Animal World
Courageous Pig Farmers Transition to a Peaceful Lifestyle    Part 1   
Part 1
Part 2
Halo wonderful viewers and welcome to Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants.

Pigs are among the most intelligent animals on Earth. In fact, according to scientific studies, their intelligence level surpasses that of a three-year old child. They are also very sensitive and caring beings as shown by the fact that mother pigs sing to their piglets while they are nursing.

The Pig Preserve is a non-profit sanctuary for abandoned, neglected, abused and homeless pigs in Tennessee, USA run by Richard and Laura Hoyle. Currently the facility houses approximately 60 residents. Having had a chance to closely observe pigs for many years, Mr. Hoyle has the following observations about their nature.

These animals crave the companionship of other pigs. They bond very closely with other pigs. (For) the farm pigs it’s a matriarchal society. The dominant pig is one of the big females. And everybody in that herd knows his or her place in the social order, and they are very comfortable with that. They stay with one another when a pig is sick. Within the herd there is this very intricate social structure, and friendships are made.

You have to be here when one of the pigs gets sick and goes through a lengthy process, to appreciate how the other pigs will stand guard over the pig, sleep with that pig, look over your shoulder when you’re trying to do something, give shots or something; there will be three or four of the pig’s companions looking over your shoulder making sure that you’re not hurting their buddy.

The depth of their feelings and the depth of their social structure never, even after 25 years of doing it, still never cease to amaze me. Recognizing the sentient nature of our porcine friends, many pig farmers have made the noble decision to leave the industry and seek a peaceful livelihood. Today will introduce you to some of their heart-felt stories on the first of a two-part series entitled, “Courageous Pig Farmers Transition to a Peaceful Lifestyle.”

We now totally negate their suffering, their well-being, what they're really here on the planet for and turn them into these things that we're ingesting.

Randall Ball, a vegan, comes from a family of pig farmers, but left the business to create Paradise Found, a local organic produce distribution service in Ohio, USA.

My family historically have been pig farmers right here in Ohio. I want to say one of the things that really got me interested in health and why I'm in the field that I am is my father died when I was two years old.


From heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity to untreatable infections that originate from livestock, it is clear meat consumption severely threatens our health. Drug-resistant infections such as Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) are being linked to livestock that are fed huge amounts of antibiotics daily to artificially promote growth and counteract the diseases that prevail in their utterly filthy, overcrowded living conditions.

I come from the medical industry. I spent 10 years in diagnostics and when I look at the factory farms, they can only be described as an abomination to me, both health-wise and from an environmental standpoint.

And personally I don't choose to, and I encourage everyone not to, put this terror, this pain, this suffering, this total pollution into their bodies. In addition, it's a virtual breeding ground for all diseases, the swine flu, the bird flu, all these really aren't inherent in pigs. Pigs are actually one of the cleanest animals on the planet.

Intensive livestock production has spawned other harmful new illnesses such as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, from Mad Cow disease, and is responsible for the current swine flu pandemic. The official number of swine flu fatalities globally is now over 12,000, with tallies of all infections being far too many to count.

For two former pig farmers in southern Âu Lạc (Vietnam), both of whom are now vegans, the swine flu and environmental concerns caused them to stop livestock farming and switch to growing organic dragon fruit.

Nowadays, I’ve heard television reports from around the world informing us that H1N1 (swine flu) has been very quickly affecting human health. Also, everyday I see animals’ waste polluting water supplies and surrounding communities, affecting our own health first, then the communities’ health. For that reason, I switched to growing dragon fruit.

Why did you change your job?


We’ll return after these messages with our program on courageous pig farmers adopting sustainable livelihoods. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.

When it comes to factory farms, I think there's tremendous amount of scientific data showing how bad they are, the health risk and so forth and I really want to say that I really thank and admire Supreme Master TV for all the collection of the data that they do.


Welcome back to Animal World: Our Co-inhabitants for our show featuring heroic pig farmers who have transitioned to a noble lifestyle for the sake of the animals, their own health and the environment. Pigs are clean, loyal, affectionate and have excellent memories.

Much scientific research has been done in to the inner life of these interesting animal co-inhabitants which show just how complex and social they are. Professor Donald Broom of Cambridge University Veterinary School in the UK has stated that pigs “have the cognitive ability to be quite sophisticated.”

In raising pigs, I found that sows were just like us women. When they went into labor I also felt pain as if they are my younger sisters. They couldn’t talk like us, so I pitied for them a lot.

I think we really have to look deeper than just the science. How do we feel about that and how does that resonate with our heart and our gut and I think it's obvious that we have this disconnect with the rest of life on Earth and taken these beings that have an equal right to be here and done whatever we pleased.

These intelligent and sensitive animals endure unspeakable atrocities on pig farms. Their noses contain almost 200 times the concentration of scent cells possessed by humans. With their innate cleanliness and acute sense of smell, factory farmed pigs suffer endlessly in the wretched filth and stench caused by being crammed by the thousands into sheds.

Although their operation was small in comparison to large-scale factory farms, these sensitive farmers in Âu Lạc (Vietnam) realized the inherent cruelty in confining and slaughtering their fellow sentient beings.

Cao Đài’s teachings forbid killing. At that time, I also felt very ashamed, “Why do I, a Cao Đài follower, still raise animals for food?” How ashamed I was!


Each time I sold a pig, they kept going back in, not wanting to leave me, because they had already grown attached to me. I did not want the pig to be slaughtered. I thought of the pig being tied up. “My God! Tonight, the pig will be killed.” I prayed for her a lot. Each time, I sold a pig, I fell ill for a month, even longer. Then I told my husband, “Oh honey, we should stop raising pigs!” And he said, “All right then.” I had no heart to sell the pigs, because I felt so much love for them. I couldn’t raise them for meat anymore.

Many noble former pig farmers like Hsu Chun-De of Formosa (Taiwan) left the industry despite pressure to continue on. Mr. Hsu is now the president of Yunlin County’s Nature Research Institute and founder of Noah’s Ark, a project to preserve the island’s water plant species.


I had to give up several millions dollars of income. But we should insist on doing the right thing. In taking on difficulties, I insist on doing what’s right. Without persistence, we can’t transform our lives successfully.

How did you support your husband’s decision?


The kind farmers in Âu Lạc (Vietnam) also initially experienced similar worries and challenges in changing their occupation but they shared the same fortitude in walking the righteous path.

It was rather difficult, but I was determined, therefore, I could overcome all hardships. My brothers, sisters and in-laws said, “Your pigpen is good, and you stop now? What a pity!” I answered, “No, I’ve already made up my mind. Besides, the dragon fruit trees now bear fruits. for me to harvest.

So I stopped raising pigs.”

How did your family react to this?

At first, my family was puzzled about my decision, but my brother Tám explained clearly about the karmic debt and spiritual aspect of this so that we all understood. First, it harms everyone’s health. Secondly, it pollutes water sources. Therefore, I was determined to change my occupation at once.

The resolve of these tender-hearted pig farmers to switch to a loving and eco-friendly way of life is truly admirable. We will continue with their touching accounts tomorrow on Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants. For more information about Hsu Chun-De, please visit Steadfast viewers, thank you for joining us for today’s program. Next up is Enlightening Entertainment, after Noteworthy News. May miracles bless you as you lead a life of caring and dignity.

Daddy wherever you are, remember me Daddy whatever you do, I love you.

And it’s music that lifts our spirit up, (Yes) and motivates the other people, our refugee brothers who have been in the same stress as we were, and to help them forget about their past.

Singing from their heart to comfort others is the Refugee All Stars, from Sierra Leone, Africa. To learn more about them, please join us this coming Sunday, October 11, right on Good People, Good Works.

Wishing all our Jewish Viewers a Happy Hanukkah Wishing all our Muslim Viewers a happy Al-Hijrah
Greetings lovely viewers and thank you for joining us on Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants.


