Our Only Home is on Fire!

If it wasn’t for Mother Nature and the nonhuman animals on the Earth, humans would probably not be here. Every being and all the species on Earth are equally valuable and necessary for the ecosystem balance and harmony between us all. We are all interconnected. We’re all vitally important and unique. No one is just a speck of dust in the universe. We are the universe and Nature herself, one and the same.

At the same time, we are sovereign human beings with the right to govern our own bodies, minds, and souls, without any influence from outside authorities or anyone else. And therefore, the constitution of a country can help us in some way if we need to speak the language of government officials. However, we should realize that we need to instead follow and rely on Natural Laws, as mentioned in detail in our book The Way We Heal and our birthrights as human beings.

In the place called Ecuador, it is presumably the first country in the world, in the 2008 constitution with amendments through 2021, to enact the rights of Nature. Several passages in the constitution mention that Nature has rights, however, they are somewhat contradictory to other laws, ambiguous, and missing a lot of information. Let’s examine these laws and the root causes of the destruction of the environment.

Article 12
“The human right to water is essential and cannot be waived.”

The first law, the human right to water is essential. But the constitution is omitting what type of water and what exactly we can do with the water. So this statement is very vague and unclear. What we actually need is water from Nature uncontaminated and unspoiled, and not from municipal or bottled sources, and to be able to drink, swim, and utilize the water for plants and other uses. However, our human obligation, as caretakers of the Earth, is not to overuse and exploit the precious water resources, especially if it doesn’t come from the rain.

Animal agriculture is the number one industry with the highest consumption of water compared to any other industry in the world. Water is utilized to grow the crops that are then fed to animals and the water is given directly to those same animals.

In Article 14 it says,
“The right of the population to live in a healthy and ecologically balanced environment that guarantees sustainability and the good way of living (sumak kawsay), is recognized.”

This is great! But what is the government doing? What are the people of the world doing? Destroying Nature in be myriad of ways, especially for animal agriculture, growing food to feed the animals, and lastly, building more roads and other infrastructures of society that we don’t need that is destroying our only home, we call Earth.

Governments must follow the constitution, as it contains their laws, which are the highest in this or any country. However, when it comes to the selling of animals and animal secretions, animal agriculture along with the support of the government, is causing mass deforestation around the world, and the main driving factor is animal agriculture, the raising of cattle, chickens, pigs, turkeys, fishes, and many other animals as well.

All of these operations are devastating Nature. As we know, forests are vital for the survival of all life on Earth. Without forests, we would probably all be dead. Without fish and other aquatic animals in the oceans, lakes, and rivers, there would probably be no one alive today. How can we drink from dirty rivers and lakes? How can we eat asphalt or concrete? Maybe municipal or bottled water sources are the solution? But are they really?

We know that toxic chemicals, including chlorine and fluoride, are in the municipal water which destroys our health and the health of the environment. We really don’t know what is in bottled water, no matter what is written on the label. Megacorporations lie and they can manipulate what is written on product labels, their website, and in their business documents.

There are a myriad of other problems associated with animal agriculture. People only associate money or food with animals. But how can we put a price on a life? How is any life less important than money? How can we consume animal’s bodies and their secretions? Well, as people argue, animals are not humans, so they matter less. No one matters less. We are all important. Every being values their life, just as much as we individually value ours. But without nonhuman animals, we would not be here. We need them for our survival. We are breeding ever more animals into existence – all the farm animals and other domesticated animals like cats and dogs – by the trillions every year – and expect to live happy lives. Life doesn’t work that way. When we kill and use other beings against their will, we also destroy a part of ourselves and god.

So indeed, as the constitution states, “The right of the population to live in a healthy and ecologically balanced environment that guarantees sustainability and the good way of living (sumak kawsay), is recognized.” this is great, it is not recognizing that the government and citizens don’t follow their own constitution, and how Mother Nature is affected so horribly by animal agriculture and the petrochemicals/GMOs that they utilize. If you would like to learn more about this topic, you can watch the film Cowspiracy or read any one of my books.

Article 15
“The development, production, ownership, marketing, import, transport, storage and use of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons, highly toxic persistent organic pollutants, internationally prohibited agrochemicals, and experimental biological technologies and agents and genetically modified organisms that are harmful to human health or mat jeopardize food sovereignty or ecosystems, as well as the introduction of nuclear residues and toxic waste into the country’s territory, are forbidden.”

Here, the government is contradicting themselves all over the place. All types of chemicals including those used for agriculture, as well as produce that are nonorganic and genetically modified, are actually available for sale across the country.

A while back, we planted watermelon seeds, and when they grew fruits, the fruits were very small size in comparison to the original, and inedible, because they didn’t ripen to their full size. When we look at a cucumber, many of them produce seeds that are translucent in color and do not produce any fruits. I wonder what is happening here? Is it really GMOs? This is happening in Ecuador, the place that is supposed to be protecting the rights of Nature.

