8/18/05 JVNA Online Newsletter

Shalom everyone,

This update/Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) Online Newsletter has the following items:

1. Key JVNA Advisor Promoted

2. I Am Elected to the Vegetarian Union of North America (VUNA) Council

3. Update on JVNA Video

4. JVNA Advisor/Rabbi Responds to a Challenging Question

5. Material from the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) Bulletin

6. Cows Pollute More Than Cars

7. New York Veggie Jews Plan Vegetarian Event

8. Concern for Helping Animals in Israel (CHAI) To Help Abandoned Animals in the Gaza Strip

9. Several Reports on Global Warming Threats

10. Vegetarian Products Increasingly Popular

11. Participation in Atkins Diets Declining

12. World Farm Animal Day 2005 Scheduled

14. Employment Positions at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center

Some material has been deferred to a later update/newsletter to keep this one from being even longer.

[Materials in brackets like this [] within an article or forwarded message are my editorial notes/comments.]

Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the JVNA, unless otherwise indicated, but may be presented to increase awareness and/or to encourage respectful dialogue. Also, material re conferences, retreats, forums, trips, and other events does not necessarily imply endorsement by JVNA or endorsement of kashrut, Shabbat observances, or any other Jewish observance, but may be presented for informational purposes. Please use e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, and web sites to get further information about any event that you are interested in.

As always, your comments and suggestions are very welcome.

Thanks,
Richard

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1. Key JVNA Advisor Promoted

Forwarded Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) report:

Rosen named to top interfaith post

Rabbi David Rosen was named president of the most prominent Jewish group dealing with international interfaith affairs. The American Jewish Committee’s international director of interreligious affairs, Rosen was named to head the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations. IJCIC represents organized world Jewry in its relations with other world religious bodies, such as the Vatican.

Rosen is the former chief rabbi of Ireland.
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On behalf of the JVNA and all JVNA newsletter readers, I want to congratulate Rabbi Rosen on this very well deserved promotion. He has been extremely helpful as a member of the JVNA advisory committee and his writings and suggestions and scholarship have been invaluable. My only regret is that, due to his extremely busy schedule and very frequent traveling, he has not been able to be involved in Jewish vegetarian efforts as much as we would like. We wish Rabbi Rosen continued hatzlacha (success)!

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2. I Am Elected to the Vegetarian Union of North America (VUNA) Council

Forwarded letter from Saurabh Dalal, VUNA director:

Hello Richard

CONGRATS on being elected a Councilor to the Vegetarian Union of North America (VUNA) and thanks for your interest. At our last teleconference, the VUNA Council was in overwhelmingly in favor of co-opting you.

Please see www.ivu.org/vuna for more info. We look forward to working with you.

We have typically monthly teleconferences and our next one is Mon 12 Sep at 8:30 pm eastern time [later changed to September 19]. Are you able to make the call? I'm hoping this manner of communications is convenient to you.

Soon I’ll be sending you an invitation to join the vuna-c - an email list on yahoo so we can all communicate easily. please accept that invitation. some discussions take place on vuna-c and mostly on the telecons.

Richard - having known you for many years, I’m personally looking forwaard to working with you on the Council.

All the best -
Saurabh Dalal
VUNA President

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3. Update on JVNA Video

Thanks to everyone who sent in suggestions and/or pledges of financial help. The suggestions and offers to help are very valuable and much appreciated. I am planning to organize the various responses into an update report next week. So, any responses that I receive in the next few days can also be included, with credit to you, or anonymously, if you prefer. Financial contributions will not be indicated, but I hope many of you will have a stake (no pun intended) in this valuable project that can have a major impact.

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4. JVNA Advisor/Rabbi Responds to a Challenging Question

I think that the thoughtful response by Rabbi Hillel Norry to a difficult question (below) will be of great interest to many readers. Rabbi Norry has been a long time vegetarian advocate and a very helpful member of the JVNA advisory committee. He is scheduled to be one of the participants in the JVNA video that we are planning. Comments/suggestions welcome.

