12/1/05 JVNA Online Newsletter

Shalom everyone,

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

2. Another Letter in Yosef Hakohen’s Series on Jewish Teachings Re Animals

3. Connections Between Animal Exploitation and Third World Poverty

4. Hebrew Healing: Another Letter From Yosef Hakohen

5. Improving Bird Slaughter

6. A Community-Supported Agricultural Policy

7. Correction

8. The Calcium Dairy Lie

9. Global Warming Hits Tipping Point

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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2. Another Letter in Yosef Hakohen’s Series on Jewish Teachings Re Animals

The Journey to Unity - 151

Noah's Restaurant
[Feeding the animals on Noah’s ark]

The Compassionate One nurtures all the creatures that He created, as it is written: "He gives food to all flesh, for His lovingkindness endures forever" (Psalm 136:25)
"He gives food to all flesh" - The great lovingkindness of the Compassionate One extends to all creatures, for He prepares for each and every creature the food that is fitting for it. (Commentary of the Radak)

Dear Friends,

The above verse serves as a reminder that the world is a Divine "restaurant" where all creatures are served. Human beings are created in the Divine image with the responsibility to emulate the Divine ways. An early example of this responsibility can be found in the Torah's story of Noah's ark. Before the great flood, Noah was given a Divine mandate to build a very large ark, and within this ark would be a "restaurant" which would enable Noah to emulate the Divine nurturing. Who were the "customers" at Noah's restaurant? The answer can be found in the following verses:

"And of every living thing, of all flesh, you shall take two of each into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female. Of birds, according to their species, and of animals, according to their species, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its species; two of each sort will come to you, so that you will keep them alive. As for you, take for yourself of every food that serves as nourishment and store it away, and it shall be food for you and for them." (Genesis 6:19-21)

The various species are mentioned, but when "creeping things" are mentioned, the verse stresses "every" creeping thing. What is the reason for this special emphasis? I found an answer in the ArtScroll commentary on the above passage. The emphasis on "every" creeping thing is to impress upon Noah the following insight: Although insects may seem unnecessary and dispensable to him, their utility was known to the Creator; thus, Noah was to be even more punctilious in assuring that each one of their species was accounted for (Toldos Yitzchak). In other words, even insects were welcome at Noah's restaurant.

What was the menu at this restaurant? According to Jewish tradition, this was a vegetarian restaurant (vegan style). As the Radak, a classical biblical commentator, explains: "The food was fruits, seeds, and herbs." The Radak adds that even the carnivorous creatures abstained from meat, just like they did at the dawn of creation.

This restaurant remained open for one year. And what was the service like? An answer can be found in various midrashim and commentaries on Genesis 7:23. For example, the Midrash Tanchuma states in the name of Rabbi Levi that each creature had its own feeding schedule; moreover, some creatures needed to be fed at various hours of the night. Rabbi Levi adds:

"During the entire 12 months neither Noah and his sons knew the pleasure of sleep, for they were responsible for the feeding of the domestic animals, the wild animals, and the birds."

The Midrash Tanchuma also cites the following tradition which indicates that there was once an angry complaint about the service:

"Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Eliezer the son of Rabbi Yossi Hagalili: One time Noah was late with food for the lion, and the lion struck him. Noah emerged limping."

The ArtScroll commentary explains that Noah was struck by the lion, because his obligation to feed the lion and the other creatures was a Divine mandate; thus, Noah should have been more scrupulous in carrying out his duty to provide for them punctually (Me'am Loaz).

With the help of Hashem, we shall discuss in the upcoming letters the universal lessons that we can learn from the story of Noah's restaurant.

Shalom,
Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen

Related Teachings:

1.The Ramban explains that although the ark was large, it was a Divine miracle that the ark was able to contain all the species, as well as the food needed to feed them (Commentary to 6:19).

2. It is written regarding the "tzadik" – righteous person: "A tzadik knows the needs of his animal's soul" (Proverbs 12:10). The Malbim, a noted 19th century biblical commentator, explains that the tzadik understands the nature of his animal, and he gives the animal its food in its proper time and according to the amount it needs. He also makes sure to fulfill the Torah's mitzvah to feed one's animals before one feeds oneself.

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3. Connections Between animal Exploitation and Third World Poverty

Forwarded message from animal rights activist Adam Weissman, excerpted from here.

Third World Poverty Caused by the Animal Exploitation Industry.
The Animal exploitation industries have boosted third world poverty in a number of ways:-

a) The Expropriation of Land.
A colossal part of the Earth's land surface has been devoted to pasture, "A quarter of the earth's landmass is used as pasture for cattle and other livestock .."55 Some of this land has been acquired through expropriation. This is as true in the third world today as it was centuries ago in the over-industrialized nations. Large numbers of poor people have been imprisoned, made homeless, killed, or have starved as a result of big landowners expropriating land for pasture. The same sort of expropriation has occurred, although not on the same scale, to provide grains for livestock Animals in the over-industrialized world. As has been pointed out above 14% of the land in third world countries is being used for cash crops although it is not known what proportion of this land is being used to grow grains for the Animal exploitation industry.

b) The Expropriation of Food.
Large areas of pastureland in the disintegrating/industrializing countries are used for livestock Animals which are exported to the over-industrialized world. Huge numbers of people in these countries go hungry even though they are surrounded by livestock Animals, "Birds Eye Walls import 30,000 tonnes of beef from Brazil every year." Although meat exports from third world countries continue to grow, they are declining relative to meat exports from the over-industrialied nations.

The same is also true as regards the crops which provide feed for livestock Animals. Huge numbers of people are going hungry even though third world countries are producing vast quantities of grains which are exported to feed livestock in the over-industrialized nations, "Although soybeans are consumed directly as tofu and soy sauce in many countries, food use accounts for a small fraction of the world harvest. Most of the world's soybeans are grown primarily for the protein meal that is widely used in pork and poultry rations. Argentina and Brazil .. crush most of their beans and export them largely as meal, retaining much of the oil for domestic consumption."

The over-industrialized world cannot grow enough feed for its livestock and have to import huge quantities of fodder from third world countries, "Because of the large amounts of grain required to produce beef, the geographic location of cattle herds can be misleading. Most industrial countries do not have sufficient agricultural land to support their meat consumption. Beef production is particularly land-intensive, because one calorie of meat production requires 3 calories of grain inputs for pork and 10 calories for beef. Land requirements can be up to 50 times higher than for protein production from grain. As a result, a great deal of the feed consumed in industrialized countries is not produced on the home farm, but purchased from developing countries. For example, Western Europe imports more than 40%, or 21 million tons per year, of its feed grains from the Third World.";"Feeding the meat-eating (world) class takes nearly 40% of the world's grain, grown on close to one-fifth of the world's cropland."; "There has been a fundamental shift in world agriculture this century from food grains to feed grains, and cattle now compete with people for food. A third of the world's fish catch and more than a third of the world's total grain output is fed to livestock."61 Huge numbers of third world peoples are starving because the crops grown in their country are exported to fatten Animals in the over-industrialized nations, "More people are hungry now than ever before. Many states where hunger is prevalent are net exporters of food." Even during times of famine, grains continue to be exported from third world countries to the over-industrialized world, "In addition, about two-thirds of the total domestic grain crop goes to feed-lots. The agribusiness production of grains for foreign exchange-earning exports to the industrialized region is one among several factors in the displacement of the rural poor in the Third world onto marginal, ecologically sensitive land. The magnitude of the food value involved in this trade is significant: the 500 million people suffering starvation could find relief from this condition if they had the cash to buy the grains exported to industrial country feedlots. In that sense, the present level of meat consumption in the wealthy industrialized countries is directly related to starvation in the poor countries of the world."

c) The Expropriation of Resources.
Third world elites devote huge quantities of resources, from water, minerals, and fossil fuels to the Animal exploitation industry when these resources could be used to alleviate third world poverty, "While it takes, on average, 25 gallons of water (113 litres) to produce a pound of wheat in modern Western farming systems, it requires an astounding 2,500 gallons (11,250 litres) of water to produce a pound of meat."

d) Third world Elites Exploiting their own People for the sake of Meat.
Animals are a major export earner in many third world countries .. "African export earnings from this source (live animals, meat, hides and skins) exceed those from tobacco, tea or bauxite." Just as was the case with exports of cash crops and raw materials for the car industries, the wealth generated by Animal exports is expropriated by third world elites. Third world elites, like consumers in the over-industrialized nations, are meat eaters, and some of their countries' export earnings are used to sustain a carnivorous diet. Third world elites would rather spend money on buying meat for their own consumption rather than alleviating poverty. They are therefore responsible for some of the poverty caused by the Animal exploitation industry.

e) Rich in Meat, Poor in Wealth.
There is a general rule about the Animal exploitation industry in third world countries and this is that the greater the wealth generated by Animal exports the greater the scale of poverty. For example .. "meat exporting countries are among Africa's poorest and most drought stricken: Chad, Sudan, Niger, Somalia, Mali, Botswana and Namibia." There are a number of reasons for this:- Firstly, because third world countries' export earnings are confiscated by third world elites rather than disbursed throughout the population;

Secondly, the Animal exploitation industry is such a land extensive enterprise that little land left for the development of local agriculture or other industries;

Thirdly, the Animal exploitation industry uses only a small workforce, thereby further limiting the spread of wealth throughout the population; and,

Finally, the Animal exploitation industry is a capital intensive industry which means that little capital is left for other industries.

As a consequence, "No other agro-export has contributed less to the welfare of the Guatemalan population than beef. Cattle ranching has displaced hundreds of small farmers and employed very few workers. Moreover, Guatemala was no exception to the process common throughout central America by which countries of the region rapidly increased beef exports to the united states to meet the demands of fast food chains like MacDonalds, while per capita domestic consumption declined."

f) The Oppression of World Trade related to the Animal Exploitation Industry.
It was pointed out above that the over-industrialized nations cannot produce enough grains to feed their own livestock Animals and need to import huge quantities of grains from third world countries. The injustices of this situation are compounded by the oppression of world trade. The over-industrialized countries prevent third world countries from subsidizing their agricultural products whilst at the same time giving huge subsidies to their own pharmers. As a consequence of these subsidies the over-industrialized pharmers produce huge food mountains which are then dumped on third world countries ruining their agricultural industry because the grains from over-industrialized nations are cheaper than locally produced third world grains - even though the former has often been transported half way around the world. Furthermore the over-industrialized nations prevent third world countries from blocking the importation of subsidized agricultural products from the over-industrialized nations, "The grain imports required to compensate for this shift of agricultural land further undermines the self reliance of developing countries: Grain exports from industrialized countries to Third World countries are routinely subsidized." The injustices of world trade exacerbate the injustices caused by the Animal exploitation industries in third world countries.

g) The Animal Exploitation Industry exacerbates Global Warming which will Increase Third World Poverty.
The Animal exploitation industry is the biggest contributor to global warming. It boosts global warming through Animal flatulence, the consumption of fossil fuels to help run the Animal exploitation industries, and through the destruction of the Earth's Phytosynthetic capacity e.g. the destruction of Forests. The ecological devastation caused by the Animal exploitation industry is enormous:-

Firstly, a quarter of the Earth's land surface is now used for pasture and much of this has been created by razing Forests, "In Mexico alone, 37 million acres of forest have been destroyed since 1987 to provide grazing land for cattle.";

Secondly, some of the land used to provide fodder for livestock has also been created by razing Forests; and,

Thirdly, huge numbers of people who have been chucked off their land by Animal exploiters invade the Forests in order to grow crops. They use primitive slash/burn techniques which entails setting fire to the Forests to provide fertiliser ash for crops. Due to the increasing numbers of slash/burn farmers the Forests no longer have the time to recover.

Most of the damage resulting from the Animal exploitation industry is caused by the over-industrialized countries but the third world also contributes to the damage. Once again it is likely that third world countries not only benefit least from the Animal exploitation industry, but will suffer the most from the climatic disasters caused by this industry.

h) Conclusions.
There are a number of conclusions to be drawn from this sketch of the poverty caused by the Animal exploitation industry:-

Firstly, the Animal exploitation industry causes more poverty in third world countries than any other industry. It is by far and away the biggest cause of third world poverty.

Secondly, the Animal exploitation industry causes more poverty in third world countries than all the cash crop industries combined - e.g. coffee/tea.

Thirdly, third world poverty will never be abolished until some of the land currently being used by the Animal exploitation industry is distributed to the poor in order to abolish global poverty.

Fourthly, most livestock Animals are consumed in the over-industrialized world, "Most people in the world live on a substantially vegetarian diet. Meat eating is a habit largely peculiar to the affluent West."; "Per capita meat consumption is currently six times higher in the industrialized countries than in the developing world (78kg/cap-yr compared to 14 kg/cap-yr). Moreover, while industrial country per capita consumption has risen by another 20% in the last 15 years, it has stagnated in the Third World."

Finally, it is impossible for everyone in third world countries to eat as much meat as consumers in the over-industrialized nations. Despite the fact that china now produces as much meat as america, it has a far larger population than america and will never be able to produce the same level of per capita meat consumption, "China and the United States now dominate world meat production. Somewhat surprisingly, surging pork production in China in recent years has made it the world's leading consumer of red meat. Its output of red meat in 1992 totalled 31.6 million tons, compared with18.6 million tons in the United States. When poultry is included, total meat production in China is nearly 37 million tons versus 31 million tons in the United States."72; "The major producers of poultry in 1993 were the United States at 12.5 million tons, China at 5.1mt, Brazil at 3.2mt, and France at 2 mt. Together, these four countries accounted for over half of world poultry output."

The Activism Center at Wetlands Preserve, PO Box 344, New York, NY 10108
Phone: (201) 928-2831 Email: activism@wetlands-preserve.org

Visit these websites! http://wetlands-preserve.org * http://freegan.info * http://ftaareferendum.org * http://foodnotfur.org * http://furfreenyc.org

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4. Hebrew Healing, Another Letter From Yosef Hakohen

The Journey to Unity – 150

"Refuah Ivri" - Hebrew Healing:

"Blessed are You, O Compassionate One, the Healer of all flesh" (Asher Yatzar blessing).

Dear Friends,

Before we can have a meaningful discussion about Hebrew healing, we first need to understand the meaning of the term "Ivri" - Hebrew. This term is an ancient name of our people; moreover, our father, Abraham, was also known as the Ivri (Genesis 14:13). According to one explanation in the Midrash, the term Ivri is closely related to the Hebrew term "eiver" - on the other side; thus, it became a name for those who came from the other side of the Euphrates River (Genesis Rabbah 42:8). Ivri can also refer to someone who is willing to be "on the other side" - a person who has the courage to be different from the rest of society. In this spirit, the Midrash cites another reason why Abraham was known as the Ivri:

"Rabbi Yehudah says: All the world was on one side, but he was on the 'other side." (Genesis Rabbah 42:8)

Abraham was called an Ivri - the one who stands on the other side - because he had the courage to publicly proclaim the message of the Unifying One in a world where most people worshiped the various forces within nature – including the forces within animals - as gods. Abraham therefore helped people to understand that the Unifying One is the Source and Master of all the forces within nature.

Since the loss of the Garden of Eden, the creatures within nature that are most strong survive; thus, many nature worshipers also worshiped the most powerful human beings as gods, while the weak and the needy were despised and oppressed. In this cruel world, Abraham had the courage to proclaim that the Unifying One is the Compassionate One; moreover, he taught that human beings are created in the image of the Compassionate One with the capacity and the responsibility to emulate the Divine compassion for the poor and the oppressed. We, the People of Israel, are therefore called "Ivri'im" - Hebrews – as we are to have the courage to proclaim the liberating message of the Compassionate One in a world which is often hostile to this message.

Pharaoh, the powerful ruler of Egypt who was viewed as a god, did not recognize the truth of this liberating message. Moshe was therefore told to address Pharaoh in the name of "the Compassionate One, God of the Ivri'im" (Exodus 3:18). Pharaoh is to understand that the people he views as his slaves are actually Ivr'im - a people with the courage to stand on the other side and oppose the prevailing world view which leads to disunity and oppression. As Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch explains, Moshe is saying to Pharaoh on behalf of the Ivri'im: "Each one of us has the courage to uphold and carry on the nation's mission – alone and against the world!" (Commentary to 3:18)

We will now discuss how we, the Ivri'im – a small people within a pagan world - also had the courage to proclaim a radical Divine message about healing. This Divine message was heard in the wilderness of Sinai, where Moshe prepared our people for their life in the Promised Land. In this land, they would be surrounded by nations who believed that the only way to achieve healing was through deifying and worshiping the forces within nature. Moshe therefore conveyed to the people the following Divine proclamation:

"Do not prostrate yourselves before their gods nor serve them, and do not act according to their practices…For You shall serve the Compassionate One, your God, Who will bless your bread and your water, and I shall remove illness from your midst." (Exodus 23:24,25)

The Compassionate One is instructing us not to follow the pagan path to healing, for the true path to healing is through serving the life-affirming Divine purpose. The Ramban, in his commentary on the above passage, explains that when we serve the Divine purpose, the Compassionate One will remove illness from our midst through blessing our food and drinks:

"The Holy One, blessed be He, will bless your 'bread' – a term which includes all manner of food; moreover, He will bless your 'water' - a generic term for all liquids that people drink."

The Ramban adds: "When your food and drinks are good and healthy, they do not cause sickness; on the contrary, they heal you!"

As a result of following the Divine path, a Divine blessing will cause our food and drinks to be healthy and healing. This teaching can serve as an example of how the Torah views good nutrition as having a major role in both the prevention and healing of illness.

As we say in Yiddish, "Zei Gezunt" - Be Healthy!

Shalom,
Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen

Related Teachings:

In the following Divine proclamation, we find additional insights into Hebrew healing:

"If you hearken diligently to the voice of the Compassionate One, your God, and do what is just in His eyes, give ear to His mitzvos and observe all His decrees, then any of the diseases that I placed upon Egypt, I will not bring upon you, for I am the Compassionate One, your healer." (Exodus 15:26)

"I am the Compassionate One, your Healer" - According to Rashi, the Compassionate One is proclaiming: I am the Healing One Who teaches you Torah and mitzvos so that you will be spared from these illnesses, like the healer who says to a person, "Do not eat this thing, lest it bring you into the grip of such-and-such an illness."

Rashi is teaching us that the Compassionate One is the Healing One Who engages in "preventive medicine" by teaching us Torah and mitzvos which will preserve our health. In other words, if we, as individuals and as a community, fulfill all the holistic teachings and laws of the Torah, we will be blessed with good health.

Hazon – Our Universal Vision has additional teachings regarding Torah and health which are available upon request.

Hazon - Our Universal Vision: www.shemayisrael.co.il/publicat/hazon/

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5. Improving Bird Slaughter

Forwarded message:

Dear Friend,

Strange but true: Poultry - chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, and other birds - are NOT protected by humane slaughter laws in this country, even though they make up 95% of all farm animals killed for food in the United States (9 billion birds a year). Today, you and I have the power to change that.

To get Congress to amend the law to provide the same basic protections for poultry that cows, pigs, lambs, and other livestock have, we need to demonstrate widespread support as quickly as possible. Join me in signing the Petition for Poultry. It will only take a minute of your time to help billions of animals. Click here.

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6. A Community Supported Agricultural Policy

Forwarded message:

Thursday, November 10th, 2005 / 8th Cheshvan 5766

Dear All,

Tuv Ha'Aretz is Hazon's Community-Supported Agriculture project. It offers the opportunity for Jewish families to purchase an entire season's worth of organic produce, support local farms, build community, and expand the notion of what it means for food to be kosher - not only fit for us, but fit for the Earth.

Using proceeds from Hazon's 2006 New York Jewish Environmental Bike Ride, we're now planning to launch Tuv Ha'Aretz in three further locations across the country, and we're inviting synagogues, JCC's, or individuals to apply for support to be one of them. This email explains the background to Tuv Ha'Aretz - and how you might start one in your community.

Hazon launched Tuv Ha'Aretz in 2004, partnering with Congregation Ansche Chesed in Manhattan and the Garden of Eve Farm. This year, we grew to a second site with the JCC MetroWest in New Jersey, Temple B'nai Abraham and Starbrite Farm. In 2006 we plan to launch three more Tuv Ha'Aretz sites in Jewish communities across the country - and one of them could be yours!

Hazon believes in creating the opportunity for the Jewish community to put its purchasing power behind local, organic farms. Tuv Ha'Aretz enables members to provide themselves and their families with fresh, pesticide-free produce while actively supporting small farmers. In doing so, members also protect farmland from over-development, help to curb industrial agribusiness, and significantly lessen the amount of energy used in transporting produce. The average meal in America travels 1500 miles from farm to table.

Tuv Ha'Aretz isn't just good for the land. In the biblical era, Jews practiced pe'ah, leaving the corner of the field for poor people to harvest. ("When you reap your land's harvest, do not completely harvest the ends of your fields. Leave them for the poor and the stranger" Lev 19:9-10). Every week at Tuv Ha'Aretz, extra produce from vegetable distribution is donated to local shelters and soup kitchens. One Tuv Ha'Aretz member, Iva Kaufman, said, "I sometimes have changes in my own schedule that make it difficult to pick up vegetables - the knowledge that the food is being redistributed to others in need as an automatic part of the Tuv Ha'Aretz structure has tremendous appeal and gives both Howard and me great satisfaction."

And we're using Tuv Ha'Aretz as a platform for vibrant educational and community-building opportunities, which allow members to explore contemporary food issues from a Jewish perspective. We kicked off the Tuv Ha'Aretz season this year with a Shavuot farm trip to Starbrite Farm and a Shabbat potluck dinner at Ansche Chesed with teaching from Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky and Nigel Savage and featuring Garden of Eve produce. The season included cooking demonstrations, additional farm trips, and a closing Sukkot Tuv Ha'Aretz dinner at Temple B'nai Abraham with guest speaker, Dr. Eilon Schwartz of the Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership.

Every week Hazon works together with volunteers to publish the Tuv HaShavua newsletter. You can see some of them at http://www.hazon.org/go.php?q=/projects/CSA/15-tuvHashavua/introduction.html. Tuv HaShavua provides information about sustainable agriculture and Judaism, highlights new vegetables, offers recipes, and reports news from the farm. Tuv HaShavua serves as Hazon's most direct opportunity to educate members and empower volunteer voices. Approximately 2100 Tuv HaShavua newsletters were picked up (and brought home, hung on refrigerators and shared with families and friends) throughout the 2005 season!

Community-Supported Agriculture has existed in America for two decades, but Hazon is the first organization to create a CSA within the Jewish community and to seek to expand this program as extensively as we can. Tuv Ha'Aretz empowers members to make a significant difference in they way the eat, and contribute to the larger sustainable agriculture movement.

Between the two Tuv Ha'Aretz sites in New York and New Jersey, 120 households - representing more than 300 people - have already joined Tuv Ha'Aretz! Our goal within a decade is to offer thousands of Jews at synagogues and JCCs across the country, the opportunity to support local, sustainable agriculture through Tuv Ha'Aretz.

If you think your JCC or synagogue would be a good match for Tuv Ha'Aretz, we invite you to fill out a Tuv Ha'Aretz Request for Proposal (RFP). Filling out an RFP will certainly not commit you to starting a CSA, but it does show your interest.

Click here to download the RFP.

The deadline for the RFP is December 15, 2005. If you're interested in applying, we strongly encourage you to get in touch with Leah@hazon.org first to find out more information.

All best wishes,
Leah Koenig and Nigel Savage

PS - places are still available for our winter retreat at Isabella Freedman on December 2nd - 4th. Click here for more info and registration.

Hazon

111 Eighth Avenue
11th Floor
New York , NY 10011
Tel: 212-284-6812
Fax: 212-284-6951
www.hazon.org
info@hazon.org

Hazon's mission is to revitalize Jewish life through our Jewish Environmental Bike Rides and a range of other programs that engage contemporary issues through a Jewish lens. We build inclusive community, foster people's Jewish and life journeys and inspire commitment to environmental stewardship.

Hazon is a proud member of Bikkurim: An Incubator for New Jewish Ideas (a partnership of the Kaminer Family, JESNA and UJC) and gratefully acknowledges support from the Dorot Foundation, UJA-Federation of New York, and many individual supporters.

Registration is now open for the 2006 Arava Institute Hazon Israel Ride, May 9th -16th, 2006 ! - www.israelride.org

"The Torah is a commentary on the world, and the world is a commentary on the Torah"

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7. Correction

Dear Richard,

Just spoke to Pete Kohan friend of Jason Moses, and he alerted me to the fact that there inadvertently might have been a partial omission, probably my fault, in the web address for the link to the K.E.R.O.V. site [in the last JVNA newsletter].

It should have had the word "meetup" in there, and the corrected address reads as follows: http://www.vegetarian.meetup.com/290.

When corrected, this now links to the KOSHER ETHICAL RAWFOODS ORGANIC VEGANS group K.E.R.O.V. the other mistaken address with just the "vegetarian.com" does not, and looks typically like a commercial site.

Thanks so much!

Thanks,
Janine

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8. The Calcium Dairy Lie

Forwarded message from Robert Cohen, the Non-Milkman:

The longer a lie is promoted, the more readily it is received. Dairy lies have continued for generations.

Milk and dairy consumption does not prevent hip fractures. Scientific studies prove that the opposite is true. If you seek a recipe for your own future osteoporosis, drink plenty of milk and become a Wisconsin cheesehead.

A publication in the February, 2003 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Vol. 77, No. 2, 504-511) clearly demonstrates that eighteen years of milk consumption did not prevent hip fractures for post-menopausal women.

How many subjects participated in the study?

A mere 72,337. As part of Walter Willett's Harvard Nurses Study, investigator Diane Feskanich performed statistical tests of significance for 18 years of data including dietary intake of calcium (dairy and supplements) to determine her findings.

The conclusion reached from this observational analyses, is that dietary calcium plays little or no role in preventing bone loss. Drinking milk does not prevent osteoporosis. A total of 603 hip fractures were analyzed. Scientists determined that milk consumption was in no way associated
with hip fracture risk. The same conclusion was reached for total calcium consumption.

The Harvard Nurses study previously determined that there is no positive association between teenaged milk consumption and the risk of adult fractures. (American Journal of Public Health 1997;87). As a matter of fact, just the opposite was found to be true. Women consuming greater amounts of calcium from dairy foods suffered significantly increased risks of hip fractures.

In light of these findings, the dairy industry milk mustache campaign has been proven to be one enormous deception. Bones break because women eating the wrong foods create an acid condition in their own bloodstreams, which must be neutralized by available calcium. The body achieves balance by taking calcium out of its own bones. Ergo, people eating the greatest amount of total animal protein are the ones experiencing accelerated rates of bone loss. The same Journal of Clinical Nutrition, (1995; 61, 4) confirmed this truth:

"Dietary protein increases production of acid in the blood which can be neutralized by calcium mobilized from the skeleton."

Eighteen years earlier, as the Harvard Nurses study was just beginning, the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1979;32,4) reported:

"Even when eating 1,400 mg of calcium daily, one can lose up to 4% of his or her bone mass each year while consuming a high-protein diet."

Why do you imagine that these same scientific studies have not be publicized in magazines or reported on TV news, or headlined in your local newspaper? Because truth lacks one critical ingredient. Cash. For a story to be released, it must often be accompanied by paid dairy industry advertising. In this deceptively dangerous manner, most of us receive our biased and compromised health information.

Milk? It does not do the body good.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

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9. Global Warming Hits Tipping Point

Reviewed by Charlene Jones

Western Siberia is undergoing an unprecedented thaw that could dramatically increase the rate of global warming. Researchers recently returned from the region found that an area of permafrost spanning one million square kilometers-the size of France and Germany combined-is melting for the first time since it formed 11,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. British and Russian scientists report that the melting permafrost is releasing hundreds of millions of tons of methane, which is 20 times more potent than the carbon dioxide currently driving the worldwide warming crisis.

http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/25351/

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