 show kindness to everything and so 1643 01:19:53,180 --> 01:19:56,890 Jesus' earliest fanatical followers were vegans. 1644 01:19:56,970 --> 01:19:59,730 And at one point, in Acts, Paul, frustrated with them, 1645 01:19:59,730 --> 01:20:01,980 says, “Stop talking about what you're eating. 1646 01:20:01,980 --> 01:20:03,310 You're sort of taking up all of our time 1647 01:20:03,310 --> 01:20:04,690 with your vegan diet 1648 01:20:04,690 --> 01:20:06,030 and let's pay attention to other things. 1649 01:20:06,030 --> 01:20:07,530 He had bigger sort of philosophical issues 1650 01:20:07,570 --> 01:20:09,400 that he wanted everybody paying attention to, 1651 01:20:09,400 --> 01:20:11,950 but we know historically 1652 01:20:11,950 --> 01:20:14,200 that Jesus' earliest followers, 1653 01:20:14,200 --> 01:20:16,450 the people sort of closest to his message, 1654 01:20:16,450 --> 01:20:20,120 were vegan because of him. So it's not like 1655 01:20:20,120 --> 01:20:22,380 I invented this, that I am just 1656 01:20:22,380 --> 01:20:25,210 following the tradition of Christians 1657 01:20:25,210 --> 01:20:27,380 all along who got that connection 1658 01:20:27,380 --> 01:20:29,670 but the connection's been buried. It's been buried 1659 01:20:29,670 --> 01:20:32,800 for a long time for cultural reasons, for cultural reasons. 1660 01:20:32,800 --> 01:20:35,430 But then people come back to this concept of dominion, 1661 01:20:35,430 --> 01:20:37,060 that's the big one for Christians. 1662 01:20:37,060 --> 01:20:40,100 Well God gave us dominion over all of His creation. 1663 01:20:40,100 --> 01:20:42,230 Well then, you have to think about 1664 01:20:42,230 --> 01:20:44,360 what dominion means. Well, God 1665 01:20:44,360 --> 01:20:46,360 has dominion over us. What does that mean, 1666 01:20:46,360 --> 01:20:48,900 God's dominion over us? He tells us exactly 1667 01:20:48,900 --> 01:20:50,490 what dominion means. People like 1668 01:20:50,490 --> 01:20:51,820 to debate what dominion means 1669 01:20:51,820 --> 01:20:53,240 but God tells us what dominion means. 1670 01:20:53,240 --> 01:20:57,330 It means loving, nurturing, life filled, 1671 01:20:57,330 --> 01:21:01,330 hope filled, compassionate, merciful, 1672 01:21:01,330 --> 01:21:05,130 tender, love! Okay and if that's 1673 01:21:05,130 --> 01:21:07,380 what dominion means and God's demonstrating 1674 01:21:07,380 --> 01:21:10,130 it towards us, which he is, 1675 01:21:10,130 --> 01:21:13,260 then it's our turn to use that 1676 01:21:13,260 --> 01:21:15,260 exact same exact bunch of words 1677 01:21:15,260 --> 01:21:17,890 in how we treat God's creation. 1678 01:21:17,890 --> 01:21:19,970 And, I don't know, slaughter houses 1679 01:21:19,970 --> 01:21:21,310 are not included in that. 1680 01:21:21,310 --> 01:21:24,650 And so for me, well yeah, bring up dominion, 1681 01:21:24,650 --> 01:21:27,150 bring it, because the Bible tells us what dominion is 1682 01:21:27,150 --> 01:21:29,440 and if you believe that dominion 1683 01:21:29,440 --> 01:21:31,070 is what God tells us it is, 1684 01:21:31,070 --> 01:21:34,280 then you have to stop eating animals. 1685 01:21:34,780 --> 01:21:36,490 - So Roman Catholics take scripture 1686 01:21:36,490 --> 01:21:38,330 very seriously, but we always 1687 01:21:38,330 --> 01:21:39,950 pair it with tradition saying that 1688 01:21:39,950 --> 01:21:41,620 we can't really even interpret scripture 1689 01:21:41,620 --> 01:21:43,290 without the tradition as well, 1690 01:21:43,290 --> 01:21:45,330 and the tradition on animals 1691 01:21:45,330 --> 01:21:47,750 all the way to the catechism of the Catholic church, 1692 01:21:47,750 --> 01:21:49,300 the official teaching of the Catholic Church 1693 01:21:49,300 --> 01:21:51,630 through the catechism, is so interesting 1694 01:21:51,630 --> 01:21:55,010 on animals, including an almost justice 1695 01:21:55,010 --> 01:21:59,430 like command saying that we owe animals kindness. 