Dear Rabbi Norry,

I listened with great interest to your comments on Shai's program [an Atlanta radio program] this morning, and I must say that I found much of what you said compelling and thought-provoking. I was left with one question, however, and thought that I'd raise it with you:

You told Shai at the outset (and I have heard you say this before) that you don't hold against meat-eaters their preference for meat. Yet it was obvious as you spoke about your convictions that you are extraordinarily passionate about your vegetarianism and that, in fact, you have serious moral problems with the kosher meat industry and the entire process of bringing meat (kosher or otherwise) to market. Indeed, you ultimately used the term "blood lust" to describe that process.

I respect your passion and, in fact, found much to think about in your comments. I wonder, however, how you can say, on the one hand, that you don't hold it against Shai that he is a self-professed meat-lover, while on the other hand using terms such as "blood lust" as you did. Can you really feel such moral neutrality towards meat-eaters while holding such passionate, morally-based views regarding the treatment and processing of cows? For me, this is rather like being morally opposed to slavery but professing moral neutrality with respect to those who would own slaves; some beliefs are simply so deeply and passionately held that one cannot be morally neutral regarding those who believe and practice otherwise. Your passion and expression simply got me wondering where your embrace of vegetarianism falls along that spectrum, particularly taking into consideration your role as a religious leader of congregants the vast majority of whom eat meat.

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Rabbi Norry’s Response:

I really appreciate your question, and have been giving it some serious thought to try to articulate where I am on this subject. Here are some thoughts.

I have been a vegetarian for nearly eighteen years, and have grown into some of my stronger positions over time. As I have come to understand the Jewish ethical dimension more deeply, it is increasingly real for me just how far away from central Jewish teachings a meat-centered diet is. Having said that, however, I also recognize the reality that for most Jews today the idea of vegetarianism is practically foreign.

Our society is so heavily meat-centered (a frustrating and sometimes infuriating reality) that I can forgive those who are non-vegetarians for not understanding, or for not being able or willing to go against the strong current of social norms. It can be difficult and I have tried to preach the message peacefully, without attacking those whose practice disturbs me. You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar (even though honey is not technically vegan :-))

In addition, as a Rabbi, I have more than just one agenda, and I believe it is currently necessary to understand where people are if I am going to be successful with them regarding other areas of Jewish life and practice. This is an ongoing balance between how far I can encourage people and the limits of any one person’s authority. So many people are meat eaters, and the cultural bias towards it in our own community is so strong, that I have felt it necessary to adopt a longer term approach.

I admit that these responses are not completely satisfying. Even as I am writing, I realize that it represents a compromise of my strongly held beliefs. However, I am not preaching to a general community that is ready to seriously entertain some of what I am suggesting. It is hard enough to get a good veggie meal at most Jewish functions, much less to raise the veggie agenda to the top of the community's list of ethical and religious priorities. Most institutions will not even minimally consider it. Do you think that many shuls would agree to restrict their institution's diet to exclude fleishigs?

Lastly, I guess I believe that ultimately each individual must make a choice, based on their understanding of how their diet impinges upon his or her basic Jewish beliefs. Though a large scale shift is needed, I am mostly working to change one person's understanding at a time.

Please consider this (and me) as a work in progress. I would welcome your continued response.

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5. Material from the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) Bulletin

COEJL is doing great work in helping educate many Jews on current environmental issues. I thought readers would find much of the material below of interest. Some is directly related to vegetarianism or animal rights.

August 16, 2005

COEJL Community E-bulletin #27
Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life

IN THIS ISSUE:

TAKE ACTION: Share Jewish Environmental Ideas with COEJL
CELEBRATE: Animal Rites vs. Animal Rights
LEARN: Caring for Creation
GO GREEN: Tofu BBQ
ISRAEL'S ENVIRONMENT: A Biodiversity Hotspot
SPOTLIGHT ON THE FIELD: Inspiring Eco Dance Performance
NEWS AND MORE...

