3/30/05 JVNA Online Newsletter

Shalom everyone,

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

1. “Imagining a Vegan World”/Suggestions on My Article Welcome

2. “Top Ten Ways To Create a Vegetarian World”/Suggestions on MY Talk/Article Welcome

3. “Judaism and Vegetarianism”/Suggestions Welcome on My Contribution to a Leaflet

4. “Contrasting Jewish and Other Values”/Suggestions Welcome on My Material for the Media

5. Statement by the National Council of Chain Restaurants re the Postville Situation

6. Another Startling Report on Global Threats

7. Material From Canfei Nesharim Newsletter

8. Suggestion Re Karpas

9. Exciting New Video Released

10. Statement by Ron Reagan on Foie Gras

11. Update on the Great American Meatout

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, information re conferences, retreats, forums, trips, and other events does not necessarily imply endorsements by JVNA, 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. “Imagining a Vegan World”/Suggestions on My Article Welcome

I was asked to submit an article on this topic for a collection of such articles in a book that is being produced by the International Vegetarian Union (IVU). Suggestions for improvements very welcome. Thanks.

Imagining a Vegan World
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.

The late Senator Robert Kennedy often stated:
"Some see things as they are and ask why,
I dream of things that have never been and ask why not?"

Yes, why not? Why not a vegetarian world? Or, even better, since we are dreaming, why not a vegan world? When one considers all the negatives related to the current widespread production and consumption of animal products, it is hard to believe that so few people have seen the importance of shifting to such a world.

What would a vegan world be like?

It would be a world with far healthier people. There are numerous studies showing that plant-based diets can sharply reduce the risk factors for heart disease, various types of cancer, strokes, and other chronic degenerative diseases. Dr. Dean Ornish and others have shown that a well planned vegetarian diet, along with other positive lifestyle changes, can reverse severe heart-related problems. Currently about 1.3 million Americans die annually from diseases linked to the consumption of animal products. This number would be sharply reduced when people eat a wide variety of foods from what the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) calls the “New Four Food Groups”: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes.

It would be a far more humane world. We could eliminate the current abuse of the 10 billion animals in the United States and 50 billion animals worldwide raised annually for slaughter. Animals would no longer be bred and genetically programmed to produce far more flesh, milk, and eggs than is natural for them. The many horrors of factory farming, including force feeding of geese, debeaking of hens, and branding, dehorning, and castrating of cattle, would be eliminated. We would no longer need to feel shame when considering Gandhi’s statement: “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by how its animals are treated.”

It would be an environmentally sustainable world. Since we would no longer be raising 50 billion farmed animals for slaughter under factory farmed conditions, there would be a sharp reduction in the current significant contributions that modern intensive livestock agriculture makes to global climate change; rapid species extinction; soil erosion and depletion; destruction of tropical rain forests, coral reefs, and other valuable habitats; desertification; and many more environmental threats. Without the need to feed so many animals, we could let land lay fallow on a rotating basis, and thus restore its fertility. There would be far less need for pesticides and chemical fertilizers in the production of feed crops for animals. Of course, changes would also have to be made in our production, transportation, and other systems to improve the environment as much as possible, but the shift to vegetarianism would be a major step.

It would be a world where hunger and thirst would be sharply reduced, if not eliminated. When we no longer feed 70 percent of the grain grown in the US and 40 percent of the grain grown worldwide to animals destined for slaughter, using vast amounts of agricultural resources to do so, we would have the potential to save the lives of many of the estimated 20 million people who currently die of hunger and its effects. When we shift away from current animal-centered diets that require up to 14 times the amount of water that vegan diets do, we can help reverse current trends that have been leading to an increasingly thirsty world. Also, since current typical diets require large amounts of energy, a shift to vegan diets, and other positive changes, would give us additional time to develop more sustainable forms of energy.

It would be a far more peaceful world. Some may question this, but please consider that the slogans of the vegetarian and peace movements are the same: “All we are saying is give PEAS a chance.” More seriously, the Jewish sages, noting that the Hebrew words for bread (lechem) and war (milchamah) come from the same root, indicated that when there are shortages of grain and other resources, people are more likely to go to war. History has proven the truth of this statement many times. Hence, a vegetarian world, where far less water, land, energy, and other resources are required for our diets would reduce the potential for war and other conflicts.

Obtaining a vegan world may sound utopian today as so much meat is consumed in the developed world and as newly affluent people in several countries, including Japan, China, and india, shift toward animal-centered diets. However, borrowing the title of a Buckminster Fuller book, we may have a choice between “Utopia and Oblivion.” Our current dietary and other practices threaten major catastrophies for humanity from global warming, losses of biodiversity, water and food shortages, just to name a few problems. So, as difficult as it seems, it is essential that we alert people to the necessity of adapting vegan diets.

As a song from the popular musical “South Pacific” indicates, “If you do not have a dream, how yuh gonna have a dream come true.” So it is essential that we keep the dream of a vegan world alive.

And, as the Zionist leader Theodore Herzl stated “ If you will it, it is not a dream.” So, we must do more than dream. We must work diligently to make that dream come true. The fate of our precious, but imperiled, planet depends on it.

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2. “Top Ten Ways To Create a Vegetarian World”/Suggestions on My Talk/Article Welcome

Below is an outline for my talk at the “Grassroots Animal Rights Conference (GARC) on Friday, and I also plan to submit it as an article to a vegetarian publication. Suggestions for improvements very welcome. Thanks.

TOP TEN WAYS TO CREATE A VEGETARIAN WORLD
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.

1) Set a Goal and a Time Table

We should not be satisfied with the relatively slow progress currently being made toward vegetarianism, especially in the face of all the recent disturbing reports of environmental catastrophes ahead. One possibility is to declare a goal of “A Vegetarian-conscious world by 2010.” This could inspire our efforts. Note the term “vegetarian conscious.” We can’t hope that every person will be a vegetarian by 2010, or any other time, and we should not argue that each person must be a vegetarian. However, we can work, with a heightened sense of urgency, to see that everyone will be aware of the many reasons for becoming a vegetarian, with the hope that many will act based on that knowledge.

2) Make People Aware That a Shift Toward Vegetarianism is Beneficial for People as Well as Animals

Many people resist vegetarian arguments, asserting that they can’t be concerned about animals when people face so many problems. We should stress that animal-based diets increase risk factors for many life threatening diseases, including heart disease, several types of cancer, and stroke. Animal-based agriculture contributes significantly to many environmental threats to humanity. Also, the feeding of 70 percent of grain produced in the United States to farmed animals is a factor behind the fact that an estimated 20 million of the world’s people die annually from hunger and its effects.

3) Argue that a Shift Toward Vegetarianism is a Societal Imperative Today

Humanity is arguably threatened as perhaps never before from global warming, widening water shortages, rapid species extinction, destruction of tropical rain forests and other valuable habitats, and many other problems. We should make people aware that all of these threats and many more are significantly worsened by the following: we are raising 50 billion farmed animals for slaughter annually worldwide; almost 40 percent of the world’s grain is used to fatten farmed animals; it takes 14 times as much water, ten times as much energy, and over 20 times as much land for an animal-based diet than it does for a vegan diet; animal-based agriculture contributes significantly to emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other green house gases; and much more. We should also stress that diseases caused by the consumption of animal product results in soaring medical expenditures which are contributing to record budget deficits and the perceived need to cut basic social services.

4) Argue that a Shift Toward Vegetarianism is a Religious Imperative Today

Most people profess to be religious today and many claim to base their lives on moral values related to their religions. We should respectfully discuss with such people how animal-based diets and agriculture contradict basic religious mandates to preserve our health, treat animals compassionately, preserve the environment, conserve natural resources, help hungry people, and seek and pursue peace. We should stress such biblical teachings as “God’s mercies are over all of his creatures” (Psalms 145:9), “the righteous person considers the lives of his or her animals” (Proverbs 12:10), that animals as well as people are to be permitted to rest on the Sabbath day (part of the Ten Commandments), and similar teachings from other holy books and teachers.

5) Relate Vegetarianism to Current News Items

Vegetarianism touches on almost all phases of life – health, nutrition, animals, the environment, energy, water and other resources, economics, politics, family life, and many more – and we should make people aware of connections. When there are news reports re global warming and its effects, we should point out that animal-based diets contribute significantly to emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases. When there are articles re taxes, budget deficits, and other economic issues, we should indicate that health costs are soaring in efforts to cure the many diseases that have been conclusively connected to animal-centered diets. Many such examples can be given.

When there is great attention to events, such as the Terri Schiavo case, we should be very sensitive and compassionate, express our sympathy, but indicate that this case should remind us of the preciousness of every life, while 1.3 million Americans die of diet-related diseases annually and an estimated 20 million of the world’s people die of hunger and its effects annually, while almost 40 percent of the world’s grain is fed to animals destined for slaughter.

6) Start a Letter Writing Campaign

As a follow-up to the discussion in item #5, there should be a major campaign to get letters to editors on connections between various issues and vegetarianism. If only a small percentage of the people concerned about vegetarianism and related issues wrote a letter just once a month, it could have a major impact. A web site should be set up that gives talking points for letters based on current issues.

As a related approach, since many people listen daily to talk radio shows, there should also be a concerted effort to get people to call such shows with vegetarian messages. While radio talk show hosts are generally very well informed on a wide variety of issues, I have found that many have major misconceptions re health, nutrition, and other vegetarian-related issues.

7) Make a Shift to Vegetarianism a Priority for the Animal Rights Movement

The vast majority of cases of animal abuses occur on factory farms. Yet, many, perhaps most, animal rights activists are working on other issues, such as circuses, rodeos, fur, pets, and animal experimentation. These are all important issues and it is essential to end all cases of animal abuse. But, animal-based diets and agriculture threaten most individuals’ personal health and the well being of humanity. If most animal rights advocates worked on promoting vegetarianism and veganism, even for a limited time, it could have a very powerful impact.

8) Challenge the Medical Establishment

Every person is concerned about his or her health and the health of loved ones. There is very strong evidence that incidents of heart disease, various types of cancer, strokes, and other chronic degenerative diseases can be sharply reduced by a shift to vegetarian and vegan diets, along with other positive lifestyle changes. Yet, the medical establishment, including most nutritionists, are ignoring this information, and not making patients and the general public aware that many diseases can be prevented, and sometimes reversed, through dietary changes. It might even be called medical malpractice. I recently visited a cousin in a rehabilitation center, and was astounded at reading the daily menus, which had animal products at every meal. It is essential that we challenge medical practitioners and respectfully urge them to help educate people about healthy diets.

As indicated in point #10, others, such as educators, politicians, religious leaders, and reporters, should also be challenged to increase awareness of the health and many other benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets.

9) Form Alliances With Other Groups

Since vegetarianism has connections with many societal issues, we should try to build strong alliances with many other groups that are working for positive changes. For example, we should seek alliances with environmental groups, and inform them that the raising of 50 billion animals for slaughter annually, primarily on “factory farms,” contributes to many environmental threats; we should seek alliances with groups concerned about hunger, poverty, water and energy shortages, global warming, and related issues, and inform them about how the production of animal products contributes to many environmental threats and is extremely wasteful of resources.

10) Challenge the Media, Politicians, Educators, and Other Members of the Establishment

Since, as indicated above humanity is threatened as perhaps never before, and a switch toward vegetarianism is a societal imperative, and there are vegetarian connections to many current issues, we should try to meet with influential members of society and urge them to take a stand re vegetarianism, or at least to put the issues on their agendas. Children should be educated about proper nutrition, and they should be provided with tasty, nutritious options at every meal. Reporters and editors should be urged to make people aware of the many negative effects of animal-based diets and the many benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets.

This is just an outline of some steps that I think would be helpful in moving toward a vegetarian world. I am sure that the many dedicated people in the vegetarian and related movements can add to my points and come up with additional suggestions. The important thing is that we become increasingly involved, for our sakes, for the animals, and for our precious, but imperiled, planet.

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3. “Judaism and Vegetarianism”/Suggestions Welcome on My contribution to a Leaflet

I am currently coordinator of SERV (Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians). The group is currently preparing a leaflet which will discuss teachings of various religions toward vegetarianism. A first draft of my contribution is below. Suggestions for improvements very welcome. Thanks.

JUDAISM AND VEGETARIANISM

There is a widely accepted aspect of modern life that contradicts many Jewish teachings and harms people, communities, and the planet: the mass production and widespread consumption of meat. High meat consumption and the ways in which meat is produced today conflict with Judaism in at least six important areas:

1) While Judaism mandates that people should be very careful about preserving their health and their lives, numerous scientific studies have linked animal-based diets directly to heart disease, stroke, many forms of cancer, and other chronic degenerative diseases.

2) While Judaism forbids tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, inflicting unnecessary pain on animals, most farm animals—including those raised for kosher consumers—are raised for slaughter on "factory farms" where they are confined in cramped spaces, are often drugged and mutilated, and are denied fresh air, sunlight, exercise, and any opportunity to satisfy their natural instincts.

3) While Judaism teaches that "the earth is the Lord's" (Psalm 24:1) and that we are to be God's partners and co-workers in preserving the world, modern intensive livestock agriculture contributes substantially to global climate change, soil erosion and depletion, air and water pollution, overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the destruction of tropical rain forests and other habitats, and other environmental damages.

4) While Judaism mandates bal tashchit, not to waste or unnecessarily destroy anything of value, or to use more than is needed to accomplish a purpose, animal agriculture requires the wasteful use of land, water, fuel, grain, and other resources.

5) While Judaism stresses that we are to assist the poor and share our bread with hungry people, an estimated twenty million human beings worldwide die each year because of hunger and its effects--a horror which could be partly alleviated by feeding grain to people rather than animals destined for slaughter. More than 70% of the grain grown in the U.S. is given to animals who will be killed, and it takes up to sixteen pounds of grain to produce just one pound of edible beef.

6) While Judaism stresses that we must seek and pursue peace and that violence results from unjust conditions, animal-centered diets, by wasting valuable resources, perpetuate the widespread hunger and poverty that often lead to instability and war.

In view of these important Jewish mandates to preserve human health, attend to the welfare of animals, protect the environment, conserve resources, help feed hungry people, and pursue peace, contrasted with the harm that animal-centered diets do in each of these areas, Jews (and others) should sharply reduce or eliminate their consumption of animal products, and the Jewish community should play a leading role in advocating vegetarianism as a moral and ecological imperative. Besides having great benefits for animals, such actions would greatly benefit the health of the Jewish people and others, move our precious, but imperiled planet to a more sustainable path, and show the relevance of Jewish teachings to the problems confronting the world today.

A VEGETARIAN VIEW OF THE TORAH

God's initial intention was that people be vegetarians: “And God said: ‘Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree that has seed-yielding fruit -- to you it shall be for food.’” (Genesis 1:29) While God later gave permission for people to eat meat (Genesis 9:3; Deuteronomy 12:20), many Jewish sages regarded this as a concession. Based on the arguments above, there are many reasons to believe that God prefers that people have vegetarian diets. Some scholars also believe that God attempted a second vegetarian experiment in terms of the manna from heaven, which kept the Israelis in good health for 40 years in the wilderness. When the people cried out for flesh, God reluctantly provided it, and this resulted in a plague that caused many deaths at a place called “The Graves of Lust.”

Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook, the first Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of pre-state Israel believed that the permission to eat meat was only a temporary concession to the practices of the times and that the kosher laws were an implied reprimand and were designed to keep alive a sense of reverence for life that would bring the Jewish people back to the original diet. Rav Kook felt that the prophecy of Isaiah (“The wolf will dwell with the lamb … the lion will eat straw like the ox … and no one shall hurt nor destroy on all of God’s holy mountain,” Isaiah 11:6-9) meant that during the messianic period people would be vegetarians.
Sources for Further Information:

Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) http://jewishveg.com/
Richard Schwartz articleshttp://JewishVeg.com/schwartz
Judaism and Vegetarianism, Richard H. Schwartz (New York: Lantern Books, 2001)
Vegetarian Judaism, Roberta Kalechofsky (Marblehead, Massachusetts: Micah Publications, 1998)
“A Case for Jewish Vegetarianism” (2005) Aaron Frank and others; for free copies, call 1-888-VEG FOOD.

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4. “Contrasting Jewish and General Values”/Suggestions Welcome on My Material for the Media

I am planning to send the following item from my book “Judaism and Global Survival” to the Jewish media. Suggestions very welcome. Thanks.

JEWISH VALUES VS. THE CONVENTIONAL VALUES HELD BY MANY PEOPLE

One of the primary factors behind many of the world's problems today is the sharp discrepancies between Jewish values and those believed and practiced by much of the rest of the world, including many Jews. Consider:

Jewish Values / Conventional Values

1. Prophets / Profits

2. Love your neighbor as yourself / Suspect your neighbor as yourself

3. Just weights; just measures / Let the buyer beware.

4. People created in God's image / People treated as consumers.

5. God / Me.

6. The Earth is the Lord's / The earth exploited for convenience and profit.

7. People are co-workers with God in efforts to improve the world / Do your own thing. Seek.personal advantage.

8. Sanctity of every life. / Lives endangered to increase gain.

9. Tzedek, tzedek tirdof (Justice, justice shall you pursue). / Societies filled with injustice.

10. Tza'ar ba'alei chayim (kindness to animals) / Animals treated cruelly to meet human desires

11. God provides food for all; Share your bread with the hungry / Millions die annually, due to lack of food; "enough for the world's need, but not its greed."

12. Leave corners of the field and gleanings of the harvest for the poor / Centralized help; let government handle social problems.

13. I am my brother's keeper. / "What’s in it for me?"

14. Sumptuary laws that limit expenditures on simchas14. Lavish affairs; wastefulness.

15. Sabbatical year; let the ground lie fallow. / Fertility of soil destroyed by planting single-crops year after year.

16. Jubilee; redistribution of wealth. / Growing rich-poor gaps.

17. To be. / To have; to consume; to appear.

18. Dignity of labor. / Little pride in work.

19. Seek peace and pursue it. / ‘My country right or wrong’; Excessive arms expenditures.

20. Be kind to the stranger. / Discrimination and animosity between groups.

In order to solve the many critical problems that the world now faces, it is essential that the world be influenced by Jewish values!

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5. Statement by the National Council of Chain Restaurants re the Postville Situation

Supermarket News, Feb 21, 2005 p40
KOSHER AUDIT ALLEGATIONS REFUTED.
(National Council of Chain Restaurants)

Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2005 Fairchild Publications, Inc.

Unfortunately, SN [Supermarket News] missed an opportunity to bring clarity to an important and confusing issue in its article "Rabbis Object to FMI Kosher Audit" (Feb. 14, 2005, Page 27). The basis of the SN article appears to be a series of stories in the publication "Kosher Today," which made several inaccurate allegations about the FMI-NCCR Animal Welfare program without ever contacting or seeking comment from Food Marketing Institute (FMI) or the National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR).

- Allegation [from "Kosher Today"]: That FMI and NCCR never sought input from the kosher community. In fact, FMI and NCCR shared with the major kosher organizations (including the OU) the draft humane slaughter guidelines for kosher meat that were developed in 2002. The guidelines were developed in conformance with those of the American Meat Institute, and written by Dr. Temple Grandin of Colorado State University and Dr. Joe Regenstein of Cornell University. Dr. Grandin is a world-renowned expert on humane slaughter. Dr. Regenstein is a well-known, well-respected expert on kosher. Some adjustments were made based on comments that were received on the draft. The final version of the guidelines was published in 2003 and an audit, based on the guidelines, was developed by SES Inc., the company administering the FMI-NCCR Animal Welfare Audit Program (AWAP).

- Allegation [from "Kosher Today"]: That FMI and NCCR refused to meet with members of the Jewish community to discuss the guidelines. In fact, a year after the guidelines were published, a group of 15 Jewish leaders representing a narrow interest within the Jewish community contacted FMI and NCCR, and requested a meeting to discuss revisions to the FMI-NCCR kosher guidelines. FMI and NCCR agreed, but asked that the group meet first with Drs. Grandin and Regenstein to outline their issues of concern before such a meeting took place. FMI and NCCR said they would be happy to sit down with the group, along with Drs. Grandin and Regenstein, following that initial discussion.

- Allegation [from "Kosher Today"]: That a large FMI supermarket member is pressuring FMI to change the kosher guidelines and audit. In fact, the FMI-NCCR animal welfare program has been developed at the request of, and with the participation of, FMI and NCCR member companies. Our process has been inclusive, transparent and flexible. We have worked with the producer communities (including the kosher community), our members and an advisory committee of recognized animal welfare experts, including animal scientists and doctors of veterinary medicine. Our member companies have been committed to the program's success. We receive feedback from our members on a regular basis, but they have never pressured us to make changes our advisors are not willing to endorse. The purpose of the FMI-NCCR program is to enhance animal welfare in the production and processing of animals for food. It is based on the belief that we in the food industry have a responsibility to ensure that animals are raised, transported and processed using procedures that are clean, safe and free from cruelty, abuse or neglect. We also believe that these goals are consistent with all religious principles and laws.

Karen Brown
Senior Vice President Food Marketing Institute Washington

Terrie M. Dort
President
National Council of Chain Restaurants Washington

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6. Another Startling Report on Global Threats

Thanks to JVNA advisors John Diamond and Lewis Regenstein for forwarding the following important articles:

Experts Warn Ecosystem Changes Will Continue to Worsen, Putting Global Development Goals At Risk
Wednesday, March 30, 2005 London, UK
http://www.millenniumassessment.org/en/Article.aspx?id=58

A landmark study released today reveals that approximately 60 percent of the ecosystem services that support life on Earth – such as fresh water, capture fisheries, air and water regulation, and the regulation of regional climate, natural hazards and pests – are being degraded or used unsustainably. Scientists warn that the harmful consequences of this degradation could grow significantly worse in the next 50 years.

“Any progress achieved in addressing the goals of poverty and hunger eradication, improved health, and environmental protection is unlikely to be sustained if most of the ecosystem services on which humanity relies continue to be degraded,” said the study, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) Synthesis Report, conducted by 1,300 experts from 95 countries. It specifically states that the ongoing degradation of ecosystem services is a road block to the Millennium Development Goals agreed to by the world leaders at the United Nations in 2000.

Although evidence remains incomplete, there is enough for the experts to warn that the ongoing degradation of 15 of the 24 ecosystem services examined is increasing the likelihood of potentially abrupt changes that will seriously affect human well-being. This includes the emergence of new diseases, sudden changes in water quality, creation of “dead zones” along the coasts, the collapse of fisheries, and shifts in regional climate.

The MA Synthesis Report highlights four main findings:

Humans have changed ecosystems more rapidly and extensively in the last 50 years than in any other period. This was done largely to meet rapidly growing demands for food, fresh water, timber, fiber and fuel. More land was converted to agriculture since 1945 than in the 18th and 19th centuries combined. More than half of all the synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, first made in 1913, ever used on the planet has been used since 1985. Experts say that this resulted in a substantial and largely irreversible loss in diversity of life on Earth, with some 10 to 30 percent of the mammal, bird and amphibian species currently threatened with extinction.

Ecosystem changes that have contributed substantial net gains in human well-being and economic development have been achieved at growing costs in the form of degradation of other services. Only four ecosystem services have been enhanced in the last 50 years: increases in crop, livestock and aquaculture production, and increased carbon sequestration for global climate regulation. Two services – capture fisheries and fresh water – are now well beyond levels that can sustain current, much less future, demands. Experts say that these problems will substantially diminish the benefits for future generations.

The degradation of ecosystem services could grow significantly worse during the first half of this century and is a barrier to achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals. In all the four plausible futures explored by the scientists, they project progress in eliminating hunger, but at far slower rates than needed to halve number of people suffering from hunger by 2015. Experts warn that changes in ecosystems such as deforestation influence the abundance of human pathogens such as malaria and cholera, as well as the risk of emergence of new diseases. Malaria, for example, accounts for 11 percent of the disease burden in Africa and had it been eliminated 35 years ago, the continent’s gross domestic product would have increased by $100 billion.

The challenge of reversing the degradation of ecosystems while meeting increasing demands can be met under some scenarios involving significant policy and institutional changes. However, these changes will be large and are not currently under way. The report mentions options that exist to conserve or enhance ecosystem services that reduce negative trade-offs or that will positively impact other services. Protection of natural forests, for example, not only conserves wildlife but also supplies fresh water and reduces carbon emissions.

“The over-riding conclusion of this assessment is that it lies within the power of human societies to ease the strains we are putting on the nature services of the planet, while continuing to use them to bring better living standards to all,” said the MA board of directors in a statement, “Living beyond Our Means: Natural Assets and Human Well-being.” “Achieving this, however, will require radical changes in the way nature is treated at every level of decision-making and new ways of cooperation between government, business and civil society. The warning signs are there for all of us to see. The future now lies in our hands.”

The MA Synthesis Report also reveals that it is the world’s poorest people who suffer most from ecosystem changes. The regions facing significant problems of ecosystem degradation – sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, some regions in Latin America, and parts of South and Southeast Asia – are also facing the greatest challenges in achieving the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals. In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, the number of poor people is forecast to rise from 315 million in 1999 to 404 million by 2015.

“Only by understanding the environment and how it works, can we make the necessary decisions to protect it. Only by valuing all our precious natural and human resources can we hope to build a sustainable future,” said Kofi Annan, secretary general of the United Nations in a message launching the MA reports. ”The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment is an unprecedented contribution to our global mission for development, sustainability and peace.”

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) Synthesis Report is the first in a series of seven synthesis and summary reports and four technical volumes that assess the state of global ecosystems and their impact on human well-being. This report is being released together with a statement by the MA board of directors entitled “Living beyond Our Means: Natural Assets and Human Well-being.”

The four-year assessment was designed by a partnership of UN agencies, international scientific organizations, and development agencies, with guidance from the private sector and civil society groups. Major funding is provided by the Global Environment Facility, the United Nations Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and The World Bank. The MA Secretariat is coordinated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The MA is recognized by governments as a mechanism to meet part of the assessment needs of four international environmental treaties – the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and the Convention on Migratory Species. It is supported by 22 of the world’s leading scientific bodies, including The Royal Society of the U.K. and the Third World Academy of Sciences.

The MA’s work is overseen by a 45-member board of directors, co-chaired by Dr. Robert Watson, chief scientist of The World Bank, and Dr. A. H. Zakri, director of the United Nations University’s Institute of Advanced Studies. The Assessment Panel, which oversees the technical work of the MA, includes 13 of the world’s leading social and natural scientists. It is co-chaired by Angela Cropper of the Cropper Foundation, and Dr. Harold Mooney of Stanford University. Dr. Walter Reid is the director of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment.

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Another article on the topic:

Two-thirds of world's resources 'used up'

Tim Radford, science editor
Wednesday March 30, 2005
The Guardian

The human race is living beyond its means. A report backed by 1,360 scientists from 95 countries - some of them world leaders in their fields - today warns that the almost two-thirds of the natural machinery that supports life on Earth is being degraded by human pressure.

The study contains what its authors call “a stark warning” for the entire world. The wetlands, forests, savannahs, estuaries, coastal fisheries and other habitats that recycle air, water and nutrients for all living creatures are being irretrievably damaged. In effect, one species is now a hazard to the other 10 million or so on the planet, and to itself.

Human activity is putting such a strain on the natural functions of Earth that the ability of the planet's ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted,” it says.

SNIP

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7. Material From Canfei Nesharim Newsletter

Canfei Nesharim is an organization of Orthodox Jews who are dedicated to educating the Orthodox community about environmental issues and their connection to Torah and halacha.

ON EAGLES' WINGS, VOL. III, ISSUE II
March 28, 2005 16 Adar II 5765
NOTE: This email contains an abbreviated version of our latest newsletter. Please click [copy and paste] on any of the links below in order to view the full article from our website, or to print the full version, visit http://canfeinesharim.org/newsletter.shtml

TABLE OF CONTENTS [Not all items are included in this JVNA newsletter.]
DVAR TORAH: Our Beautiful World
SCIENCE ARTICLE: Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol
ACTION CORNER: Minimal Consumption Is Necessary, Paying Retail Prices Is Not
COMMITTEE UPDATE
UPCOMING EVENTS
ON A WING

FROM THE ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Adar! It's very joyous time, and this is a very joyous time for Canfei Nesharim, as well. I am pleased to announce that, Baruch Hashem, several of our steering committee members have recently had their first children, including Evonne Marzouk, our executive director, Shai Spetgang, the coordinator of our business committee, and David Mason, our webmaster. This is in addition to two other recent births – my own daughter last summer, and Atara Weisberger, our education chair, who had a daughter last summer as well!

