The sixth Asian Vegetarian Congress which opened here today was told that the global population has the power to help reduce global warming by turning towards a vegetarian diet that would help make a difference to the planet.
In his keynote address, prominent Asian Entrepreneur, Dato Sri Vijay Eswaran, said limiting or abstaining from meat consumption would consume less of our limited resources on Earth. He pointed out that the livestock sector has emerged as a very significant contributor to environmental problems at every scale from local to global, including land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and loss of biodiversity.
Hence, he urged the Congress to send out a strong message to stop all killings and to create better public awareness of the importance of consuming more plant-based food. Having been instilled with a deep abhorrence towards violence when he was young, he stressed: “Let’s not have any more pain in the world. There’s enough pain already,” referring to the slaughter of millions of animals annually around the world.
Vijay, who is Executive Chairman of the QI Group, said vegetarianism is more than just a personal belief. It is part of the corporate philosophy of the company he founded with his partner, also a vegetarian. “The 15-year-old QI Group that employs more than 1,000 people in nearly 30 different countries is a fully vegetarian company. The primary consideration here for us is the four main pillars of vegetarianism, namely environment health, biological and ethical.
Appearing as the first keynote speaker at the congress attended by about a thousand local and foreign delegates, Vijay said the encouraging resurgence of vegetarianism, especially in Asian countries, is attributed to reasons such as religion, concern for health, the environment and the compassion for animals.
Source: http://archive.feedblitz.com/330642/~4659769#0