TAKE ACTION
Share Jewish Environmental Ideas with COEJL

Would you like to share some ideas with COEJL? We are seeking Jewish environmental themed cartoons (New Yorker magazine style), Jewish environmental slogans, creative reduce/reuse/recycle tips, and reflective essays (350-400 words) on an inspiring outdoor experience when you connected Judaism and the environment. Please send to Barbara Lerman-Golomb, COEJL's communications director, at barbara@coejl.org and include your contact information.

CELEBRATE
Animal Rites vs. Animal Rights: An Eco-Kosher Alternative to
Tradition

The day before Yom Kippur, Orthodox Jews perform kapores -- a ritual killing of a chicken to remind people of their sins against God. Some Jews say the act is barbaric and inhumane, and goes against a law in the Torah, tzaar baalei chayim, which says one is not supposed to cause pain to a living creature. Rabbis say that when a chicken is not available, it's acceptable to find a substitute such as a live fish or money. Visit the Jews of the Earth web site at www.jote.org/articles/kapores.html to read more about an eco-kosher alternative to kapores. [Also, please see my article on kapores at the animals section of my articles at JewishVeg.com/schwartz.]

LEARN
Caring for Creation: A Jewish Response to Preserving Biodiversity

In the Noah story (Genesis 6-9), God instructs Noah to preserve all the creatures of the world, not only those obviously useful to humankind. The rabbis understood that we do not know God's purpose for every creature and that we should not regard any of them as superfluous. "Our Rabbis said: Even those things that you may regard as completely superfluous to Creation -- such as fleas, gnats and flies -- even they were included in Creation; and God's purpose is carried through everything -- even through a snake, a scorpion, a gnat, a frog" (Breishit Rabbah 10:7). In environmental terms, every species has an inherent value beyond its instrumental or useful value to human beings.

There are 1.8 million known species of animals, plants, fungi, bacteria and other kinds of life and perhaps from four to forty million species yet to be discovered. The current extinction rate is at least 1,000 species per year, almost all as a result of human activity. The earth is experiencing a loss of biodiversity that has not been seen since the disappearance of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.

Read more of Rabbi Lawrence Troster's Jewish response to biodiversity at:
www.coejl.org/learn/bd_caring.php

GO GREEN
Tofu BBQ

If you're a vegetarian, do the dog days of summer get your goat when you're at a barbeque? Don't have a cow and settle for Tofu Pups or Gardenburgers when you can be a regular, guilt-free gourmet.BBQ tofu recipes:
http://vegweb.com/recipes/tofu/index-tofu-bbq.shtml
Vegetarian BBQ ideas:
http://www.interlog.com/~john13/recipes/barbeque.htm
Many Jewish environmentalists consider becoming vegetarian or vegan for health, moral, or environmental reasons. Learn more about this at: the EcoKosher Network http://www.ecojew.com/ecokashrut/, at Jewish Vegetarians of North America http://jewishveg.com, or sign up for the VeggieJews listserv at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VeggieJews/.
Remember, your diet is meat-free, be sure to stock up on protein, iron, and B-vitamins commonly found in meat. Be creative with your choices of soy products, beans, and greens.

ISRAEL'S ENVIRONMENT
Israel: A Biodiversity Hotspot

Despite its small size (about the same as New Jersey), Israel is one of the most biologically diverse countries in the world. Over 700 animal species and almost 3,000 plant species make their home in Israel, from the Red Sea coral reefs to the oak forests on Mt. Meron, from Mediterranean sand dunes to tropical oases abutting the Dead Sea.

The intensity and scale of human impact in recent years now threaten Israel's biodiversity. To learn more about the environmental challenges in Israel, go to: http://www.jgenisrael.org//a637.html?rsID=214 for an article by Daniel Orenstein of Brown University's Center for Environmental Studies, or visit the Jewish Global Environmental Network (JGEN) web site at www.jgenisrael.org - And please join JGEN's email list.

SNIP

NEWS AND MORE

* New York City Area: Visit Hazon's web site at www.hazon.org to learn about the 5th Annual New York Jewish Environmental Bike Ride, Labor Day weekend (September 2 - 5) to Isabella Freedman Jewish Retreat Center through the Berkshire hills and along the Hudson River Valley.
* Job Opening: The Teva Learning Center seeks educators for the fall season (August 28 - December 18) to live on site and teach students a curriculum that combines the study of ecology, environmental activism, and Jewish ethics. For more information visit: www.tevacenter.org or contact Noam Dolgin at (212) 807-6376.
* Green Zionist Alliance (GZA): For the upcoming World Zionist Congress elections, GZA seeks to raise awareness of environmental issues in Israel and the Zionist movement. For more information visit: www.greenzionism.org or email info@greenzionism.org

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6. Cows Pollute More Than Cars

Forwarded message from Dawn Watch:

On August 2, the Los Angeles Times ran an article headed, "In San Joaquin Valley, Cows Pass Cars as Polluters. Air district says bovines on the region's booming dairy farms are the biggest single source of smog-forming gases." It includes a great quote from Brent Newell an attorney for the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment: "This is not some arcane dispute about cow gases. We are talking about a public health crisis. It's not funny to joke about cow burps and farts when one in six children in Fresno schools is carrying an inhaler."
You can read that article on line here.

The Sunday, August 7, New York Times includes an editorial (the newspaper's official opinion) headed, "A Malodorous Fog." (Section 4, Pg 11.) It is short, and I will paste it below. It suggests that we need new rules that would improve air quality. Neither the August 2 Los Angeles Times article or today's New York Times editorial question the role of cow's milk in the human diet. We can do that with letters to the editor! A good source of information is http://www.milksucks.com/

Here's the editorial:

August 7, 2005
A Malodorous Fog

Here is an axiom for farmers and consumers: Crowding animals together in large numbers always leads to problems. It turns hog manure, for instance, from a source of fertility into toxic waste. It creates enormous opportunities for disease, which tends to be warded off by inappropriate use of antibiotics. And in central California, it turns dairies, which are environmentally benign on a small scale, into major sources of air pollution - perhaps as bad as automobiles.

One of the smoggiest places in the country is the San Joaquin Valley, where one-fifth of the country's dairy cattle live - some 2.5 million animals and still growing. Local environmentalists and some local legislators argue that cow emissions - which come mostly from the front end of the animal rather than the tailpipe - have gotten out of control. There is a growing call to impose new rules that would improve air quality. The best way to do this isn't completely clear. But few, if any, of the proposed solutions would be palatable to the dairy farmers.

The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District estimates that at present each cow emits 19.3 pounds of pollutants a year in the form of gases from manure, from regurgitation and from flatulence. Defenders of the dairy farms - a large and powerful California industry - say that number is a wild overestimation. But behind the debate over the emissions measurements and their regulatory implications, there is a simple fact to contend with: the eye-stinging, nose-burning smell of cattle congestion in rural California
(End of New York Times piece.)
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The New York Times takes letters at letters@nytimes.com. Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Shorter letters are more likely to be published.

Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. To unsubscribe, go to www.DawnWatch.com/unsubscribe.php. If you forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts please leave DawnWatch in the title and include this tag line.)

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7. New York Veggie Jews Plan Vegetarian Event

Forwarded message from vegetarian activist Jean Thaller:

[Please cross-post.]

You are invited to join Veggie Jews and volunteer host Jean Thaler for dinner on Tuesday, August 23, 2005, at 6:30 p.m. when we will meet at The Greens Vegetarian Restaurant in Brooklyn Heights, 128 Montague Street on the corner of Henry Street, 2nd floor (no elevator).

The Greens is a vegan and kosher Chinese restaurant, specializing in wheat meat and soy. We can order entrees and soups individually from the menu. We will share appetizer boats. Entrees range from $7.50 to $12.95, and portions are large. Soups are priced at $1.50. Folks can order their own dim sum if they prefer at $3 to $4.

By subway, take the 2 or 3 trains to Clark Street, the first station in Brooklyn, and walk 2 blocks to Montague. Slightly farther, take the 4 or 5 to Borough Hall or R to Court Street, and walk along Montague.

After sunset we will check out the view of downtown Manhattan from The Promenade.