Dr. Sarah Boysen of Pennsylvania State University in the US concluded that pigs are able to focus with a greater intensity than a chimpanzee. In fact pigs are also very sociable and are always communicating using body language and oinks or squeals.

Recognizing the sentient nature of our porcine friends, many pig farmers have made the noble decision to leave the industry and seek a peaceful livelihood. Today will introduce you to more of their heart-felt stories for the conclusion of our two-part series entitled, “Courageous Pig Farmers Transition to a Peaceful Lifestyle.”

And every time a pig had a fever, I felt pity for them and also cried. Once, a pig had a fever, I used a wet towel to wipe them and placed it on the pig like I did for my child. After I kept setting the wet towel on them for awhile, they became conscious again. How happy I was! I felt that pigs are just like me, so I loved them. Now I cannot raise animals for meat any more.

Graciously sharing their inspirational changes are Randall Ball from Ohio, USA who now owns Paradise Found, a local organic produce distribution service, Thái Nguyễn and Kim Phạm from southern Âu Lạc (Vietnam), who are now organic dragon fruit cultivators, and Hsu Chun-De in Formosa (Taiwan), now the president of Yunlin County’s Nature Research Institute and the founder of Noah’s Ark, a project to preserve the island’s water plants.

Livestock production is a breeding ground for all sorts of diseases such as mad cow disease and swine flu, as well as for violence and cruelty. There are a host of reasons why all factory farms should be immediately closed including the safeguarding of our health, enhancing economic well-being, improving animal welfare, ethics and environmental protection.

Pig farming was industrialized and pigs were raised in high density. Eventually even the rivers became putrid, and we have to deal with the water pollution problem.

First, the swine flu is spreading very rapidly around the world, bringing death to people. This flu acts very fast, and is very powerful. Second, the daily waste from raising animals pollutes the environment and our health and our community’s health.

The contaminated water also seeps into our groundwater, and pollutes our water source. For example, in some places like Yin Lin County, people still use the groundwater, which is very bad for our body. It is because there are some harmful substances in pig feed, like zinc, copper…etc. These minerals more or less affect our health.

The waste from pig farms has a terrible impact on the surrounding ecosphere. The untreated waste from thousands of pigs is often dumped into deep pits known as “lagoons.” Typically several hectares in size, these lagoons release toxic gases and odors, while eventually leaching millions of liters of the dangerous liquid into the ground.

The air is also contaminated with noxious gases such as hydrogen sulfide, the inhalation of which can cause severe respiratory illnesses and even death. Enormous amounts of deadly greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide that rapidly accelerate climate change are released by factory farms as well.



We should try our best to stop killing, because eating animals consumes a lot of grains, and it is bad for the environment. In order to fill up our stomach, we use up tens of kilograms of feedstock in exchange for one kilogram of meat. It’s very harmful to our Mother Earth. So of course being veg is better. And we support it.

Adopting more frugal ways to reduce waste and eliminating the overuse of our precious resources is also an important point that Mr. Hsu notes. By leading a more virtuous lifestyle, inner contentment can be more easily realized.

We should reduce our material desire, and elevate the quality of life, which doesn’t necessarily cost a lot of money. You can be very content with such a life. It’s very good.

Oh God! Now I feel so light and can fully love the animals. Now I love animals so much. So, I advise people to stop raising animals for food. Growing dragon fruit like this makes me feel so carefree and much happier than before.

Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television. Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants will be right back after these brief messages.


We know that they (livestock) need to eat grains. How many kilograms of grains do they have to eat in order for us to have a kilogram of meat? Approximately 20. Lambs need to eat 50 kilograms of grains to produce one kilogram of meat. We are in a food crisis; it’s more economical and eco-friendly to be veg.

Thank you for joining us for today’s program on Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants featuring pig farmers who have made the highly admirable transition to peaceful occupations.

Not only do the farmers grow crops now, but they apply organic agricultural methods that are healthy for humans and the environment. In one of the longest studies ever conducted on organic farming practices, research by the US-based Rodale Institute has found that organic soil management not only minimizes fossil fuel use, it can also reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide by up to 40 percent by acting as an effective carbon sink.

Scientists recommend us to use organic fertilizers. I scatter this coconut powder on top, and the trees grow very well.

When I changed to using organic fertilizers for dragon fruit, then there isn’t any trace of nitrate in the dragon fruit. So the dragon fruit I grow are clean and safe to eat.

What are you spreading?

I am spreading coconut fibers. It is very good for trees. We bury organic fertilizer below and put coconut fibers on top of it, trees will grow roots faster than using chemical fertilizers. Trees like this very much, producing big fruits because coconut fibers give nourishment to the roots. Roots actually will die if you use too much chemical fertilizer.

Located in Yunlin, Noah’s Ark is Mr. Hsu’s ongoing effort to prevent precious local water plants from extinction after dams were built in the area without consideration of their harmful ecological impact. Wetlands dried up and biodiversity is threatened. Mr. Hsu has collected about 100 species of plants that now safely grow in Noah’s Ark.

How did you come up with the idea of the eco farm? What’s the motive and reason behind it?

When we raised pigs, we polluted the environment. Some life forms in the streams have disappeared. Our motive is to compensate and make up for our sin. That’s why we are involved in using waterwheels to generate power, and we are concerned about the bio-food chains in the lakes and wetlands. We used to cause pollution to these ecosystems. And the organisms in the rivers have all disappeared. We want to get them back.

Lightness of heart, ease of conscience, better health, improved relations, spiritual peace of mind… these are just some of the amazing benefits that these former pig farmers and many others like them have reaped through their more tranquil and benevolent lifestyle.

The key point is to have a deep understanding about the environmental issues, then you will feel it is natural to switch and opt for an alternative, a better way of life.

With their steadfastness of spirit and persistence to do what’s right by their conscience, the animals and environment, these former pig farmers have stirring words of encouragement for those still in animal farming – walk away from the industry and step into a new life of tranquility and bliss.

My sincere advice from my heart is that people should change jobs, do not raise animals for food anymore. Raising animals for food affects the environment and waste water goes into our canal, polluting the only water source we all use everyday. Also, H1N1 (swine flu) can be transmitted to humans. We don’t know when or who among us will be infected. I advise people to switch from raising animals for food to growing vegetables to assure good health for everyone in the society.

When I got the deeper level spiritual aspect to my connection to all beings and my relationship to them then I became a vegan and it's really been easier. This idea that with our meals, we caused the suffering and create this destruction, it's like a ceremony that we carry into every aspect of our life. Are we going to celebrate life or are we going to celebrate death and destruction? So that's really the choice.

Let’s together Be Veg, Go Green, and Save the Planet!

Supreme Master Ching Hai was the invited the Guest of Honor for a videoconference on climate change entitled, “Global Unity: Together in Saving Lives,” held in Hong Kong on October 3, 2009. She gave her full support to all the heroes that are making a switch to organic vegan farming.



We are truly grateful for such courageous people as Randall Ball, Thái Nguyễn, Kim Phạm, and Hsu Chun-De for their endeavors to protect human health, help the animals and heal the planet through their eco-friendly lifestyles. We pray more farmers will very soon join this life-saving and planet-sustaining organic vegan agriculture trend.

For more information about Hsu Chun-De, please visit

Thank you for joining us today on Animal World: Our Co-Inhabitants here on Supreme Master Television. Coming up next is Enlightening Entertainment after Noteworthy News. May all God’s creations live in great harmony and true happiness.

Can we avoid today’s common medical conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer?

I knew that diet cause disease and I knew that there was a possibility for people to stay healthy living on a diet, primarily of starches, rice like in this case. And it wasn’t inevitable you had to get sick.

Be sure to watch Part 1 of “Dr. John McDougall, Enjoy Optimal Health for Life” Monday, December 14 on Healthy Living.

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