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wayne/~3/0dUMgR67DA4/launch-of-hsi-india-draws-big-names-and-big-goals-for-animals.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email
Posted: 28 Nov 2012
PSTI have enduring recollections of my guest appearances on Oprah
and Ellen, partly because their very public affirmations of animal
protection made me feel our cause was ascendant. I had that same feeling
today in Mumbai, as Humane Society International <http://www.hsi.org>
launched its India office at a jam-packed event keynoted by His Holiness the
Dalai Lama at the Grand Hyatt. He was joined by several major cultural and
entertainment personalities from India, including "Slumdog Millionaire" star
Anil Kapoor and poet and film producer Pritish Nandy.
This was the
Dalai Lama's first-ever event focused on the issue of animal protection, and
he gave a wide-ranging 42-minute talk. "Animals deserve our compassion," His
Holiness said. "We must know their pain. We should nurture this compassion
through education. Showing concern about animal rights is respecting their
life."
I opened the event with a speech about our responsibilities to
animals and our efforts in India to help street dogs, to ban animal testing
for cosmetics, and to turn around the growing factory farming problem in the
nation with the lowest per capita meat consumption in the world. In a crowd
that included business leaders, journalists, and others, I picked up a
general resolve to put our principles into action and to gain ground in the
world's second largest nation.His Holiness the Dalai Lama, sporting the
Humane Society International hat. You can see more photos from my trip here
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151181686399032&set=a.10151176251684032.
456315.333215664031&type=3&theater
The Dalai Lama is a
transcendent personality -- he's a citizen of the world, having fled
persecution in Tibet decades ago, taken up residence in northern India, and
now traveling the world to spread a message of compassion and tolerance.
Today, in his extended public remarks on animal issues, he mentioned that
he's been back and forth on his vegetarianism through his eight decades, and
is not a vegetarian now. But he condemned factory farming, and specifically
the rearing of hens in battery cages. He said that being vegetarian is
better for us and better for animals, and that South Indian vegetarian food
is his favorite cuisine. Throughout his entire speech and in the question
and answer session that followed, he wore a Humane Society International
baseball cap, which delighted me even though it clashed with his Buddhist
monastic robe.
Kapoor, best known to American audiences for his roles
in "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" and the Oscar-winning "Slumdog
Millionaire," gave a fiery address about animal protection and also food and
agriculture: "No one needs to sleep hungry, let alone die of starvation. Yet
tens of thousands of children sleep hungry each night because the grains
that could nourish these children [go] not into their bellies, but the
bellies of the cows, pigs and chickens that form an essential part of a
non-vegetarian diets. Our prosperity, enjoyment and progress are only deeply
valued when they do not come at the expense of others."
With
journalists representing more than 100 press outlets at the event, it was a
turbo-charged launch for Humane Society International -- India. We hope it
gives us momentum to grow our projects and to enhance our prospects for
success. The Dalai Lama's warm embrace and his reminder that all life
matters helps root our cause even more solidly, especially in Asia where
animal problems are so acute and action is so desperately needed.