If you will attend, please reply to veggiejews@cyberonic.com no later than Monday evening, August 22, at 5 p.m. (Eastern Time.) The restaurant can handle a group no larger than 16 persons so walk-ins without reservations will only be accommodated on a space-available basis. For that reason, reservations are strongly recommended.

For information on The Greens, call (718) 246-1228. For New York public transportation information, please go to http://www.ny.com/transportation. For information about Veggie Jews, please go to www.groups.yahoo.com/group/VeggieJews. And remember: It's only Kosher if it's cruelty free. [If only the organizations granting kashruth certificates would agree.]

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8. Concern for Helping Animals in Israel (CHAI) To Help Abandoned Animals in the Gaza Strip

Forwarded message from Nina Natelson, director of CHAI (followed by Haaretz article):

ISRAEL: FATE OF ANIMALS IN THE TERRITORIES

[We express deep sympathy to the Israelis who have lost their homes and much more in the Gaza Strip, and pray that the very traumatic events in Israel will lead to better times for Israel, the Palestinians, the United States, for all of humanity, and for all of God’s creation.]

Israel's Veterinary Services has organized an official contingent of animal groups to enter Gaza to help rescue any animals who may be left behind by departing settlers. Evacuation of settlers begins tonight, Sunday, and all areas in Gaza have been sealed off by the Army days in advance in preparation. Even families of the settlers have not been allowed entry.

Concern for Helping Animals in Israel (CHAI), www.chai-online.org
The SPCA in Israel, in Tel Aviv, and the SPCA Beersheva, along with other organizations, will be part of this major rescue contingent. CHAI will bring its mobile spay/neuter clinic, with 30 cages, many humane traps, and many volunteers. The SPCA will also bring cars, traps, and volunteers.

On Tuesday, Israel's Army is holding a briefing for those groups participating in the rescue effort. These efforts can only begin after the settlers have departed, because of the confusion and danger (55,000 Israeli soldiers have amassed to help counter any potential violence) and because until the settlers are gone, no one knows how many animals may be left behind. In the West Bank settlements, only three stray dogs were reported seen so far, two of which were captured. The true picture for both cats and dogs will not be clear until after the disengagement.

Shelters and municipal pounds throughout Israel have volunteered to take in the animals rescued and help find homes for them. Concern for Helping Animals in Israel (CHAI) appealed to government Ministers last week to provide funds to reimburse the groups for their expenses, through a special fund in the Environment Ministry set aside for assisting animal groups. The government is providing $500,000 to settlers who leave the territories to purchase a new house, establish a new business, and for the costs of moving. CHAI's appeal to government Ministers made the point that the animals, too, deserve help.

For further information, in the U.S., contact chai_us@cox.net . In Israel, contact the Tel Aviv headquarters of CHAI's sister charity in Israel, Hakol Chai, at kolchai1@netvision.net.il.

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Haaretz article
August 18, 2005

Rights group awaits permission to enter Gaza to save strays
By The Associated Press

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/spages/613972.html

An Animal rights group is trying to rescue dogs and cats left behind by settlers being evacuated in the Gaza Strip.

Hakol Chai (Everything Lives) is awaiting permission to bring in a mobile veterinary clinic replete with cages, traps and trained staff.

"Cats and dogs left behind by departing settlers have no ability to survive under the extreme conditions that will exist during and after the disengagement," said Merav Barlev, the group's director. "Without our help, when all that remains is dust and ruins, those who escape the massive bulldozers will die of hunger, thirst, and injuries."

AdvertisementThe group said it is concerned about stray dogs and pets left behind by settlers sent to hotels or to apartments too small to house animals.

Rescued animals will be taken to shelters, with Hakol Chai attempting to find permanent homes for them.

© Copyright 2005 Haaretz. All rights reserved

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9. Several Reports on Global Warming Threats

a. Energy climate changes for the worse

Steve Radley
Monday August 1, 2005
The Guardian

link

Britain enjoyed the best of all worlds only two years ago. Economic growth outstripped most of our competitors, energy prices were below the European average and emissions of carbon were falling while many others were struggling to prevent them from rising.

