Animal Liberation is Human Liberation

Welcome to Peace to All Beings. Until we liberate animals from human exploitation and violence, we cannot expect to have true freedom and peace for ourselves. We human beings can awaken to our higher consciousness and embrace a new paradigm of living in harmony, rather than in fear and domination. We can become "Homo Ahimsa," my term for a new nonviolent and kind human, but we must make that choice together. There is hope for our species--hope that we will not continue this war against animals and the earth. Together let us co-create a new culture and heal the wounds humanity has caused to the earth, to each other, and to the animals who share this world with us.

Thursday, December 5, 2019

THE WORLD EDUCATION SUMMIT ON SUSTAINABILITY AND TRANSFORMATION INVITED US TO SPEAK AND SHARE INFORMATION


VEGANISM: THE KEY TO TRANSFORMING AND HEALING THE WORLD

Lisa Levinson, Jane Velez-Mitchell of Jane Unchained, and I attended The World Education Summit in Las Vegas November 22 and 23rd.  We hosted an In Defense of Animals information table loaded with vegan starter kits, books, prayer flags, Vegan World 2026 information, Go Vegan IDA pins, t-shirts and mugs, along with brochures about Vegan Spirituality, Circle of Compassion, the Interfaith Vegan Coalition, and other important information. We also handed out Sailesh Rao’s “White Paper” on the devastating effects of animal agriculture.


Most spectacularly, we also set up the beautiful traveling museum exhibit, curated by Dr. Lisa Kemmerer, titled “Animals and World Religions.”  This is the same exhibit that we took to the Parliament of World Religions event in Toronto last year. 



The morning was filled with talks by the founder of InterEdx Center for Advanced Research on Energy and Sustainability (ICARES), Dr. Lee Dedicatoria; James Campbell, motivational speaker and founder of Divine Intervention helping at risk youth; Romel Pascual, Executive Director of CicLAVia and former Deputy Mayor for Energy and Environment for Los Angeles,; Robert Pauley, inventor of a smart recycling bin that pays kids to recycle; Pablito Villegas, an international consultant on sustainability and manager of organic demonstration farms in the Philippines; and several other brilliant and influential environmentalists.     



The morning talks addressed many crucial aspects of sustainability and healing ourselves and the earth. But the devastating impact of animal agriculture that increases human hunger and disease, wildlife extinction, pollution and unbearable suffering for farmed animals was discussed more in the afternoon talks. As important as they are, biking, recycling, shorter showers, eco-tourism, etc. will not, by themselves, reverse the devastation caused by humanity if we do not eliminate animal agriculture and transition to vegan values.  Jane got that essential conversation started in a big way with her talk “The Biggest Climate Threat that Everyone is Afraid to Discuss.”   She showed her film “Countdown to Year Zero,” in which she and Dr. Sailesh Rao make it very clear that we have to end animal agriculture and rewild the earth if there is to be any hope for earth’s creatures, including us.  Jane hosted Q & A following the film and helped a lot of pre-vegans make the connection. One woman in the audience was particularly disturbed by the information and claimed that God wanted us to dominate and eat animals.  Jane handled the situation with grace and respect for the woman who, after all, had the courage to speak her mind. 



Lisa Levinson, co-founder with me of the Interfaith Vegan Coalition, then spoke on “Vegan Spirituality and Earth Caretaking.” She was beautifully able to weave together some of the graphs and information from Climate Healers.org, along with the moral, spiritual, and ethical aspects of creating a vegan world in which all beings can thrive.





Saturday evening we were treated to a most amazing Eco-Fashion show featuring a well known Philippino designer, who specializes in using materials that are sustainable, such as coconut husks, bamboo, tree nuts and other sources of fabric and decorations.  Unfortunately, he uses feathers, but Lisa did point out to him that feathers come at a terrible cost to the birds.  So hopefully, a seed was planted there. 

It was a seed planting venture for us all, and we are thrilled and grateful that we had this opportunity to speak to these influential people who have many followers of their own.  Several told us directly that they are now going to go plant-based, and we will be following up with this group so that veganism, the beautiful key to healing the world, shines bright in their future work. 


Tuesday, September 24, 2019


Please click here to check out and register for this upcoming online event.  I am one of the speakers and humbled to be among so many visionary vegan women who have done so much to create a vegan world of peace for all beings. 
Vegan Blessings to you all, Judy 

Monday, June 24, 2019

The Interfaith Vegan Coalition Shares Joyous News at the Unity People's Convention


The Interfaith Vegan Coalition (IVC) spoke up for the animals of the world at the Unity People’s Convention in Overland Park, Kansas, from June 17 to the 21st.   Thanks to vegan minister Reverend Carol Saunders (check our her beautiful "Unity for All" banner behind the table), we were not only able to have an information table at the Convention, but also to show Thomas Jackson’s new film, “A Prayer for Compassion,” on the evening of the 18th.  The attendees of this annual convention include Unity ministers and teachers as well as lay people who love Unity and its principles.  Interestingly, Unity’s founders, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, considered abstaining from animal flesh a key to one’s spiritual growth as well as to world peace.  Yet that part of their teachings has been ignored for many years.  IVC was there to invite these spiritual leaders to embrace the absolute necessity of bringing this teaching of truth back into Unity.  Imagine how quickly veganism would grow within Unity if the ministers would see and teach the true teachings of the Fillmores which made it clear that our own inner peace, peace for the animals and world peace can only be obtained when we stop our violence toward animals.
 



Our table was a busy gathering place.  We had books and prayer flags from Will Tuttle, Gracia Fay Ellwood, Sailesh Rao, Victoria Moran, and Judy Carman to sell, beautiful shirts designed by Carol for sale,  and many free brochures and flyers.  Reverend Saunders sold a good number of her new “The Forgotten Teachings of Charles Fillmore: How our relationship with animals connects to Universal Love—Ethical Living—Spiritual Development—World Peace.”  We met a surprising number of vegan and vegetarian ministers and teachers.  We talked in depth with them about how to be respectful and inclusive of vegan church members and how to address the issues of violence toward animals in their sermons.  We had a special brochure for the vegetarians who visited the table titled “Are you vegetarian for spiritual reasons?” to help them take the next steps to veganism as a full and joyful spiritual path which helps us become completely aligned with our love for all beings and our desire to do no harm.



We will be following up with many of the Unity folks who visited us.  Many will be added to our lists of Vegan ministers and Vegan Friendly Churches at AllCreatures.org.  We could not have done this without the wonderful help of Thomas Jackson who came with his adorable daughter, Melody, all the way from Florida to field questions after the two film showings.  (The second showing to a full house was at Unity on the Plaza in Kansas City, MO.)  Victoria Moran flew in from New York and helped immeasurably with many aspects of this event and was also on hand for Q and A after the films.  Dianne Waltner and Damaris Hubbell drove all the way from Wichita, KS, to table, film, and encourage the visitors to our table to embrace the beautiful Fillmore teachings.  They have organized a showing of “A Prayer for Compassion” in Wichita on July 28, 2019.  
Carol, Damaris, and Dianne--sharing the beautiful truth



IVC is not stopping here, of course.  We are on a Divine Mission to “wake the sleeping giant of religion.”  An estimated 80% of the world’s people believe in God.  And most see the Golden Rule as the ideal for which we all are striving.  If we can get enough faith leaders to help their members connect the dots and see that in order to align our highest values with our daily actions, we must live vegan and help to create a vegan world.