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"A non-violent world has roots in a non-violent diet"
Let us remember that among animal lovers and vegetarians have been great philosophers, artists, statesman and mathematicians like pythogoras, Plutarch, Plato, Socrates, Leonardo de Vincy. Leo Tolstoy, George Bernard Shaw, Annie Besant, Albert Schweitzer, Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi & Vinoba Bhave.
It is time to stop trading in meat-importing or exporting it. It is time to close down slaughter houses. It is time to give up making our stomaches a grave yard of dead animals. Time has come for the United Nations to recognise and protect" the right to life". World campaign for vegetarianism should take the line that vegetarianism makes eating a pure delight and celebration of communion with life and its natural environment.
Imagine the waste of resources through feeding animals on vegetables and dead meat in order to provide them as non-vegetarian food for humans, when more rationally humans and animals could all share nature's bounty of fruits and vegetables to survive and grow. A lot of fruits and vegetables is perishing daily unused all over the world.
(4) Measures need to gain global momentum to control violence towards nature Earth is rapidly being plundered and forest cover is rapidly disappearing. In U.S.A. alone since 1960 the rate of deforestations as been one acre every second. Central America which had 1,30,000 sq. miles of rain forests in 1960 is now left with hardly 80,000 sq. miles cover. Air and water is getting heavily polluted, march of desert continues, global warming is. affecting agriculture. If we do not judicious conserve and develop our water resources, 21 st Century may well face a global water crisis.
What is called for is dynamic sustainable development complementary to preservation of environment. At the same time. environmental movement should not become anti-development particularly in developing countries. In major Jain pilgrimage countries. on hill tops continuous afforestation and development of natural habitat is going on. Worldwide joint community and inter-faith programmes are required to promote reafforestation of denuded lands on hill tops plateaus and plains.
(5) Global concern must manifest itself in protecting animal and bird life. Jain Red Temple in New Delhi (India) has for years been running a bird clinic with great impact. Near Jain Temple at Halore (Jamnagar), Gujarat (India), a big cow shelter centre is flourishing which welcomes ailing cows for treatment and nourishment. Many such centres in India enjoy generous support of Jain Philanthropists.
Arhat Vacana, 14(4). 2002
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