But this year the golden glow has turned to rust as economic growth has fallen below trend, energy prices have risen rapidly to among the highest in Europe and carbon emissions have started to rise again. Stories of potential power shortages this winter causing factory shutdowns that once seemed alarmist now have a ring of credibility.

How did we get here? Do our targets to reduce carbon emissions still make sense? And what should we do now? Over the last year, Britain has become far more dependent on imports of gas, exposing us to distortions in largely unliberalized energy markets on the continent that leave us paying more for their gas than they charge their own customers.

The government is pressing our European partners to liberalize energy markets but this may take decades. The next two years will also see the construction of pipeline and storage capacity, though we will have to endure two difficult winters before this is completed.

Rising gas prices have led to increasing use of coal to generate power. Coal generates far more carbon emissions than gas, causing the price of carbon in the EU emissions trading scheme to rocket from about &euro8 (£5.50) a tonne to highs of nearly &euro30. In Britain's more liberalized energy markets, power prices are much more sensitive to movements in the value of carbon emissions than in much of the rest of Europe. Our power prices have risen much faster, with businesses reporting price rises of between 50% and 80% this summer.
SNIP

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b. Climate warning as Siberia melts

link

The world's largest frozen peat bog is melting. An area stretching for a million square kilometres across the permafrost of western Siberia is turning into a mass of shallow lakes as the ground melts, according to Russian researchers just back from the region.

link

c. Global Warming May Take Economic Toll

link

The White House's refusal to consider government caps on greenhouse gas emissions may save the US economy short-term pain, but experts warn unchecked global heat could exact a heavy long-run toll. "While there are costs associated with reducing emissions, there are certainly costs …
link

d. Planet a decade from global warming point of no return

link

The global warming danger threshold for the world has been clearly marked out for the first time in a report to be published - and the bad news is, the world has nearly reached it already.

The climate can barely afford a 1C rise in average temperatures before massive climate changes hit …

link

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10. Vegetarian Products Increasingly Popular

Forwarded message from "AnimalConcerns.org" animalconcerns@gmail.com

Meatless products gain space on shelves

For Carolyn S. Englar, dinnertime in the dining center at Emory University was a lot like a scavenger hunt.

With tray in hand, she weaved through the aisles, peering behind counters and under sneeze guards, searching for food -- something besides apples and peanut butter -- that would fit her vegetarian diet.

The dining hall "wasn't particularly great with veggie options," said Englar, a 20-year-old from Maryland who is entering her junior year.

She may have better luck once she graduates from the dining center to the supermarket and trades her tray for a cart. Traditional grocery stores are dedicating more dollars and shelf space to meatless products for the nation's growing number of vegetarians.

Nearly 25 percent of college students say it's important their schools offer on-campus meals that don't contain meat, fish, poultry or other animal products, according to a recent study by Aramark, a provider of food and facilities management for colleges and other institutions. While meatless eating may be a passing fad for some students, for others veganism -- and its less-strict sibling, vegetarianism -- is a lifestyle choice they'll hold on to long after graduation.

They'll join an ever-growing population of vegetarians of every age who are pursuing non-meat diets for political reasons, health concerns or simply because they don't like the stuff. Even carnivores are more often forgoing beef, pork, poultry and fish -- it's estimated that between 35 percent and 50 percent of U.S. adults now eat two to three meatless meals per week, according to the Vegetarian Resource Group, a Maryland-based nonprofit group.

full story

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11. Participation in Atkins Diets Declining

Thanks to JVNA advisor Dan Brook for forwarding me the article below

More Dieters Ditch Carb Counts
By MICHAEL HILL

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - More dieters are ditching carb counts and biting into baguettes with gusto these days. Some are eating like French women – who never get fat, according to one best seller. Or they're taking their cues from celebrities like Suzanne Somers.

Some are counting the minutes between meals or checking a food's glycemic index. And old-school calorie counting continues to have its followers.

