COP26 President Alok Sharma, Members of Mahatma Gandhi family & Sadhguru speak for Go Dharmic on Ahimsa for our Environment

“It’s our most important work. Many people will know Go Dharmic from our humanitarian work, in the field of serving people directly who are struggling for food, who are unable to get access to medical attention..as our dharma is to do that work. But, still, I also think that there’s even more important dharma of protecting our planet, protecting our environment, of doing whatever we can to make a difference for our planet.”

– Hanuman Dass, Founder & Chairman, Go Dharmic

Hanuman Dass wrote an open letter to the heads of state attending COP26 calling for them to make personal changes like going vegan in their own lives so that they may inspire civil society. Go Dharmic staged a virtual thematic sessions event: ‘Ahimsa & The Environment’, on the 31st of October- advocating the promotion and raising-up of all life through non-violence. The charity will be planting trees in India for every attendee of COP26 in an ambitious project to plant 2 million trees.

In the lead-up to the monumental COP26, the virtual event, ‘Ahimsa & The Environment’, which lasted over seven hours, sought to apply the ancient idea of ‘Ahimsa’, or ‘Non-violence’ to the many ethical dangers our contemporary world faces. Among the many respected speakers were: Alok Sharma (President of COP26 and member of Parliament), Dean Russell (Conservative MP for Watford), Sadhguru and Krishna Das, Sister Jayanti, and South-African peace activist Ela Gandhi (granddaughter of Mahatma Gandhi). Together, the speakers held panels on our relationship with the environment, youth views on implementing non-violence concerning nature, animal agriculture and reforming food systems, climate financing and the private sector, biodiversity, and climate change.

“If we could just emulate the right people, instead of the wrong ones, maybe we’d do better”

– Maneka Gandhi,  Indian politician, animal rights activist, and environmentalist.

Maneka Gandhi honed in upon animal welfare, food, and agriculture to look at one guest speaker. She pushed the emulation of the many supreme athletes who perform extraordinary physical feats on vegan and vegetarian diets, deposing the myth that physical prowess requires a diet rich in meat. She also hinted upon the appalling conditions that many animals experience, like, cramped cages, nutritiously poor foods, and forced breeding. “These are appalling conditions and should leave otherwise good people feeling ashamed! Even those kept in relatively sound and open conditions still have to make a final journey to the violence of the abattoir.” Gandhi also stressed the harm that livestock farming causes to the environment, damaging habitats, taking up immense amounts of water, and utilising an excess of grains and vegetables to feed them, all adding to the global carbon and methane footprint. Gandhi also discussed the many ridiculous laws and politically loaded issues surrounding methane generated by the dairy, poultry, and meat industries. She noted that turning vegan or vegetarian is an option that individuals can take up relatively easily, to reduce their carbon footprint significantly. One statistic, from a ‘‘New Scientist’ study, suggested that by going plant-based, persons could potentially reduce their carbon impact by 60%.

Alok Sharma, who shared a message for the event, said: “Faith in a common principle can encourage action. The Hindu tradition, into which I was born, teaches that nature is divine and that we must promote the welfare of all living beings. We have already seen the power of a concept like ahimsa, avoiding the harm of any living things, which has inspired profound political change.”

Seating panels debating business, politics, biodiversity, faith, and diet and nutrition, ‘Ahimsa & The Environment’ helped revitalise the spirit of change, raising awareness and stimulating discussion between policymakers, businesses, different nations, and the worldwide public. This has never been more prudent than now, when climate change issues are reaching a tipping point and we, finally, have people everywhere having their say on the future of our planet in the lead up to COP26.

Watch the entire event here: