“Your Water Footprint”: Interview with Stephen Leahy (vegetarian), Part 2 of 2

We had the pleasure of speaking with Stephen Leahy about “Your Water Footprint.” He explained how we can significantly reduce our own water footprint in our daily lives. “Changing your food diet is the easiest way to reduce your water footprint. As I said, three or 4,000 liters of water you could save by switching to vegetarianism or veganism. Being careful when you’re shopping, buying local is a good idea, because then you know how it’s being produced, how much water has gone into it because you know the climate. I’m not buying things that are grown in places like Egypt, which are deserts. If you’re going to source your oranges, trying to source your oranges from a place that relies on rain and not irrigation, because irrigation is the most inefficient use of water. So, making good buying decisions, trying to maximize the life of anything you do buy. Any particular product – your shoes, or your clothing. Try and use them as long as possible and buy good quality when you buy them so that it will last a long time. Then you can reuse things, or go to a reuse store, or to a thrift store, and pick up something that somebody else has set aside.” To close our interview, Stephen Leahy shared an important message: “We’ve lost the traditional understanding that water is essential to life and that it is truthfully sacred. Not only do we need water for our own physical survival, it has given us everything we have. Everything that’s around us has come because we’ve had water, had enough water. So, there is no more important thing in our lives, truly, than water, and yet we seem not to realize it. So, I would like folks to understand that fact, but also to maybe give some respect to water, because water is so important to us, and to our lives, that maybe we need to go back to the days when people thought of springs as sacred, special places where fresh, clean water came. Because it really is something sacred and essential to our survival.” Stephen Leahy’s message is one that has been emphasized by Supreme Master Ching Hai time and again. “Scientists have documented that one serving of beef takes more than a thousand gallons of water to produce. By contrast, sir, the vegan diet uses about one-tenth of that amount. So, the water problem would also be completely solved if everyone is vegan. And as the killing karma (retribution) is reduced with people becoming vegan, all disasters will diminish, a more loving atmosphere will envelop our Earth, and we would not even have to worry about war between countries, because vegetarian (vegan) diet will make people feeling peaceful, more clear-headed. So consequently, each nation would naturally have sufficient resources and wholeheartedly exchange help to each other.”