Canfei Nesharim celebrates these births and wishes our members, and their families, much joy and nachas from their new additions. May we all work together to create a safe and healthy world for future generations.

We are pleased to share our latest newsletter. This newsletter includes a dvar Torah on appreciating our natural world, a science article on climate change, and a fascinating action article on protecting the environment while saving money at the same time. Enjoy!
- Ora Sheinson

DVAR TORAH: Our Beautiful World
By Ilana Stein

Much time is spent discussing our commitments and duties to our environment because we love and revere the world in which we live. If we do not incorporate these into our lives, we will destroy an already damaged world. But sometimes we must step back and appreciate the planet's sheer physical beauty. The Torah and Talmud are not afraid to see and appreciate beauty and the examples are many. In this article, we review the Torah's approach to appreciating the beauty of nature.

For the full article click here:
http://canfeinesharim.org/newsletter.shtml#2

INQUIRIES FOR THE EAGLE

What are your questions about Judaism or the environment? We want to answer you! Send your inquiries to canfei.nesharim@verizon.net.

COMMITTEE UPDATE
Shabbaton success: Canfei Nesharim hosted our second annual Orthodox environmental Shabbaton in Silver Spring, MD on February 25-26. "Or L'Torah, Maayan L'Olam," was a huge success, with more than 30 participants from around the world and community participation in several events, reaching a total of about 100 people. If you would like to help plan future Canfei Nesharim events, email info@canfeinesharim.org.

If you'd like to be involved with Canfei Nesharim in other ways, email Canfei.nesharim@verizon.net to get involved.


UPCOMING EVENTS, OPPORTUNITIES, AND NEWS

Canfei Nesharim would like to share the following upcoming opportunities with our readership. These activities may not be directly affiliated with our effort, but may be of interest to Orthodox Jews who care about the environment. If you know of any event that might interest our members, please let us know and we'll consider adding it to this list.

Below are brief summaries. The full listings can be read at:
http://canfeinesharim.org/newsletter.shtml#6

The 11th Annual Jewish Environmental Education Seminar For Jewish Educators, Camp Staff, and Naturalists:
The Teva Learning Center invites you to join them for a 4-day program from June 6th-9th 2005 at Surprise Lake Camp, Cold Springs, NY, designed to give participants the tools to create exciting Jewish nature programs at their camps, synagogues and institutions.

Hazon Bike Ride for Israel and the Environment:
Hazon invites you to join them for the 2005 Arava Institute Hazon Israel Ride – a bike ride from Jerusalem to Eilat, over 5 days with riders from Israel and North America.

Environmental Conference in Jerusalem:
This pilot-conference is specifically geared towards the American and Israeli Jewish environmental activist and thinker for bridge-building, learning, and application between Torah, Jews, and the Earth that will include the following issues:
• Relating to our resources
• Approaches to activism in the Jewish community and beyond
• Balance of social responsibilities

Arutz Sheva – IsrealNationalNews.com:
The "Commandment" of Environmental Protection
One of man's duties after Creation was "to preserve" the world, according to the Torah. In this vein, hareidi-religious Israelis have recently become publicly active in environmental protection. To read the full story, click below:
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=74140

Note: All materials published herein are Copyright 2005 by their authors. Reproduction of this material is encouraged so long as the footer and header information remains intact.

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8. Suggestion Re Karpas

From JVNA Advisor Ron (Mithra621@aol.com)

Hi Richard,

I have a suggestion for "karpas". In my Southampton garden I have an herb patch and I am astonished by its strength and productivity. I was able to have fresh green herbs all winter long; even when snow covered the area I only needed to brush some snow away and gather fresh rosemary, thyme and sage, still alive and tasteful. Anyone can grow herbs outdoors or indoors all year long and nothing could taste sweeter at the seder than your "own" greens.

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9. Exciting New Video Released

I have long been a strong fan of Howard Lyman, the 4th generation cattle rancher and feedlot operator who is now one of the key leaders in the vegetarian movement. He is the person whose statement re mad cow disease dangers on the Oprah Winfrey show led her to state that she would never eat a hamburger again and led the “Cattlemen’s Association” to sue him and Oprah. For many years, Howard has traveled throughout the country giving many talks and appearing on many radio programs. I have heard him speak several times at vegetarian conferences, and he is an outstanding, very humorous speaker.

As indicated below, his new video, based on his life, his talks, and his book has arrived. I have already ordered a copy, and I recommend that you do so as well.

"Mad Cowboy: The Documentary" has arrived!!

"I had no idea when we started the magnitude of what we were getting into... three years in the making, 150 hours of footage... countless interviews throughout the world with activists, scientists, victims, ranchers, farmers, doctors, and consumers... opinions on every side of the issues.

Some people believe the worst is over. Some believe the worst is yet to come. It's all crucial to planning a balance that has the potential to change the way that people think, and feel. It is without a doubt the most important thing I have been involved with in my entire life."

-- Howard (in "Mad Cowboy: The Documentary")

[More info about the Documentary DVD: http://www.madcowboy.com/02_VVFprods.002.html

[See 100's of digital pix shot by Howard and the Producer in Europe and the USA during filming: http://www.madcowboy.com/01_BookDOC.000.html

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10. Statement by Ron Reagan on Foie Gras

Thanks to author, scholar, and JVNA advisor Lewis Regenstein for forwarding the message below from Dawnwatch

Today, on the MSNBC show "Connected: Coast to Coast," Ron Reagan gave a wonderful commentary on foie gras, saying that animal rights groups are correct to call its production "a cruel and unnecessary practice." He also mentioned other cruel practices, calling our food industries "equal opportunity abusers." The piece is transcribed on the MSNBC website at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6969478/ and it is pasted below. Please send and an appreciative comment to Ron Reagan at: RReagan@MSNBC.com

March 30, 2005 1:04 p.m. ET
Objection to foie gras (Ron Reagan)

At Hurley's restaurant in Portland, Oregon, there's one thing you won't find on the menu: Pate de Foie Gras. In case you're wondering, that's a sort of liver puree, usually from ducks or geese. Oh, they've got it. But you'll have to have a private word with the waiter and you might want to whisper. Hurley's, like a number of restaurants around the country, has gone into stealth mode when it comes to this gourmet treat.

The reason: pressure from animal rights groups who say the techniques used to produce foie gras are a “cruel and unnecessary practice.” They're correct.

Foie gras is created by force-feeding grain to waterfowl in order to unnaturally enlarge their livers. Afficionados say they're simply taking advantage of a duck's natural ability to store fat. Last time I checked, there was no natural tendency on the part of ducks to shove stainless steel tubes down their throats and pump in huge amounts of half-cooked corn. That's how foie gras is made.

Now, I'm not a vegetarian, mind you. It's just that I have this funny objection to torturing small animals no matter how scrumptious their body parts might be.

And it's not just ducks and geese, is it? Our food industries are equal opportunity abusers: cows, chickens, pigs, and a special mention to those little calves who for their short, miserable lives are locked into crates too small to allow movement just so we can eat veal.

Our mistreatment of these creatures is no reflection on their intrinsic worth, but it does reflect the state of our humanity. The picture is, to say the least, unattractive.

I know we're carnivores. [We are????] Things die so that we can live. But simple decency requires that, whenever possible, we minimize the suffering of the beings under our control.

I've tasted foie gras. Yes, it's quite good. But not good enough to justify abusing animals.

I won't harangue you anymore— I know this subject makes folks uncomfortable. But here's a suggestion: next time you tuck into your foie gras and marvel at how rich and delicious it is, take a look in the mirror and remind yourself how it got that way.

E-mail RReagan@MSNBC.com.
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(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/

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11. Update on the Great American Meatout

Forwarded message from FARM (Farm Animal Reform Movement)

Meatout Sets New Records

Activists came out in droves in observance of the 20th Anniversary of the Great American Meatout, setting a new record for participation. Records were also set for number of proclamations issued and number of billboards placed. All 50 states and 23 other countries were represented. Thanks for making this Meatout observance the best yet!

In addition to the traditional information tables, cooking demonstrations, lectures and festivals, Meatout 2005 saw the introduction of a new event: the Meatout Walk. Coordinators in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Denver, Washington, and Orlando (to name a few) raised thousands of dollars for FARM's campaigns. Several met their fundraising goal of $1000, earning pro-veg billboards in their areas.

Governors and mayors issued a record 38 proclamations this year, urging citizens to explore a wholesome diet of vegetables, fruits, and grains. Major cities include Atlanta, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, New York City, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, San Francisco, and Seattle. Washington. Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Virginia, and West Virginia round out the states.

Hundreds of billboards and bus cards are carrying the Meatout message in Baltimore, Dallas, Denver, Eugene, Hartford, Los Angeles, New Haven, Oakland, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Tampa, Vancouver, and Washington (DC).

Celebrity entertainers like Casey Kasem, Mary Tyler Moore, Joaquin Phoenix, Rue McClanahan, James Cromwell, and Bill Maher headlined this year’s special observance.

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** Fair Use Notice**This document may contain copyrighted material, use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owners. I believe that this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

3/28/05 JVNA Online Newsletter

Shalom everyone,

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

1. Earth Day (April 22, 2005) Approaching

2. Material From the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) Community E-bulletin

3. Startling Facts About Agricultural Water Consumption

4. Passover and Vegetarianism/Suggestions Welcome

5. Creating Jewish Vegetarian/Vegan Groups

6. Action Alert: Help Stop Massive Chicken Factory Farm

7. Early Registration Discount Available For Animal Rights Conference

8. Purim Spoof/ Is Truth About Meat Revealed?

9. Jewish Week Purim Spoof: “PETA vs. Pita”

10. A Jewish View on Wearing Leather/Followed by My Letter/Please Write

11. Responding to the Terry Schiavo Tragedy

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, information re conferences, retreats, forums, trips, and other events does not necessarily imply endorsements by JVNA, 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. Earth Day (April 22, 2005) Approaching

Forwarded message from the Earth Day Network (EDN)

Spring is here
Earth Day is near!
Post your event soon
While everything’s in bloom
It’s not too late
To mark the date
April 22, the 35th Anniversary of Earth Day
Don’t let your chance to make a difference slip away!

To find out what other groups are doing throughout the U.S. and internationally, check out our network of Earth Day events at: http://www.earthday.net/programs/find/searchEvent.aspx. Be sure to add your event for others to learn about, possibly participate and get ideas!

This year we are celebrating the 35th Anniversary of Earth Day, April 22, with the theme, ‘Protect Our Children and Our Future’. Earth Day is celebrated by more than half a billion people each year making it the largest secular holiday in the world. Come celebrate with us and help make a difference!

We encourage you take full advantage of our various Web site features, from the What’s in Your Water guide to our event data base where you can register your Earth Day events for the entire network of over 12,000 organizations to see. Please feel free to email us at earthday@earthday.net if you have questions, comments or suggestions.

[I hope that many Earth Day events will have vegetarian connections.]

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2. Material From the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) Community E-bulletin

COEJL Community E-bulletin #23
March 23, 2005

IN THIS [COEJL] ISSUE: [Not all items are included in this newsletter]

TAKE ACTION: Duties of the Heart
CELEBRATE: Deliver Us from Destruction
GO GREEN: Healthy Hamentashen
LEARN: Interpreting Jewish Environmental Texts
ISRAEL'S ENVIRONMENT: Israel Internship Opportunities
SPOTLIGHT ON THE FIELD: An Early Bloome in D.C.
NEWS AND MORE...

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TAKE ACTION
Duties of the Heart

In his classic text, "Duties of the Heart," the 11th century Jewish philosopher, Bakhya ibn Pekuda, wrote that Jews should engage in "meditation upon creation in order to sense God's majesty." In the wake of last week's disappointing U.S. Senate vote on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, how do we take that sense of majesty, that wonder which the natural world inspires, and use it to motivate ourselves and our Jewish community toward renewed action?

COEJL strives to help Jews see that being good stewards of the earth, that working to protect God's creation, and that passing on the gifts of nature to future generations, is a part of being Jewish. In our current political climate, it is not enough to meditate upon creation; we must act to protect it.

Our Jewish environmental message resonates with clarity and passion. There are thousands of committed COEJL activists around the country, and together these voices do make a difference. But we need more activists, and we need them in more places.

Please forward this email to your friends and family ask them to join the COEJL community to receive our e-Bulletin and Action Alerts (www.coejl.org/getinv). Try to reach as many states as you can. The more people, the more power. By forwarding this email and enlarging our base of support, you will help keep our air clean, our water pure and our planet healthy. Thank you.
ISRAEL'S ENVIRONMENT
Internship Opportunities with Israel's Leading Environmental Organizations

Interested in working to protect Israel's environment? The Jewish Global Environmental Network (JGEN), of which COEJL is a founding partner, can match college students, recent graduates, and young professionals (ages 18-35) with professional internship positions in many of Israel's environmental organizations. The internship program runs throughout the year and placements can be made at any time that is mutually convenient for the intern and the employer. In the past, interns have worked with Friends of the Earth Middle East, Green Course, the Israeli Union for Environmental Defense, and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel.

To learn more, go to: www.jgenisrael.org//a394.html?rsID=214 or contact Danielle Luttenberg, COEJL's JGEN-Israel coordinator, at danielle@coejl.org

SPOTLIGHT ON THE FIELD
An Early Bloome in D.C.
[Another report on the COEJL conference that I attended]

COEJL's Mark & Sharon Bloome Jewish Environmental Leadership Institute (Feb. 27-March 1) opened with an impassioned speech by Rabbi Michael Feshbach of Temple Sinai, Chevy Chase, MD, on the moral obligation to be stewards of the planet. Rabbi Feshbach said God's presence could be felt in the massive relief efforts that followed the recent tsunamis in South Asia. Later, Senators Hillary Clinton and John McCain spoke to joint sessions of COEJL, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, and Hillel. We presented Congressman Henry Waxman with COEJL's first Steward of the Earth award. Deb Callahan, president of the League of Conservation Voters, and Rabbi David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism, also inspired our audience. These national leaders, Jewish scholars, and environmental professionals motivated Institute participants to continue our work to protect creation. Another highlight of the three-day conference was our visit to two "green" synagogues: Temple Emanuel in Kensington, MD and Adat Shalom in Bethesda, MD. A snowstorm -- a reminder of the beauty and wonder of nature -- enhanced our experience. Together we sang, learned about green building materials, efficient lighting and energy options, and how to create a solar ner tamid. The rabbis and lay leaders encouraged us to think about ways to integrate greening ideas into our synagogues and communities.

For more on the Bloome Institute 2005, go to: www.coejl.org/bloome2005/summary.shtml

NEWS AND MORE

*Boston, MA, March 31, Clean Water Action office Greater Boston COEJL is hosting a planning meeting to recruit volunteers and steering committee members and help grow the organization in 2005. For more information contact Isaac Elnecave and Rachel Lessem at bostoncoejl@yahoo.com

*New York, NY, April 14, New York Open CenterThe Natural Step Framework for Sustainable Business and Communities: Creating a Win-Win for People, Planet, and ProfitsCOEJL Board member, ecologist, economist, and author, Terry Gips, will present this creative new approach to becoming environmentally and socially responsible. To register or for more information, contact the New York Open Center at (212) 219-2527 x2 or go to: www.opencenter.org

*Philadelphia, PA, April 17, Wissahickon Charter SchoolPhilly COEJL is co-sponsoring an Interfaith Earth Day Celebration combined with a "freecycle." Participants can bring what they want to pass along and take what is available (more info on the concept at www.freecycle.org). Betsy Teutsch of Philly COEJL suggests that the close dates of Passover and Earth Day this year, the freecycle could include cleaning out your chametz and dropping it off at a local food bank.

*Cold Spring, NY, June 6-9, Surprise Lake Camp: Jewish Environmental Education SeminarJoin the Teva Center and nationally renowned experts for a 4-day program to help participants create exciting Jewish nature programs at their camps, synagogues, and institutions. To register or for more information, contact Moshe Kornfeld at (212) 807-6376 or wilderness@tevacenter.org or visit: www.tevacenter.org/seminar

*Needmore, PA, August 15-21, Licking Creek Bend Farm: Am Kolel's Martin Buber Summer Youth Institute for Teens (ages 13-17)Enjoy kibbutz-style cooperative living. Work on an organic farm, hike, make music, learn about Jewish social philosophy and environmental ethics, bicycle maintenance, nature crafts and more. The Buber Institute offers a unique way for youth to deepen their Jewish identity, understanding of Jewish teachings on community and ecology, as well as their practice of and commitment to tikkun olam. For more information, contact Netsitsah Greenfield at (240) 997-5319 or netsitsah@hotmail.com

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3. Startling Facts About Agricultural Water Consumption

Forwarded message from the European Vegetarian Union

Dear Dr. Diouf, [He is a key person at he UN’s Food and agriculture Organization (FAO)

In a press release dated 21 March 2005 and titled 'Water for Life', the FAO referred to 'appropriate policies needed to make better use of water' because it 'takes one tonne of water to produce one kilogram of wheat'.

The European Vegetarian Union wants to point out that the water requirement for the production of meat is even very much higher and therefore well worth mentioning.

Already last April, the Stockholm International Water Institute declared "that agriculture will need huge amounts of additional water. Water for agriculture is therefore going to be a BIG issue in the next few decades." 1)

In their 2004-report "The global benefits of eating less meat" 2), the Compassion in World Farming Trust explains: "In his book, Cadillac Desert: the American West and its disappearing water, Marc Reisner argues that a pound of beef requires 20 to 80 times more water than the 100 to 250 gallons needed to produce 1 lb of corn. New Scientist (18 May 2002) quotes a 1998 study in Forbes magazine stating that it takes 50,000 litres of water to produce 1 kg of beefsteak. David Pimentel, a water resource specialist at Cornell University, believes this to be a considerable underestimate and puts the figure at 100,000 litres of water per kilo of beef (compared to 500 l for 1 kilo of potatoes, 900 l for wheat and alfalfa, 1100 l for sorghum, 1400 l for maize, 1910 l for rice, and 2000 l for soya beans).

In this context it is worth mentioning that a large percentage of the global grain harvest is not destined for hungry people but is fed to animals. The same is true for 90 percent of Brazil's soya beans which are grown by destroying large parts of rain forests.

FAO declared that the "agriculture sector faces a complex challenge" and listed a series of feasible improvements. Unfortunately neither a reduction in meat consumption nor vegetarianism is under scrutiny or even discussed. This omission is very regrettable since, in the quest for a more sustainable and humane diet, "one person's 100 per cent reduction can help to `subsidise' 6 people who haven't yet reduced their meat consumption at all." 2)

The European Vegetarian Union appeals to you personally to consider new promising alternatives and have vegetarianism, a compassionate and beneficial way of life, now seriously investigated.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely
Renato Pichler
Acting President
European Vegetarian Union

Sent by: European Vegetarian Union x Secretariat
www.european-vegetarian.org
evu@ivu.org

Endnotes:
1) 2004 Stockholm Water Symposium http://www.siwi.org/press/presrel_04_SWS%20Conclusions.htm

2) Compassion in World Farming Trust: The global benefits of eating less meat (2004)

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4. Passover and Vegetarianism/Suggestions Welcome

With Passover about a month away, I am planning to send the article below to the Jewish media and my list of rabbis. Comments and suggestions are most welcome. Also, please consider sending a letter to the editor of your local publication based on my article. A sample letter follows the article below.

Passover and Vegetarianism
by Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.

Passover and vegetarianism? Can the two be related? After all, what is a seder without gefilte fish, chicken soup, chopped liver, chicken, and other meats? And what about the shankbone to commemorate the paschal sacrifice. And doesn't Jewish law mandate that Jews eat meat to rejoice on Passover and other Jewish festivals?

An increasing number of Jews are turning to vegetarianism and they are finding ways to celebrate vegetarian Passovers while being consistent with Jewish teachings. For many years, Jonathan Wolf, a Jewish vegetarian activist, hosted up to 50 people for completely vegetarian seders.

Contrary to a common perception, Jews are not required to eat meat at the Passover seder or any other time. Scholarly articles by Rabbi Albert Cohen in the Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society and Rabbi J. David Bleich in Tradition magazine provide many sources to support this. For example, according to the Talmud (Pesachim 109a), since the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem Jews need not eat meat to celebrate Jewish festivals. Also, Israeli chief rabbis, including Rabbi Shlomo Goren, late Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Israel and Rabbi Sha'ar- Yashuv Cohen, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Haifa, were or are strict vegetarians

The use of the shankbone originated in the time of the Talmud as a means of commemorating the paschal lamb. However, since the Talmudic scholar, Rabbi Huna, states that a beet can be used for this purpose, many Jewish vegetarians substitute a beet for the shankbone (Pesachim 114b). The important point is that the shankbone is a symbol and no meat need be eaten at the seder.

Jewish vegetarians see vegetarian values reinforced by several Passover themes:

1. At the seder, Jews say, "Let all who are hungry come and eat". As on other occasions, at the conclusion of the meal, birkat hamazon is recited to thank God for providing food for the world's people. This seems inconsistent with the consumption of animal-centered diets which involves the feeding of 70% of the grain grown in the United States, and two-thirds of the grain that we export, to animals destined for slaughter, while an estimated 20 million of the world's people die of hunger and its effects annually.

Although he is not a vegetarian, Rabbi Jay Marcus, former Spiritual Leader of the Young Israel of Staten Island, saw a connection between simpler diets and helping hungry people. He commented on the fact that "karpas" (eating of greens) comes immediately before "yahatz" (the breaking of the middle matzah) for later use as the "afikomen" (dessert) in the seder service. He concluded that those who live on simpler foods (greens, for example) will more readily divide their possessions and share with others.

2. Many Jewish vegetarians see connections between the oppression that their ancestors suffered and the current plight of the billions of people who presently lack sufficient food and other essential resources. Vegetarian diets require far less land, water, gasoline, pesticides, fertilizer, and other resources, and thus enable the better sharing of God's abundant resources, which can help reduce global hunger and poverty.

3. The main Passover theme is freedom. While relating the story of our ancestors' slavery in Egypt and their redemption through God's power and beneficence, many Jewish vegetarians also consider the "slavery" of animals on modern "factory farms". Contrary to Jewish teachings of "tsa'ar ba'alei chayim" (the Torah mandate not to cause unnecessary "pain to a living creature"), animals are raised for food today under cruel conditions in crowded confined spaces, where they are denied fresh air, sunlight, a chance to exercise, and the fulfillment of their natural instincts. It is significant to consider during Passover that according to the Jewish tradition, Moses, Judaism's greatest leader, teacher, and prophet, was chosen to lead the Israelites out of Egypt because as a shepherd he showed great compassion to a lamb (Exodus Rabbah 2:2).

4. Many Jewish vegetarians advocate that we commemorate the redemption of our ancestors from slavery by ending the current slavery to harmful eating habits through the adoption of vegetarian diets.

5. Passover is the holiday of springtime, a time of nature's renewal. It also commemorates God's supremacy over the forces of nature. In contrast, modern intensive livestock agriculture and animal-centered diets have many negative effects on the environment, including air and water pollution, soil erosion and depletion, the destruction of tropical rain forests and other habitats, and contributions to global warming.

Jewish vegetarians view their diet as a practical way to put Jewish values into practice. They believe that Jewish mandates to show compassion to animals, take care of our health, protect the environment, conserve resources, and share with hungry people, and the negative effects that animal-centered diets have in each of these areas, point to vegetarianism as the ideal diet for Jews (and others) today.

Sources for further information on connections between Judaism and vegetarianism include:

1. The International Jewish Vegetarian Society; 855 Finchley Road, London NW 11, England (jewishvegetarian@onetel.net.uk).

2. Judaism and Vegetarianism by Richard Schwartz, new, revised edition (New York: Lantern, 2001)

3. The web site of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA):
JewishVeg.com, including over 100 articles at JewishVeg.com/schwartz by Richard H. Schwartz.

4. Micah Publications; the source for books on Judaism and vegetarianism and related issues; 255 Humphrey Street, Marblehead, Massachusetts 01945;
or micah@micahbooks.com (www.micahbooks.com).
They have published vegetarian-friendly haggadahs, "Haggadah for the Liberated Lamb" and "Haggadah for the Vegetarian Family", both by Roberta Kalechofsky, founder and director of Jews for Animal Rights (JAR) and Micah Publications, which contains traditional and new material for a vegetarian seder, including recipes, songs, notes, readings, and a bibliography, and "The Jewish Vegetarian Year Cookbook" by Roberta Kalechofsky and Rosa Rasiel, which includes many recipes suitable for Passover. They also have a vegetarian Passover cookbook and a video casette that describes a vegetarian seder.

Other books that have vegetarian recipes appropriate for Passover include "No Cholesterol Passover Recipes" by Debra Wasserman and Charles Stahler and "Vegan Passover Recipes" by Nancy Berkoff, both published by the Vegetarian Resource Group (P. O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203; www.vrg.org), and "Jewish Vegetarian Cooking" (the official cookbook of the International Jewish Vegetarian Society) by Rose Friedman (Thorsons Publishers).

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Here is a sample letter related to Passover:

Dear editor,

As President of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America and author of “Judaism and Vegetarianism,” I suggest that we commemorate the redemption of our ancestors from slavery this Passover by ending the current slavery to harmful eating habits.

An increasing number of Jews are finding ways to celebrate vegetarian Passovers consistent with Jewish teachings. Contrary to a common perception, Jews are not required to eat meat at the Passover seder or any other time.

Several Passover themes have vegetarian connections:

* At the seder, Jews say, "Let all who are hungry come and eat." Vegetarian diets require far less land, water, fuel, pesticides, fertilizer, and other resources, and thus enable the better sharing of God's abundant resources, which can help reduce global hunger and poverty.

* Passover is the holiday of springtime, a time of nature's renewal. It also commemorates God's supremacy over the forces of nature. In contrast, the production of meat has many negative environmental effects.

* The main Passover theme is freedom. While relating the story of our ancestors' slavery in Egypt and their redemption, many Jewish vegetarians also consider the "slavery" of animals on modern “factory farms".

Very truly yours,
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.

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5. Creating Jewish Vegetarian/Vegan Groups

JVNA would like to facilitate the formation of Jewish vegetarian/vegan groups in various areas.

If you would like to get together with others in your area, please let us know and we will try to help you make contacts with others in your region.

Evan grand is interested in meeting other vegetarians and vegans in the San Francisco area. He may be contacted at evan_bran@yahoo.com. He states: “I question the integrity of the OU (especially after the PETA debacle) and how a Jew can call himself a Jew, yet be unconscious when it comes to the environment, another creature's life, and one's own health. It's easily one of the more crafty "Satans" of our time. Hence my interest in meeting brothers/sisters who have not gone off the moral path.

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6. Action Alert: Help Stop Massive Chicken Factory Farm

Thanks to JVNA advisor John Diamond for forwarding the following item from the PETA web site:

Help Stop Massive Chicken Factory Farm

Last November, a PETA undercover investigation revealed horrific cruelty to animals at AgriProcessors, a slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa. Our investigator caught footage of cows whose tracheas were ripped out of their throats while they were still fully conscious. Some were still struggling to stand long after their throats had been slit. Former U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) kosher-slaughter inspector Dr. Lester Friedlander echoed the views of every other expert who commented on our investigation, stating that "the footage captured by PETA represents the most egregious violation of the USDA Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA) I have ever witnessed."

Now, the operator of AgriProcessors, Sholom Rubashkin, wants to establish four massive chicken sheds in Frankville, in Winneshiek County, Iowa.

AgriProcessors is also being sued by the Environmental Protection Agency for violations of the Clean Water Act. Amazingly, the proposed chicken farm in Winneshiek County would be placed in the Yellow River watershed, which has been declared "impaired" by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Please immediately call or write to the members of the Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors and urge them to stop Rubashkin's plans to build a chicken farm in Frankville:

Dean Darling, Chair (563-735-5768)
Les Askelson, Vice Chair (563-382-3138)
John Logsdon (563-532-9547)
Steve Bouska (563-737-2723)
Gordon Hunter (563-382-4071)

County Courthouse
201 W. Main Street
Decorah, IA 52101-1713

Also, if you live near Decorah, in Winneshiek County, please attend the
public hearing before the Winneshiek County Board of Supervisors on this issue, which will be held this coming Monday [March 28?] at 1:30 p.m. at the County Courthouse at 201 W. Main St. in Decorah.

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7. Early Registration Discount Available For Animal Rights Conference

Forwarded message from FARM (Farm Animal Reform Movement)

AR2005 Registration Discount Ends on March 31

The early registration discount for the Animal Rights 2005 National Conference ends this Thursday, March 31.

Please visit www.AR2005.org/register.htm and take advantage of the current deeply discounted rate, even if you're not sure that you can come!
It's actually cheaper to register now and get a refund, if need be, than to wait till the last minute.

The conference will be held on July 7-11 at the superb Westin LAX Hotel in Los Angeles. Special features include fabulous accommodation rates with free dog beds, cruelty-free personal care products, discounted vegan meals, discounted parking, free airport shuttle, and use of the hotel's magnificent Grand Ballroom and Video Theater, with exhibits in one hall. More than a thousand people representing 80 groups are expected.

The schedule will begin with the Welcome Reception and Opening Plenary on Thursday evening and close with the Sunday evening Awards Banquet and Farewell Reception. Other features will include plenaries, workshops, rap sessions, campaign reports, videos, exhibits, Newcomer Orientation, Employment Clearinghouse, Networking Receptions, and musical interludes. There will be ample time for socializing, networking, and scheduling special meetings. A number of post-conference activities including seminars, special interest meetings, and demos, are planned for Monday, July 11.

Key speakers signed up thus far include Lorri Bauston, Michael Budkie, Theo Capaldo, Lawrence Carter-Long, Karen Davis, Karen Dawn, Michael Greger, Tippi Hedren, Alex Hershaft, Steve Hindi, Kevin Jonas, Pattrice Jones, Elliot Katz, Greg Lawson, Howard Lyman, Michael Mountain, Lauren Ornelas, Ava Park, Martin Rowe, Jerry Vlasak, Paul Watson, Persia White.

In this critical time for our movement, we expect a superb conference, with ample time for learning, networking, strategizing, and "recharging batteries". This year, your presence is more important than ever. Be there for the animals and bring a friend!

We look forward to seeing you all in LA, Alex Hershaft - for AR2005 Management Team

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8. Purim Spoof/ Is Truth About Meat Revealed?

Forwarded message:

Surgeon General to Require Warning Labels on Cholent

WASHINGTON, D.C. - [TheKnish.com] The Surgeon General announcedtoday that beginning next month, cholent will be required to carry labels warning of the long term health hazards of consumption. This announcement follows years of research on the dangers of cholent.

Cholent, the traditional Jewish Sabbath feast, contains meat and high-carbohydrate products that simmer in bubbling animal fat for a period of around twenty-hours. According to the Surgeon General, Vice Admiral Dr. Richard H. Carmona, Data has conclusively shown that cholent contributes to heart disease, arterial sclerosis, obesity, erectile dysfunction and depression, and is the fourth most dangerous food in the world, after spiny blowfish, wild mushrooms, and bacon.

Kishka is one of the cholent-related foods requiring new warning labels Kishka is one of the cholent-related foods requiring new warning labels

The new warning labels will be affixed to cholent mix and packages of prepared cholent. In addition, all kishka packaging will carry a prominently displayed skull and crossbones, the international poison symbol. Warning signage will also be required in both English and Spanish at kiddushes throughout the country.

The Jewish community has been divided in its response to the news.

Zalman Proscutto, the Chairman of the Jewish Catering Association (JCA), declared at a press release that, "This ruling is a mistake. This has been our way of life for generations and we believe it to be safe. Our industry has conducted extensive research on this topic and our findings have never demonstrated a linkage between cholent and health problems."

Commenting on the Association's research methodology, Mr. Proscutto added, "Our lead scientist, Mordechai Wolhgebruchser, must have gone to over a thousand kiddushes in developing his comprehensive study. and we stand by his hard work, may he rest in peace."

But the decision was welcomed by the Healthly Organic Torah Foundation for the Unity of Jews. Rabbi Psachyah Vildechayawitz noted, "This is a long time in coming. Cholent is a long term hazard. After all, over the years, cholent has probably killed more Jews than anti-semitism. "

The Surgeon General is threatening additional measures against the cholent industry. In an exclusive interview with TheKnish.com, Dr. James Canterbury, the Undersecretary of Health, outlined potential future targets. We are very interested in forcing cholent producers to reveal their secret additives. Chemicals research has suggested that Ketchup, wine, honey vanilla, and tobacco are among the substances being added surreptitiously to enhance flavor and increase dependency. "No wonder people cannot get enough of it! "

Additionally, the Surgeon General's office is concerned that the cholent industry has been intentionally targeting children. "Why do you think -- that at kiddushes cholent is positioned right next to the baby hot dogs and across the aisle from the cookies?"

Another controversial target is second hand cholent. It has been known for years that bystanders recoil at the effects of second hand cholent. People shouldn't be subjected to this exposure against their will", Dr. Canterbury added.

Legislation was introduced in New Hampshire and Maine last month to ban the consuming of cholent in all public areas. Similar legislation is currently being developed in Mississippi and Louisiana. However, cholent lobbyists have thus far prevented any debate on the topic in New York, New Jersey and Maryland, the so-called "Cholent-belt" states. (Rabbi Pinky Schmeckelstein)

[Rabbi Pinky Schmeckelstein is a part time free-lance journalist and the full time Rosheshiva (dean) of Yeshiva Chipass Emmess. He is reknowned for his scholarship, including his oft cited commentary on the Talmud Yerushalmi, and his three volume official biography of Jenna Jameson. He may be reached through his Yeshiva's website at: http://www.geocities.com/npoj8/index.html]

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9. Jewish Week Purim Spoof: “PETA vs. Pita”

PETA Vs. Pita (03/23/2005)
http://www.thejewishweek.com/bottom/specialcontent.php3?artid=900

After waging a recent war on kosher slaughterhouses, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, better known as PETA, has taken on a new target: manufacturers of pita bread.

According to PETA spokesperson Ima Morron, the organization is outraged by the way that pita bread is made.

"We visited a pita factory in upstate New York and found many unacceptable practices," said Morron. "The pita bread is callously flattened and then shoved into an oven so hot, the outside of the bread turns brown.

"That's not even the worst part," Morron continued. "Once the pita is baked, a machine with a razor-sharp blade slices off a sliver of the bread at the top in order to create an opening for the pita pocket."

PETA intends to lobby in Washington, D.C., to reform the way that pita bread is manufactured.

"We'd like to see the knife procedure abolished," said Morron. "It's cruel and unusual treatment of bread."

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10. A Jewish View on Wearing Leather/Followed by My Letter/Please Write

My ‘kosher’ shoes
By MIRIAM PORTER
March 24, 2005
13 Adar II, 5765
http://www.cjnews.com/viewarticle.asp?id=5795 [info@cjnews.com]

I have been shopping for a pair of cute black running shoes in a size eight for weeks! You know, the ones with mesh and Velcro that everyone is wearing but me?

I eagerly held a dozen pair in my hands. My favourites showed off a hot pink stripe down the side and were adorable. But before I tried them on, I lifted the tongue to read what material they were made of. Every pair was the same – genuine leather – and I sadly put them back on the shelf. It may as well have been written that the shoelaces were made of baby kitten tails and the soles of puppy ears.

An animal is an animal and to me there is no difference. I would not carry a purse made from cats or wear a belt from the skin of a dog. I would not wear a lambskin coat or walk in leather shoes from a cow. I believe animal rights are more important than fashion.

At the age of 13, I stopped wearing leather. I gave away my Roots black leather vest and green suede purse and never looked back. Despite the frustration I sometimes feel when shopping, I never consider the alternative. I am confident I will soon find shoes that are cruelty free and fashionable. There are hundreds of styles of non-leather shoes, clothing, belts, bags and wallets, and it’s worth the extra effort.

An animal is sentenced to a lifetime of suffering with every pair of leather shoes purchased. “Most of the millions of animals slaughtered for their skin endure the horrors of factory farming before being shipped to slaughter,” states www.cowsarecool.com, a website operated by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). “Buying leather directly contributes to factory farms and slaughterhouses since skin is the most economically important byproduct of the meat-packing industry. Leather is also no friend of the environment since it shares all the environmental destruction of the meat industry, in addition to toxins used in tanning.

“Animals are kept in overcrowded conditions on feedlots and factory farms, often unable to take a single step or turn around and deprived of all that is natural to them, including exercise, sunlight – and even the feel of grass beneath their feet.

“At the slaughterhouse, animals are routinely skinned and dismembered while they are still alive. Federal inspectors found live cattle dangling from an overhead chain at a plant in Texas. Videotape from another plant shows hogs kicking and squealing as they are lowered into a tank of scalding water, which is used to soften their skin.

“Kid goats may be boiled alive to make gloves, and the skins of unborn calves and lambs are sometimes purposely aborted or slaughtered from pregnant cows and ewes.”

This is the harsh reality of where leather comes from. Don’t deceive yourself that the animals surrender politely and feel no pain. Their hurting and suffering is very real. You have a choice to make every time you go shopping for clothing – make sure you have all the facts before making a decision.

In Judaism, there are laws regarding kosher meat and rabbinical supervision to ensure humane slaughter. Tza’ar baalei chayim (kindness to animals) is the prohibition against causing pain to any living animal. It is a basic principle of compassion. But the manufacturing of leather shoes, jackets and handbags do not require rabbinical regulation. Perhaps it should, since Judaism recognizes animals feel physical pain and we are forbidden to inflict it.

Furthermore, www.cowsarecool.com says that “leather may be made from cows, pigs, goats and sheep; exotic animals like alligators, ostriches, kangaroos; and even dogs and cats, who are slaughtered for their meat and skins in China, which exports their skins around the world. Since leather is normally not labelled, you never really know where (or whom) it came from.”

I take the extra time to find non-leather options like cotton, linen, rubber, ramie, canvas and synthetics. And if I still can’t find what I am looking for, I would rather go barefoot. I am lucky to have the option of feeling the grass beneath my feet.

Miriam can be reached at Miriam@jtvproductions.net

-------------------------
My letter in response to the article:

March 27, 2005

Editor, Canadian Jewish News
Info@cjnews.com

Dear Editor:

As president of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA), I commend Miraiam Porter for her very thoughtful article in the March 25 issue, “My ‘Kosher’ Shoes.” Jews are to be “rachmanim b’nei rachmanim” (compassionate children of compassionate ancestors), and I hope that Ms. Porter’s article will serve as a valuable reminder of Judaism’s strong teachings on compassionate treatment to animals. While Jews are only a tiny fraction of the world’s people, it is essential that we fulfil our historic mandate to be a “light unto the nations,” by helping to end the many examples of cruel treatment in the world today. For further examples of Jewish teachings on the proper treatment of animals and on related issues, please see the JVNA website: JewishVeg.com/schwartz.

Very truly yours,
Richard H. Schwartz

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11. Responding to the Terry Schiavo Tragedy

I have long believed that there are vegetarian connections to many news events and situations, and that in many cases it is important to try to make these connections, In doing so, we have to, of course, try to be respectful and sensitive. This is especially true with regard to tragic and emotional situations like the current controversy over what should be done re Terry Schiavo. Your suggestions re this are very welcome.

Below is a letter that I sent to the Jewish week re the case. I am sure that there are better approaches, and I welcome your suggestions. Thanks.

Perhaps the greatest tribute that could be paid to Terry Schiavo is to use her very tragic situation as a wake up call to the need to make changes to reduce the chances of such difficult situations having to be made in the future, by educating people about diets that will reduce risk factors for heart disease, cancer, strokes, and other degenerative diseases. Of course, we will probably not be able to completely eliminate such tragic situations, and we should epond with great empathy when they occur.

-------------------------
March 25, 2005

Editor, the Jewish Week
editor@jewishweek.org

Dear Editor:

Stewart Ain's March 25 cover story "Schiavo Case Creates Ethical Debate" considers Judaism's strong teachings on the sanctity of every life and the importance of efforts to preserve human lives. As president of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA), I respectfully believe that we are not adequately considering these teachings with regard to our diets. Every year, about 1.5 million people die from heart disease, various forms of cancer, and other diseases that have been conclusively linked to animal-based diets. An estimated 20 millon people die from hunger and its effects worldwide annually while 70% of the grain produced in the United States and almost 40% worldwide is fed to animals destined for slaughter. Modern intensive animal-based agriculture contributes significantly to many threats to humanity, including global warming, widening water shortages, erosion and depletion of soil, and destruction of tropical rain forests, coral reefs, and other valuable habitats.

So, to best fulfill Jewish teachings on the sanctity of life, and for our health and that of our imperiled planet, it is important that a switch toward plant-based diets be considered.

Very truly yours,
Richard H. Schwartz

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Quotations:

You must be the change you want to see in the world – Gandhi

“The human appetite for animal flesh is a driving force behind virtually every major category of environmental damage now threatening the human future---deforestation, erosion, fresh water scarcity, air and water pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, social injustice, the destabilization of communities, and the spread of disease.”
Editors, World Watch, July/August 2004

Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead

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** Fair Use Notice**
This document may contain copyrighted material, use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owners. I believe that this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

3/23/05 JVNA Online Newsletter

Shalom everyone,

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

1. JVNA Under Attack/Please Join the Debate

2. Update on Rabbi Dovid Sears’ Book “The Vision of Eden: Animal Welfare and Vegetarianism in Jewish Law and Mysticism”

3. Myth of Hitler Being a Vegetarian Refuted in the New York Times

4. Helping Animals 101 Conferences Scheduled

5. Global Warming Threatens World Economies

6. JVNA Advisor’s Thoughtful Message on Tsanumis

7. More on GARC Major Animal Rights Conference

8. Reform Temple Holds Brisket Competition

9. Day Set Aside To Improve Conditions for Chickens

10. Correction

11. Vegan Hamentashen Recipe

12. Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center Employment Positions Available

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, information re conferences, retreats, forums, trips, and other events does not necessarily imply endorsements by JVNA, 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.

Happy Purim everyone (it starts Thursday evening at sundown),

Thanks,
Richard

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1. JVNA Under Attack/Please Join the Debate

For a long time, we have promoted starting a respectful dialogue in the Jewish community on the many moral issues related to typical American (and other primarily animal-based) diets. Unfortunately, we have had very little success, primarily, I believe, because our case is so strong. Now, at the failedmessiah.com web site, a site that has been very critical of practices at the Postville glatt kosher slaughterhouse, there have been some very disrespectful attacks on the JVNA and some of our leaders. I have made several respectful responses, and have been supported by JVNA coordinator Noam Mohr and JVNA advisor John Diamond. This has enabled us to get our arguments out, but this has not stopped disrespectful attacks.

Please take a look at the web sites indicated below, and please consider responding respectfully. Comments/suggestions welcome, as always, especially re how we can get similar arguments to broader audiences. Thanks.

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2005/03/do_jewish_veget.html

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2005/03/jvna_president_.html

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2. Update on Rabbi Dovid Sears’ Book “The Vision of Eden: Animal Welfare and Vegetarianism in Jewish Law and Mysticism”

Dovid Sears' book can now be ordered on the Internet from Amazon or Barnes and Noble:

Amazon link

Barnes and Noble link

Please let others know about this positive development. This book is a very comprehensive, thoroughly researched, very well written discussion of all aspects of Jewish teachings on animals. It is a must read for anyone interested in the issues.

I have posted very positive reviews at both Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I urge everyone to get the book, read it, make others aware of it, and post a review at the above web sites.

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3. Myth of Hitler Being a Vegetarian Refuted in the New York Times

The following press release was sent to the Jewish media, animal rights and vegetarian publications and groups, and other sources. Please help spread the word so that the pernicious myth of Hitler’s vegetarianism will be smashed forever. Special thanks to author, scholar, and JVNA advisor Lewis Regenstein for his diligent efforts that led to the NY Times making the correction. Thanks.

PRESS RELEASE
New York Times Corrects Article on Hitler:
Refutes Longstanding Myth that Hitler was a Vegetarian

For Immediate Release:
March 18, 2005
Contact:
Lewis Regenstein, author of “Replenish the Earth”
regenstein@mindspring.com Phone: (404) 814-1371
Richard H. Schwartz, President of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) rschw12345@aol.com Phone: (718) 761-5876

The March 15 New York Times "Corrections" box included the following important item on page 2:

"A film review about 'Downfall,' which looks at Hitler's final days, referred incorrectly to his diet. Although the movie portrays him as vegetarian, he did eat at least some meat."

While small in size, the correction represents a major victory for truth, since the myth of Hitler’s alleged vegetarianism has long been used to try to discredit vegetarians. If this inaccuracy is repeated in the future, as it likely will be, one can now refer to the nation’s "Newspaper of Record" to set the record straight.

As documented below, numerous published accounts and first hand sources have confirmed that Hitler's diet included meat. At times Hitler evidently refrained from eating meat (and using alcohol and tobacco), as a response to his many health problems, but his normal diet, and the food served at his retreats and residences, included poultry and meat, most often Bavarian sausages, ham, liver, and pigeons.

Indeed, the Nazis banned vegetarian organizations in Germany and the lands they invaded and occupied.

The JVNA thanks the Times, especially its public editor Daniel Okrent and his associate Arthur Bovino, for their great public service of helping to put to rest this pernicious myth. This effort involved many hours of research, copying, and sending information to the Times, primarily by Atlanta writer Lewis Regenstein, president of The Interfaith Council for the Protection of Animals and Nature, with help from JVNA president Richard Schwartz, Micah Books publisher Roberta Kalechofsky, and author Rynn Berry.

The JVNA also expresses the hope that other writers who have recently circulated the myth of Hitler’s vegetarianism, including columnist David Shaw of the Los Angeles Times, and writer/commentator Ben Stein, will also issue corrections.
----------------------------------------
Material sent to the NY times to influence their decision included the following:

Robert Payne's authoritative "The Life and Death of Adolph Hitler" (Prager, 1973) states on page 346: "Hitler's asceticism played an important role in the image he projected over Germany. According to the widely believed legend, he neither smoked not drank, nor did he eat meat...Only the first was true. He drank beer and diluted wine frequently, had a special fondness for Bavarian sausages...

His asceticism was a fiction, invented by Goebbels to emphasize his total dedication, his self control...He could claim that he was dedicated to the service of his people.

In fact, he was remarkably self indulgent... Although Hitler had no fondness for meat except in the form of sausages and never ate fish, he enjoyed caviar..."
-------------------------
Armaments Minister Albert Speer's autobiography, "Inside the Third Reich," (Macmillan, 1970) indicates that meat was served, in substantial amounts, at Hitler's meals.

Page 89, in the chapter "Obersalzberg," describing Speer's move to the mountain, states that "Hitler usually appeared in the lower rooms late in the morning...The day actually began with prolonged afternoon dinner. The Food was simple and substantial: soup, a meat course, dessert..."

Page 119 of the chapter "A day in the Chancellery" states, "Such was the 'Merry Chancellor's Restaurant', as Hitler often called it...The food was emphatically simple. A soup, no appetizer, meat with vegetables and potatoes, a sweet.....Hitler was served his vegetarian food...and those of his guests who wished could imitate him. But few did... It was Hitler himself who insisted on this simplicity. He could count on its being talked about in Germany,"

p. 128 describes how Hitler enjoyed gorging on caviar, eating it by the spoonful: "For a few weeks, Hitler actually ate caviar by the spoonful with gusto, and praised the taste, which was new to him. But then he asked Kannenberg [the house steward] about the price, was horrified, and gave strict orders against having that again. Thereupon, the cheaper red caviar was served him. But that too was rejected as an extravagance....the idea of a caviar-eating Leader was incompatible with Hitler's conception of himself."
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No real vegetarian would eat caviar, given the wasteful & cruel way in which it is produced -- by ripping or cutting open the belly of a female sturgeon full of eggs (roe), thus killing a mother sturgeon and thousands of potential offspring. (As a result of over-harvesting, the source of the world's best caviar, the sturgeon in the Caspian Sea, are now considered threatened with extinction.)

The references above, plus writings by Dione Lucas, Hitler's chef, clearly document that while Hitler in his later years sometimes posed as a non-meat eater, he was not a real vegetarian, and did frequently or at least occasionally eat meat, fowl, and other animals products (eggs, caviar) & always served them to his guests.
-------------------------
Rynn Berry points out in his recent book, "Hitler: Neither Vegetarian nor Animal Lover,“ that the woman chef who was his personal cook in Hamburg during the late 1930s was Dione Lucas. In her "Gourmet Cooking School Cookbook," she records that his favorite dish - the one that he customarily requested - was stuffed squab (pigeon). "I do not mean to spoil your appetite for stuffed squab, but you might be interested to know that it was a great favorite with Mr. Hitler, who dined in the hotel often."

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4. Helping Animals 101 Conferences Scheduled

Forwarded message from PETA

[This is not an endorsement of PETA, but of efforts to train people who will more effectively promote an end to the many examples of the mistreatment of animals. If you attend, I urge you to challenge PETA to give much consideration to the possible consequences of their positions and actions. I also recommend that you point out the importance of showing that a switch toward vegetarianism is not only essential to reduce animal suffering, but that it is also both a societal imperative and a religious imperative, and that they should work cooperatively with environmental, religious, and other groups in spreading this message.]

Dear Friend,

If you're like most of us, you're aware of the animal suffering all around you but you're not sure what to do about it. PETA would like to help you feel powerful, not frustrated!

Advance registration is now open for five Helping Animals 101 2005 conferences-this is a conference created with you in mind!

In two days, you'll get practical, powerful, immediately applicable tools and skills to become amazing animal advocates in your community.

At the conference, you will join members from all over your community to hear presentations on topics such as how to improve your local animal shelter, speaking out for animals, and starting your own group. Every attendee will also receive a goody bag stuffed full of our favorite cruelty-free products, and Saturday night will be a night to relax with the new people you're meeting and have dinner with PETA staffers.

Cost is only $129 per person-and that includes all the great stuff listed above, as well as breakfast and lunch each day! Students pay $35 (yes, you read that right), and groups of five or more pay $99 per person.

2005 HA101 SCHEDULE:

- Tempe, Arizona: April 9 and 10, 2005
- Register online March 21-25 and you can bring a friend for free!

- Chicago, Illinois: May 14 and 15, 2005
Register online by March 31 and bring a friend for half-price!

- Toronto, Ontario, Canada: October 8 and 9, 2005
*This is a NEW date for Toronto! Please note!*
Register online up to 90 days in advance and you can bring a friend for free.
Register online up to 60 days in advance and you can bring a friend for half-price.

- Miami, Florida: October 22 and 23, 2005
Register online up to 90 days in advance and you can bring a friend for free.
Register online up to 60 days in advance and you can bring a friend for half-price.

- Houston, Texas: November 5 and 6, 2005 (Ingrid Newkirk will be joining us)
Register online up to 90 days in advance and you can bring a friend for free.
Register online up to 60 days in advance and you can bring a friend for half-price.

For more information, registration, prices, conference details, places to stay, and-most importantly-reviews from past participants, please go to http://www.HelpingAnimals101.com.

Remember ... don't be late for the first breakfast on Saturday morning (Breakfast McMuffins). Come hungry!

Thank you for your compassion, and please forward this e-mail to everyone you know. See you at the conference!

Sincerely,

Alex Bury
HA101 Conference Coordinator
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
501 Front St.
Norfolk, VA 23510
AlexB@peta.org
http://www.HelpingAnimals101.com

P.S. If you represent a local, grassroots animal group from any of the above cities, please contact me about having a complimentary table at the conference.

Recommendations from former attendees:
’These are wonderful. ... I finally felt that I did something, and it won't end there! That conference and demo have changed my life forever. ... It was awesome!
Vicky, San Francisco

’Thank you, thank you, thank you to you and the entire staff of PETA, last weekend was the most motivating experience of my life! Thank you so much for devoting your life to such an important cause.
Lynn H., San Francisco

’The conference was very heartbreaking, inspiring, motivating, life changing and I thank everyone at PETA for voicing for animals.
Kona, Detroit

’Your workshop and your compassion have, I think, changed my life forever. Thank you for letting me know I am on the right planet.
Kim, Washington D.C.

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5. Global Warming Threatens World Economies

March 16, 2005
Climate Change Is Called Economic Threat at Talks
By HEATHER TIMMONS
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/16/international/asia/16climate.html

LONDON, March 15 - The British government gathered together environment and energy officials from 20 countries on Tuesday to discuss climate change, which Britain has declared a top issue as it takes the leadership of the Group of 8 industrialized nations.

Britain's finance minister, Gordon Brown, told the delegates here at the opening of the meetings that the changing climate could no longer be considered just an environmental issue, but a real threat to economic activity.

"We have sufficient evidence that human-made climate change is the most far-reaching and almost certainly the most threatening of all the environmental challenges facing us," Mr. Brown said. Problems from soil erosion to the depletion of marine stocks "threaten future economic activity and growth" around the world, he said.

Mr. Brown called on wealthy nations to solve these problems, both because they had caused them, he said, and because less developed nations will feel their effects more keenly. "Climate change is an issue of justice as much of economic development," he said.

The British government and the Bush administration differ over the importance of greenhouse gases, mostly notably in the Kyoto agreement on limiting emissions that went into effect last month without the backing of the United States.

The same day that Mr. Brown talked about cutting emissions, an American delegate, James L. Connaughton, chairman of the United States Council on Environmental Quality, told the BBC in an interview that the science was still contested. "We are still working on the issue of causation, the extent to which humans are a factor" in global warming, he said. He added, though, that they might well be a factor.

The United States rejected the Kyoto treaty, an international pledge to cut carbon emissions that went into effect last month, because the quotas assigned to the country were "unreasonable," Mr. Connaughton said. Instead, the United States government plans to focus on technology, he said.

At the meeting, a Chinese delegate, Liu Jiang, vice chairman of the country's National Development and Reform Commission, emphasized the country's willingness to work on controlling greenhouse gas emissions even as its rapid economic expansion continued.

=========================
6. JVNA Advisor’s Thoughtful Message on Tsunamis

Thanks to author, activist, and JVNA advisor Dan Brook for the following thoughtful article. As with other articles in JVNA newsletters, the views are not necessarily those of the JVNA, but are included to further reflection and thoughtful dialogue.

Tsunamis
Dan Brook
Political Affairs
http://www.politicalaffairs.net

Tsunamis come in many forms.

The tsunami that erupted in the Indian Ocean from the massive 9.0 earthquake on 26 December 2004 was incredibly powerful, immensely destructive, and very deadly, perhaps killing a quarter of a million people or more. I felt—and continue to feel—the pain of this event not just as a fellow human being but also as a person who has been to a few of the places now devastated. In fact, I spent my first wedding anniversary on the beautiful beaches of Krabi in Thailand, while teaching English in that country.

Though it was a natural disaster, the consequences were unnatural and not entirely random. Generally, the areas with the most destruction, with the possible exception of Banda Aceh, Indonesia, near the epicenter, were the areas where there had been the most economic growth, the most capitalist development, and therefore the most environmental degradation, e.g., primarily tourist infrastructure and shrimp farming that, among other things, destroyed the mangrove forests and coral reefs that serve as rich ecosystems and natural barriers against tidal waves.

My 8 year old son asked if the people affected by the tsunami were/are so poor, why didn’t we help them before the tsunami? A very good question indeed.

Poverty is a chronic tsunami and the big wave of malnutrition, hunger, and starvation are ever present. With about a billion people—approximately 1,000,000,000 people!—with insecure and irregular access to enough food and clean water, millions of poor people die each year, tens of thousands of poor people each day, another poor person every few seconds of every day of every year. It boggles my mind and pains my heart.

Food and water are the most basic necessities for all sentient beings, whether people, other animals, or plants. Yet, in most places of the world, food is a commodity for sale, a product in search of private profit, a privilege for those who can afford to pay the parasitic price. As basic and existential and material and requisite as it is, food is purposely withheld from those with physical need for those with economic demand. Sometimes food is freely given to those in desperate need; mostly it isn’t.

It is wonderful that we have scientists and others researching and working on treatments and cures for various ailments and diseases. That should certainly continue. But we should also work on the treatments and cures for hunger, dysentery, gastroenteritis, and other very well-known, very easily-treated causes of suffering and mass death. Treatment involves taking proper care of suffering people; cures imply removing, reforming, or revolutionizing the structures and systems that result in such massive yet unnecessary tragedies. It may be complex, but it is not complicated. Food must be an absolute right, not a privilege.

Tsunamis come in many forms. Global warming is a slow tsunami. We are overheating the Earth, cooking the planet, slowly boiling ourselves and all other forms of life to death. We already know what happens when we overheat a car; when we overcook a meal; when we overheat our bodies; we can surmise what will happen if we continue to overheat the Earth. It isn’t pretty and it will get much uglier.

Tepidly called global warming, some such as Rabbi Arthur Waskow call this type of climate change “global scorching”. Regardless, global warming is a global warning. Apparently, reports for and from groups as disparate as the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, Greenpeace, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Oxfam, the Pentagon, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the World Bank, the World Meteorological Organization, and a vast number of other scientists, political economic analysts, and environmentalists agree. The Pentago Report, for example, states that global warming “should be elevated beyond a scientific debate to a US national security concern”, higher even than terrorism, warning of riots and declaring that “future wars will be fought over the issue of survival rather than religion, ideology, or national honor”.

The signs of an overheating Earth are clear and the evidence is rushing in and rising: hotter weather in many places, though also colder weather in some places; more frequent and violent storms; mass species extinctions; eco-spasms; melting glaciers and polar ice caps; earlier springs; rising water temperatures; rising ocean levels; acidification of the oceans; disturbed Atlantic Conveyor and Gulf Stream systems; submerged islands; and the threat of submerged cities such as New York, Miami, New Orleans, Bangkok, Dhaka, Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, and many, many other coastal cities.

While the world has chosen to take gradual steps to reduce climate change with the Kyoto Protocol, which went into effect on 16 February 2005, the US government has chosen to bury its bi-partisan head in the sand. It may be searching for oil or whatever else under the sand, but it may eventually find rising and polluted water there.

Thankfully, many individuals, organizations, and localities are taking action and taking the lead from the grassroots. Reducing consumption, reducing waste and emissions, recycling and using recycled goods, using renewable energies instead of fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal, protecting and replanting forests, reducing or eliminating meat consumption, and reducing or eliminating smoking are some of things that are being done. While we do these things, we also need to pressure our governments to do much more.

Tsunamis come in many forms. I mourn for those killed by the Indian Ocean tsunami. I mourn for those killed each day by the chronic tsunami of poverty. I mourn for the current and future generations who will suffer from the slow tsunami of global warming. We need to stop the tsunamis before they reach land and affect us with disastrous results. We can do it, but we need to be alert and aware, and we need to take immediate action.

© Dan Brook, Ph.D., teaches sociology at San Jose State University and can be contacted via Brook@california.com.

=========================
7. More on the Major GARC (Grass Roots Animal Rights Conference)

Forwarded message:

Don't miss the GARC conference
(Grass Roots Animal Rights Conference)
Mar. 31 - Apr. 3

Holyrood Episcopal Church
179th St and Fort Washington Ave.
New York City

Contact Adam Weisman: (201)968-0595
adam@grassrootsar.org

New York City will be the host of a NATIONAL ANIMAL RIGHTS CONFERENCE at the end of this month.

With almost 80 confirmed speakers (view the list at http://grassrootsar.org/speakers.html), four days of thought-provoking workshops and panels http://www.grassrootsar.org/program.html), an amazingly low admission price, FREE VEGAN FOOD, and a focus on building a more skilled and strategic movement, the Grassroots Animal Rights Conference promises to be the most exciting animal rights event New York City has seen in years!

This conference is for the animal rights activist who already knows the abuses against animals and now wants to learn how to be effective in fighting for on their behalf. Learn how to develop winning campaigns, defend your civil liberties as an activist, communicate a powerful message, create effective actions, advocate for animals in the courts and legislatures, government and corporations, spread the animal rights message to the next generation, chart strategies for the future of our movement, and so much more! The conference will also explore the connections between animal abuse and other forms of oppression, build alliances with other movements for social change, and address issues of human oppression within the movement that serve as barriers to empowering all animal advocates.

For this event, New Yorkers need to make the city as welcoming as possible to out-of-towners. They, especially, need to ensure that the conference has all the resources it needs to produce an rewarding experience for everyone and to publicize the conference around town, particularly to mobilize New Yorkers themselves.

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO?

1) REGISTER TO ATTEND GARC. Even if you usually skip out on conferences this is one you won't want to miss and you can afford. GARC guarantees that you will leave the conference a more effective, better trained advocate for animals. You can register online at http://www.grassrootsar.org/conference_registration.html. Standard admission is $20, with a $10 discount for students and activists on limited income. For those who are able, GARC strongly recommends that you register at the $40 sponsoring rate, to cover the admission costs for others less able to pay.

2) VOLUNTEER DURING THE CONFERENCE Volunteers will be needed during the conference to staff registration, set up booths, manage A/V equipment, serve food, clean up, and much more. If you would like to volunteer during the conference, please call Adam at (201)968-0595 or email adam@grassrootsar.org

3) HOUSE OUT-OF-TOWN ACTIVISTS. With over 200 expected participants, GARC needs the locals to provide places for out-of-towners to sleep and stow their luggage. These people won't have to feed their guests, as meals will be provided at the conference. GARC can match you with people who meet special requests (e.g. non-smoker, vegan, etc.) If you'd like to offer housing, post what you can provide to http://www.spaceshare.com/cgi-bin/match/garc/index.cgi. Alternatively you can call Nina at (614) 886.5289 or email register@grassrootsar.org

4) LOAN A/V EQUIPMENT. GARC needs your whiteboards, easels, large pads (the kind speakers use to write notes in presentations), TVs, VCRs, slide projectors, slide projector screens screens, overhead projectors, LCD laptop projectors, laptops, still cameras, tape recorders, and video cameras to allow speakers to make their presentations as compelling as possible and to record GARC so that activists can still learn from it in the future. GARC also needs donations of audio and videotapes. To loan or donate A/V, contact Adam at (201) 968-0595 or email adam@grassrootsar.org

5) HELP SPREAD THE WORD! GARC needs volunteers who can post flyers at veggie restaurants, health food stores, bookstores, and pass out leaflets at meetings, protests, lectures, vegan dinners events. They also need volunteers who can call other animal advocates to let them know about GARC and to encourage them to register. The group has hundreds of interested people to call, so they can use lots of help! And please email everyone you know to encourage them to come out to this amazing conference! To find out how you can help, call Hillary at (781) 834-0696 or email hillary@grassrootsar.org

6) FEED THE ACTIVISTS! Conferencing is hungry work! The groups wants to make sure that GARC attendees are well fed and don't have to run across down or go broke to get a great meal. New York is a mecca of great vegan food, so now's the time to show it off! Acitivists, let's work on all those friendships we've made by fattening the wallets of the owners of our city's best vegan restaurants and health food stores and ask them to donate food for GARC. The groups can provide them a tax deduction and free publicity and good PR to our attendees. GARC also encourages activists to prepare and bring food to share at the event. After all, what's more grass-rootsy than a potluck? GARC will also be preparing food on-site and needs volunteers to do kitchen shifts during the conference. Loans or donations of cookware, Tupperware, and cutlery will be a great help in the GARC kitchen.

7) GARC is also looking for a loans or donations of pots, pans, serving trays, cutlery, plates, silverware, bowls, and mugs in substantial numbers, in order to minimize the use of disposables. To learn more about how you can help with food at GARC, contact Adam at (201) 968-0595 or email adam@grassrootsar.org

8) GARC NEEDS FINANCIAL SUPPORT! This is a 100% volunteer effort. In fact, GARC organizers have committed thousands of dollars of their own money towards the event. With additional funds, they could create an even better conference, adding better A/V equipment, travel scholarships for activists from other parts of the country, and more publicity, which will mean more participants and a more effective conference. Your contributions will allow the volunteers to make GARC the great success that we all know it can be. You can conveniently pay online by clicking on the Paypal button on the upper left side of http://grassrootsar.org. Alternatively, you can mail contributions to Grassroots Animal Rights Conference, P.O. Box 344, New York, NY 10108. Checks should be made out to Grassroots Animal Rights Conference. For details on how to make your contribution tax deductible, call Adam at (201) 968-0595 or email adam@grassrootsar.org.

8) DO YOU SPEAK SPANISH? Translators are needed to do a Spanish language edition of the GARC program. Interpreters are needed at the conference to allow non-English speakers to participate in conference sessions. GARC is being held in a heavily Spanish-speaking neighborhood, and it's organizers would like to encourage local residents to participate in the conference. If you speak other languages, let them know, and a GARC volunteer will contact you if they receive requests for interpreters. To volunteer, contact Adam at (201) 968-0595 or email adam@grassootsar.org

10) MAKE COPIES. GARC is going to need to print lots of flyers, programs, and handouts for the conference. Do you have access to a copy machine? Can you donate copying for the conference? If so, call Aryenish at (785) 760-2935 or email aryenish@grassrootsar.org.

11) SPECIAL TO NEW YORKERS: Let's prove what a great animal activist community we are here in NYC by making GARC THE BEST ANIMAL RIGHTS CONFERENCE EVER!

If you have any questions, call Adam at (201) 968-0595 or email adam@grassrootsar.org.

==========================
8. Reform Temple Holds Brisket Competition

[Here is another example of how the consumption of meat is taken for granted in American Jewish life today, and how far we still have to go to get vegetarianism to even be considered in the Jewish community.]

Such a Cook-Off

In Alexandria, the Best Briskets and Kugels Bring Out A Crowd That Understands Jewish Comfort Food
By Bonnie S. Benwick
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 16, 2005; Page F01

Starting from the far left sat 20 long-braised briskets. Working back from the right, 23 kinds of sweet or savory kugel. Behind each entry stood contestants with scouring pad corsages and disposable aprons, egging on the tasters:
Here! Have some more.

Together, the homemade beef dishes and baked puddings with Eastern European roots are not ordinarily the stuff of formal competition. But almost four dozen local cooks signed up to bring their best to Alexandria's Temple Beth El on Saturday in the Reform congregation's first foray into that great American sport, the cook-off. Not all of them were members, and not all of them were Jewish.

"No one even had to say it. The unspoken message here was 'Eat, eat!" said emcee Marc Silverstein, the Food Network celebrity who served up one-liners like a Catskills comedian. "I used to be a consumer reporter. Now I consume.
. . . It's a marathon, not a sprint. . . . "

Certainly none of the 200-strong crowd left hungry. On the way out, trays of cookies and pastries looked untouched. Even for a synagogue event, there was a lot of Jewish food in one room. The aromas were alluring enough to send people back for second and third helpings.

The majority of the evening's kugels were noodly and cinnamon-sweet, with raisins or applesauce or pineapple or apricot accents, while the briskets had been treated with tomato-y sauces, onions, herbs, beer, wine and, unapologetically, soup -- Campbell's or Knorr or Lipton.

Brisket and kugel are the cultural equivalents of fried chicken and biscuits. For those unfamiliar with Jewish cooking, the meat and starch perform a kind of Gene Kelly-Debbie Reynolds routine. They belong together. Done right, brisket glides from muscled customer to tender fellow, while kugel serves as dependable and versatile sidekick. The dishes have become a little heavy to eat often, by today's standards. But they continue to grace Sabbath and holiday platters. The leftovers are to die for.

And the winning recipes, ladies and gentlemen, were sweet and simple. The panel of six judges agreed unanimously.

Top entries in the best-tasting category both had generous helpings of
sugar and uncomplicated directions. (See recipes, at right.) Brisket honors went to lawyer David Barsky of Arlington, whose samples were among the first to disappear. Sandi Rothman and Laura Naide, who happened to use varying amounts of the same ingredients, shared first place for best-tasting kugel. Neither of their recipes contained raisins, and certainly neither of the kugels would normally be served with a meat meal in a kosher home, since they are made with dairy products.

As small paper plates with samples were handed over, so were stories of ancestors and recipe fine-tuning:

"I developed my own recipe because my mother overcooked everything," confided contestant No. 7, Lynne Somoroff of Burke, while she spread portions of her onion, mushroom and chili-sauced brisket on pieces of seedless rye. She gave the recipe to her 88-year-old mother.

SNIP

The evening's original purpose was to attract new members to the 700-family congregation. A respectable number of people responded, but a weekend snow canceled the event first planned for January. That allowed enough additional time for a blizzard of interest to develop, and 47 contestants signed up.

SNIP

© 2005 The Washington Post Company

=========================
9. Day Set Aside To Improve Conditions for Chickens

Forwarded message:

United Poultry Concerns Proudly Announces International Respect for Chickens Day

Wednesday May 4, 2005

"They would rather die for their chicks than seek safety in flight . . ."
Aldrovandi - 16th century

Chickens are cheerful, intelligent birds. The mother hen tenderly cares
for her chicks, and roosters protect their families and flocks.

Please do an ACTION for chickens on May 4. Show the world that chickens are people too! [While Judaism teaches that God is concerned about all animals, it also teaches that only people are created in God’s image. Being created in God’s image should mean that each person imitates God’s positive attributes of compassion, justice, and concern.]

Ideas:

* Write a letter/op-ed to the editor
* Get on a radio talk show
* Table at your local mall
* Arrange a library display/video presentation
* Have a Respect for Chickens Day celebration at your school
* Leaflet at a busy street corner/ your local university
* Have a We-Don’t-Eat-Our-Feathered-Friends Vegan Party!
* Show Chicken Run!!!

Contact UPC for posters, brochures, videos.

United Poultry Concerns, PO Box 150, Machipongo, VA 23405
757-678-7875 Karen@upc-online.org www.upc-online.org

International Respect for Chickens Day May 4, 2005
A day to celebrate chickens throughout the world.
--
United Poultry Concerns is a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl.
www.upc-online.org

=========================
10. Correction

forwarded message:

Hello,

And thank you for posting our inn on your site. (with info from the
Washington Post article)
I just wanted your members to know that we are completely vegan (not pescatarian). Thanks!

The White Pig B&B (5120 Irish Rd., Schuyler, Va., 434-831-1416, www.thewhitepig.com) is run by a vegan couple and is home to 13 pigs – that you can pet, not eat. The three rooms run $150 to $230 per night and include a vegan breakfast and afternoon treats, such as vegan brownies.

Dina

The White Pig Bed and Breakfast
at Briar Creek Farm
5120 Irish Road
Schuyler, Virginia 22969
434-831-1416
email: info@thewhitepig.com

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
Announcing Virginia's Premiere Vegan Bed & Breakfast located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The White Pig Bed & Breakfast at Briar Creek Farm. A Vegan Oasis in Central Virginia. Visit us on the web at http://www.thewhitepig.com

=========================
11. Vegan Hamentashen Recipe

Healtlhier Hamentashen
This recipe, created by Maida Waldner Genser (maidawg@comcast.net}, has no eggs and no trans-fats.

Dough (more may be needed, depending on how thick you like the hamentashen dough):

2 cups unbleached flour
3/ 4 tsp sea salt
1 Tbs soy lecithin flakes*
1 Tbs Sucanat or other raw sugar
2/3 cup non-hydrogenated shortening (Spectrum brand is available in
health food stores)
1/ 2 cup chilled almond milk

Filling:

1 cup poppyseeds
1/ 2 cup almond milk
1/ 4 cup agave syrup (low glycemic sweetener from cactus)
cup Sucanat
pinch of salt
1 Tbs ground flax seeds
3 Tbs water
2 tsp lemon juice
grated peel of 1 lemon

Other ingredients:

About a 1/3 cup of almond milk for brushing the cookies and sealing the edges. Flour for the surface where you roll out dough and for on the rolling pin. Spray oil or more shortening to grease the cookie sheets.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two cookie sheets with oil spray or a little of the shortening.

Put all filling ingredients in a food processor and blend. Pour into a sauce pan. Heat and stir until thick. Set aside.

In a small bowl mix flour, salt, Sucanat, and lecithin until evenly distributed. Add shortening and cut into flour mix with 2 knives. Add and mix in almond milk little by into the flour/shortening mix and combine thoroughly until all the dry mix is pulled into the ball of dough.

Roll out the dough on a floured board or on waxed paper. Cut circles of dough, eg. with the tops of coffee mugs. Cut out the circles and place on a the cookie sheets. Put about a tablespoon of the filling on each circle. (Here is where you have to decide whether to make more dough. If you made the dough circles thick, you will probably need more. The hamentashen can be made thick or thin.) Moisten your finger with somealmond milk and pinch three corners of a circle around the filling tomake a hamentashen triangle. Repeat for each cookie. Brush each cookie with almond milk.

Bake for about 15 – 20 minutes cookie is hardened and slightly browned.

=========================
12. Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center Employment Positions Available

Forwarded message from the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center:

If you are a dynamic, detail oriented, skilled, loving person devoted to a healthy and spiritual lifestyle, a fantastic job opportunity awaits you at the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center. TOL is a busy holistic vegan health retreat led by Dr. Gabriel Cousens, author of Conscious Eating and Spiritual Nutrition. Working and living at TOL is an incredible lifestyle affirming opportunity for the right person. More Details of employment procedures, application forms, community guidelines can be found online at www.treeoflife.nu/employ/employ.html

Key Points: A TOL employee is:
- Dedicated to service
- Highly skilled in the position they apply for
- Open to new ways of being
- Vegetarian/ Vegan
- Willing to make a commitment for at least 1 year
- A US citizen or have work visa/ permit

*** Positions available (If interested, please contact the Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center for more information)***

* RESERVATIONIST/ FRONT DESK (immediate opening)
Please e-mail cover letter, resume, and picture to sara@treeoflife.nu. Tel: 520 394 2520X206

* FACILITIES MANAGER
Please e-mail cover letter, resume, and picture to healing@treeoflife.nu. Tel:520 394 2520X207

* HOUSEKEEPING (immediate opening)
Please e-mail cover letter, resume, and picture to healing@treeoflife.nu. Tel:520 394 2520X207

* MAINTENANCE/ CONSTRUCTION WORKER (immediate opening)

Please e-mail cover letter, resume, and picture to healing@treeoflife.nu. Tel:520 394 2520X207

* ACCOUNTING SPECIALIST (immediate opening)
Please e-mail cover letter, resume, and picture to billing@treeoflife.nu. Tel:520 394 2520X205

* MASSAGE THERAPIST - (open mid summer)
Please e-mail cover letter, resume, and picture to store@treeoflife.nu. Tel:520 394 2520X212

* DISPENSARY (clinician)
Full time plus benefits. Please e-mail cover letter, resume, and picture to store@treeoflife.nu. Tel:520 394 2520X212

P.S. Please forward this to those who may be interested.

Philip Madeley

Marketing & Education
Tree of Life Foundation
Attn: Philip Miller Madeley
686 Harshaw Road
HC2 Box 302
Patagonia
AZ 85624

PH: 520 394 2520 ext 215
philip@treeoflife.nu
www.treeoflife.nu

Tree of Life Foundation College of Living Arts Culturing liberation through conscious education.

Spiritual Live Food Program www.treeoflife.nu/livefoodprogram/livefoodprogram.html
Conscious Eating Workshops www.treeoflife.nu/consciouseating/consciouseating.html
Masters in Vegan Live Food Nutrition www.treeoflife.nu/ma/maveganlivefoodnutrition.html

=========================
Quotations:

You must be the change you want to see in the world – Gandhi

“The human appetite for animal flesh is a driving force behind virtually every major category of environmental damage now threatening the human future---deforestation, erosion, fresh water scarcity, air and water pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, social injustice,
the destabilization of communities, and the spread of disease.”
Editors, World Watch, July/August 2004

Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead

===================
** Fair Use Notice**
This document may contain copyrighted material, use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owners. I believe that this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

3/16/05 JVNA Online Newsletter

Shalom everyone,

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

Action Alert: Take Action For Farm Animals In Your State!

1. Our Objectives (And Significant Considerations) Re the Postville Slaughterhouse Controversy

2. Recent Writings in Jewish Weeklies on the Postville Kosher Slaughterhouse Controversy

3. Orthodox Union’s Recent Press Release Re Postville

4. Response by Failedmessiah.com to the OU’s Press Release

5. My Comments on the Above Two Items Posted at failedmessiah.com and the Resulting Debate/Please Join in the Discussion

6. Purim Recipes

7. Comments of Breslov Chasid Rabbi Yonassan Gershom on Vegetarianism

9. Lowering Your Blood Pressure Through Consuming Fiber

10. More Information About the GARC 2005 Animal Activists Conference in Manhattan
[Please let me know if you would like to hand out JVNA literature at this conference. Thanks.]

11. Importance of Eating Locally Grown Food

12. Action Alert: Improving Conditions for Turkeys and Chickens

13. Update on The Foie Gras Situation in Israel

14. Annual Great American Meatout Is Just Around the Corner

15. Recent Effort to Ban Shechita in England Defeated

16. Animal Circus Acts Banned in Tel Aviv

17. New York Times Correction Indicates that Hitler Was NOT a Vegetarian

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, information re conferences, retreats, forums, trips, and other events does not necessarily imply endorsements by JVNA, 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

=========================
1. Our Objectives (And Significant Considerations) Re the Postville Slaughterhouse Controversy

I had hoped that the Postville controversy would be settled by now, but since it isn’t, it might be valuable to revisit the material below, much of which was presented in previous JVNA Newsletters.

Points I think are important to keep In mind as we continue to respond positively and, I hope, creatively, to The Postville expose and controversy:

* Make sure that people are aware of Judaism’s strong teachings on compassion to animals, that shechita, if properly done, is a superior method of slaughter, and that the horrible scenes videotaped at the Postville slaughterhouse are not typical of Jewish ritual slaughter practices. For more information on Judaism’s very powerful teachings on the proper treatment of animals, please see the JVNA web site (JewishVeg.com, including the section on animals at JewishVeg.com/schwartz). One of JVNA’s main objectives is to see that these teachings are properly applied.

* Join others in advocating that the methods used in the Postville plant be changed as soon as possible and that the OU and other groups set up rigorous standards that will be strictly monitored through unannounced audits and strictly enforced so that there never be another situation like the Postville case. There have been recent positive moves by the OU and others toward improving conditions at the Postville plant and setting up better standards, and discussions are continuing. PETA has kept its focus on the abuses at the Postville plant and has acknowledged that, when properly carried out, shechita is a superior method of slaughter, and that Judaism has very positive teachings on compassion to animals.

* Make people aware that the Postville case should awaken us to the many ways that animal-based diets and agriculture threaten human health and the planet’s sustainability, and violate basic Jewish mandates re preserving health, treating animals with compassion, protecting the environment, conserving natural resources, and helping hungry people. Once the Postville situation is resolved, it is essential that people NOT think that everything is now fine and they can continue their consumption of animal products with a clear conscience. Jews and others have a choice re their diets, but they should make that choice based on a knowledge of the realities. As I have argued for many years, a shift toward vegetarianism is both a societal imperative and a religious imperative, because of the many Jewish mandates that are violated by the production and consumption of meat.

* While JVNA advocates that everyone consider switching to plant-based diets, we oppose efforts to single out shechita (Jewish ritual slaughter) for special criticism. While we would prefer that there be no slaughter at all, we believe that shechita, when properly carried out, is a superior method of slaughter.

* We do not want the situation at the Postville slaughterhouse and the publicity that will follow to result, G-d forbid, in attacks on Jewish teachings, on kashrut, on shechita in general, and on individual Jews. Hence, it is important that it be clearly indicated that the horrible scenes at the Postville slaughterhouse shown on PETA’s video are not typical of shechita and that we help make people aware of Judaism’s strong teachings on compassion to animals and on other vegetarian-related issues.

* We should be careful not to attack the Orthodox Jewish community or any other segment of the Jewish community and to respond to unjustified criticisms of the Jewish community while we work to change conditions at Postville. I have lived in an Orthodox community and worshipped in an Orthodox synagogue for many years, and, while I differ strongly on some issues such as vegetarianism with most members, I have found them to be generally good people who are very charitable, strongly committed to Jewish practices and Jewish continuity, and involved actively in many programs to help others. In general, it is important to seek common ground and not to demonize people. Also, as I tried to bring out in my books and articles, the application of Jewish values can help address the many crises facing the world today.

There is much re the importance of a shift toward vegetarianism at the JVNA web site (JewishVeg.com) and at the two wonderful new web sites below.

Eco-Eating www.brook.com/veg

The Vegetarian Mitzvah www.brook.com/jveg

* The basic facts of this controversy have been in previous JVNA Newsletters. However, if you want more information or an update, please do an Internet search (for Postville slaughterhouse, or PETA Postville, for example), or check out www.PETA.org and www.ou.org and failedmessiah.org.

* As Jonathan Wolf, a long time Jewish vegetarian activist, first president of JVNA, and a person to whom I owe much re learning about Jewish teachings on vegetarianism, has pointed out, since we are involved in both the Jewish community and the animal rights and vegetarian communities, JVNA has the potential of playing a very positive role in this controversy. We are ready to consult with people on both camps in seeking common ground and the best possible solution.

Return to Top

=========================
2. Recent Writings on the Postville Kosher Slaughterhouse Controversy

Below are URLs for two recent articles related to the Postville controversy:

JewishVeg.com and in previous JVNA newsletters to respond to the articles and the press release. Thanks.

Return to Top

==============================
3. Orthodox Union’s Recent Press Release Re Postville

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050311/nyf055_2.html
Friday March 11, 10:45 am ET

NEW YORK, March 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Rabbi Menachem Genack, Rabbinic Administrator of the Kashrus Division of the Orthodox Union, today released the results of an audit of the AgriProcessors plant in Postville, Iowa by the Animal Welfare Audit Program (AWAP) of the National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR) and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) that was conducted on February 17, 2005.

"We are extremely pleased the Food Marketing Institute based audit has vindicated AgriProcessors and validated what the Orthodox Union has said all along: AgriProcessors treats its animals humanely and meets our standards for kosher slaughter," Rabbi Genack said.

The rabbinic authorities that produce meat for their congregations through AgriProcessors have mandated the cut for religious slaughter be made while the animal is in a recumbent or inverted position. Recumbent kosher slaughter is considered humane under the federal Humane Slaughter Act. The Chief Rabbinate of Israel requires meat producers to slaughter their cattle in a recumbent position for their meat to be considered kosher. Recumbent slaughter is considered humane and is widely practiced in the European Union.

Rabbi Genack addressed the issue of recumbent and upright slaughter, adding, "The decision to conduct kosher slaughter with the animal in a recumbent position fulfills the requirements of both religious and federal law. Recumbent kosher slaughter is humane slaughter."

The FMI/NCCR standards require the cut for religious slaughter be made while the animal is in an upright position. For the past few months, Orthodox rabbinic authorities have been working with FMI to review its guideline requiring upright kosher slaughter on the basis that the animals were treated humanely during recumbent slaughter and that the decision to slaughter animals in a recumbent position was solely a religious issue.

In December, an unprecedented coalition of rabbis confirmed that kosher slaughter practices at AgriProcessors' plant conformed to the highest standards, of Jewish law and tradition. Elected officials, leading rabbis and veterinary scientists who subsequently visited AgriProcessors' plant confirmed that its practices conformed to federal law, kosher law and animal welfare standards.

For more on this story, please visit http://www.ou.org

Source: Orthodox Union

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4. Response by Failedmessiah.com to the OU’s Press Release

BREAKING! FMI: OU's Portrayal Of Rubashkin Audit "Not Accurate"
http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2005/03/fmi_ous_portray.html
©2004, 2005 Failed Messiah.com
March 15, 2005

I spoke a few moments ago with Karen Brown, the Vice President of the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) in charge of the FMI's Animal Welfare Audit Program (AWAP).

I asked her about the recent AWAP audit passed by AgriProcessors, and the OU's characterization of that audit as a vindication of both AgriProcessors and the rabbis that provide kosher supervision to the plant.

Ms. Brown said that the OU's portrayal of the audit "bothers us a lot" and called the notion that the AWAP audit "vindicated" AgriProcessors and found its past behavior humane, "not accurate" and "unfortunate."

"I have always grown up thinking that, regardless of the religion, honesty, truth and integrity is a very important virtue or attribute – So I am always surprised when in a conversation or in communications from a religious organization there appears to be inaccuracy in the statements."

Ms. Brown pointed out that an audit measures only a plant's performance on a given day. It was not intended to and cannot be a measure of past activities.

The OU claims that the AWAP audit has been made public. In fact, as FailedMessiah.com pointed out earlier, only a brief, non-detailed general summary of the detailed audit has been released.

I asked Ms. Brown if she had seen the audit. She had not.

"No. I haven't seen the audit. The way the program was set up … [the audits are] confidential information between trading partners, between buyer and seller. We did not want the audits to be used for a political standpoint … against companies or for companies. This is about the animals. This is about making sure the animals are treated humanely.

"This is not about politics, this is not about money, this is not about market share. This is about the humane treatment of animals."

Ms. Brown also noted that audits are meant to be an ongoing process, with some audits scheduled ambiguously – between this week and next week, say – to have an element of surprise built into the process.

"It is a stretch" to apply the findings of one audit to a plant's "past activities" or to its ongoing status, Ms. Brown said, noting that, in light of the OU's portrayal of the audit, the FMI was "concerned about the credibility of our own program," and is concerned that others may now attempt to misuse AWAP audits.

Ms. Brown agreed that Rabbi Genack and the OU must have known that the audit did not and could not vindicate past activities and is not a judge of whether humane slaughter laws were violated at AgriProcessors.

When told that Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, considered the leading rabbi in the ultra-Orthodox world, had ruled late last month that the laws governing cruelty to animals did not apply to the slaughter process or to the growing of animals as long as there was some benefit to man, and that Rabbi Elyashiv had specifically found tube force-feeding of geese for fois gras to be kosher and not a violation of tzaar baalei hayyim (cruelty to animals) law, Ms. Brown was surprised, noting that while she is not Jewish or versed in Jewish law, rabbi Elyashiv's ruling seemed to conflict with all the information on tzaar baalei hayyim law that she had seen.

[We have presented material on Rabbi Elyashiv’s ruling in a recent JVNA newsletter. While he is a Torah giant whose decisions must carry much weight, many outstanding Torah scholars in previous generations and today have different opinions.]

"I have a high level of discomfort" with the implications of Rabbi Elyashiv's ruling, Ms. Brown said. "We as humans have a responsibility to treat animals well – particularly if we are going to use them for food. I think that is a basic principle of humanity."

Representatives of the FMI and the OU are expected to meet in two weeks to continue work on the FMI's guidelines for kosher slaughter. The OU's representation of the AWAP audit as a "vindication" is expected to be addressed at that time.

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5. My Comments on the Above Two Items Posted at failedmessiah.com and the Resulting Debate/Please Join in the Discussion

[Below is my response which was posted at the failedmessiah.com web site in response to their comments on the OU’s recent press release. Please note how I have attempted to widen the discussion. Please add your comments at the failedmessiah.com web site. Thanks.]

Shalom,

As the Postville slaughterhouse controversy seems to be going on and on, we should keep in mind that this discussion is related to the production of a product that is having devastating effects on the health of Jews (and others) and on the sustainability of our imperiled planet.

As president of Jewish Vegetarians of North America and author of "Judaism and Vegetarianism," I would like to remind us that while changes are being considered that would make sure that shechita is properly carried out so that it remains a superior method of slaughter, we should also consider that the production and consumption of animal products violate Jewish mandates to preserve our health (v'nishmartem meod l'nofshotechem), treat animals with compassion, protect the environment (as partners of Hashem), conserve natural resources (bal tashchit), share with hungry people, and pursue peace (animal agriculture wastes/misuses water, energy, land and other resources, and our sages teach that shortages of resources make war more likely).

It is time that these issues be squarely considered by the Jewish community. Suggestions for getting the many moral issues related to our diets onto the Jewish agenda are very welcome.

L'shalom,
Richard (Schwartz)

Posted by: March 16, 2005 08:18 AM
-------------------------
I find Richard Schwartz's above comment to be both a misrepresentation of Judaism and ridiculous.

Posted by: Shmarya March 16, 2005 09:56 AM

Dear Shmarya,

Please explain why preserving our health, treating animals with compassion, preserving the environment, conserving natural resources, helping feed the hungry and pursuing peace, which are TORAH MANDATES, are not violated today by the production of animal based foods.

I'm at a loss as to the source of your opinion, but I feel that you owe Dr. Richard Schwartz an apology.

With Hashem's blessings.

John K. Diamond
Member, Advisory Committee
Jewish Vegetarians of North America

Posted by: John K. Diamond March 16, 2005 11:05 AM
---------------------------
1. There is no credible evidence that meat consumption is damaging to our health. As I have written, many NEWER studies have vindicated meat-based diets like Atkins. Further, it is increasingly clear that heart disease is linked to inflammation – not to meat consumption.

2. The highest rates of heart disease, early death, diabetes, etc. are found in poor populations that consume high levels of starches, grains and sugars and LOWER than average levels of protein. You should be railing against Hostess Twinkies and Lays Potato Chips, not steak and chicken.

3. The 'evidence' Dr. Schwartz presents for conserving the environment and conserving natural resources is false. No one is starving today because of excessive animal farming. People are starving today because of corrupt (or non-existent) governments.

4. Dr. Schwartz's ignorance of the function of Jewish law is quite clear. Further, your understanding of what the Torah "MANDATES" has no source in Jewish law or tradition.

5. The only valid argument you have (outside of a moral-ethical appeal to VOLUNTARY vegetarianism like Rav Kook) are the abuses found in factory farming.

I owe Dr. Schwartz no apology. If anything, he owes his cause an apology for making arguments that do not do it justice.

Posted by: Shmarya March 16, 2005 11:37 AM
------------------------------
"why preserving our health, treating animals with compassion, preserving the environment, conserving natural resources, helping feed the hungry and pursuing peace, which are TORAH MANDATES, are not violated today by the production of animal based foods."

HEALTH. Meat is a food like any other. If you eat to much ice cream or uncarrots its unhealthy. Same w. meat.

COMPASSION. Yes, we must treat them with compassion but that does not mean we need to shift our aims with the animals. We are allowed to eat them but we have to treat them right along the way. Is compassion a reason we should stop animal experiments and instead rely on human contact or not not clearly complete computer modeling?

CONSERVING NATURAL RESOURCES. Where is this a Torah obligation?

FEEDING THE HUNGRY. See Shmarya's comments.
helping feed the hungry

PURSUING PEACE. What are you talking about?????

Yes, we probably do eat to much meat for our health. But that ain't really your argument, is it.

Posted by: a March 16, 2005 12:10 PM
-------------------------
Dear Shmarya,

There is overwhelming scientific and medical evidence today that the production and consumption of animal based foods are destroying human health and are as destructive of the earth's environment as the burning of fossil fuels. Please don't take my word for it. Before responding to this, I very respectfully ask that you read "The China Study" by Dr. T. Colin Campbell and "Eat to Live" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman as well as study the information on the PCRM website.

With Hashem's blessing's,

John K. Diamond
Member, Advisory Committee
Jewish Vegetarians of North America

Posted by: John K. Diamond March 16, 2005 12:13 PM
-------------------------
Junk science is not evidence. Peer reviewed studies, please.

Posted by: Shmarya March 16, 2005 01:56 PM

=========================
Interspersed below are my brief responses to the points that you [Shmarya] raise. My responses are preceded and ended with ***
"why preserving our health, treating animals with compassion, preserving the environment, conserving natural resources, helping feed the hungry and pursuing peace, which are TORAH MANDATES, are not violated today by the production of animal based foods."

HEALTH. Meat is a food like any other. If you eat too much ice cream or carrots it’s unhealthy. Same w. meat.

*** Are you saying that all foods are equally healthy? We were created as vegetarians (Genesis 1:29). Our stomach acids are only one twentieth as strong as that of carnivorous animals, our colons are 4 times longer than carnivorous animals (per unit height), and we differ in many other ways. As a result, as verified by epidemiological studies, migration studies, wartime studies, and much more, animal-based diets are very harmful to human health. ***

COMPASSION. Yes, we must treat them with compassion but that does not mean we need to shift our aims with the animals. We are allowed to eat them but we have to treat them right along the way. Is compassion a reason we should stop animal experiments and instead rely on human contact or not clearly complete computer modeling?
***
· We are not treating them with compassion on factory farms. Many examples can be given.
· We are not treating them right along the way. Shouldn’t Jews be protesting against this.
· Animal experimentation is poor science and many misleading results have been obtained because of species differentiation and because diseases are artificially induced. If a medicine is beneficial for a cat, does that mean that it will also be beneficial for a dog? ***

CONSERVING NATURAL RESOURCES. Where is this a Torah obligation?

***Please consider bal tashchit, based on Deuteronomy 20:19,20. According to Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, bal tashchit is violated when one uses far more resources than necessary to accomplish a purpose. ***

FEEDING THE HUNGRY. See Shmarya's comments.
helping feed the hungry

*** While this is a complex issue, the fact that we are feeding over 70% of the grain produced in the US to farmed animals while so many people lack sufficient food is scandalous. And Lester Brown, an expert on global food issues, points out that grain stores are at very low levels and the effects of global warming and widening water shortages, both worsened substantially by animal-based agriculture, point to the potential for major future food scarcities. We need a modern day Yosef to warn us about future famines. ***

PURSUING PEACE. What are you talking about?????

*** You are probably unaware that the slogans of the vegetarian movements and the peace movements are the same: “All we are saying is give PEAS a chance.” Seriously, our sages. Noting that the Hebrew words for bread (lechem) and war (milchamah) come from the same root, deduced that shortages of grain and other resources increase the potential for war and violence. Thus, since animal-based diets use far more water, energy, land and other resources than plant-based diets, they make disputes far more likely.

Yes, we probably do eat too much meat for our health. But that ain't really your argument, is it.

Only partly. If people ate far less meat, it would have many benefits. But why not work toward the ideal? Jews have a choice re their diets, but that choice should be based on a consideration of the realities of the production and consumption of meat and how they impinge on basic Jewish teachings. ***

[Please consider joining the discussion]

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6. Purim Recipes

With Purim coming, JVNA Coordinator Noam Mohr has pulled together some Purim recipes from the web. They are up at the JVNA web site at JVNA web site, as well as many additional Jewish recipes. Esther was a vegetarian while queen.

Purim Recipes: Eat Like Esther - Chickpea Pizza Mushroom-Barley Soup Caraway Bundt Cake
Caryn.com - Fesenjan-e Bademjan (Eggplant & Pomegranate Braise), Moroccan-Style Vegetable Stew
CyberKitchen - Poppyseed Candies, Poppy-Seed Candies: Mohnlach, Noodles with Cabbage, Hungarian, Halvah with Walnuts
RecipeZaar - Purim chocolate covered nuts
Cat-Tea Corner - Bean cakes
JewishFood List - Hamentaschen, No Eggs
Jewish Food - Hamantaschen X

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7. Comments of Breslov Chasid Rabbi Yonassan Gershom on Vegetarianism

[While I have unfortunately not been in touch with Rabbi Gershom for many years, he was a much appreciated advisor who provided very valuable suggestions re my articles and earlier editions of my book. I hope to be in touch with him again]

Can a Hasidic Jew be a vegetarian?
http://www.pinenet.com/~rooster/hasid3.html

Yes. I myself am a vegetarian, as I have stated elsewhere in this FAQ. This question really belongs in a general discussion of the Jewish dietary laws (keeping kosher). But, because of a recent (Dec. 2004) kosher-slaughter controversy at Agriprocessors, Inc., (located in Postville, Iowa), the world's largest glatt kosher slaughterhouse, I've been getting lots of queries about Jewish vegetarianism. (If you eat Rubaskin and/or Aaron's Best meats, you really should look into the Argriprocessors controversy for yourself.)

The majority of Hasidim are meat eaters, based on the fact that eating meat is permitted in the Torah (Bible), as well as on traditional recipes, Sabbath and holiday traditions, etc. However, a growing number of Hasidim and other Orthodox Jews are beginning to limit their meat intake, many for health reasons, others for philosophical reasons. Still others, including myself, have serious concerns about the treatment of animals in today's highly-mechanized "factory farms," feedlots, and slaughterhouses. These are not the flocks of our ancestors.

Even PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) admits that the kosher slaughter process itself, if done correctly, is kinder than the standard practices in non-kosher USA slaughterhouses. But what about the way the animals are raised and treated before the final moment? These are serious questions that all Jews should look into.

Keeping kosher is not only about how the animal is killed. The law of tzaar baalei chayim (no cruelty to animals) teaches us that we must not be the cause of pain to other living things.

Rabbis have declared veal non-kosher because of the cruel way in which the veal calves are raised -- kept in tiny pens where they cannot even lie down. Similar objections have been raised concerning the force-feeding of geese to produce pate de fois gras (a type of gourmet goose liver.) This cruel process is now banned in Israel -- read more about the August 2003 Israeli Supreme Court decision on that...

Some Hasidim object to vegetarianism on the grounds that there are serious mystical aspects connected with eating meat, such as "raising the sparks" of holy energy in the animal back to higher spiritual levels. Vegetarian Hasidim, on the other hand, question whether "holy sparks" can really be elevated under the conditions of today's meat industry. If you are interested in this aspect of meat-eating and how it relates to vegetarianism, there is an excellent discussion of this Hasidic teaching on the Jewish Vegetarian FAQ, written by Dr. Richard Schwartz, a Modern Orthodox (non-Hasidic) vegan and current president of the Jewish Vegetarian Society. (I helped Dr. Schwartz write this answer.) While you are there, take time to explore the rest of their website. They cover just about anything you would want to know about Jewish vegetarianism.

In addition, I highly recommend Dr. Schwartz's excellent book, Judaism and Vegetarianism.
He not only covers the dietary aspects, but also the social issues such as world hunger, treatment of animals, etc. from a Torah perspective. You can read more about this book (including my review) and order it on Amazon.com.

For more Jewish books on ecology and vegetarianism:
http://www.pinenet.com/~rooster/books-je.html

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8. Action Alert: Take Action For Farm Animals In Your State!

State legislatures are in full swing, and many are considering farm animal welfare bills that need your help! If you live in any of the states below, please write or call your state legislators in support of these critically important bills:

CALIFORNIA humane slaughter bill
CONNECTICUT ban on horse slaughter
ILLINOIS bills banning foie gras and tail docking
MARYLAND bill prohibiting cruel confinement of pigs
MASSACHUSETTS bills banning foie gras, veal, and gestation crates
NEW JERSEY veal ban
NEW YORK bills banning foie gras, tail docking, downers, and regulating slaughterhouses.
OREGON bills banning foie gras, veal, and gestation crates
and more in KANSAS, NORTH DAKOTA, OKLAHOMA, and UTAH.

Find out about the bills at theFarm Sanctuary website at www.farmsanctuary.org/campaign/legislation.htm. You can look up your legislators at Congress.org or just ask us at mail@jewishveg.com. State legislators don’t get many calls and letters, so a few can make a huge difference! (For nationwide bills, visit JewishVeg.com/action)

Thanks for speaking up against cruelty!

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9. Lowering Your Blood Pressure Through Consuming Fiber

Thanks to Dan Brook for forwarding the item below:

Fiber
Eat This. Lower Your Blood Pressure?
http://channels.netscape.com/ns/homerealestate/package.jsp?name=fte/highfiber/highfiber

A high fiber diet can not only lower your blood pressure, but also can improve healthy blood pressure levels, according to new research from Tulane University that examined data from 25 clinical trials representing 1,477 adult study participants.

It works like a magic pill--only better because it's not. The study participants who ate 7.2 to 18.9 grams of fiber a day in the form of fruits, vegetables, and cereal experienced a reduction in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. "...All the data pointed to one strong conclusion: Adding fiber to a person's diet has a healthy effect on their blood pressure," said study leader Seamus Whelton in a news release announcing the study results. "Analyzing a large number of studies lends strength to the conclusions of clinical trials that involved too few participants to show an effect of dietary fiber on blood pressure." []

The bottom line recommendation: The researchers recommend that all of us -- no matter our blood pressure--add fruits and vegetables to our diets in order to increase dietary fiber intake. People can also get dietary fiber from cereal, whole wheat bread and pasta, and in pill form.

Almost 50 million Americans and 1 billion people worldwide have high blood pressure. Lifestyle changes that can lower blood pressure include weight loss, exercise, reduced sodium intake and increased potassium intake, moderating alcohol use, and following the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet.

The study was published in the Journal of Hypertension.
--------------------------
Dan also reminds us: Remember that fiber is present in whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables; animal products never contain any fiber. ---

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10. More Information About the GARC 2005 Animal Activists Conference

[Please let me know if you would like to hand out JVNA literature at this conference. Thanks.]

Thursday, March 31 - Sunday, April 3
Holyrood Episcopal Church,715 W. 179th Street, New York City.

GARC 2005 is aimed at experienced activists who wish to sharpen their activism skills and work on coalition building within and outside of the movement.

Registration is only $20 ($10 for students), and can be waived entirely in cases of need. Free housing and free or low-cost vegan meals will be provided on a first-come, first-served
basis. Register at http://www.grassrootsar.org/conference_registration.html

Confirmed speakers include:

Lorri Bauston, Co-founder, Farm Sanctuary
Josephine Bellaccomo, JosephineBellaccomo.com
Lawrence Carter-Long, Issues Specialist, In Defense of Animals
Rod Coronado, Coordinator, Chuk'shon Earth First!
Karen Davis, PhD, President, United Poultry Concerns, Inc.
Michael Greger, MD, Vegan Research Institute
Alex Hershaft, PhD, Founder/President, FARM
Kevin Jonas, Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC)
pattrice jones, Coordinator, Eastern Shore Sanctuary
Melanie Joy, PhD, Professor of Psychology, U of Mass, Boston
Marti Kheel, Founder, Feminists for Animals Rights
Julie Lewin, Animal Advocacy Connecticut (AACT)
Lance Morosini, Organizer, Speak Out for Animal Rights
Carol Moon, Humane Educator, Farm Sanctuary
Peter Muller, President, League of Humane Voters of New York State
Charles Patterson, Author, Eternal Treblinka
John Phillips, Vice President, League of Humane Voters of New York City
Hillary Rettig, Author, How Not to Burn Out
Nathan Runkle, Founder, Mercy for Animals
Richard H. Schwartz, President, JVNA
Marjorie Spiegel, Director, Inst. for the Development of Earth Awareness
Adam Weissman, Activism Center at Wetlands Preserve
... and many more

More program details at http://www.grassrootsar.org/agenda-index.html

More general information at http://www.grassrootsar.org, 781-834-0696
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Register your Meatout 2005 event at www.meatout.org!
Register for the AR2005 conference at www.AR2005.org!

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11. Importance of Eating Locally Grown Food

From the BBC-

Local food 'greener than organic'
Local food is usually more "green" than organic food, according to a report published in Food Policy journal.

The authors say people can help protect the environment by buying food produced within a 20km radius.

They claim British consumers are not fully aware of the severe damage done to the environment by driving food long distances around the UK.

Proportionately, "road miles" account for more environmental damage than "air miles", the authors claim.

Therefore the message to consumers is this: It is not good enough to buy food from within the UK - it must come from within your area.

However, the authors admit that consumers are prevented from "doing the right thing" because of inadequate labelling.

"The most political act we do on a daily basis is to eat, as our actions affect farms, landscapes and food businesses," said co-author Professor Jules Pretty from the University of Essex, UK.

"Food miles are more significant than we previously thought, and much now needs to be done to encourage local production and consumption of food."

Clean-up costs

Professor Pretty and his colleague Tim Lang, from City University, UK, painstakingly estimated the environmental "price tag" on each stage of the food production process.

That price might reflect, for example, the clean-up costs following pollution, or the loss of profits caused by erosion damage.

"The price of food is disguising externalized costs - damage to the environment, damage to climate, damage to infrastructure and the cost of transporting food on roads," Professor Lang told the BBC News website.

The authors calculated that if all foods were sourced from within 20km of where it is was consumed, environmental and congestion costs would fall from more than £2.3bn to under £230m - an "environmental saving" of £2.1bn annually.

They pointed out that organic methods can also make an important contribution. If all farms in the UK were to turn organic, then the country would save £1.1bn of environmental costs each year.

Consumers can save a further £100m in environmental costs, the authors claim, if they cycle, walk or catch the bus to the shops rather than drive.

Each week the average person clocks up 93p worth of environmental costs, the report concludes.

These costs should be addressed by the government, companies and consumers, the authors believe.

Snip

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12. Action Alert: Improving Conditions for Turkeys and Chickens

Forwarded message from Care2.com:

Hi Richard,

Did you have turkey or chicken in your lunch today? Whether or not you eat poultry, as someone who cares about animals, you might like to read on... http://www.care2.com/go/z/22212

Many of us eat chicken and turkey regularly, but take solace in the belief that these animals don't suffer much before they die. This is why I was shocked to discover that poultry animals are not protected by the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA). HSMA is supposed to protect animals raised for food from inhumane treatment, but animals like chickens, turkeys, and ducks suffer tremendous pain because they are exempt from protection.

Please sign this petition sponsored by The Humane Society of the United States to include turkey, chicken, ducks, and other birds among the animals protected from cruel and inhumane treatment:
http://www.care2.com/go/z/22212

The poultry industry argues that because poultry animals are being treated and killed humanely, they do not need protection from the HSMA. Yet the industry has proven incapable of self-regulation; time and time again companies have shown blatant disregard for animal welfare.

In July 2004, horrifying abuses -- including large numbers of chickens thrown against walls and stomped by workers -- exposed at the Pilgrim's Pride slaughterhouse in West Virginia highlighted the need for federal protections. Pilgrim's Pride was one of the worst known cases of cruelty in the commercial slaughter business, but it will not be the last.

Poultry animals must be protected from cruel and inhumane practices by federal law to spare them at least some pain before they die.
Sign this petition to help today: http://www.care2.com/go/z/22212

Thank you for receiving ACTION and caring to help today,

Hilary
Environmental Activism Manager,
Care2.com

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13. Action Alert: The Foie Gras Situation in Israel

Please take the time out to fill out the petition to implement the Israeli Court's decision to ban force feeding

The force feeding of geese is a cruel procedure in which a long tube is violently inserted into the goose's throat. The aim is to induce a liver disease, which causes damage to many of the body systems of the goose. The goose is practically dying, can hardly walk or breathe and is suffering intense pain when he is finally slaughtered. Many countries have prohibited the force feeding of geese. In Israel, the Israeli Supreme Court found it to be in violation of the Animal

Protection Law and ruled that it should end no later than March 2005. The Ministry of Agriculture now tries to make new laws that will allow force feeding to continue, without an ending date. We plead the members of the Education Committee of the Knesset not to approve of any regulations that do not specify a date from which force feeding would be banned.

http://www.anonymous.org.il/e-ff-petition.htm

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14. Annual Great American Meatout Is Just Around the Corner

Forwarded messages from Dan Brook and from FARM (Farm Animal Reform Movement):

-LOGICAL! The annual Great American Meatout is on Sunday, March 20th this year. Eating less meat can really help you, the animals, and the planet. Eating meat simultaneously contributes to the suffering and death of animals, the ill-health of people, the overuse of oil, water, and other natural resources, the destruction of the environment, the legitimacy of violence, inefficiency in the economy, inequality in the world, and moral failure in a so-called advanced society. Vegetarianism is an antidote to all of these unnecessary tragedies. Try eating less meat, or cutting it out altogether, to help the animals, your health, and the environment! For more information, see www.meatout.org and www.brook.com/veg.

There's still time to participate!

Plan an action that suits your schedule and your resources. Remember, your event can take place any time in March, and every person who turns vegetarian as a result of your efforts saves 2,000 animals from the horrors of factory farms and slaughterhouses. Here are a few suggestions for last-minute actions

Provide a veggie work lunch to your coworkers. Share with them the wonderful meat-alternatives available in your local grocery store. Email, visit our online registration page, or call 1-800-MEATOUT to let us know about your plans and to request informational materials to set out with the food. Spend an hour handing out literature

Request literature from us to hand out to your friends, family, or religious or social group... or get a little more adventurous and find a busy street corner or college campus and pass the information along to passersby. Request Meatout Mondays postcards to turn people on to our weekly e-newsletter packed full of vegetarian recipes, new veggie products, and nutritional information.

Need materials right now? You can download a Pledge Sign-up sheet by clicking this link, or download a leaflet master by clicking this link. Photocopy and distribute widely! No time to organize an event?
There are still important actions you can take to carry the Meatout message! Meatout Mondays cards http://www.meatout.org/images/MMcards.gif
--------------------
Launched in 1985, The Great American Meatout has become the world's largest diet education campaign promoting a wholesome compassionate plant-based diet On or around March 20--the first day of spring--thousands of caring people in all 50 US states and a host of other countries hold informative and educational Meatout events. Events will include colorful 'lifestivals,' street theater, lectures, public dinners, cooking demos, food samplings, leafleting, information tables called 'steakouts,' and a Congressional Reception in Washington,

Please join us for our 20th Anniversary observance of Meatout and represent your city! FARM is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, public interest organization promoting meat-free and dairy-free foods for a healthy, well-fed world.

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15. Recent Effort to Ban Shechita in England Defeated

Thanks to animal welfare expert and JVNA advisor Prof. Joe Regenstein for forwarding the two articles below:

Ritual Slaughter Avoids Censure
By: Daniella Peled
www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?intarticleid=15147&intcategoryid=2

LONDON, March 14 (JTA) — Jewish groups are welcoming the British
government’s decision to reject a recommendation to ban kosher slaughter as a victory for their unified campaign.

The threat to ritual slaughter, known as shechitah, was raised after a June 2003 report from the government-sponsored Farm Animal Welfare Council advised that the practice should be outlawed.

The council had argued that shechitah and the Muslim method of halal
slaughter — both of which demand the animal be fully conscious when its throat is cut — contravened British laws against animal cruelty, which mandate that all animals butchered in Britain must be electrically stunned before they are killed.

But a specially formed Jewish coalition, Shechita UK, fought the
recommendation by emphasizing scientific evidence that shechitah — which involves cutting an animal’s throat with a surgically sharp blade, leading to rapid loss of consciousness — is a humane method of slaughter.

The British authorities initially appeared inclined to accept the council’s
assertions, the result of a four-year investigation, that “animals
(especially cattle) slaughtered without pre-stunning are likely to
experience very significant pain and distress.”

But in its final statement, issued last week, the government emphasized that it was “committed to respect for the rights of religious groups.”

Describing the council report as “inaccurate and biased,” Henry Grunwald, the chairman of Shechita UK, said, “The government’s response means that the Jewish community can continue freely to practice the Jewish religious humane method of animal slaughter for food in this country.

“We are pleased that the government has recognized and understood our concerns,” he added.

Jewish leaders say the campaign not only has served to preserve the right of British Jews to produce and eat kosher meat, but also highlighted a rare example of community unity.

Shechita UK took pains to incorporate members of the Board of deputies — the representative body of Anglo Jewry — along with various shechitah bodies and all the British authorities that oversee kosher food.

“It’s been a real example of cooperation,” said Shechita UK’s campaign
director, Shimon Cohen. “The Orthodox community from left to right pulled together in a major way and had the full support of the progressive community. This is the first time anyone can remember that we all sat around together and actually delivered something.”

The last serious challenge to kosher slaughter in Britain came in 1985,
when the council recommended that the government “require that the Jewish and Muslim communities review their methods of slaughter so as to develop alternatives which permit effective stunning.”

The community overturned that threat, but the lessons learned in fighting that campaign — “It’s vital to be united,” Cohen said — were put to use in the latest lobbying effort.

European animal rights laws demand that livestock must be stunned before slaughter, but most countries — except Sweden and Switzerland — make exceptions on the grounds of religious liberty.

However, kosher slaughter is seen by the public to be an act of cruelty to animals.

It was that view that was the main focus for the Shechita UK campaign, which set out to put across the concept of shechitah as a compassionate method of slaughter.

There may be further challenges ahead, though, with the council preparing to publish a report on the slaughter of “white meat” animals, which includes poultry.

“The work of Shechita UK is not yet complete,” said Grunwald. “We believe that shechitah should be unequivocally acknowledged as a humane method of animal slaughter for food.”

Second article:

British Jews win right to shehita
JTA, THE JERUSALEM POST
Mar. 9, 2005

British Jews have won an 18-month battle to gain government assurances protecting the community's right to practice ritual slaughter (shehita).

The future of shehita in Britain had been threatened following a June 2003 report from the Farm Animal Welfare Council recommending the government repeal the right of the Jewish community to carry out kosher slaughter. The council asserted that animals killed according to Jewish law, without being pre-stunned, were "likely to experience very significant pain and distress." But the government decision Tuesday accepted evidence presented by Jewish lobbyists that demonstrated ritual slaughter was a humane method of killing animals for food.

Snip

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16. Animal Circus Acts Banned in Tel Aviv

Thanks to long-time vegetarian and animal rights activist Miriam Gross for forwarding the message below from Israel’s largest animal rights group “Anonymous for Anima Rights.”

Tel-Aviv banned animal circus acts

We are happy to announce that we successfully completed our campaign against animal circus acts, as the Municipality of Tel-Aviv banned animal circus acts. The Mayor of Tel-Aviv, Ron Huldai, instructed the municipality to avoid any future contracts with circuses that use animals of any sort in their shows. This pioneering achievement is a result of an Anonymous for Animal Rights campaign, which included a public campaign (demonstrations, petitions, etc.) as well as political lobby. As far as we know, Tel-Aviv is one of the only cities in the world that banned animal circus acts. We hope that other cities – both in Israel and abroad – will follow Tel-Aviv. Since Tel-Aviv is the center of the Israeli urban life, and international circuses were staying in Tel-Aviv during most of their Israeli tour, the new instruction may influence animal circus acts in the entire country. Wild animal circus acts are already banned all over the country since 1995.

Best wishes,
Menashe Eliezer
Coordinator
Anonymous for Animal Rights
http://www.anonymous.org.il/english
menashe@anonymous.org.il

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17. New York Times Correction Indicates that Hitler Was NOT a Vegetarian

Kudos to author, scholar, long time vegetarian and animal rights activist and JVNA advisor Lewis Regenstein for his great success as indicated in his message below:

Dear friends:

Today, Tuesday, p. 2 of the New York Times, "Corrections" box, carries this small but important item:

"A film review...about 'Downfall,' which looks at Hitler's final days,
referred incorrectly to his diet.

Although the movie portrays him as vegetarian, he did eat at least some meat."

This small item represents a big victory, the result of many hours of
research, copying, and sending information to the Times to try and correct this mistake, a myth that has long been used to try & discredit vegetarians.

In the future, we now have the nation's Newspaper of Record to refer to when this inaccuracy is repeated, as certainly it will be, as sure as night follows day.

Many thanks to the Times for setting the record straight, especially to the public editor Daniel Okrent and his assistant Arthur Bovino, and to all of you who were so helpful in sending in supporting documentation.

Lewis Regenstein

[As indicated, Lew deserves much credit for his work on this. I know that many messages were exchanged between Lew and the Times, as they sought documentation for Lewis assertion that Hitler was not a vegetarian. After I commended Lew for his splendid success, he kindly responded as below:

Toda Rabah, Richard, for all your help. I could not have done it without
you & all the good material you had available,

Best, Lew]

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Quotations:

You must be the change you want to see in the world – Gandhi

“The human appetite for animal flesh is a driving force behind virtually every major category of environmental damage now threatening the human future---deforestation, erosion, fresh water scarcity, air and water pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, social injustice, the destabilization of communities, and the spread of disease.”
Editors, World Watch, July/August 2004

Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead

===================
** Fair Use Notice**
This document may contain copyrighted material, use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owners. I believe that this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

3/14/05 JVNA Online Newsletter

Shalom everyone,

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

1. My Biographical Article Featured in The March/April, 2005 VegNews

2. Getting Jewish Vegetarian Articles Into More Publications

3. Interested in Helping Distribute JVNA Material?

4. Environmental Hazards Spreading in Israel’s Dan Region

5. Another Report on the COEJL (Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life) Conference

6. Benefits of Legumes/With a Recipe

7. The "Pious" Parakeet, A Story for Purim

8. Correction

9. Are Vegan Diets Unhealthy For Children?

10. Jewish Environmental Education Seminar Announced

11. Interesting Vegetarian/Animal Rights/Environmental Magazine

12. Sales of Soy Products Soaring

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, information re conferences, retreats, forums, trips, and other events does not necessarily imply endorsements by JVNA, 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. My Biographical Article Featured in The March/April, 2005 VegNews

How I Went Veg
By Richard Schwartz, PhD

[This is a shortened version of my article. VegNews is an increasingly popular vegetarian publication. I have met the editor at several conventions. Letters can be sent to the editor at editor@vegnews.com.]

Until 1978, I was a “meat and potatoes” person. My mother would be sure to prepare my favorite dish, pot roast, whenever I came to visit. It was a family tradition that I would be served a turkey drumstick every Thanksgiving. Yet, I not only became vegetarian, I now devote a major part of my time to writing, speaking, and teaching about the benefits of vegetarianism. What caused this drastic change?

In 1973 I began teaching a course, “Mathematics and the Environment” at the College of Staten Island. The course used basic mathematical concepts and problems to explore current critical issues. When I became aware of the tremendous waste of grain associated with the production of beef at a time when millions of the world’s people were malnourished, I gave up eating red meat, while continuing to eat chicken and fish.

I then began to read about the many health benefits of vegetarianism and about the horrible conditions for animals raised on factory farms. I was increasingly attracted to vegetarianism, and in 1978, I decided to join the International Jewish Vegetarian Society and since then have avoided eating any meat, fowl, or fish.

Since that decision, besides learning much about vegetarianism’s connections to health, nutrition, ecology, resource usage, hunger, and the treatment of animals, I have also investigated the connections between vegetarianism and Judaism. I learned that the first biblical dietary law (Genesis 1:29) is strictly vegetarian, and I became convinced that important Jewish mandates to preserve our health, be kind to animals, protect the environment, conserve resources, share with hungry people, and seek and pursue peace all point to vegetarianism as the best diet for Jews (and everyone else). To get this message to a wider audience I wrote a book, Judaism and Vegetarianism, in 1982. It was updated in 1998 and 2001, and I now also have over 100 articles at JewishVeg.com/schwartz, in an attempt to reach wider audiences.

Increasingly, as I learned how the production and consumption of animal products threaten human health and the health of our imperiled planet, I have come to see vegetarianism as not only a personal choice, but as a societal imperative—an essential component in the solution of many societal problems.

I have always felt good about my decision to become vegetarian. Putting principles and values into practice is far more valuable and rewarding than hours of preaching. When people ask me why I gave up meat, I welcome the opportunity to explain the many benefits of vegetarianism.

While my family was initially skeptical about my change of diet, they have become increasingly understanding and supportive. In 1993 my younger daughter was married at a completely vegetarian wedding. My wife has also become vegetarian, and we have moved substantially toward veganism.

Recently, I have noted signs of increased interest in vegetarianism, and a growing number of people are concerned about dietary connections to health, nutrition, animal rights, and ecology. But, unfortunately, there is much that still needs to be done. My hope is to be able to keep learning, writing, and speaking about vegetarianism, to help bring closer that day when, in the words of the motto of the International Jewish Vegetarian Society, “no one shall hurt nor destroy in all of God’s holy mountain.” (Isaiah 11.9)

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2. Getting Jewish Vegetarian Articles Into More Publications

After my article above appeared, I received the email below:

Dear Richard,

May I have your permission to reprint your essay "How I Went Veg" that appeared in the current VegNews in THE PEACEABLE TABLE? I'd like to put it in the April or May "Pilgrimage" column. I would, of course, get the consent of VegNews as well.

I am grateful for your extensive labor on behalf of the cause.

Thanks,
Gracia Fay

This made me think about the many editors who are constantly looking for material, and the fact that there is much valuable material on Jewish connections to vegetarianism and related issues at the JVNA web site JewishVeg.com, including over 100 of my articles at Jewishveg.com/schwartz. Please check out these articles and consider forwarding them to publications that might be interested. Also, please consider using these articles and other background material at the JVNA web site to write your own articles and letters to editors. Many thanks.

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3. Interested in Helping Distribute JVNA Material?

Are you interested in distributing JVNA booklets and other material at local synagogues and other Jewish institutions?

Are you interested in distributing JVNA booklets and other material at a major animal rights conference (discussed in the last JVNA newsletter) in Manhattan in all or part of the time from March 31 to April 3?

If interested in either of the above or other possible options, please let me know. Thanks.

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4. Environmental Hazards Spreading in Israel’s Dan Region

Survey shows environmental hazards spreading throughout the Dan region
By Zafrir Rinat
Haaretz
Wed., March 09, 2005 Adar1 28, 5765
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/549583.html

The serious pollution of groundwater and soil discovered between Tel Aviv and Givatayim in an area that once housed the Israel Military Industries' Magen factory is just part of a much broader ecological problem. A preliminary survey recently conducted for the Water Commission has found that additional polluted sites in the Dan region are spreading and creating environmental hazards.

The survey also tested eucalyptus trees for pollution, and found high levels of pollutants in at least two sites used for industrial purposes. U.S. experts this week began a hazards study following these findings.

Pollution at the IMI compound was discovered five years ago, and since then, the Water Commission has been monitoring it with the help of scientists at the Volcani Institute of Agricultural Research in Beit Dagan and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Additionally, water drillings were analyzed throughout the Dan region aided by the Tel Aviv municipality. Pollution of varying degrees was found in most water drillings along the region's segment of the coastal aquifer, and 18 drill sites were closed.

Pollution in the area of the IMI compound is so high that toxic materials created a separate layer in the groundwater. Vaporous and toxic materials were also found to be spreading to basements as well as trees and bushes around the compound. But information about additional sites was sketchy, so the Water Commission's researchers conducted a historical survey of pollution sources in which they collected data about the activity of metal coating factories,
workshops, dry cleaning establishments and paper goods and electronics manufacturers. They also checked tree pollution at several locations.

The Dan region has housed hundreds of factories and facilities that use toxic metals and vaporous materials, according to the survey. These include dozens of dry cleaning laundries that make extensive use of the solvent tetrachloroethylene, but only a few of them cleared waste containing that material. Furthermore, many metal coating factories habitually directed toxic metals into the sewage system, and these trickled down into the soil and groundwater. In eucalyptus trees samples at two Ramat Gan locations, researchers found trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene at even higher levels than those found on plants near the IMI compound. One polluted site is in the vicinity of the Diamond Exchange, where soil pollution was discovered less than a year ago during routine road work.

Polluted flora signifies that vaporous materials in the soil and groundwater are spreading to the surroundings after trees absorb them through their roots. The materials involved are suspected carcinogens, and cause damage to the nervous system and liver.

The severity of the Water Commission's findings bolster other findings by the Environment Ministry, which instructed gas stations to prepare surveys of soil and water pollution in the Tel Aviv region. The ministry's deputy director for the Tel Aviv district, Amir Eshed, said high pollution levels were found in some of the 29 surveys conducted to date.

There are plans to build in the former IMI compound, but the Water Commission is demanding that the land should not be released to construction companies until the hazards study is completed. The American firm conducting the study, Louis Berger, is expected to complete it within 18 months. The firm will be asked to develop a model for forecasting pollution spread, and to suggest alternatives for reducing the groundwater pollution and preventing health hazards.

"We have great hopes for this job," Water Commissioner Shimon Tal said. "If we succeed in cleaning the aquifer in this region, we can continue cleaning and rehabilitating water resources on a grand scale."

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5. Another Report on the COEJL (Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life) Conference

Healing the Earth:
COEJL Institute: Greening Synagogues and Energy Independence
Charles Lenchner , 03/09/2005
shalomctr.org/index.cfm/action/read/section/earth/article/article832.html

Earlier this month, the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) held its annual Institute. The last time I attended was four years ago, when I was still relatively new in the United States. A lot has changed since then.

At this years Institute, some participants learned of a new phase in the relationship between Jewish greenies and the organization officially representing Jewish environmental concerns. Instead of promoting the development of local affiliates, COEJL will now be working to build relationships between congregations and the national offices, headquartered in New York and San Francisco. One aspect of this is the Greening Synagogues program, designed to help synagogue buildings move from just buildings to buildings that are just.

Rabbi Fred Dobb of Adat Shalom led Institute participants in a tour of his synagogue discussing the environmental aspects of its construction. While some like to call it a green building, Rabbi Dobb reminded us that compromises still had to be made. With each new synagogue (or church) built with environmental concerns in mind, the market for earth friendly products expands, contractors and architects are educated, and congregants get to own their building as an expression of values, not just as a piece of real estate. In this way, each synagogue greening represents an opportunity for consciousness raising and real community participation.

The emphasis on working directly with congregations and rabbis was further discussed at a lunch meeting with the rabbinical seminary students.

A number of speakers addressed the problem of climate change. Deb Calahan of the League of Conservation Voters said that while spending $3 million on television advertising in Florida during the presidential campaign, she learned that fear of climate change was not enough to move voters. Not even voters recovering from a series of devastating hurricanes made worse because of changes that have already occurred.

Instead, she pointed to the link between environmental and energy issues. Talk of energy independence and the relationship between our consumption of oil from the Middle East and our national security was far more persuasive on the average voter. In particular, she noted that environmentalists are often seen as protecting the environment as a special interest not quite identified with the general welfare.

Calahan spoke before Rep. Henry Waxman, who received an award from COEJL for his support of environmental legislation in Congress. In response to a question from the audience, he affirmed the link between the war in Iraq and our overuse of oil. It was good to hear a Jewish politician speaking to a Jewish audience about the folly of invading Iraq in the first place.

My own presentation was about peak oil, global scorching and the relationship between the US and the Muslim world. While most of the audience knew about energy independence and the problem of US consumers becoming even more dependent on oil in Muslim countries, few had heard of peak oil. In the minds of many, the environmental discussion on climate change should take place in one room, while the problem of oil depletion and Middle East wars should take place somewhere else. This is changing, and there was a lot of receptivity to addressing these related issues together.

On the last day of the Institute, Senator John McCain spoke to a combined session of COEJL and the JCPA (Jewish Council on Public Affairs). While his stump speech focused primarily on foreign policy issues (re: Israel and the Middle East), most of the question were about his role in advancing the Climate Stewardship Act which will begin to address global scorching. Judging by the applause he got after some of the questions, Republicans are likely to win more support from Jewish voters based on environmental leadership, rather than competition over support for Israel.

The final session of the Institute was a talk by Rabbi David Saperstein of the Religious Action Center. He shared some behind the scenes stories about how the RAC was able to advance its agenda even with partners presumed to be on the other side of the fence such as evangelical Christians. This community has become much more willing to support human rights as a political issue than in the past; and they are in the midst of a radical change on environmental questions. Rabbi Saperstein said that the tipping point on addressing climate change may be taking place right now. His enthusiasm was infectious, and all of us hope his words prove to be prophetic.

Final Notes on COEJL

Many of the participants were from organizations such as Teva, the center for Jewish environmental learning, and from Hazon, a Jewish environmental organization that uses bike rides to raise consciousness and promote Jewish values. It was interesting to note however, that only a small number saw themselves as COEJL activists or were active with a COEJL affiliate. This was a major change from the Institute I attended four years ago, where I met a number of activists from around the country proudly wearing a COEJL identity. One board member recognized this shift, suggesting that the Institute was the last remnant of COEJL’s grassroots focus.

In conversations before and during the conference about the relationship between COEJL affiliates and the national staff, I was told many times about the disappearance of funding for local affiliates. It felt odd, as I have been part of many local groups that did not receive funding yet were part of a national organization or network. The Institute did not feature any sessions devoted to local COEJL affiliate activities. Many of the mealtimes featured a workshop or speaker, which further reduced the connecting time available to us.

As a member of a local COEJL affiliate, I was left with many unanswered questions but not the kind a titled staff member could answer. Some questions are there for exploring with a group of peers, to see what we come up with. I appreciate having a national organization able to exert significant pull within the Jewish community, and on the Hill, in support of environmental legislation. I also enjoy being active as a Jewish environmentalist with my friends in Philadelphia.

It would be great if next years Institute featured an open conversation about the relationship between those two poles, to see what emerges. Clearly, a change has taken place; but the reasons for that change arent documented publicly or discussed as part of the conference. I look forward to being part of the continued evolution of the Jewish environmental movement.

The Shalom Center / web: http://www.shalomctr.org / email: ShalomCtr@aol.com
mail: 6711 Lincoln Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19119, USA / tel: (215) 844-8494

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6. Benefits of Legumes/With a Recipe

[Thanks to JVNA Coordinator and Web Organizer Noam Mohr for submitting the material below.]

A modern look at ages-old legume
By Phyllis Glazer
Associated Press
March 10, 2005 San Bernardino, CA
http://u.sbsun.com/Stories/0,1413,216~24295~2751486,00.html

TEL AVIV, Israel - Lentils might not be high on your shopping list these days, but if you read on you might just reconsider.

Quick, delicious and nourishing, inexpensive and easy-to-prepare, lentils are an ancient food still perfect for the modern world. And they are versatile, too.

Probably the most famous legume in the Bible, the little lentil once made a stew so tempting that Esau sold his birthright for it. Throughout history lentils have served as a metaphor for a host of mystical, symbolic, spiritual and practical meanings as well.

Cultivated since antiquity in Egypt, Europe, Asia and the Near East, lentils may not have been glamorous, but they were always held in high esteem.

The ancient Egyptians believed they enlightened the mind, and in Jewish tradition, lentils were traditionally served to mourners, since they represented the life cycle, with no beginning and no end.

In Catholic countries, lentils were standard Lenten fare for those who could not afford fish, and in India, lentils still play an integral part in marriage rituals.

From a nutritional standpoint, lentils (whose name comes from the Latin "Lens culinaris”), have the highest protein content in all the vegetable kingdom after soybeans. They are rich in minerals like zinc and manganese, with a range of B vitamins, especially pantothenic acid (B5), niacin (B3) and folic acid (B9).

Easier to digest than chickpeas or kidney beans, lentils don’t even require soaking to make them more digestible. But if you’re still wary of side effects, add a little cumin or coriander to your recipe, and you’ll find it makes a significant difference.

There are dozens of kinds of lentils, varying in size and color. They include brown lentils, common in the United States; small green Verte du Puy lentils, a delicacy in France; green, brown or red (husked) lentils popular in the Middle East; and pink lentils, mainly eaten by Muslims in northern India and Pakistan.

The type of lentil you’ll want to choose depends on the type of dish you want to make, but it’s a good idea to keep a variety on hand.

Green and brown lentils will retain their shape after cooking, and can be served as soups (stir frequently and mash some with the back of a spoon to thicken), salads or side dishes, made into burgers or added to meat, poultry and vegetarian stews.

Red lentils (actually quite orange in color) have a somewhat sweeter taste and purée easily; they are useful for soups and mashing into purées like hummus.

All lentils cook up quickly, with no presoaking necessary. Pair them up with a grain like rice, bulgur or quinoa, and you’ve got a complementary protein that makes a satisfying, tummy-warming and delicious lunch or dinner.

Note: Whole (unhusked) lentils are easily sprouted and may be tossed into a salad, or added to a soup toward the end of cooking time. [Many more recipes can be found at the JVNA web site (JewishVeg.com)].

Green Lentils and Barley With Tomatoes and Rosemary
1/2 cup French green (or regular green) lentils
1/3 cup pearled barley
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 1/2 cups canned whole tomatoes, cut into pieces
1 3/4 cups water
2 tbsps. honey
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch dried rosemary, optional
1/2 cup shredded carrots

Place the lentils and barley in a pot and cover with water. Swish them around, drain and cover with fresh water. Repeat until the water runs clear.

In a medium-sized pot, heat the olive oil and sauté the onion until tender. Add celery and cook 5 minutes longer. Add remaining ingredients except the carrots, and bring to a boil; cover and simmer 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove cover, add carrots and cook 5 minutes longer or until barley and lentils are tender. Serve hot.

Makes 6 servings.

- Recipe from "The Essential Book of Jewish Festival Cooking” by Phyllis Glazer with Miriyam Glazer, 2004, HarperCollins.

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7. The "Pious" Parakeet, A Story for Purim

Thanks to author, scholar, and JVNA advisor Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen for submitting his following interesting article:

The new month - Adar 2 – began this past Thursday evening. In the spirit of this month and the approaching holiday of Purim, I am sharing with you the following true story which can remind us of the lighter and sweeter side of life:

The "Pious" Parakeet:

Dear Friends,

I live in Bayit Vegan, Jerusalem, and I have four parakeets that are temporarily living in my apartment. One of them has become especially "pious", however, before I tell you his particular story, I need to tell you how these parakeets came to me. My friend, Hershel Zvi Chernofsky, was living in another neighborhood of Jerusalem, and this past summer he went to visit family and friends in Canada. He was unable to find someone who would take care of his parakeets when he was away, so I volunteered. Hershel was supposed to return before Rosh Hashana, but due to illness in his family, he had to extend his stay. In the meanwhile, the parakeets are with me, and I am doing my best to nurture them.

The oldest parakeet is "Georgie" – the name that Hershel gave him when the parakeet was still a baby. When Georgie was very young, Hershel, who is a teacher of English and skilled with languages, was able to teach him to say a few English phrases. For example, Georgie learned how to say, "You're so cute!" And he can say these phrases real loud!

A week before Georgie and friends were to move into my apartment, I began to imagine Georgie yelling in his high-pitched voice, "You're so cute!" Is this the message that is to be proclaimed in my holy dwelling? I decided to have a "heart-to heart" talk with Hershel. I reminded Hershel that my neighborhood of Bayit Vegan is a very spiritual neighborhood; moreover, almost all its residents are pious people. I therefore requested that Hershel teach Georgie to say some words that would be more appropriate for the neighborhood. Hershel asked, "What do you suggest?" I replied, "Teach him to say, "Good Shabbos!" Hershel promised me that he would try, and he succeeded. Hershel calls me by the nickname, Yossi, and on the day the parakeets moved in, Georgie called out, "Good Shabbos, Yossi!"

Since I have a Master's Degree in Education, I felt that I should continue to teach Georgie to say other spiritual phrases. For example, during the Festival of Succos, I taught him to say, "Chag Samayach" - A Joyous Festival. Other Hebrew and Yiddish phrases that he learned are the following:"simcha" – joy, "l'chayim" - to life, "gevaldig" – great, and "zei gezunt" - be well!

We have a tradition that a pious person blesses others, and I was therefore pleased that our pious parakeet was following in this tradition by greeting me and others with the blessing, Zei Gezunt! He also learned how to say, "Baruch Hashem" – Blessed is God. I am especially proud of his newest phrase, "Learn Torah!" Georgie usually says these phrases to his mate, and I notice that she is very impressed by his mastery of human language.

Georgie cries out "Good Shabbos" almost every day! Living with a bird that constantly reminds me to bring the Shabbos spirit into the week has strengthened my own piety, and I decided that I should take care of Georgie and the other parakeets with a spiritual consciousness. For our tradition teaches that we should do all our mitzvos - sacred deeds - with the awareness that we are serving the loving and just purpose of our Creator. For example, when I feed the birds before I eat, I remind myself that I am fulfilling the mitzvah to feed one's animals and birds before one sits down to eat. (This mitzvah is discussed in Tractate Brochos 40a, and in the Kitzur Shuchan Aruch, 42:1.)

In addition, before I start to feed the birds, I have the intention that I will be fulfilling at least two other mitzvos of the Torah. My friend Hershel Zvi is happy and relieved that someone is taking care of his birds; thus, when I feed and take care of the birds, I am fulfilling the mitzvah to "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18). There is also a mitzvah to "go in His ways" (Deuteronomy 28:9), and this means that we are to emulate the compassionate and nurturing ways of the Creator. When I nurture the birds, I am fulfilling this mitzvah, as it is written, "The Compassionate One is good to all, and His compassion is on all His works" (Psalm 145:9).

There is a special pleasure in having creatures in my home who love to sing. I am a person who has a deep connection to "nigunim" - Jewish spiritual melodies, and whenever I play my tapes of nigunim, the birds begin to sing. I also have a daily choir practice with them. For example, I go over to the birds and start to chant, "Shiru L'Hashem!" - Sing to Hashem! The other male, who is younger than Georgie, then bursts out with beautiful chirping and whistles. I call him the "cantor" of the group. And when the other birds decide to join in, it's truly beautiful. With a little more practice, I could take them on a performing tour.

I am grateful for all the pleasure that the birds give me, and I therefore have my feathered friends in mind when I sing the following words at the Shabbos table:

"Praises shall I prepare morning and evening, to You, O Holy God, Who created all life: holy angels and the children of humankind, beasts of the field, and birds of the sky." (Kah Ribon Olam)

When the Compassionate One created all life, all creatures dwelled in "shalom" - peace and harmony - in the Garden of Eden. This realization helps me to feel a special kinship with Georgie and his friends, for I remember that my ancestor and their ancestor were neighbors in the Garden. And I also remember the prophecies which state that human beings and all creatures will once again experience the shalom of the Garden after the arrival of the messianic age. The following prophecy of Isaiah can serve as an example:

"The wolf will live with the sheep, and the leopard will lie down with the kid; and a calf, a lion whelp and a fatling together, and a young child will lead them. A cow and bear will graze and their young will lie down together; and a lion, like cattle, will eat hay. A suckling will play by a viper's hole; and a newly weaned child will stretch his hand towards an adder's lair. They will neither injure nor destroy in all of My sacred mountain; for the earth will be filled with knowledge of the Compassionate One as water covering the sea bed." (Isaiah 11:6-9)

Before the arrival of the messianic age, Georgie and his friends - who were raised in bird cages – would find it difficult to survive if they were returned to the wild, as studies have shown that birds raised in captivity lose some of the instincts and skills that they need in order to be protected from birds of prey and other dangers in the wild. This situation will change, however, with the arrival of the messianic age of shalom, for when the earth will be filled with knowledge of the Compassionate One, creatures will no longer prey on one another, "and a lion, like cattle, will eat hay." The new spiritual consciousness, explains the Malbim, a noted biblical commentator, will affect even the animals. Georgie and his friends will therefore be able to leave their cages and enter into a renewed and elevated world, where no creature will ever harm them.

And just as they will be liberated from the confines of their cages, so too, will we human beings be liberated from the "cages" that confine us, whether they be physical, intellectual, or emotional. For in this new age, our souls will soar high like the birds of the sky, for "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Compassionate One, as water covering the sea bed."

Have a Good Month, and a Good Shabbos

Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen

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

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8.Correction

The last newsletter had the following:

13. Jewish Vegetarian Group Dinner Scheduled in Oakland, California

"Forwarded message from Michelle B ninashel@yahoo.com
"Director of Veggie Jews (JVeg@yahoogroups.com)"

Please note that Michelle is not a Director of Veggie Jews but the moderator of the JVeg Yahoo group, which is not associated with Veggie Jews. She forwards notices of Veggie Jews events to me as a courtesy.

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9. Are Vegan Diets Unhealthy For Children?

Because there has been recent discussion of this issue, I thank author activist and JVNA advisor Charles Patterson for forwarding the message below from the newsletter of Michael Gregor, M.D,
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V. MAILBAG: "I read there was a study that showed raising kids vegan was dangerous."

Answer:
It was like a bad Saturday Night Live skit. The National Cattlemen's Beef Association pays USDA researchers to feed meat to starving kids in Africa and, surprise, surprise, they perk up (and no, I'm not making this up). The children adding meat to their starvation diet developed better than those children adding, well, nothing. (Don't let the tobacco companies know, they might try to asphyxiate some kids and prove that breathing cigarette smoke is significantly better for you than, say, suffocation).

Surely those weren't the only two groups, though: the meat-added group and the nothing-added group? In fact, there were indeed two other control groups in which they instead added a vegetarian food to these malnourished children's diets, but the children were nonetheless shown conclusively to grow best on the meat.

This of course raises the obvious question: what vegetarian foods did they choose to add to their diets to compare with the meat? Presumably realizing that almost all (90%) Africans are lactose intolerant,[36] the meat-industry-funded USDA researchers compared adding meat to these children's diets with adding... a glass of milk.[37]

So one group of starving children got meat, one group got nothing, one got milk, and the fourth and final group--to prove meat's superiority once and for all?--got... oil. Yes, just plain vegetable oil, providing essentially zero nutrition except empty calories. Sadly, the children were so malnourished that just adding those extra calories in the form of an extra spoonful of oil increased their muscle mass 40% over those that got nothing.[38]

Lest one thinks the meat industry wasted their money funding such a
ludicrous study, these are some of the headlines they got:
"Meat is Important for Children's Development."[39]
"Vegetarian Diet 'Harms Children's Growth.'"[40]
"Vegetarian Diet 'Bad for Children.'"[41]
"Vegetarian Diet is Okay, But Meat is Required."[42]
"Young 'Harmed' By Meat-Free Diets."[43]
And my personal favorite:
"Forcing Your Child to Follow a Vegetarian Diet is Unethical, Top
Nutrition Expert Says."[44]
Dietitian and author Brenda Davis responded to the study by citing the fact that the largest organization of nutrition professionals in the world (the American Dietetic Association) officially declared that "Appropriate planned vegan and lacto-ovo vegetarian diets satisfy the nutrient needs of infants, children, and adolescents and promote normal growth," as well as providing "health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases." In recognition of that fact, Dr. Benjamin Spock, perhaps the most esteemed pediatrician of all time, in the final edition of his book, "Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care" (second only to the bible the best-selling book in American history) recommended that children be raised vegan.

In her response, Brenda explains why the researchers presumably chose not to include a nutrient-rich plant food as a control group: "doing so would have demonstrated that it is not vegan diets that are inadequate, but rather energy, fat, and protein deficient diets that are inadequate. That would have defeated the purpose of the organization which funded the research, namely the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (US)."

Notes:
[36] Frye RE, Rivera-Hernandez DM and S Borowitz.
"Lactose Intolerance." 27n December 2002.
http://www.emedicine.com/PED/topic1270.htm>.
[37] Neumann CG, Bwibo NO, Murphy SP, et al.
"Animal Source Foods Improve Dietary Quality,
Micronutrient Status, Growth and Cognitive
Function in Kenyan School." Journal of Nutrition
133(2003):3941S.
[38] Hopkin M. "Meat Diet Boosts Kids' Growth." Nature 22 February 2005.
[39] Gross M. Scoop Media Auckland 7 March 2005.
[40] Connor S. Independent (UK) 22 February 2005.
[41] McBeth J. Scotsman 22 February 2005.
[42] Express Newsline (India) 22 February 2005.
[43] BBC News 20 February 2005.
[44] Henderson M. Times (London) 22 February 2005.

http://www.organicconsumers.org/madcow.htm

Book by Michael Gregor:
HEART FAILURE: Diary of a Third Year Medical Student
(full text now available free): http://www.upalumni.org/medschool

Michael’s new book:
CARBOPHOBIA: The Scary Truth Behind America's Low Carb Craze
http://www.lanternbooks.com/detail.html?session=a2bc38f2856ef73e88f55552a47cc4f8&id=1590560868

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10. Jewish Environmental Education Seminar Announced

Forwarded message from the Teva center:
[I have worked with many Teva educators and spoken at one of their programs. I highly recommend them.]

Subject: Jewish Environmental Education Seminar for Jewish Educators, Camp Staff and Naturalists

Register now, early bird special in effect thru March 25th.

The Teva Learning Center and Surprise Lake Camp proudly present:

The 11th Annual Jewish Environmental Education Seminar For Jewish Educators, Camp Staff and Naturalists

June 6th - 9th, 2005 at Surprise Lake Camp, Cold Spring, NY
www.tevacenter.org/seminar

Join us for a 4-day program designed to give participants the tools to create exciting Jewish nature programs at their camps, synagogues and institutions.

The seminar will feature workshops led by nationally renowned experts demonstrating:

a. The intrinsic connection between nature and environmental
conservation, Jewish ethics, spirituality, law and ritual
b. The integration of Jewish concepts into environmental and nature programming taught through hands-on activities
c. Jewish themes of community responsibility taught through group building initiatives and rope course activities
d.. Wilderness, gardening, prayer and educational skills, plus much more

Classes will be organized in five educational tracks. Participants are welcome to attend any session regardless of track. Organizations are encouraged to send multiple participants to attend
different sessions or tracks.

Synagogue Programming Track:

a.. Family, senior, and early childhood holiday programming
b.. Greening your synagogue, how to lead by example

Camp and Naturalist Track:

a.. Nature activities and games for the trail or nature center
b.. Nature arts & crafts, music and drama much more
Backpacking and Camping Track:

a.. How to scout, plan, and prepare trips
b.. Cooking, camping, outdoor living skills, and wilderness first aid
c.. Learn how to utilize the wilderness to teach Torah

Organic Gardening Track:

a.. Learn practical gardening skills and garden based Jewish activities
b.. Permaculture and natural building

Jewish Ethics Track:

a.. Study Torah with a diverse array of Rabbis
b.. Topics include Genesis, Kabbalah, Chasidic masters and much more.

To Register or For More Information

www.tevacenter.org/seminar or contact Moshe Kornfeld at (212) 807-6376, wilderness@tevacenter.org

Teva Learning Center is a program of Surprise Lake Camp and a beneficiary of UJA-Federation New York

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11. Interesting Vegetarian/Animal Rights/Environmental Magazine

Forwarded message from Satya:
[From time to time, we plan to provide information about vegetarian publications. Of course, this is not necessarily an endorsement of all the material in the magazines.]

About Satya

Satya is a monthly publication focusing on animal advocacy, environmentalism, social justice, and vegetarianism. Celebrating its tenth year, Satya is distributed free-of-charge to businesses and places of learning in the New York metropolitan area. You can get Satya delivered to your door by subscribing for only $20 per year. Subscribe online, or send a check made payable to Stealth Technologies to the address below.

The March Issue of Satya is now available!
See highlights at: http://www.satyamag.com

Who's Your Dinner?
'Compassionate' Meat, Stinky Feedlots and Slaughterhouse Slavery

Satya's Who's Your Dinner? dares us to take a hard look at America's meat industry. Ponder the animal welfare vs. animal rights debate; learn of the environmental devastation associated with mass animal confinement; and be moved by artist Gale Hart with samples from her controversial show Why Not Eat Your Pet?

'Compassionate' Meat, Stinky Feedlots and Slaughterhouse SlaveryStart off with a potent Editorial, A Big Stink, where Sangamithra Iyer examines the latest deal between the EPA and the meat industry and how it compromises the environment and social justice. In A Whole New Alternative? 'Compassionate' Meat at Whole Foods, VIVA's Lauren Ornelas and PETA's Bruce Friedrich discuss Whole Foods Market's efforts to create better animal welfare standards. Then get ready for Joan Dunayer's no compromise critique Animal Rights "Welfarists": An Oxymoron. Heating things up is Kevin Jonas' radical vision Apocalypse Now. And Satya's Vegetarian Advocate reflects on modern day slavery and how slaughterhouses exploit both animals and humans.

Get jiggy with vegan singer Nellie McKay who shares her views in the Satya Interview. And be prepared for a sermon from Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping in Thou Shalt Not Shop, our interview with Bill Talen and Savitri Durkee.

Adele Welty describes her experience as a peace delegate in Get Outta Here! Notes on Atrocity Overload from the Middle East. While Pattrice Jones reflects on four more years of Bush in Election Daze. Lawrence Carter-Long throws a punch with his take on Million Dollar Baby in Better Dead Than Disabled? And Michael Greger warns us of Carbophobia! The Scary Truth About America's Low-Carb Craze.

Kymberlie Adams Matthews reveals the complex relationship between activism and human breeding in Tick-Tock. And don't miss Mark Hawthorne's March Madness: There's No Sunny Side to Easter Eggs and Bunnies. Grab the tissues for the story of a wayward dog in Jack.

Eric Weiss prepares us for Spring Fever in the city in You're Not in Kansas Anymore: A Lifer's Guide to NYC. And get cookin' with Candle's Secrets Revealed by Livia Alexander and Joshua Ploeg's Meal of the Year.

Reader Discounts!
Be sure to check out Satya's pages for special discounts at the Sweet Onion Inn, Clovis Press Bookstore, Atlas Cafe, Imhotep's Vegan Restaurant, and the Brooklyn Dog House.

A Call for Writers
Satya is looking to expand its roster of writers. If you are interested in writing for Satya, submit a one-paragraph abstract of your article idea to kymberlie@satyamag.com. Please also submit a previous writing sample for review. Environmentalists, social justice advocates, and humanitarian activists are particularly welcome. Please note that all submissions are by contribution.

Internships Available
Want to get first-hand experience at a magazine dedicated to activism? Satya needs interns to assist with editing, researching, distribution, production and office management. Contact Satya to learn more.

Tell us what you think!
Add your voice to the mix! Send us your feedback and visit Satya online to vote in our monthly poll. We want to know what you think! New Yorkers, pick up your copy of Satya at your favorite distribution point, and subscribers, look for yours in the mail. To place an ad or for more information, contact Satya at the number or address below.

Satya Magazine, 539 1st Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215; Tel: (718) 832-9557; email: satya@satyamag.com; Web: www.satyamag.com.

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12. Sales of Soy Products Soaring

The Yated Ne'eman, an Orthodox newspaper, reported the following in its recent edition of 30 Adar 1, 5765 (March 11, 2005):

"More kosher consumers are using soy-based products than ever before, mainly for health reasons, kosher distributors say."

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Quotations:

You must be the change you want to see in the world – Gandhi

“The human appetite for animal flesh is a driving force behind virtually every major category of environmental damage now threatening the human future---deforestation, erosion, fresh water scarcity, air and water pollution, climate change, biodiversity loss, social injustice, the destabilization of communities, and the spread of disease.”
Editors, World Watch, July/August 2004

Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has.
Margaret Mead

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** Fair Use Notice**
This document may contain copyrighted material, use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owners. I believe that this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

3/9/05 JVNA Online Newsletter

Shalom everyone,

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

1. Excellent Article on Negative Environmental Effects of Animal-based Agriculture

2. JVNA Advisor Discusses Nutrition Awareness Month (March)

3. The Basic Jewish Vegetarian Case/How To spread It More Effectively

4. NY Times Editorial on Animals Place in the World

5. Action Alert: Reducing Cruelty in the Production of Fur Garments

6. Great American Meatout Approaching

7. My Letter Re Foie Gras Published in a Blog and in the Jerusalem Post

8. Aaron Gross Article on Postville in Tikkun Magazine/My Letter

9. Organic Farming in Israel

10. Do Animals Have a Complex Mental Life?

11. Major Animal Rights Conference Planned

12. Earth Day Events Planned

13. Jewish Vegetarian Group Dinner Scheduled in Oakland, California

14. Researcher Seeks Information on Connections Between Diets and Addictions/Responses Welcome.

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, information re conferences, retreats, forums, trips, and other events does not necessarily imply endorsements by JVNA, 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. Excellent Article on Negative Environmental Effects of Animal-based Agriculture

[I think that the challenging article below shows the insanity of animal-based diets at a time when humanity faces so many environmental threats. I would welcome suggestions re getting these startling statistics to the general public. Do you think that the vegetarian and animal rights communities should use these statistics, and others on disease and other negative effects of animal-based diets and agriculture, as the basis of a campaign that argues that a switch toward vegetarianism is both a societal imperative and a religious imperative?]

Vegetarianism:
The only diet for human rights & the environment
By Bruce Friedrich

I went vegan 17 years ago for human rights and environmental reasons, and I still feel that, leaving aside everything else, a vegan diet is the only reasonable diet for people who care about the environment or global poverty.

Eating meat wastes resources:
If I lie in bed and never get up, I will burn almost 2,500 calories a day; that’s what’s required to keep my body alive. The same physiological reality applies to all animals: The vast majority of the calories consumed by a chicken, pig, cow, or other animal goes into keeping that animal alive, and once you also add to that the calories required to create the bits of the animal that we don’t eat (bone, feathers, blood), you find that it takes about 20 calories of feed into an animal to get one calorie back out in the form of edible fat or muscle. That is, it’s twenty times more efficient to eat the grains, soy, or oats directly, rather than to feed them to farmed animals so that we can eat those animals.

Can you imagine ever, even once, taking 19 plates of spaghetti or 19 bowls of rice and tossing them in the trash? That’s what eating meat represents—it’s like throwing away 19 units of food for every unit you consume. By definition, someone who does this is not an environmentalist.

Eating meat wastes fossil fuels and creates greenhouse gases:
But it gets worse: E, the respected environmental magazine, noted in 2002 that more than one-third of all fossil fuels produced in the United States are used to raise animals for food. Think about the fossil fuel required to get dead chickens, pigs, or other animals to the table: (1) to grow massive amounts of corn, grain, and soy (with all the required tilling, irrigation, crop dusters, and so on); (2) to transport (on gas-guzzling, pollution spewing 18-wheelers) all that grain and soy to feed manufacturers; (3) to operate the feed mill (these use massive amounts of resources); (4) to truck the feed to the factory farms; (5) to operate the factory farms; (6) to truck the animals many miles to slaughter; (7) to operate the slaughterhouse; (8) to truck the meat to processing plants; (9) to operate the meat processing plants; (10) to truck the meat to grocery stores; (11) to keep the meat in the refrigerator or frozen section of the stores. Every single stage involves heavy pollution, massive amounts of greenhouse gases, massive amounts of energy, and so on. Obviously, vegan foods require some of this as well, but vegan foods cut out the factory farms, the slaughterhouses, and multiple stages of heavily polluting tractor-trailer trucks, and all the resources (and pollution) represented at each of those stages.

The so-called environmentalist who sneers at the person in the massive SUV is, if he eats meat, doing far more damage to the ozone layer than an entire fleet of SUVs.

Eating meat wastes water:
Or think about water: All food requires water, but animal foods are exponentially more wasteful of water than vegan foods. Enormous quantities of water are used to irrigate the corn, soy, and oat fields dedicated to feeding farmed animals; plus massive amounts of water are used on factory farms and in slaughterhouses. According to the National Audubon Society, raising animals for food requires about as much water as all other water uses combined. John Robbins estimates that it takes about 300 gallons of water to feed a vegan for a day, 4 times as much to feed an ovo-lacto vegetarian, and about 14 times as much to feed a meat eater.
Most of us now have shower savers, we turn off the tap while we brush our teeth or shave, and so on. That’s all good, of course, but if you’re eating animal products, you are doing the equivalent of turning on every tap in your house, full blast, and just never turning them off. You would never actually do that, but each time you eat meat, that’s exactly the effect you’re having on our dwindling supplies of fresh water.

Eating meat pollutes water and destroys topsoil:
Raising animals for food is also a water-polluting process. According to a report prepared by U.S. Senate researchers, all farmed animals raised in the U.S. produce 130 times the excrement of the entire human population of this country. Their excrement is more concentrated than human excrement and is often contaminated with herbicides, pesticides, toxic chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, and so on. There are no waste treatment plants for animal sewage, so vast quantities of sludge are dumped onto land and into waterways, destroying topsoil and polluting water, often causing ecological imbalances and killing fish and other aquatic life.

It would require another article to begin to cover the issue of topsoil erosion. Suffice it to say that topsoil erosion is a crucial issue (loss of topsoil leads to desertification, which can lead to massive shifts in crop viability and climate), that we’ve destroyed the fertility in our soil at an alarming rate, and that, according to the USDA, 85 percent of topsoil erosion over the past 50 years is directly attributable to animal agriculture.

Fish farming is even worse:
Of course, anyone who reads the papers knows what the factory fishing trawlers are doing to the world’s seas and oceans. One super-trawler is the length of a football field and takes in 800,000 pounds of fish in a single netting. Trawlers scrape up ocean bottoms, destroying coral reefs and everything else in their way; hydraulic dredges scoop up huge chunks of the ocean floor to sift out scallops, clams, and oysters. Most of what the fishing fleets get isn’t even eaten by human beings. Half is fed to animals who are raised for food, and about 30 million tons each year are just tossed back into the ocean, dead, with disastrous and irreversible consequences for the natural biological balance. Commercial fishing fleets are plundering the oceans and destroying sensitive aquatic ecosystems at an incomprehensible rate.

Then there is aquaculture, which is increasing at a rate of more than 10 percent annually. Aquaculture is even worse than commercial fishing because, for starters, it takes about 4 pounds of wild-caught fish to reap 1 pound of farmed fish. Farmed fish eat fish caught by commercial trawlers. Farmed fish are often raised in the same water that wild fish swim in, but fish farmers dump antibiotics into the water and use genetic breeding to create Frankenstein fish. The antibiotics contaminate the oceans and seas, and the genetic-freak fish sometimes escape and breed with wild fish, throwing delicate aquatic balances out of kilter. Researchers at the University of Stockholm demonstrated that the horrible environmental influence of fish farms can extend to an area 50,000 times larger than the farm itself.

Eating meat steals food from the hungry:
I don’t have the space to go fully into this issue, but if you are not yet convinced, let me beg you to read John Robbins The Food Revolution. He gives this issue the space it deserves—to work through the socio-political issues that surround food distribution in the developing world. But here’s the distilled version: Right now, 1.3 billion people, more than 20 percent of the world’s population, are living in dire poverty, and 800 million people are suffering from what the United Nations calls “nutritional deficiency.” That’s a euphemism for “They’re starving.” Every year, 40 million people die from starvation-related causes.

If we are still consuming meat, we are culpable. As just one example, two-thirds of the agriculturally productive land in Central America is devoted to raising farmed animals, almost all of whom are exported or eaten by a wealthy few in these countries. Also, and beyond this direct causal relationship, why are we cycling huge amounts of grain, soy, and corn through the animals we breed just to kill, even as so many people starve for want of any sustenance at all?

Eating meat supports cruelty:I know that others will raise this issue, but it bears repeating in an article about vegetarianism and environmentalism that caring for the environment means protecting all of our planet’s inhabitants, not just the human ones. Animals suffer extreme pain and deprivation on today’s factory farms. Chickens have their beaks sliced off with a hot blade, pigs have their tails chopped off and their teeth removed with pliers, and male cows and pigs are castrated, all without any pain relief at all. The animals are crowded together and dosed with hormones and antibiotics to make them grow so quickly that their hearts and limbs often cannot keep up, causing crippling and heart attacks. Finally, at the slaughterhouse, they are hung upside down and bled to death, often while fully conscious. What kind of environmentalist can support any of that?

What about meat that’s not factory farmed?
No matter what, raising animals for food will require far more calories fed to the animal than they can produce as meat, and only grass-fed cattle eat food that could not otherwise be fed to human beings. Even grass fed cattle require much more water and fossil fuel than vegan foods, in addition to adding to desertification, wildlife killing by ranchers and the USDA’s “Wildlife Services” (formerly “Animal Damage Control”) bureau, and ecological imbalance in the areas where they’re raised. And since “grass fed” beef require much longer on the range, their damage to these ecosystems is actually worse than that of conventionally raised beef.

Conclusion:
Clearly, all of the statistics discussed above will change somewhat based on the time of year and the area crops are being grown in. What doesn’t change is that animals will not grow or produce milk and eggs without food and water, they won’t do it without producing excrement, and the stages of meat, dairy, and egg production will always be resource intensive and polluting. Thus, eating meat, dairy products, and eggs will always be vastly more resource intensive and vastly more polluting than using the resources to grow food for human beings. If we care about conserving resources and decreasing our contribution to topsoil erosion and water and air pollution, the only acceptable diet is a vegan one.

Bruce Friedrich is the director of vegan campaigns for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). For the best discussion ever done of what eating animal products does to the environment and the global poor, he recommends The Food Revolution, by John Robbins.

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2. JVNA Advisor Discusses Nutrition Awareness Month (March)

Forwarded message from author, web site designer, vegetarian activist, and JVNA advisor Dan Brook:

I write a weekly environmental entry for my son's school newsletter. Here's the one I'm submitting for this week.
Dan

IT'S ECO-LOGICAL! March is Nutrition Awareness Month. Fast food tends to be unhealthy for people and unhealthy for the environment. Fast food usually has very high levels of salt, sugar, saturated fat, and cholesterol, all of which are associated with various serious diseases, including heart disease, cancer, stroke, obesity, and diabetes. Additionally, the fast food industry significantly contributes, directly and indirectly, to tremendous resource use and waste, the suffering and deaths of millions of animals, unsustainable and dangerous farming practices, the decline of species diversity, the overproduction of non-recyclable products and packaging, polluted waterways, destruction of rainforests, and many other eco-bads.

Eating better, instead of eating junk fast food, leads to healthier lives, healthier families, healthier communities, healthier attitudes, and a healthier planet. For related info, please see Eco-Eating at www.brook.com/veg.

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3. The Basic Jewish Vegetarian Case/How To spread it More Effectively

[I believe that my message below provides much of the basic Jewish vegetarian message. Suggestions about the message and how to make more people aware of it are very welcome. Also, please use the message, and other material in this and previous newsletters and the JVNA web site (JewishVeg.com) as the basis of your letters, articles, calls to radio programs, and talking points.]

As president of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) and author of "Judaism and Vegetarianism," I believe that it is essential that the Jewish community consider how high meat consumption and the ways in which meat is produced today conflict with Judaism in at least five important areas:

1. While Judaism mandates that people should be very careful about preserving their health and their lives, numerous scientific studies have linked animal-based diets directly to heart disease, stroke, many forms of cancer, and other chronic degenerative diseases.

2. While Judaism forbids tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, inflicting unnecessary pain on animals, most farm animals -- including those raised for kosher consumers -- are raised on "factory farms" where they live in cramped, confined spaces, and are often drugged, mutilated, and denied fresh air, sunlight, exercise, and any enjoyment of life, before they are slaughtered and eaten.

3. While Judaism teaches that "the earth is the Lord’s" (Psalm 24:1) and that we are to be God's partners and co-workers in preserving the world, modern intensive livestock agriculture contributes substantially to soil erosion and depletion, air and water pollution, overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the destruction of tropical rain forests and other habitats, global warming, and other environmental damage.

4 While Judaism mandates bal tashchit, that we are not to waste or unnecessarily destroy anything of value, and that we are not to use more than is needed to accomplish a purpose, animal agriculture requires the wasteful use of grain, land, water, energy, and other resources.

5. While Judaism stresses that we are to assist the poor and share our bread with hungry people, over 70% of the grain grown in the United States (and almost 40& worldwide) is fed to animals destined for slaughter, while an estimated 20 million people worldwide die because of hunger and its effects each year.

In view of these important Jewish mandates to preserve human health, attend to the welfare of animals, protect the environment, conserve resources, help feed hungry people, and pursue peace, and since animal-centered diets violate and contradict each of these resposibilities, shouldn't Jews (and others) sharply reduce or eliminate their consumption of animal products?

One could say "dayenu" (it would be enough) after any of the arguments above, because each one constitutes by itself a serious conflict between Jewish values and current practice that should impel Jews to seriously consider a plant-based diet. Combined, they make an urgently compelling case for the Jewish community to address these issues.

Very truly yours,
Richard H. Schwartz

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4. NY Times Editorial on Animals Place in the World

Thanks to author, vegetarian activist, and JVNA advisor Lewis Regenstein for forwarding the NY times editorial below, which has important implications re how we treat animals. Thanks also to Karen Dawn and Dawnwatch (see description below) for sending the editorial to Lewis and others.
--------------
There is a groundbreaking editorial in the Thursday, March 3, New York Times, which questions the idea that "the rest of creation was shaped exclusively for our use." It is headed "My Little Chickadee." It is short, and I will paste the whole piece below. On sharing this piece, it is my pleasure to remind people that while a column gives the opinion of a single journalist, and an op-ed gives that of a guest writer, an editorial expresses the official opinion of the newspaper, in this case, one of the most widely read and most respected in the world.

Lew
------
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/03/opinion/03thu4.html

EDITORIAL NY Times
My Little Chickadee

Bird feeders across much of America are mobbed with black-capped chickadees at this time of year. Can you tell them apart, one by one? Probably not; it's hard enough to distinguish male from female in this species, let alone recognize individuals in a flock. But scientists are starting to suggest that if we look closely enough, we can distinguish birds of a single species by personality. A team of Dutch scientists, testing a European relative of the chickadee, has found that some birds are shy and others are bold, broad personality differences that have a genetic foundation. This finding doesn't erode the basic differences between Homo sapiens and Poecile atricapillus (the black-capped chickadee). But it substantially enlarges the similarities.

We take the range of personalities among individuals in our species for granted, yet it seems surprising to think of similar diversity in other species. Many people find the implications of that genuinely shocking. If bird personalities have a strong genetic and evolutionary basis, there is good reason to suspect that human personalities do, too.

Humans do not like to think of themselves as animals. Nor do they like to think that their behavior may have genetic or evolutionary roots. But the richer perspective - morally and intellectually - lies in examining and coming to terms with the kinship of all life. There's a certain tragic isolation in believing that humans stand apart in every way from the creatures that surround them, that the rest of creation was shaped exclusively for our use. The real fruit of that perspective is, in fact, tragic isolation on an earth that has been eroded by our moral assumptions. Science has something much wiser to tell us about who we are.

So do the birds around us.
------------------------------------

The New York Times takes letters at: letters@nytimes.com

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 do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this tag line.)

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5. Action Alert: Reducing Cruelty in the Production of Fur Garments

The Humane Society of the United States HSUS Fund for Animals
Humane Action Network Alert
March 3, 2005
********************************
Dear Richard,
Animals raised for their fur need you to speak out now on their
behalf to end the cruel practice of anal/genital electrocution.
Your participation is critical so please take a moment of your
time today, for the animals.

Best,
Andrea Kozil
Grassroots Coordinator-Government Affairs, The HSUS
********************************
BAN ELECTROCUTION OF FUR-BEARERS: CONTACT NEW YORK LEGISLATORS TODAY

THE ISSUE
The New York state legislature is now consider legislation that will ban the anal/genital electrocution of animals raised in "fur factories." This cruel killing method is inflicted each year on thousands of foxes, mink, chinchillas, and other animals who are raised in intensive confinement for fur coats and fur-trimmed apparel. Electrocution is often used to kill fur-bearing animals that are raised on farms, since it is inexpensive and does not damage the pelt.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
1. Please take a moment to contact the leadership of the New York State Assembly and Senate and urge them to pass A. 19 (sponsored by Assembly members Stringer, LaVelle, Pheffer) and
S. 2495 (sponsored by Senators Padavan and Maltese). Remember that postcards, brief letters and phone calls have a greater impact than e-mails.

Explain that killing animals by electrocution as practiced by "fur factories" is not deemed acceptable by the American Veterinary Association or even by the fur industry. According to
Fur Commission USA, "the only method of euthanasia approved by Fur Commission USA is bottled gas, either pure carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide."

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver
New York State Assembly, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12248
(518) 455-3791 or (518) 455- 3791
Speaker@assembly.state.ny.us

alternate address:
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver
250 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
(212) 312-1400

Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno
c/o Patricia Stackrow
New York State Senate, Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
(518) 455-3191
bruno@Senate.state.ny.us

2. Contact your own state legislators and ask them to support
this humane legislation.

MORE INFORMATION
+ How did your legislators rate? New York Humane Scorecard
2003-2004:
http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/y7zf5tE1Lza_/

+ More legislative issues affecting animals in New York:
http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/ypzf5tE1LzaA/

+ Video: Fur Shame:
http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/h1zf5tE1LzaM/
********************************
Copyright (c) 2005
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).
All Rights Reserved.

info@hsus.org 202-452-1100
http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/hdzf5tE1LzaN/
The Humane Society of the United States
2100 L Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037

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6. Great American Meatout Approaching

Forwarded Message from FARM (Farm Animal Reform Movement):
Great American MeatOut
Sunday March 20, 2005
All Day
http://www.meatout.org/about/

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7. My Letter Re Foie Gras Published in a Blog and in the Jerusalem Post

My letter is at the blog http://www.mentalblog.com/
at
http://www.mentalblog.com/2005/03/jewish-vegetarians-of-north-america-to.html
Please join the discussion of my message at the above web site, especially in responding to responses critical of my message. Thanks.
-------------------------
March 4, 2005

Shalom,

As president of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) and author of "Judaism and Vegetarianism," I would like to thank you for your recent coverage of the foie gras issue. I am surprised and saddened to learn that Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv ruled there is no halachic restriction against force-feeding geese for foie gras, despite an Israeli High Court ruling banning the production of foie gras and the adopted practice of a growing number of European countries.

Rabbi Elyashiv's ruling would seem to condone any mistreatment of animals, including recreational hunting that our sages have condemned, as long as some people felt it beneficial. Even if one believes that meat is necessary for proper nutrition, in spite of the abundant evidence to the contrary, surely there are many choices that do not involve such systemic brutality as force-feeding young geese until their livers swell to many times their normal size, causing serious, sometimes fatal, pain and trauma.

As your blog indicates, in his book, "The Vision of Eden: Animal Welfare and Vegetarianism in Jewish Law and Mysticism," Rabbi Dovid Sears cites many Jewish sources who deemed the stuffing of geese halachically unacceptable. Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, the most influential contemporary halachic authority in the Sefardic world and former Sefardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, forbids the forced feeding of fowl in Israel in Yabia Omer, Vol. 9, Yoreh De'ah, no. 3 (originally issued in 1976), both for reasons of kashrus and tza'ar baalei chaim. Rabbi David Rosen, former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, stated: "Pate de foie gras is obtained through the willful desecration of a Torah prohibition and any truly God-revering Jew will not partake of such a product, which is an offense against the Creator and His Torah."