1696 01:21:59,430 --> 01:22:01,680 Often, in moral theology, we think 1697 01:22:01,680 --> 01:22:03,770 about justice as being what we owe 1698 01:22:03,770 --> 01:22:06,310 other people and the language of justice 1699 01:22:06,310 --> 01:22:08,980 is used in the catechism of the Catholic Church. 1700 01:22:08,980 --> 01:22:11,400 We owe animals kindness, that's unambiguous. 1701 01:22:11,400 --> 01:22:14,450 And so much of what we do today, 1702 01:22:14,450 --> 01:22:16,320 of course, is inconsistent with that 1703 01:22:16,320 --> 01:22:18,620 and Catholics have to ask those questions. 1704 01:22:19,450 --> 01:22:21,080 - [Thomas] While in New York City, 1705 01:22:21,080 --> 01:22:23,120 Victoria and I visited the beautiful 1706 01:22:23,120 --> 01:22:25,540 campus at Fordham University 1707 01:22:25,540 --> 01:22:27,380 which was founded by the Catholic 1708 01:22:27,380 --> 01:22:30,540 Diocese of New York in 1841. 1709 01:22:30,540 --> 01:22:33,590 There we spoke with Charles Camosy, 1710 01:22:33,590 --> 01:22:35,630 an Associate Professor of Theology 1711 01:22:35,630 --> 01:22:37,720 and Social Ethics and an author 1712 01:22:37,720 --> 01:22:40,720 whose books include, For Love of Animals, 1713 01:22:40,720 --> 01:22:43,270 and Peter Singer and Christian Ethics. 1714 01:22:43,390 --> 01:22:46,310 - I think so much of where injustice 1715 01:22:46,310 --> 01:22:49,150 comes from is our refusing to apply our principles 1716 01:22:49,150 --> 01:22:52,320 consistently. So we say we believe this 1717 01:22:52,320 --> 01:22:54,780 but then when it comes to his other thing 1718 01:22:54,780 --> 01:22:56,990 where it looks like we have to act 1719 01:22:56,990 --> 01:22:59,070 in a way contrary to the way we're currently acting 1720 01:22:59,070 --> 01:23:01,580 if we want to follow that principle seriously, 1721 01:23:01,580 --> 01:23:03,370 we kind of abandon the principle. 1722 01:23:03,450 --> 01:23:05,750 I use the analogy in my classes, 1723 01:23:05,750 --> 01:23:07,540 arguments and principles are like buses, 1724 01:23:07,540 --> 01:23:09,040 they're not like taxis. So if you 1725 01:23:09,040 --> 01:23:10,580 have a principle you have to follow it 1726 01:23:10,580 --> 01:23:12,630 wherever it goes or you gotta 1727 01:23:12,630 --> 01:23:14,380 get on a different bus. You can't 1728 01:23:14,380 --> 01:23:16,050 just tell your principle wherever 1729 01:23:16,050 --> 01:23:17,720 it's gonna end up, that's just being irrational. 1730 01:23:17,720 --> 01:23:19,970 So and so much injustice has come 1731 01:23:19,970 --> 01:23:21,640 from that kind of irrationality. 1732 01:23:21,640 --> 01:23:24,180 We believe in the divinity of the human person 1733 01:23:24,180 --> 01:23:26,640 except in slavery. We believe in non violence 1734 01:23:26,640 --> 01:23:28,980 except when we perpetuate war in the Crusades. 1735 01:23:28,980 --> 01:23:31,360 We believe in the most vulnerable, 1736 01:23:31,360 --> 01:23:34,150 except when it comes to how we eat. 1737 01:23:34,150 --> 01:23:36,440 And so in the book I'm trying to call out 1738 01:23:36,490 --> 01:23:38,320 all Christians to say, 1739 01:23:38,320 --> 01:23:40,990 if we really claim to believe these things, 1740 01:23:41,120 --> 01:23:43,280 we ought to change our whole lives 1741 01:23:43,280 --> 01:23:45,450 or let's not claim to believe these things. 