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(solemn flute music)

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- How can we expect ourselves to have

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lives of joy and freedom
and spiritual clarity

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when we are sowing the seeds

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of the opposite of that?

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- It's almost like some mad scientist

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like Satan himself designed these systems

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that are being used now to raise animals.

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It is absolute insanity.

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- I don't get how you can
love everything Jesus says

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and then participate in

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a mechanized system of mass slaughter

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that involves pain beyond
your wildest imagination.

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- Even keeping quiet and silent

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about the violence, you
are part of that violence.

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- There's another passage
in the Quran that says that

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because of the wrongs of humanity,

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there has been much corruption

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seen in the oceans and on land.

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- So for a few moments in which we're

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enjoying what is really
just a palette preference

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we're taking what is most
essential to animals,

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their very lives and that's the opposite

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of compassion, it seems to me.

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- We are ashamed of our
ancestors who owned slaves.

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We are ashamed of our ancestors

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who believed in segregation

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so too, our grandchildren will be ashamed

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of what we allowed to happen on our watch.

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Each of us has to ask
ourselves a spiritual question,

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what side do I want to tell
my grandchildren I was on?

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Was I on the side of mercy and compassion,

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or was I on the blind side that helped

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to perpetuate suffering?

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♪ This little light of mine ♪

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♪ I'm gonna let it shine ♪

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♪ This little light of mine ♪

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♪ I'm gonna let it shine ♪

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♪ This little light of mine ♪

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♪ I'm gonna let it shine. ♪

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- This one is for you.

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♪ Let it shine let it shine let it shine ♪

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- [Thomas] This is my daughter Melody.

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She's the reason I'm
making this documentary.

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It's for her and it's for all the children

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who will inherit whatever
world we choose to leave them.

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(OM-ing)

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- We've got a potato.

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- Thank you for this food

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and let it nourish our
bodies and our spirits.

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Let it keep us healthy and happy

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and full of life and love and compassion

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for all of creation.

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- And be vegan.

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- Be vegan and be a
champion for the people

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and be a champion for the planet

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and be a champion for the animals

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and be a champion for ourselves.

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- And for all of these things we say

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thank you and so it is.

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- And be champion for
the animals, so it is.

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- [Thomas] I haven't always been a vegan.

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I was born in a small
town in South Georgia

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during the late 60s

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and I was raised a southern Baptist

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and I grew up eating
the a southern version

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of the standard American diet.

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Comprised mainly of meat, dairy, and eggs,

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mixed in with huge helpings of fast

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and processed foods.

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And like so many other
kids eating the SAD diet,

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I suffered the sad consequences

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which ranged from mild asthma to

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severe allergies to
tons of ear infections,

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sties, viruses and zits
and too many more ailments

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that were considered normal to list.

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(ragtime music)

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Okay...um...I'm making this video

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for, you know, my family
back home and uh...

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Um...I'm making this...okay,

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I'm making this video...I'm
looking at the mic...okay.

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It wasn't until my mid 30s
living in New York City

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and attending a Unity Church
that I became a vegan.

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It was studying the teachings of Jesus

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about kindness and compassion

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and starting a daily meditation practice

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that really led me to a non violent diet

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even though no one at
Unity or anywhere else

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had ever even suggested I be vegetarian

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and I had never even
heard the word 'vegan'

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much less knew any. Though it wasn't long

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before I started noticing
that during Sunday brunch,

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the same ministers and chaplains
who were teaching me about

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kindness and compassion for
all were for some reason

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not including the innocent
animals on their plates.

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But who was I to judge
the choices of another?

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So I decided to live and let live

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and try to be a good example.

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(baby gurgling)

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And that worked for almost a decade

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until after my daughter
was born and suddenly

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I found myself with skin in the game

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and a reason to care about
what happens in the future.

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(baby cooing)

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Really, is that so?

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And then I saw the documentary Cowspiracy

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where I learned that not only
does animal agriculture create

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over half the greenhouse
gases on the planet

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but it's also the number one
user and polluter of water

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and the major cause of deforestation.

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Not to mention that the grains we use

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to feed billions of animals that we breed

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just for slaughter could
much more effectively

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be fed to humans and could help

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save the nearly nine million people

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who die from hunger each year.

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I felt I had to do something

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but I didn't know what,
so I did what I often

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do when I don't know what to do.

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I prayed and I meditated about it

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and during that meditation this question

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popped into my mind.

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How is it possible that a compassionate,

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spiritual or religious person

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could support an industry
that is responsible

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for the unnecessary suffering
of billions of people

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trillions of land and sea animals

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and the devastation of the
very planet we live on?

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That question would end
up taking me on a journey

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throughout the United
States and around the globe

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to explore the teachings of kindness

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and compassion that form
the basis of all the world's

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main religions and the
not so main ones as well

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and try to understand how
so many people of faith

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are doing unto others that which

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they would never wish
done unto themselves.

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(ragtime music)

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The journey started when I
traveled back to New York City

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to speak to Victoria Moran who I'd met

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once years earlier when she spoke

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at the Unity church I attended

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while living in that beautiful city

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that never sleeps.

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- I personally don't understand

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why some of the people
that I admire the most,

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people whose words and whose writings

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I completely revere, are
eating our fellow creatures.

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- [Thomas] Victoria Moran is
a much sought after speaker,

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best selling author,

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and host of the Main Street Vegan Podcast.

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She's been an animal
rights activist and vegan

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for over 30 years.

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- A great deal of
spirituality is about belief.

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That's why we call it faith.

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I'm a person of faith. I'm a Christian,

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a yogic Christian and yet I understand

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that there are people who have other

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spiritual beliefs and
other spiritual views.

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So what can bring all spiritual people

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together as a whole believing community?

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To me that is compassion.

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Because compassion is at the center

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of the message of Jesus,

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it's compassion that got the Jews

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out of bondage and to the promised land.

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We have all the eastern religions that are

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Ahimsa based, non violence based.

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So can we all agree that however

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we see God, however we see the road

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to salvation, being
compassionate to one another

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and expanding that compassion
out to all that has life

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is the true essence of spirituality?

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What else could it possibly be?

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- I think all of the world's religions,

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if you distill them, the
wisdom down to one sentence

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it'd be something like this:

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whatever you most want for yourself,

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give that to others. That's
a basic understanding

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to give to others what you would like.

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Another way of saying it is
whatever you sow, you will reap.

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It's also the same thing,

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whatever we put out, it'll come back.

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- [Thomas] Victoria put me in
contact with Dr. Will Tuttle

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who's a musician, an international speaker

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and the best selling author

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of the World Peace Diet.

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I sat down with Dr. Tuttle in Ocala

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where he and his spouse Madeline

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were currently living in the solar powered

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RV that they use while
traveling around the country,

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speaking about animal
rights and performing music.

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- From the time we were born,

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we were forced to participate
in mealtime rituals

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by our parents and teachers and

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everyone in our community

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that essentially numb us and disconnect us

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so that when we get older,

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we take out our wallets and we vote for it

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and we don't just vote
for it, we then eat it.

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So we actually bring it into our body,

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we give it to our children.

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This is not only toxic
from the point of view

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of the level of physical heath but

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it's toxic from the point of
view of our spiritual health,

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from the point of view
of our cultural health,

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from the point of view
of our ethical health.

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We don't actually hold
the knife ourselves,

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we don't actually hold
the electroshock prod

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ourselves, we don't actually hold the

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raping sperm gun ourselves and fire it,

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but we pay someone else to do that

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and so we pay other people to do things

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that bring out the worst in them

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and yet all we see is something

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wrapped in plastic and styrofoam,

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very often served with a smile

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and so there's this deep disconnection

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in our society and I think it's that

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deep disconnection that is the greatest

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obstacle to authentic spiritual awakening.

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The authentic inner spiritual teaching

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of all the great religious
wisdom traditions

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are pointing in the same direction.

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Kindness and compassion
for all living beings

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is the path of awakening for all of us.

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(light rock music)

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- [Thomas] My next stop
was Encinitas, California,

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where I would sit down and visit

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with Bob Isaacson,
Buddhist, dharma teacher

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and co-founder and president
of Dharma Voices for Animals.

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- The teachings of the
Buddha regarding compassion

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and non harming towards animals,

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is not being followed by many
many Buddhist practitioners,

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teachers, and Buddhist centers.

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The Buddha said to his followers

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if there is no eater of meat,

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there will be no destroyer of life.

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Whatever the karmic
effect is to the person

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eating the animal, the
person who has to slaughter

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the animal, the person who has

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to raise that animal for slaughter

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is incurring extremely unwholesome karma.

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Oftentimes people who cannot

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find other jobs, people who are exploited

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terribly in slaughterhouses
and factory farming

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why should these people
incur negative karma,

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killing animals and raising
animals for slaughter

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when all we have to do is
eat a plant based diet?

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- Compassion is such an important

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key part of all traditions, but really

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looking at what that meant and how

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it extends to all living
beings is a really

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important piece.  So I have to say

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these two lovely guys they
don't get along very well.

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- They need a little more compassion.

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- Yes, yes.

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- [Thomas] I'd left Bob
and I traveled north

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to the hills of Topanga
where I met Lisa Levinson,

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the sustainable activism campaign director

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for In Defense of Animals

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and the founder of Vegan Spirituality.

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- 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.