I don't use any animal products, both because of ethical and

Hear, O children of earth and sky, the voice of Greta Thunberg: “I don't use any animal products, both because of ethical and environmental and climate reasons.” These words are not uttered in vanity, but in devotion to truth and stewardship. They call us to remember that every choice we make is a seed planted in the soil of tomorrow. To abstain from animal products is not merely a personal habit; it is a conscious act of resistance against cruelty, destruction, and the flames of climate collapse.

The ancients taught that to live rightly is to live in harmony with all creation. To slaughter without necessity was to incur guilt before the gods, and to waste the bounty of nature was to dishonor the earth. Greta speaks in this same spirit: she sees the ethical burden of inflicting suffering upon creatures capable of pain, the environmental burden of lands stripped bare to feed the appetite of a few, and the climate burden of smoke rising into the heavens, warming the earth and unleashing storms. Her abstinence is thus both a protest and a vow, a declaration that her life will not add to the weight of this destruction.

Consider the tale of the Dust Bowl in America, when vast plains were overgrazed and overploughed, until the soil itself turned to dust and the winds carried ruin across the land. It was not malice but heedlessness that caused it—yet the lesson was severe. When humans demand too much from the earth, the earth withholds her blessings. So too with the great herds and flocks that devour grain and water: to feed them endlessly for human consumption is to strip the earth of balance, and to call down the judgment of drought, famine, and fire.

Yet there is also a story of redemption. In many lands today, farmers and families turn to the cultivation of grains, fruits, and vegetables, feeding both themselves and the earth with gentleness. They discover that sustainability is not a dream but a living practice. By reducing the demand for animal products, land is freed, water is spared, forests are preserved, and the breath of the planet grows cleaner. Thus Greta’s choice is not an empty gesture, but a thread in a growing tapestry of renewal.

Mark well, O listeners: the cry for justice in our age is not only for humankind, but for the creatures that crawl, fly, and swim, and for the earth that shelters them all. When Greta says she abstains for ethical reasons, she speaks for compassion toward animals. When she says she abstains for environmental reasons, she speaks for the preservation of ecosystems. And when she says she abstains for climate reasons, she speaks for the survival of the human race itself. In one sentence lies the whole arc of morality, ecology, and destiny.

The lesson is this: do not be deceived into thinking your choices are small. Each meal, each purchase, each habit is a stone cast into the river, sending ripples outward to shores you cannot see. To reduce harm, even in small measure, is to add strength to the chorus of life. And to ignore harm is to add weight to the burden already crushing the world. The ancients said, “He who plants a tree though he will not sit beneath its shade is wise.” So too, he who changes his life for the sake of unseen generations walks in wisdom.

Practical action lies before all: eat with thought, consume with care, and measure your desires against the needs of the earth. Reduce what you take from animals, and you will also reduce what you take from rivers, forests, and skies. Support farmers who work in harmony with nature, and honor those who live simply that others may live. For in this, you become not only a consumer, but a guardian.

So let it be remembered: Greta’s vow is not merely personal but prophetic. To refuse animal products for reasons of ethics, environment, and climate is to choose life over destruction, compassion over cruelty, and future over fleeting pleasure. May her words be carried like wind through generations, reminding us that stewardship begins not in law or empire, but in the daily choices of each heart.