1742 01:23:45,450 --> 01:23:47,540 Because if we just pick and choose 1743 01:23:47,540 --> 01:23:49,170 where we end up as a result of these principles, 1744 01:23:49,170 --> 01:23:52,130 we don't actually really believe the principles are true. 1745 01:23:52,130 --> 01:23:54,630 And to me that's just what it means 1746 01:23:54,630 --> 01:23:56,090 to be a Christian, it means following 1747 01:23:56,090 --> 01:23:57,840 Christ in every aspect of your life, 1748 01:23:57,840 --> 01:24:00,130 not just picking and choosing where you do that. 1749 01:24:00,430 --> 01:24:02,680 - Charles and Myrtle Fillmore the founders of Unity, 1750 01:24:02,680 --> 01:24:05,680 were staunch vegetarians all their lives, 1751 01:24:05,680 --> 01:24:07,220 talked about it a lot. 1752 01:24:07,220 --> 01:24:10,020 I think the Archives has 135 talks 1753 01:24:10,020 --> 01:24:13,190 from Charles Fillmore about being vegetarian. 1754 01:24:13,190 --> 01:24:15,360 They wrote about it in their publications, 1755 01:24:15,360 --> 01:24:18,360 and so having been to seminary 1756 01:24:18,360 --> 01:24:19,860 and knowing Unity's history, 1757 01:24:19,860 --> 01:24:21,910 I knew they were vegetarian. 1758 01:24:22,240 --> 01:24:24,700 I didn't know quite how ferociously 1759 01:24:24,700 --> 01:24:29,000 they were until I became vegan 1760 01:24:29,000 --> 01:24:31,080 and started reading more about it. 1761 01:24:31,620 --> 01:24:33,630 - [Thomas] So it turns out the founders of Unity, 1762 01:24:33,630 --> 01:24:34,920 the church I was attending 1763 01:24:34,920 --> 01:24:36,500 when I became vegan 1764 01:24:36,500 --> 01:24:39,470 were vegetarians in the late 1800s and 1765 01:24:39,470 --> 01:24:41,720 even included it in their statement of faith, 1766 01:24:41,720 --> 01:24:44,260 until it was removed in 1939. 1767 01:24:44,550 --> 01:24:47,180 So I joined Victoria at Unity village 1768 01:24:47,180 --> 01:24:49,810 in Missouri where she arranged an interview 1769 01:24:49,810 --> 01:24:52,600 with her friend, Reverend Ellen Debenport, 1770 01:24:52,690 --> 01:24:55,900 Unity's Vice President of content and media, 1771 01:24:55,900 --> 01:24:57,360 to ask why no one at Unity 1772 01:24:57,360 --> 01:24:59,070 had ever told me about this 1773 01:24:59,070 --> 01:25:01,150 and to discuss how Unity could be 1774 01:25:01,150 --> 01:25:03,990 more proactive in sharing Charles' teachings 1775 01:25:03,990 --> 01:25:05,700 about not eating animals. 1776 01:25:05,950 --> 01:25:07,910 - A lot of people find Unity 1777 01:25:07,910 --> 01:25:10,910 as refugees from rigid religions 1778 01:25:10,910 --> 01:25:12,580 and so they're hyper sensitive 1779 01:25:12,580 --> 01:25:14,290 to being told what to do, 1780 01:25:14,290 --> 01:25:16,460 or being told they're wrong or bad 1781 01:25:16,460 --> 01:25:19,710 and so Unity's leaders including me 1782 01:25:19,710 --> 01:25:22,380 are probably pretty hesitant 1783 01:25:22,380 --> 01:25:24,840 to talk about, there is this other 1784 01:25:24,840 --> 01:25:28,100 way to eat that you might find 1785 01:25:28,100 --> 01:25:31,100 would enhance your spiritual journey. 1786 01:25:31,180 --> 01:25:33,390 We may be moving in that direction. 