A country like Ecuador which claims chemical toxins and GMOs are prohibited in the country, is ladened with those same stores that sell these toxic products and the seeds from fruits that don’t properly produce. This is because the big agriculture businesses and society in general, don’t want people becoming independent and self-sufficient, so they can keep us dependent on the system. That is how the system works. It keeps us reliant on them, with their food, water, electricity, and money which they supply. If something happens and the government decides to shut off the supplies, where the electricity is taken down or there is food scarcity, then humans will become desperate because most of us are not completely self-sufficient with the knowledge of how to live independently, thus many people beg to governments through protests or petitions.

We can’t trust governments. They lie, steal, and cheat. They contradict themselves time and time again and continue raising prices and taxes. We must become anarchists and start living with unconditional love for all beings, becoming self-sufficient with our food and water, and stop supporting the ones who are lying to us and destroying the environment. Otherwise, we need to beg to authorities or various organizations and institutions to help us. We don’t have the courage or confidence to walk away from the system and live differently, but we rather, continue following the crowd and orders from the rulers controlling us. This is because we don’t want to be ridiculed and considered a laughing stock by family or friends for being different. Also, we can’t imagine another way of living, away from the towns and cities that we all are accustomed to living in.

Article 71
“Nature, or Pacha Mama, where life is reproduced and occurs, has the right to integral respect for its existence and for the maintenance and regeneration of its life cycles, structure, functions and evolutionary processes.

All persons, communities, peoples and nations can call upon public authorities to enforce the rights of nature. To enforce and interpret these rights, the principles set forth in the Constitution shall be observed, as appropriate.”

In the first part, there is not much to say with the exception that the constitution equates “it” with Nature, meaning that Nature is just a thing, an object and not a being herself. Also, we equate nonhuman animals and also human babies and children as “its”. We objectify them, not seeing them as the unique beings they are. Even plants and other organisms are beings, even though we can’t understand if or how they can suffer or experience some discomfort.

We can call plants, animals, or human babies and children “he” or “she”, even if we don’t know their specific gender. We can also call them, “they”, “them”, or “who”, instead of objectifying them. All life on Earth are magnificent beings, each unique in their own ways. Once we start to understand and feel interconnected to all life, we realize that we are in all other living beings and they are in us and that we don’t want to cause any harm or suffering to them. We cause the least harm and the most overall good.

In the next part, the constitution states that everyone has the right to call upon public authorities, to enforce the rights of Nature. Public means “government” and authority means “master” or “leader”. Put it together and you get, “government master” or “government leader”.

In the first place, why are governments enforcing the rights of Nature, the entity that is only a piece of paper, working hand in hand with megacorporations to destroy the environment? What kind of lying and hypocrisy is this? What kind of rights are they giving to Nature, anyway? The right to be killed and exploited by large multinationals for all the precious minerals and resources under the soil, that, as a result, pollutes all our waterways, land, and air?

Finally, when it comes to the constitution, Nature is also diminished to an object by not capitalizing the first letter of the word. In the English language, we often capitalize words like Internet and Government, for example, instead of realizing that the first letter of the words Nature, Mother Nature, or Mother Earth have to be capitalized to emphasize the importance of our Mother. Why do we capitalize an entity like the government, and not a being like the Earth herself?

Article 72
“Nature has the right to be restored.”

This is totally ambiguous. When the constitution talks about restoration, how will Nature be restored? When we cut down vast areas of forests, especially trees that are native and ancestral, how can those trees be completely restored to their original pristine state? It is not possible. We lost them forever.

But, there is hope! We can restore Nature to close enough to where she was. We are doing just that at Peaceful Village Raw Vegan Healing Community. Even though in our community there may be some necessary cutting down of trees, for the building of basic infrastructure to operate our place, we reforest as much of the land as we can with fruiting and native trees, and other plants as well. In much of the Amazonian tropical jungles, there are not many wild edible fruits to consume. Therefore, we are planting many native fruiting trees and other trees that grow here very well, giving abundance and food for us and countless other people and animals. Also, the trees act as shade to prevent grass from growing and giving us refuge from the hard sun and they are the homes of millions of animal species.

But when we cut down vast areas of forests, the lungs of the Earth, we’re breaking the cycle of life and the harmony and coexistence of everyone here. We kill countless animal species and disperse them from their homes, cause topsoil loss and soil erosion, and remove the vital oxygen needed for our survival. You could call humans a “virus”. But no, it is called “progress”. It is called “making a living”.

We destroy everything and everyone who is in our way of progress. And when we talk to people about the problems and root causes of the destruction of the environment, they argue and justify their bad behaviors or completely ignore us.

