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CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
Generation Jain Jainism Your Way
Young Jains of America.
8th Biennial Convention
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
Being Jain and Living Green: 101
Arvind Bobra
&
Amit Jain
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Overview
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
• In this session we will examine two key
Jain principals: - Vegetarianism – Non-Possessiveness
July 4th, 2008
Slide 2
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We Live in a Interconnected World
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
• Mahavir made the following profound statements: – "All life is bound together by mutual support and
interdependence. – "We harm and kill other lives because of our greed
and possessiveness" (Tattvartha Sutra) • Since all lives are interconnected one should realized
that if we harm ONE we harm ALL living beings and "Possession and possessiveness is the primary cause of all violence as well as imbalance in the environment"
July 4th, 2008
Slide 3
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We Live in a Interconnected World
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
• Parasparopagraho Jivanam - All life is bound together by mutual support and interdependence
आहिसा
परस्परोपग्रहो जीवानाम्
July 4th, 2008
Slide 4
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We Live in a Interconnected World
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
• These ancient statements form the basis
of the modern day science of ecology and are refreshingly contemporary in its premise and promise
– Albert Einstein once said, "Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."
July 4th, 2008
Slide 5
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2006 United Nations Report
• "Animal products contribute more to global warming than all land vehicles, ships and airplanes on the planet combined"
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
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The Effects of non-vegetarianism
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
• Meat is the most uneconomical and inefficient food we can eat: - Misuse of grain – Misuse of water – Misuse of land – Misuse of Electricity - Misuse of Fossil Fuels – Related to World Hunger – Unquantifiable healthcare costs
July 4th, 2008
Slide 7
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CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
Inefficient Use of Food
•
10 times less efficient
• Nutritional value of 1lb of meat vs 1lb of vegetable based meal provides much more energy and nutrition
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Meat Eating and World Starvation
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
• Harvard nutritionist, Jean Mayer, estimates that
reducing meat production by just 10% would
release enough grain to feed 60 million people • "Much Third World grain and other food is fed to
animals (to produce cheaper meat to be eaten in developed countries), not to hungry Third World people" Greater demand for meat leads to more deforestation, more water pollution, more soil degradation, and, ultimately, more hunger
July 4th, 2008
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Land Degradation
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
• Livestock sector is largest use of land
- Accounts for 70% of all agriculture land -30% of the land surface of the planet – 70% of Amazon rainforest is occupied
by pastures – 1/2 of total topsoil has been destroyed – 85% is result of livestock production
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CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
•
Water Usage
2,500 gallons of water to produce 1lb of beef
•
80% of our nation's use of water goes to livestock production
Quarter pounder - more water than a human drinks in 4 years
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Meat Eating and Water pollution
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
• Meat production far outstrips all other
causes of pollution nationwide and worldwide combined • A steer produces 50 lbs of manure a day –
a total of one billion tons of "organic waste"
July 4th, 2008
Slide 12
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Meat Eating and Water pollution
• In US, livestock are responsible for an estimated 55% of of erosion and sediment, 37% of pesticide use, 50% of antibiotic use, and 1/3 of the phosphorus and nitrogen into water sources.
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
July 4th, 2008
Slide 13
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Meat Eating and Atmosphere
• Livestock sector contributes more to global warming than all transportation combined
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
-9% of CO2 emissions
-37% of methane (23x more GWP) -65% of NOX (296x more GWP)
-64% of Ammonia - acid rain
July 4th, 2008
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Shocking Facts!
• 80-90% of all grain grown in America is used to feed meat animals
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
• 1 acre used to raise a steer will provide about one pound of protein - this same land planted with soybeans will produce 17 lbs of protein from grains
·
•
Former UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim has said that the food consumption of the rich countries is the key cause of the hunger around the world and the UN has strongly recommended that these countries cut down on their meat consumption
Scientists at the University of Chicago showed that a typical American meat-eater is responsible for nearly 1.5 tons more carbon dioxide a year than a vegan.
July 4th, 2008
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Historical figures
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
• Socrates had figured this out 2500 years
ago: • "If we pursue our habit of eating animals,
and if our neighbor follows a similar path, will we not have need to go to war against our neighbor to secure greater pasturage, because ours will not be enough to sustain us, and our neighbor will have a similar need to wage war on us for the same reason?"
July 4th, 2008
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The Effects of Possessiveness
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
• Possessiveness is violence: Why – there
is violence in everything we buy and consume: our cars, homes, furniture,
clothes, electronics, etc. • Let us examine the full impact of
expenditure and consumption on the world around us...
July 4th, 2008
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CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
The Effects of Possessiveness
Two main things to understand:
- Interconnectivity - 'if we harm ONE, we harm ALL living beings'
- Consumerism - egregious over consumption and it's unsustainability
July 4th, 2008
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Jainism on Possessiveness
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
• "Possession and possessiveness is the
primary cause of all violence as well as imbalance in the environment" – Lord Mahavir • Articles needed for life do not constitute possessiveness; 'attachment is possessiveness' – Lord Mahavir
July 4th, 2008
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CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
•
Gandhi summarized this well:
The idea of non-possessiveness stems from respect for other lives and the
environment.
• "Live simply so others may simply live" - Gandhiji
July 4th, 2008
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The Story of Stuff
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
• An examination of the full scale - where stuff comes
from and where it goes. In particular we should understand how everything interacts, how everything is interrelated
July 4th, 2008
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CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
The Story of Stuff - Consumption
The bottom line is we are consuming too much - too fast - with disregard to the environment and unsustainability of our voracious consumption
In the last 30 years, 1/3 of natural resource space has been consumed - wasted away through cutting, mining, hauling
- In the US just less than 4% of the forests remain - 40% of the US water has become undrinkable
July 4th, 2008
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CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
The Story of Stuff - Consumption
In the United States we consume far too much The US accounts for just 5% of the world population, but use 30% of the world resources
-30% of the world's waste
If everybody in the world consumed at the US's pace, we would need 3-5 planets to sustain the population
July 4th, 2008
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The Story of Stuff - Exploitation
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
• So then what do we do – we go to the third world and exploit their resources – 75% of the world's fisheries are gone - 80% of the world's forests are gone - 2000 trees a minute in the Amazon
July 4th, 2008
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The Story of Stuff - Exploitation
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
• Toxins:
- 100,000 synthetic chemicals used – Toxins go up the food chain – Highest concentration at the top
July 4th, 2008
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The Story of Stuff - Exploitation
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
• Factory Workers:
- They are exploited -land and resources -forced them to sustain themselves by coming to
factories to work - they have no other options – Erosion of local economies in 3rd world - their
environments don't sustain them anymore – So it's not just resources, it's people too
July 4th, 2008
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The Story of Stuff - Pollution
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
• Pollution: - In the US - 4 billion pounds of toxic chemicals -
from factories – that's what they admit to - so could be a lot more
• Exploitation of people and resources is what
makes it possible to get products so cheaply
July 4th, 2008
Slide 27
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The Story of Stuff - Consumption
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
• Our economy runs on consumption • Our value is thus demonstrated by how
much we consume • Material must flow • % in product or use in six months • Victor Lebow - CONSUME
July 4th, 2008
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The Story of Stuff - Consumption
CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
• Just how egregious is it?
• Compared to an Indian? Brazilian? . Compared to 50 years ago
July 4th, 2008
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CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
The Story of Stuff - Consumption
• A way of life
• How did it happen
• Planned Obsolescence
• Perceived Obsolescence
• Advertisements
• We are bombarded
• How it affects the way we feel and perceive Shopping in our free time
July 4th, 2008
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CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
The Story of Stuff - Disposal
• What happens to stuff
• Where does garbage go
• Pollutes the air, land and water
• How much garbage - per day - per year
• Incineration - DIOXIN
July 4th, 2008
Slide 31
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CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008
The Story of Stuff - Disposal
• Recycling - the real story
• Downstream garbage - is 70x!
July 4th, 2008
Slide 32
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________________ The Solution CHICAGO JULY 3-6, 2008 * There is no real solutions - they are all insignificant in comparison * The only solution is....... * NON-POSSESSIVENESS July 4th, 2008 Slide 33