1787 01:25:33,390 --> 01:25:34,980 We have more and more ministers who 1788 01:25:34,980 --> 01:25:36,730 are talking about it and who 1789 01:25:36,730 --> 01:25:39,150 think Unity really should insist on it 1790 01:25:39,150 --> 01:25:41,820 from World Headquarters, which 1791 01:25:41,820 --> 01:25:43,900 isn't going to happen any time soon, 1792 01:25:43,990 --> 01:25:46,280 because we don't want to tell people 1793 01:25:46,280 --> 01:25:50,540 what to do, but we can talk about it 1794 01:25:50,540 --> 01:25:53,910 and we can revive the idea that the Fillmores 1795 01:25:53,910 --> 01:25:58,750 preached vegetarianism and saw it as a spiritual practice. 1796 01:26:00,420 --> 01:26:01,920 - [PODCAST] Learn how to eat better, 1797 01:26:01,920 --> 01:26:04,300 get healthy and help animals. Welcome 1798 01:26:04,300 --> 01:26:08,600 to Main Street Vegan with your host, Victoria Moran. 1799 01:26:09,890 --> 01:26:11,560 - [Thomas] The Main Street Vegan podcast 1800 01:26:11,560 --> 01:26:13,890 on Unity radio is one of the ways 1801 01:26:13,890 --> 01:26:15,520 Unity has begun moving back 1802 01:26:15,520 --> 01:26:17,650 toward their vegetarian roots, 1803 01:26:17,860 --> 01:26:19,610 and after speaking with Ellen, 1804 01:26:19,610 --> 01:26:21,280 I look forward to seeing what other 1805 01:26:21,280 --> 01:26:23,490 ways they'll find to honor Charles and Myrtle's 1806 01:26:23,490 --> 01:26:25,820 original teachings about not eating 1807 01:26:25,820 --> 01:26:28,070 or wearing our fellow earthlings. 1808 01:26:30,580 --> 01:26:33,000 Over 74 billion farmed animals 1809 01:26:33,000 --> 01:26:35,460 are bred and slaughtered every year, 1810 01:26:35,500 --> 01:26:38,710 most of them while they're still just babies 1811 01:26:39,420 --> 01:26:41,630 and in the United States they eat 1812 01:26:41,630 --> 01:26:43,800 nearly 70% of the grain we grow 1813 01:26:43,840 --> 01:26:47,510 and raising them uses over 80% of our water 1814 01:26:47,510 --> 01:26:49,640 and almost half of our land 1815 01:26:50,010 --> 01:26:51,680 and it's also the number one cause 1816 01:26:51,680 --> 01:26:54,680 of water and air pollution as well 1817 01:26:54,680 --> 01:26:58,400 as deforestation, species extinction, 1818 01:26:58,400 --> 01:27:00,060 and ocean dead zones. 1819 01:27:01,940 --> 01:27:04,070 How long can we continue to try 1820 01:27:04,070 --> 01:27:05,570 and justify this? 1821 01:27:07,570 --> 01:27:10,280 All of the great spiritual traditions agree 1822 01:27:10,280 --> 01:27:12,160 that along with life's joys, 1823 01:27:12,160 --> 01:27:14,290 there will also be suffering 1824 01:27:14,540 --> 01:27:16,250 but so much of the suffering I see 1825 01:27:16,250 --> 01:27:18,960 in the world around me is unnecessary 1826 01:27:18,960 --> 01:27:21,790 and caused by the choices we make every day. 1827 01:27:22,130 --> 01:27:24,340 Those choices are having a devastating 1828 01:27:24,340 --> 01:27:26,170 effect on our individual 1829 01:27:26,170 --> 01:27:29,640 and collective karma and health 1830 01:27:29,640 --> 01:27:32,180 and they're threatening the future of our children. 1831 01:27:32,680 --> 01:27:35,770 (Native American flute music) 1832 01:27:36,600 --> 01:27:38,850 My prayer is that each of us 1833 01:27:38,850 --> 01:27:41,810 will challenge ourselves to be more kind 1834 01:27:41,810 --> 01:27:45,110 and compassionate with our thoughts, words and actions, 1835 01:27:45,440 --> 01:27:47,610 to vote wisely with our dollars 1836 01:27:47,610 --> 01:27:49,240 and to take better care 1837 01:27:49,240 --> 01:27:53,620 of all of creation including our body temples 1838 01:27:53,620 --> 01:27:55,330 and to take the time each day 1839 01:27:55,370 --> 01:27:58,660 to go within and ask some version of what 1840 01:27:58,660 --> 01:28:01,130 can I do to make the world better 1841 01:28:01,130 --> 01:28:02,380 for those yet to come 1842 01:28:04,000 --> 01:28:06,380 and then listen carefully for that 1843 01:28:06,380 --> 01:28:10,510 still quiet voice to answer. 