Trofim,
1. Best thing to do is trim the branches so that the squirrels can’t access the tree any other way than from the ground, and then wrap a wide metal band round the trunk to prevent them scaling it. If you can’t manage that then the best thing to do is feed the squirrels, either by putting food out for them or by companion planting.
2. At least you have your beanpoles, and you are doing the wildlife a good turn.
3. A commenter on a post I wrote in 2007 titled ‘Vegan life is not bloodless‘, “All living creatures (whether spiders, lions, vegans or omnivores) have to eat something that’s alive, or was alive, to survive. Being a vegan is about causing the least harm possible, not about starving yourself to death. Anyway, a lot of the grain grown in the States is specifically earmarked for cattle feed. Responsibility for collateral field kill in harvesting these particular grains rests solely on meat-eaters’ shoulders. All of us, by the mere fact of our existence, are responsible for killing other organisms. A vegan tries to minimize the extent of these killings.”