This week's bankruptcy filing by the late Dr. Robert C. Atkins' old company provide fresh evidence of the low-carb diet's demise, a downward spiral that began early last year. But no single new diet has filled the void.

Observers say the only sure thing - given the boom-and-bust nature of weight-loss trends - is that something will pop up eventually.

``There isn't one single strong contender,'' said Anne M. Russell, editor-in-chief of Shape magazine. ``If you look at what the single largest trend is, it's weight gain.''

Chapter 11 filings by Atkins Nutritionals Inc. on Monday came about a year and a half after books like ``The Atkins Essentials'' rode the best seller charts, bread makers were back on their heels and Burger King introduced a Whopper without bun.

But Atkins has been in decline since February 2004, said Harry Balzer, a food industry analyst at market researcher NPD Group. Balzer claims Atkins was one of those demanding diets that simply ran its course, going from fad to fade like so many others before it, including the Scarsdale and the cabbage soup diets.

How far and how fast did Atkins fall? By September 2004, surplus low-carb products were being shipped to food banks in Appalachia.

SNIP
Dan Brook’ links:

Eco-Eating: Eating as if the Earth Matters
www.brook.com/veg

The Vegetarian Mitzvah
www.brook.com/jveg

No Smoking?
www.brook.com/smoke

CyberBrook's ThinkLinks
www.brook.com/cyberbrook

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12. World Farm Animal Day 2005 Scheduled

Forwarded message from FARM (Farm Animal Reform Movement)

It's time to take a stand for farmed animals... letting the world know that we will not tolerate animal abuse in the world's factory farms and slaughterhouses. Represent your community for WFAD on or about October 2nd (Gandhi's birthday).

Event Coordinators in several hundred communities in all 50 states and two dozen other countries will stage vigils, marches, street theater, video screenings, exhibits, and information tables.

BE AN EVENT COORDINATOR... it's as easy as A-B-C:

Visit our Action Center to consider the possibilities and pick your favorite event.

Register your event online or call 888-FARM-USA so we can list it on the web and send you a free Action Kit and display materials.

Conduct your event (large or small)! We provide guidance, materials, media, and a global Events Directory. You provide compassion, creativity, a few hours and a lot of heart.

Together and united in our purpose we will open the eyes, the minds, and the hearts of our neighbors and public officials to the devastating impacts of animal agriculture on animal welfare, environmental quality, and public health. The animals are counting on us...

If not us, who? If not World Farm Animals Day, when?

Thank you for your active compassion,
Dawn Moncrief
Director, World Farm Animals Day 2005
dawn@wfad.org - 888-FARM-USA

Looking for other ways to help? Click now for web banners

About World Farm Animals Day: WFAD is the one day a year when caring people around the world mourn and memorialize the pointless suffering and death of 50 billion cows, pigs, turkeys, chickens, and other innocent, sentient animals in the world's factory farms and slaughterhouses.

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14. Employment Positions at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center

Forwarded message from the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center

We are looking for new community members who are willing to serve and commit whatever it takes to take the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center to the highest level of inspiration. They will be nourished on a very deep level while living and working in an intense spiritual community. The Tree Of Life is a busy kosher, holistic, vegan live-food retreat center led by Rebbe Gabriel Cousens, M.D., author of Conscious Eating and Spiritual Nutrition. Applications: resume, cover letter, and recent picture to appropriate person below. Please read our Employment Guidelines at http://www.treeoflife.nu/apps/employguide.doc

We have five positions:

a) Reservationist -- sara@treeoflife.nu / 520 394 2520, x201
b) Front Desk Manager -- sara@treeoflife.nu / Tel: 520 394 2520, x201
c) Accounting Manager -- business@treeoflife.nu / Tel: 520 394 2520x205
d) Spiritual Live-Food Chef -- michela@treeoflife.nu / Tel: 520 394 2589X201
e) Massage Therapist -- izabela@treeoflife.nu / Tel: 520 394 2520x210

Tree of Life Family
686 Harshaw Road
PO Box 778
Patagonia, AZ 85624
Tel: 520-394-2520
Fax: 415 598 2409

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