1844 01:28:10,680 --> 01:28:13,640 ♪ All around this great big world ♪ 1845 01:28:13,640 --> 01:28:16,600 ♪ I'm gonna let it shine ♪ 1846 01:28:16,600 --> 01:28:19,440 ♪ All around this great big world ♪ 1847 01:28:19,440 --> 01:28:21,690 ♪ I'm gonna let it shine ♪ 1848 01:28:21,690 --> 01:28:24,610 ♪ All around this great big world ♪ 1849 01:28:24,610 --> 01:28:26,940 ♪ I'm gonna let it shine, ♪ 1850 01:28:26,940 --> 01:28:31,950 ♪ Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine ♪ 1851 01:28:33,780 --> 01:28:38,330 - Eating fruit is help your brain like mine. 1852 01:28:39,620 --> 01:28:42,170 ♪ This little light of mine, ♪ 1853 01:28:42,170 --> 01:28:45,210 ♪ I'm gonna let it shine, ♪ 1854 01:28:45,210 --> 01:28:48,300 ♪ ♪ This little light of mine, ♪ 1855 01:28:48,300 --> 01:28:51,340 ♪ I'm gonna let it shine, ♪ 1856 01:28:51,340 --> 01:28:54,350 ♪ This little light of mine, ♪ 1857 01:28:54,350 --> 01:28:56,640 ♪ I'm gonna let it shine, ♪ 1858 01:28:56,640 --> 01:29:01,640 ♪ Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine ♪ 1859 01:29:01,850 --> 01:29:04,150 ♪ Hallelujah ♪ 1860 01:29:04,520 --> 01:29:07,520 (upbeat jazz music) 1861 01:29:13,110 --> 01:29:15,240 ♪ Namaste ♪ 1862 01:29:26,000 --> 01:29:29,590 ♪ I ain't gonna hide it under no bushel, no ♪ 1863 01:29:29,590 --> 01:29:32,220 ♪ I'm gonna let it shine, ♪ 1864 01:29:32,220 --> 01:29:35,680 ♪ Ain't gonna hide it under no bushel, no ♪ 1865 01:29:35,680 --> 01:29:38,010 ♪ I'm gonna let it shine, ♪ 1866 01:29:38,010 --> 01:29:41,390 ♪ Ain't gonna hide it under no bushel, no ♪ 1867 01:29:41,390 --> 01:29:43,810 ♪ I'm gonna let it shine, ♪ 1868 01:29:43,810 --> 01:29:48,820 ♪ Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine ♪ 1869 01:29:50,530 --> 01:29:53,450 ♪ Everywhere I go ♪ 1870 01:29:53,450 --> 01:29:56,200 ♪ I'm gonna let it shine ♪ 1871 01:29:56,200 --> 01:29:58,740 ♪ To everyone I know ♪ 1872 01:29:58,740 --> 01:30:01,910 ♪ I'm gonna let it shine ♪ 1873 01:30:01,910 --> 01:30:04,620 ♪ Everywhere I go ♪ 1874 01:30:04,620 --> 01:30:07,330 ♪ I'm gonna let it shine ♪ 1875 01:30:07,330 --> 01:30:12,300 ♪ Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine ♪ 1876 01:30:12,460 --> 01:30:15,470 (upbeat jazz music) 1877 01:30:17,180 --> 01:30:22,180 ♪ Let it shine now ♪ 1878 01:30:22,770 --> 01:30:27,770 ♪ Everywhere you go now ♪ 1879 01:30:28,860 --> 01:30:30,570 ♪ To everyone you know ♪ 1880 01:30:30,570 --> 01:30:35,570 ♪ Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine ♪ 1881 01:30:36,950 --> 01:30:39,450 ♪ This little light of mine ♪ 1882 01:30:39,450 --> 01:30:42,910 ♪ I'm gonna let it shine, lord ♪ 1883 01:30:42,910 --> 01:30:45,710 ♪ This little light of mine ♪ 1884 01:30:45,710 --> 01:30:48,420 ♪ I'm gonna let it shine ♪ 1885 01:30:48,420 --> 01:30:51,590 ♪ This little light of mine ♪ 1886 01:30:51,590 --> 01:30:53,710 ♪ I'm gonna let it shine ♪ 1887 01:30:53,710 --> 01:30:58,680 ♪ Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine ♪ 1888 01:30:58,970 --> 01:31:03,600 ♪ Hallelujah ♪ 1889 01:31:03,600 --> 01:31:08,600 ♪ Namaste now ♪ 1890 01:31:09,270 --> 01:31:14,280 ♪ Don't forget to pray now ♪ 1891 01:31:14,490 --> 01:31:16,400 ♪ And everywhere you go ♪ 1892 01:31:16,400 --> 01:31:21,160 ♪ Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine ♪ 1893 01:31:29,370 --> 01:31:31,500 Ladies and gentlemen put your hands 1894 01:31:31,500 --> 01:31:34,380 together for the Village Brass Band. 1895 01:31:36,840 --> 01:31:39,590 Good night, drive safely and God bless.