Article 74
“Persons, communities, peoples, and nations shall have the right to benefit from the environment and the natural wealth enabling them to enjoy the good way of living.”

What does “the right to benefit” mean? Does it mean that humans have the right to exploit Nature for our own benefit? We need to respect our only Mother, by only using the most minimal that we need from her, but also by giving back to her through planting native and fruiting trees, that benefit her and other beings in countless ways, and not using chemicals, as previously explained.

Article 396
“Responsibility for environmental damage is objective. All damage to the environment, in addition to the respective penalties, shall also entail the obligation of integrally restoring the ecosystems and compensating the affected persons and communities. Each one of the players in the processes of production, distribution, marketing and use of goods or services shall accept direct responsibility for preventing any environmental impact, for mitigating and repairing the damages caused, and for maintaining an ongoing environmental monitoring system.

The legal proceedings to prosecute and punish those responsible for environmental damages shall not be subject to any statute of limitations.”

This is similar to article 72, that Nature has the right to be restored. We don’t know what that actually means or if Nature can be restored to her originality. And yes, anyone, especially governments and government personnel, who damages Nature, should be held accountable for their bad actions and repair Nature as best as they can without any further exploitation of her.

Even though no amount of money can ever be attributed to the destruction of Nature and the killing of or stealing from animals, we, the caretakers of Nature, can be compensated for the harmful actions people cause to the environment and other living beings. Everyone has to be responsible and held accountable for their poor behaviors, even the government which is only a corporation existing only as a piece of paper with gobbledygook written on it, and the humans working for the entity. Even so, sending the accountable parties to prison is not the solution. There is nothing gained from that, and the people never learn or heal. Those humans need love and they need to heal. Fundamentally, no one is born evil, we are just programmed by society and culture to inhabit harmful traits and behaviors that cause harm and suffering to other beings.

Nature is precious. We are a part of Nature, and actually, Nature herself. We are from the Earth, containing the elements of Nature. Albeit we don’t have soil in our blood, trees in our veins, or snakes in our arms, we do contain the elements of Nature, including the minerals, vitamins, oxygen, life force, heat, water, etc. in us.

We are all life. We are lifeforms in motion. The energy in us consistently moves in a multitude of directions, giving rise to the energy we need to live and thrive.

I consistently witness the destruction of our home, which we call Earth or Pachamama. It is sad to see such devastation, Mother Earth ripped apart, piece by piece, and my heart devastatingly broken. There is little that I can do at the moment, but know that wonderful people are doing all they can to stop all kinds of injustices from happening on Earth. If it wasn’t for Mother Earth and all the beautiful creatures here, we wouldn’t be alive. They are what keep the ecosystem in check and balance. If we continue fishing, hunting, trapping, and domesticating animals in total for food, testing and research, entertainment, clothing, and other uses, we, as a species, will not survive any longer and may go extinct at any moment.

In addition to all of the problems that are associated with the destruction of Nature, destroying vast areas of forests brings the conditions needed for biting insects like mosquitoes, gnats, and viruses to flourish. Deforestation also leads to extremely altered weather patterns, bringing with it disastrous results, like desertification and droughts, torrential rains and floodings, tornados, hurricanes and typhoons, tsunamis, and other environmental catastrophes. When we manipulate and destroy the environment in countless ways, there are always severe negative consequences to those actions.

Animal agriculture is the main driving force responsible for the most destruction to the environment. More trees are cut compared to any other industry, even more than logging for wood or building roads for societal infrastructures, because of our voracious appetites for the large quantities of animal products that we consume. How much furniture or clothes do we buy daily? Compare that to the many meals the majority of people consume multiple times daily, which comes from animals and their secretions (like eggs, milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream, butter, etc.). It is horrifying, to think about the amount of damage to the web of life, we are instigating when we support animal agriculture. So why do we continue supporting this industry and cultural practice?

No matter which way we look at the situation, animal agriculture in any form, intensive and industrialized (factory farms), outdoor raised on pastures or calling it free-range, Halal, Kosher, or organic backyard small-scale, is irrelevant. They are all polluting and violent to the environment and animals in so many ways, that needs to stop!

We need to examine our behaviors and change them to align with our heart values of love and compassion for all life. No longer can we continue justifying the cruelty and suffering that we are causing to all other living beings, including the one we call our Mother. Our only home is on fire and we are all burning inside. We need to rethink our horrendous actions and start aligning them with love instead. Unconditional love is the solution, and it begins with every one of us with the way we holistically live our lives. We need to stop burning the only home we have and become vegan, nonconformist, and anarchist, moving away from society and culture, the modern towns and cities we all know and love, to life in Nature. Individually, we can be that spark, that flame that eradicates the darkness and violence forever. We can be the lightworkers who heals from the inside out, and the ones who shares the message beyond.