Born in 1950, Mr. Wollen descended from a distinguished British family that had settled in India for generations. He traversed the highest reaches of financial success and power, yet gave them all up to follow the path of kindness. He is indeed one of the brightest beacons of light in the history of 21st century environmental protection and humanitarianism. “We’re running out of time. We need to focus very, very strongly on the vegan movement, because that is the enchanted key. Without veganism, nothing is going to happen. It is the only way out of this room, and the sooner we wake up to that obvious fact, the better. ”

When you visit Little Liuqiu, the chance of seeing the green sea turtles is higher than not seeing them. Usually, the visitors see them. The biggest difference from many places around the world is , in some places, you have to dive in order to see them; some are only visible during specific seasons. However, here in Little Liuqiu, you can see them all year-round. We should realize that it was not easy for such a precious thing to become so common and easy to access. But thanks to the government’s efforts, the non-governmental organizations’ support, the local residents’ recognition, and tourists’ assistance, we have these precious landscape that we can appreciate. It all depends on everybody’s efforts.

Today we’ll examine the problem of global waste and learn how to live a zero-waste lifestyle. Everyone sees we have a problem with plastic, and everyone knows we need to solve it. And it’s urgent. Everyone knows that if we don’t do something about this, plastic will suffocate our oceans, will cause ever-worse health problems for human beings.We need to do something about this. We cannot keep giving poison to the Earth because it will stay in the soil forever and keep building up generation after generation. We should do what we can to minimize harm to the environment because that’s our duty. We should do that, we should be kind.

My home, Little Liuqiu, is a gorgeous coral island. Situated off the southwestern coast of Taiwan, or Formosa, it is part of Pingtung County. The Taiwanese (Formosan) Environmental Protection Administration of Taiwan has launched a number of efforts to safeguard Little Liuqiu. Beginning in 2019, a two-year plan called Plastic Reduction & Zero-Plastic was implemented. Recently, little Liuqiu promoted beach cleaning through a creative beach currency created out of weathered glass scraps. CEO Chen Ren-ping of HiiN Studio and artist Lin Pei-yu tell how this wonderful idea works.

Mr. Tolhurst is a highly innovative farmer. As such, Tolhurst Organics was the first farm in the world to be awarded Stockfree Organic certification by the UK-based Vegan Organic Network. Mr. Tolhurst loves the soil and devotes much of his time to improving its quality. He has learned that careful soil management greatly enhances crop yields. The most important aspect of our work is to manage the soil. This is critical. So, most of what we do is really geared towards improving the soil, maintaining carbon in the soil, which is really important, and maintaining the biological diversity of the soil.

Little Liuqiu is our only offshore coral reef island in Taiwan (Formosa). It is home to the growth of algae, and the water temperature is warm. Therefore, the green sea turtles naturally find this place attractive to stay for lengthy periods. As one slowly grows into maturity, it will become herbivorous, shifting its diet to marine plants like algae and seagrass. If we all have an environmentally friendly attitude, the environment for the sea turtles will be preserved, and it will also have the opportunity to grow and breed the next generation.

Conservation agriculture is a new method of farming with a wide range of environmental benefits. That, if on a large-area basis, all the farmers convert to conservation agriculture, that means that we have agriculture which is not a net emitter of greenhouse gases, but it becomes a mitigator of global warming. And also, farmers find that instead of polluting the atmosphere with carbon dioxide, it gets locked into the soil, it improves their soil health and soil productivity. And that means that the whole soil function changes. And in the long term, we have to change our education system. And also, the institutions, research and extension systems which are there to help the farmers must begin to align themselves behind this new paradigm.

No soil erosion should be taking place. And now we can achieve that with conservation agriculture, the new paradigm of agriculture about which farmers are beginning to learn and are adopting more and more, which is a no-till agriculture. It is farming which basically emulates as closely as possible what happens in the natural world, how nature takes care of the land. In nature there is no plowing. In nature soil health is being looked after through biomass, a return of biomass. And also, the third aspect of conservation agriculture is diversification.

Little Liuqiu is one of the few isolated isles that is completely made up of coral reefs. So, when you arrive by boat from Taiwan (Formosa), you’ll find that the colors of the sea change, with about three or four colors. Upon arrival, the water is so clear you can see the bottom of the ocean. That is because this is a coral reef island. It nurtures abundant marine life. In recent years, the rich biological scenery in the intertidal zone has attracted lots of tourists. They come to visit the intertidal zone. This whole area has become more environmentally friendly, with more and more green sea turtles inhabiting Little Liuqiu.

In July 2016, the wise government of Morocco implemented operation “Zero Mika” to eliminate single-use plastic bags. “Mika” is the Arabic word for plastic. This operation has opened a door for new eco-friendly materials to be developed and introduced to the market, steering people towards new choices that are good for our planet. A Moroccan student, Saif Eddine Laalej, invented an eco-friendly paving building material called Paveco that became a finalist of the ENCGT’s Enactus Social Cup competition. In recognition of his brilliant eco-innovation, Supreme Master Ching Hai graciously presented the Shining World Invention Award to Saif Eddine Laalej.

We have seen that when people go on a vegan diet, and especially a wholefood plant-based diet, they can improve so many conditions. But what stops them from going vegan? Or what stops them from caring for their bodies? Thank you Nandini Gulati for helping people to understand that the mind, body and heart are all part of our well-being, and that a truly compassionate heart easily embraces veganism. May your “Guilt-Free Vegan” cookbook help countless people embrace a kinder and healthy way of living!