As the Jerusalem Post article indicates, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, generally considered in Orthodoxy to have been the greatest halachic authority of the last generation, affirms the prohibition of any gratuitous cruelty in animal food production. Rabbi Hayyim David Halevy, late Sefardic Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv, ruled accordingly with regard to the production and wearing of fur.

Very truly yours,
Richard H. Schwartz

The message above also appeared in a reduced form in the Jerusalem Post of 3/7/05. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/Printer&cid=1110165535636&p=1006953079865)

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8. Aaron Gross Article on Postville in Tikkun Magazine/My Letter

The following article is by scholar, vegetarian and animal rights activist, author, and JVNA advisor Aaron Gross. Aaron is the main author of our new booklet “A Case for Jewish Vegetarianism.” (For free copies, please call 1-888-VEG FOOD.)

When Kosher Isn't Kosher

(Tikkun Magazine March/April 2005 VOL. 20, NO. 2)

Rarely have the traditional Jewish dietary laws ever attracted the international attention that they recently received in the wake of an undercover investigation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). On November 30, PETA released undercover video footage of grisly animal abuse at AgriProcessors, Inc. (Postville, IA), the largest glatt kosher slaughterhouse in the world. The video documented fully conscious cattle having their tracheas and esophagi ripped from their throats, their sensitive faces shocked with electric prods, and languishing for up to three minutes after their throats had been slit.

Articles in the New York Times, the Jerusalem Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and numerous other papers combined with a flurry of activity on web blogs such as FailedMessiah.com (run by an Orthodox Jew who has worked in kosher slaughterhouses) and webzines likeJewsweek.com, quickly brought the issue to wide popular attention. After initial statements denying that anything was wrong, the Orthodox Union (OU), which certifies AgriProcessors as kosher, put pressure on the slaughterhouse to address some of the issues raised by the PETA investigation. Promising as this step was, most of the concerns raised by PETA's video have yet to be addressed by the Orthodox Union or AgriProcessors. Indeed, the OU has indicated that, in their view, Judaism's dietary laws are not violated when animals are
systematically mutilated, shocked, and left to languish at the hands of sloppy slaughters. Even after the executive vice president of the OU, Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, acknowledged to the New York Times that the removal of the tracheas and esophagi was "especially inhumane," he asserted in a formal statement, "We continue to vouch for the kashrut of all of the meat prepared by AgriProcessors, Inc., which was never compromised." As far as we know, animals at AgriProcessors continue to suffer needlessly.

At stake is the basis of Jewish dietary law (kashrut) itself. While the OU has argued that there was never any violation of kosher law at AgriProcessors, PETA, a secular animal rights organization, has served as a champion of kashrut's moral and ethical dimension. With the support of numerous rabbis, PETA has argued that the egregious cruelty at AgriProcessors is completely out of line with both the letter and spirit of kosher law, and has described Judaism's record of compassion for animals as the best of all the Abrahamic faiths.

What is Kosher Slaughter?

At every kosher slaughterhouse, animals are killed by a ritual cut to the neck called shechita that severs the esophagus and trachea (or at least one of these in the case of chickens and turkeys). Ideally, the cut also severs blood flow to the brain and, after a variable period of time, leads to unconsciousness. Jewish law specifies that a razor sharp blade must be used and that the slaughter must be performed by a properly trained individual called a shochet. These rules are particularly important for animal welfare because the sharpness of the blade and its proper use seems to reduce the pain caused by the cut and speed unconsciousness. Most, though not all, authorities in halakha (Jewish law) have further argued that the animal must be conscious while shechita is performed. In non-kosher slaughterhouses, U.S. law requires that animals be stunned before being slaughtered on humane grounds.

The time to loss of consciousness after shechita is a central humane concern in any kosher slaughterhouse. Studies have shown that this time varies greatly based on the species being slaughtered, the type of restraint mechanisms used to hold the animal during slaughter, and the skill of the shochet. A 1994 review of the relevant scientific literature by Dr. Temple Grandin and Dr. Joe Regenstein, the two seniormost U.S. scientific experts on kosher slaughter, showed that even in the best cases, 5 percent of the animals retained consciousness for more than a few seconds after shechita. In other cases, technically correct shechita left 30 percent of the animals conscious for extended periods of time up to 30 seconds.

Overall, it is clear that shechita can render an animal unconscious in an optimal manner and is almost always better regulated than non-kosher slaughter. This is why animal rights groups like PETA have insisted that kosher slaughter is generally better than non-kosher slaughter. However, for kosher slaughter to optimally reduce suffering requires properly designed "upright" restraint devices and specific forms of employee training, neither of which are required by the USDA or kosher certification agencies. As a result, though the Jewish community may be rightfully proud that kosher law dictates a method of slaughter that can reduce animal suffering during slaughter to an absolute minimum, there is presently no guarantee that this is the case. The fact that the OU has stated that there were never any problems with kosher law at AgriProcessors underscores this point.

What Happened at AgriProcessors?

The abuses documented at AgriProcessors were not aberrations, but standard operating procedures. Most troubling at AgriProcessors is the procedure, performed immediately after shechita, of ripping out the tracheas and esophagi of conscious cattle. Significantly, this procedure is not typically performed in other kosher slaughter houses and, according to Dr. Temple Grandin, the real purpose behind the procedure at AgriProcessors remains unclear. Whatever the reason, this procedure is not required by kosher law.

Nonetheless, the removal of the trachea and esophagus was performed on every single animal that PETA was able to video tape, the only exceptions being cases where pressure to keep the line moving meant the procedure was skipped. PETA was able to obtain a total of five hours of footage of cattle slaughter in six sessions over about seven weeks in which 278 animals were slaughtered; 230 of these animals were clearly visible and at least 20 percent of these animals were conscious after being dumped onto a concrete floor with their tracheas and esophagi hanging from their necks.

Stephen Bloom, a journalist who wrote the highly acclaimed book Postville about the clash of cultures in the small Iowa town where the slaughterhouse is located, has confirmed that shoddy slaughter existed as far back as1996 when he was given a tour of the slaughter facility. Bloom witnessed multiple animals struggling to stand minutes after shechita. Although Bloom did not actually see animals' throats slit and so does not know whether or not the animals' tracheas and esophagi were removed at that time, another anonymous source has come forward to state that she saw the trachea and esophagus procedure when she visited the slaughter line in 1998.

Our best information, then, is that for at least six years AgriProcessors saw fit to cut the tracheas and esophagi out of animals that had at least a one in four chance (based on the undercover footage) of being conscious after the procedure. Moreover, for at least eight years, they have been so lax in their slaughter technique that animals have routinely been fully conscious for minutes after they were dumped from the restraint onto concrete floors. And all this is to say nothing of other equally systematic abuses of animals at AgriProcessors, such as the misuse of electric prods on animals' faces and the use of are straining pen which has been condemned as a violation of tza'ar ba'alei hayyim (the torah mandate not to cause pain to animals) by the Conservative movement's highest halakhic body.

In an ongoing, cynical attempt to distort the full extent of this abuse, representatives of AgriProcessors and the OU have suggested that the animals on PETA's tapes were not conscious. Everyone agrees that brain-dead animals sometimes make movements that non-experts might think indicate life. However, every single scientific and slaughter expert that has bee consulted, without exception, has agreed that the animals on PETA's vide were conscious (an impressive list of these expert statements is available on PETA's website, www.goveg.com). Nonetheless, the president o AgriProcessors, Sholom Rubashkin, continues to maintain, "What you see o the video is not out of the ordinary. Nothing wrong was, or is, being done There is nothing to admit."

The USDA, by contrast, found the abuse at AgriProcessors so offensive that they created a new "scenario" of animal abuse which precisely describes what occurred at AgriProcessors, as documented by PETA's video footage. The USD advises that were an inspector to witness such a scenario, they should immediately suspend slaughter operations and notify the relevant authorities of "this egregious violation of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act." (view
the full USDA scenario at http://www.fsis.usda.gov/ofo/tsc/hike_03-04.htm).

The Broader Context

What does it mean that such misery could go on for years in a facility that was doubly inspected by the USDA and religious authorities? Sadly, the abuse at AgriProcessors is a symbol of entrenched, systematic abuse of animals in today's meat industry, rather than an anomaly. It may be aberrant to mutilate animals in the particularly offensive manner practiced by AgriProcessors, but on today's factory farms it is perfectly routine and legal to cut horns, testicles, and beaks off animals without painkillers, and to confine animals for their entire lives in spaces so cramped that they must be fed antibiotics simply to keep them alive. Sadly, virtually all kosher meat comes from animals that are raised in the same abusive factory farms that produce most meat in America. This chronic abuse of animals on factory farms does not capture headlines in the way that the unusual level of abuse at Agriprocessors has, but this "normalized" abuse is equally, and perhaps more, worthy of our attention.

The contemporary French-Jewish philosopher Jacques Derrida was deeply disturbed by the cruelty of factory farming, and, perhaps even more, by the denials that allow it to continue. His remarks on the contemporary indifference to the misery of these "farms" are as chilling as they are relevant: "No one can deny seriously, or for very long, that men do all they can in order to dissimulate this cruelty or to hide it from themselves, in order to organize on a global scale the forgetting or misunderstanding of this violence that some would compare to the worst cases of genocide."

Roughly 10 billion land animals are killed for meat every year in the United States alone and yet the average person has never witnessed an animal being slaughtered. Undercover investigations, one after another, have demonstrated conclusively that neither the USDA nor religious authorities have adequate regulation to address even the most extreme instances of abuse.

Looked at in the broader societal context, the fact that the products of factory farming and even abusive facilities like AgriProcessors are given moral legitimacy by being deemed "kosher," transforms kashrut from an ethical system into one that helps mask organized animal abuse. This awkward situation is so far from the moral vision of kashrut that it is painful to even acknowledge.

The Ethical Basis of Kashrut

Few contemporary rabbis have articulated the moral foundations of kashrut for so many of today's current Jewish leaders as Rabbi Samuel Dresner. In his book Keeping Kosher, he reminds us that in the biblical vision, "permission to eat meat is. understood as a compromise, a divine concession." The Rabbinic tradition has taught that human beings were originally vegetarian in the garden of Eden on the basis of Genesis 1:29, "See, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food." God's original plan contained no slaughterhouses; animal slaughter was only reluctantly allowed after the flood, and this slaughter had to be regulated.

As Dresner explains, "Jews are permitted to eat meat, but they must learn to have reverence for the life they take." The laws of shechita are the concrete manifestation of this required reverence. However, it also is now evident that kosher slaughter can be turned on its head, becoming among the cruelest methods of ending life. As Rabbi Barry Schwartz, who sits on the task force on kashrut for the Central Conference of American Rabbis, noted upon viewing PETA's video, "If this is kosher, then we have a big problem."

Fortunately, Rabbi Schwartz has been joined by many others, and, in a remarkable demonstration of spontaneous Jewish pluralism, these voices have come from across the Jewish spectrum. Rabbi Raphael Rank, the President of the Conservative movement's Rabbinical Assembly, fired off a letter to all Conservative Rabbis shortly after the AgriProcessors's story appeared, calling PETA's investigation "a welcome, though unfortunate service to the Jewish community." He argued that "[w]hen a company purporting to be kosher violates the prohibition against tza'ar ba'aleihayyim, causing pain to one of God's living creatures, that company must answer to the Jewish community, and ultimately, to God."

Chaim Milikowsky, the chair of the Talmud department at Bar Ilan University and a traditionally observant Jew, went so far as to say of AgriProcessors that, "It very well may be that any plant performing such types of shechita is guilty of hillul hashem-the desecration of God's name-for to insist that God cares only about his ritual law and not about his moral law is to desecrate His Name."

The President and Executive Director of the Reform movement's Central Conference of American Rabbis, Janet Marder and Paul Menitoff, were among signatories to a joint statement by Jewish leaders which asserts that, "Judaism's powerful tradition of teaching compassion for animals has been violated by these systematic abuses [atAgriProcessors] and needs to be reasserted" (the full statement and signatories can be viewed and signed at www.HumaneKosher.com). The statement, which goes on to call for specific changes at AgriProcessors and for basic humane standards to be established for all kosher certification agencies, was also signed by Arthur Green, Dean of the Rabbinical School of Hebrew College; Arthur Waskow, the Director of the Shalom Center; Elliot Dorff, Rector at the University of Judaism and Vice-Chair of the Conservative Movement's Committee on Jewish Law; and other senior leaders in all major branches of Judaism.

Individual Responsibility

More than animals suffer in slaughterhouses like AgriProcessors. The entire tradition of reverence and compassion that is Judaism's life blood is drained when kosher slaughter becomes an act of cruelty. When shechita becomes part of systematic abuse of animals rather than a compassionate compromise with the inherent violence of meat-eating, the wounds that are inflicted upon these animals becomes wounds inflicted on all of us.

For many, the pervasive nature of animal abuse at AgriProcessors and elsewhere means that eschewing meat is now a moral imperative. Indeed, many who have investigated the pitiful conditions in which dairy cattle and egglaying hens are raised, have committed themselves to veganism (eschewing all animal products). Vegan diets also have well-established health and ecological advantages, and are increasingly popular, especially with young people. A recent survey of 100,000 college students by food service giant Aramark indicated that fully one in four students consider finding vegan meals on campus important to them. In a like manner, many Jews feel that vegetarianism is the most effective way to stand against the cruelty of factory farms and within the Judaic vision of reverence for all life.

Those who choose not to become vegetarian still have an ethical responsibility to ensure the meat and animal products they eat come from animals that are both humanely raised and slaughtered. The only adequately regulated labels that a consumer could look for on a wide variety of products to ensure better treatment of animals are "organic" and "Certified Humane." Unfortunately, though these certifications eliminate some abuses, they allow farms to systematically mutilate animals without pain relief (for example, cutting off part of chickens' sensitive beaks), do not mandate access to the outdoors, and have no standards for the transportation of birds. Claims that animals are "free range" are so poorly regulated as to be meaningless and a multitude of industry-promoted "humane" labels like "Animal Care Certified" and the "Swine Welfare Assurance Program" are simply Orwellian tactics by industry to redefine even the worst factory farm methods as "humane."

This sorry state of affairs is further indicated by the fact that the only national chain of grocery stores which has meaningful humane standards for the animal products they sell is Whole Foods (roughly as good as those used by the "Certified Humane" label). Significantly, Whole Foods is in the process of developing new animal welfare standards which, when released, are likely to be vastly superior to any currently available. At present, however, the only way to ensure that animals are treated humanely is to avoid eating them or identify a free range farm (that you inspect yourself) and to personally arrange for the animals' slaughter.

Whether we choose vegetarianism or not, it is time we confront our own forgetfulness about the suffering of animals, and, equally, our forgetfulness about the moral intent of kosher law. Continued silence about the fate of the animals we eat is not just silence, but denial. The voices calling for compassion in how we treat farm animals are stronger now than at anytime in recent memory; they testify to a process of remembering a venerable tradition of reverence for life which continues to animate Jews today. Let us work to make these remembrances into a concrete, living tradition of day-to-day concern for all life. Let the image of the divine that we represent, be a vision of compassion.

Aaron Gross

Aaron Gross holds a masters degree from Harvard Divinity School and is a Rowny Fellow at the University of California, Santa Barbara where he is pursuing a Ph.D. in religious studies. His scholarly work on kashrut has appeared in the Central Conference of American Rabbis Journal. He welcomes emails at aarongross@post.harvard.edu.

Resources

A free vegetarian starter kit is available from PETA at 1-888-VEG-FOOD or www.GoVeg.com (mention Tikkun to receive complimentary information on Judaism and vegetarianism).

-----------------------------------
please consider writing letters to Tikkun re Aaron’s article. Mine is below:
March 6, 2005

Editor, TIKKUN
Magazine@tikkun.org

Dear Editor:

I want to commend Aaron Gross for his insightful analysis of the horrific conditions uncovered by videos at the Postville glatt kosher slaughterhouse ("When kosher Isn't Kosher," March/April 2005 issue). As president of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) and author of "Judaism and Vegetarianism," I strongly believe that the exposure of the sharp differences between the ideal conditions of Jewish ritual slaughter and the realities at that plant should be a wakeup call to the need to consider how animal-based diets and modern intensive livestock agriculture violate many basic Jewish teachings.

When Judaism mandates that we treat animals with compassion, can we ignore the cruel treatment of animals on factory farms, where they are raised in cramped, confined spaces without sunlight, fresh air, or opportunities to fulfil their natural instincts? When Judaism stresses that we must diligently protect our health, can we ignore that animal-based diets are major contributors to the epidemic of heart disease, many forms of cancer, and other killer diseases and ailments afflicting the Jewish community and others? When Judaism mandates that we be partners with God in protecting the environment, can we ignore the significant contributions of animal-centered agriculture to air, water, and land pollution, species extinction, deforestation, global climate change, water shortages, and many other environmental threats?

Since nutritionists have concluded that one can be properly nourished on a diet free of animal products, a fundamental question to be addressed is: since Judaism mandates that we should diligently guard our health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, conserve natural resources, and help hungry people, and animal-based diets and agriculture have negative effects in each of these areas, shouldn’t Jews (and others) seriously consider a switch toward meatless diets?

Very truly yours,
Richard H. Schwartz

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9. Organic Farming in Israel

Thanks to author, Jewish activist, and JVNA advisor Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen for his message below and for forwarding the article.

Dear Friends,

Over fifteen years ago, I interviewed Mario Levy, the founder and former head of Israel Bio-organic Agriculture Association. He lives on Kibbutz Sdei Eliyahu - a Torah-observant kibbutz which is a major producer of organic produce in Israel. He told me that a high percentage of the organic farmers in Israel are Torah-observant, and when I asked him why this was so, he replied that keeping the Torah reminds you that human beings are not the true owners of the land; thus, this leads to more respect for the land. In this spirit, I have attached for the readers of the JVNA newsletter a recent article about Mario Levy.

Shalom,
Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen

ISRAEL'S SUPER MARIO - Meet Israel's pioneer of organic agriculture: an observant great-grandfather who fled from the Nazis 64 years ago.
By Karin Kloosterman
http://www.aish.com/ar.asp?an=6381

Meet Israel's pioneer of organic agriculture: an observant great-grandfather who fled from the Nazis 64 years ago.

Some have a way with people. Others have a way with the land. Organic farming pioneer Mario Levi has a way with both.

At 81 years old and with plans for the next 50, his name has become a legend among international large-scale growers, small-scale farmers and young American university students.

He doesn't speak much, yet small gestures -- a squinty smile, a wave of his expressive Italian hands, a ride in the red tractor that matches his cheeks -- allows one to feel an immediate closeness to him and the culture that surrounds organic food.

"In my life I have always been searching for the truth, and through my exploration, I found that conventional agriculture is a tragedy for the earth," Levi told ISRAEL21c during a visit to his home on Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu where he settled after fleeing a Nazi regime from Trieste, Italy 64 years ago.

After researching the basic principles behind organic farming for several years, Levi started a 20-acre farm in 1974.

"When I said I was going to grow organic agriculture, everyone thought I was cuckoo," he chuckles as he motions circles around his head. But over 30 years later, the great-grandfather is now recognized as Israel's pioneer of organic agriculture.

Although today, he may receive criticism by more ideologically extreme organic farmers who forego using farming machinery to increase their yield, Mario does not adhere to this philosophy. He has over 950 mouths to feed on his kibbutz, therefore his purpose is to produce as many vegetables as possible without disrupting the environment.

"He is excellent in guiding people to increase their yield and is very orthodox with his rules and never strays from them -- ever -- even if it means losing an entire crop," claims Ron Shalem, 38, environmental activist and new kibbutz member.

"Mario is a generalist with a lot of experience. He can look at a field and can tell you anything about it. He feels the ground and he feels the plants. He can look at a tomato and tell you if it is healthy and can read into what the soils needs if it is not. He's a master of industrial organic agriculture, because really, no other system can supply the quantity of food that that is needed in areas with a large population, such as the US," adds Shalem.

For this reason, large-scale American industrial growers have sent Levi to the US for consultation in regions surrounding Santa Cruz, the Imperial Valley, Texas and the Rio Grande.

SNIP

As Levi ends our meeting for the afternoon prayer, he says he is hopeful about the future, "It will take a few generations to fix the damages that we are doing to the world with chemicals," he says resolutely, "But, it will be fixed."

Courtesy of ISRAEL21c.com
Published: Sunday, March 06, 2005

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10. Do Animals Have a Complex Mental Life?

Cows hold grudges, say scientists
By Jonathan Leake
February 28, 2005
From: The Australian
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12390397-13762,00.html

ONCE they were a byword for mindless docility. But cows have a complex mental life in which they bear grudges, nurture friendships and become excited by intellectual challenges, researchers have found.

Cows are capable of strong emotions such as pain, fear and even anxiety about the future. But if farmers provide the right conditions, they can also feel great happiness.

The findings have emerged from studies of farm animals that have found similar traits in pigs, goats and chickens. They suggest such animals may be so emotionally similar to humans that welfare laws need to be reconsidered.

The research will be presented to a conference in London next month sponsored by animal welfare group Compassion in World Farming.

Christine Nicol, professor of animal welfare at Britain's Bristol University, said even chickens might have to be treated as individuals with needs and problems.

"Remarkable cognitive abilities and cultural innovations have been revealed," she said. "Our challenge is to teach others that every animal we intend to eat or use is a complex individual, and to adjust our farming culture accordingly."

SNIP

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11. Major Animal Rights Conference Planned

Forwarded message from GARC:

SAVE THE DATES: Thursday, March 31 - through Sunday, April. COME HELP US TO BUILD THE FUTURE OF ANIMAL RIGHTS!

All animal, veg*an, environmental, and social justice activists are invited to attend the Grassroots Animal Rights Conference (GARC) in New York City this month. GARC 2005 is aimed at experienced activists who wish to sharpen their activism skills and work on coalition building both within and outside of the movement. Attendees can expect great programs presented by great speakers at a great new venue: Holyrood Episcopal Church, 715 W. 179th Street, New York, NY.

GARC was designed from the ground up by grassroots activists to be affordable, accessible and inclusive. Registration is $20, $10 for students, and can be waived entirely in cases of need. Free housing and free or low-cost vegan meals will be provided. (First-come, first-served for free housing and meals.) The conference site is handicapped-accessible.

Register here: http://www.grassrootsar.org/conference_registration.html

REGISTER NOW! Time is short, capacity is limited and our accommodations are filling up fast.

The workshops and lectures begin at 6 pm on Thursday, March 31, 2005 and run through 6pm on Sunday, April 3, 2005. **Confirmed** expert speakers include:

Lorri Bauston, Co-founder, Farm Sanctuary
Josephine Bellaccomo, JosephineBellaccomo.com
Aryenish Birdie, Students of Hampshire for Animal Rights Education (SHARE)
Sarahjane Blum, Media Spokesperson, Gourmet Cruelty
David Cantor, Executive Director, Responsible Policies for Animals, Inc
Lawrence Carter-Long, Issues Specialist, In Defense of Animals
Rod Coronado, Coordinator, Chuk'shon Earth First! (Pending outcome of March court case)
Dr. Karen Davis, PhD, President, United Poultry Concerns, Inc.
Shawn DeLeo, Community Animal Project
Dr. Michael Greger, MD, Vegan Research Institute
Caryn Hartglass, Executive Director, EarthSave International
David Hayden, No Compromise
Dr. Alex Hershaft, PhD, President, Farm Animal Reform Movement (FARM)
Homefries, Boston Ecofeminist Action
Kevin Jonas, Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty (SHAC)
pattrice jones, Coordinator, Eastern Shore Sanctuary
Dr. Melanie Joy, PhD, Professor of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Boston
Marti Kheel, Founder, Feminists for Animals Rights
Julie Lewin, Animal Advocacy Connecticut (AACT)
Jamie Moran, Friends of Jeffrey Luers
Lance Morosini, Organizer, Speak Out for Animal Rights
Carol Moon, Humane Educator, Farm Sanctuary
Peter Muller, President, League of Humane Voters of New York State
Anne Muller, President, Wildlife Watch
Charles Patterson, Author, Eternal Treblinka
John Phillips, Vice President, League of Humane Voters of New York City
Hillary Rettig, Author, How Not to Burn Out: A Guide to Building a
Sustainable Activist Career
Nathan Runkle, Founder, Mercy for Animals
Ryan Shapiro, Campaigns Coordinator, Gourmet Cruelty
Marjorie Spiegel, Executive Director, Institute for the Development of
Earth Awareness (IDEA)
Andy Stepanian, Long Island Animal Defense League
Patrick Tyrrell, Animal Outreach of Kansas University
Adam Weissman, Activism Center at Wetlands Preserve
.and many more to be announced.
More detail on the program can be found here:
http://www.grassrootsar.org/agenda-index.html

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
http://www.grassrootsar.org/

or contact Hillary Rettig
email: hillary@grassrootsar.org
phone: 781-834-0696

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR FORWARDING THIS MESSAGE TO OTHER ACTIVISTS! SEE YOU AT GARC!

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12. Earth Day Events Planned

[Please consider how we can get vegetarian and Jewish environmental messages out in conjunction with this year’s important Earth Day. Thanks.]

Forwarded message:

information:
. Locations and times of Earth Day events going on near you
. Ideas on how to participate in Earth Day 2005 (and year round!)
. Earth Day 2005 t-shirts and posters
. ...and much, much more!

We encourage you to register your Earth Day event at:
http://www.earthday.net/GroupLogin.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2f_groups%2faddEvent.aspx for others to learn about, possibly participate, get ideas, etc. We look forward to celebrating Earth Day with you!

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13. Jewish Vegetarian Group Dinner Scheduled in Oakland, California

Forwarded message from Michelle B ninashel@yahoo.com

Director of Veggie Jews (JVeg@yahoogroups.com)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
VEGGIEJEWS BRUNCH at MANZANITA in OAKLAND on MARCH 20th

Please join Veggie Jews for brunch on Sunday March 20th at Manzanita
in Oakland. A sample menu is available on their website at:
http://www.manzanitarestaurant.com/SampleMenu.html.

When: Sunday, March 20th, 11:30am
Where: Manzanita
1050 - 40th St.
Oakland, CA. 94608
(510) 985-8386

RSVP by Thursday, March 17th to jmoses@bayjews.org

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14. Researcher Seeks Information on Connections Between Diets and Addictions/Responses Welcome

Forwarded message from David Wilson"
Subject: Psychologist in South Africa Research Query
Date: Sat, 26 Feb 2005 04:12:42 +0200

I am a psychologist in South America working extensively with the Jewish community. I deal extensively with issues of addiction-sexual and chemical and am interested in pursuing PhD research in the area of possible links between these issues and meat eating or 'addiction to blood ' as some of my Hindu colleagues have put it.

Could you direct me to anyone or any institution who may share my interest?

Yours sincerely,
David Lewis Wilson

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** Fair Use Notice**
This document may contain copyrighted material, use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owners. I believe that this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

3/3/05 JVNA Online Newsletter

Shalom everyone,

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

[*** I plan to report on the Canfei Nesharim Shabbaton and the Coalition On the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) conference in a special JVNA newsletter next week. Please stay tuned. ***]

1. My Article at the Beliefnet.com Online Magazine

2. Challenging the Jewish Establishment to a Respectful Dialogue/Debate

3. Is Foie Gras Kosher?/Please Write

4. Background Material on Foie Gras for Your Letters and Discussions

a. Israeli Supreme Court Landmark Decision on Force Feeding of Ducks and Geese

b. JVNA Press Release Re Banning Foie Gras

c. Graphic Photos of Foie Gras Production

d. David Sears on Pate De Foie Gras (From “The Vision of Eden …” (2003))

e. My Letter to the Editor

5. Messages From Important Vegetarian Group -- VUNA (Vegetarian Union of North America)

6. Action Alert: Responding to Canada’s Annual Slaughter of Seals

7. Valuable Vegetarian Links

8. Ad Campaign Protests Agriprocessers/Postville Slaughterhouse Practices

9. Israeli Teens and Vegetarianism

10. Can We Learn From Anti-smoking Campaigns

11. Action Alert: Saving Our National Forests

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, information re conferences, retreats, forums, trips, and other events does not necessarily imply endorsements by JVNA, 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. My Article at the Beliefnet.com Online Magazine

My article below was reprinted in the Beliefnet.com online magazine. It is consistent with our attempts to try to turn the Postville glatt kosher slaughterhouse controversy into a wakeup call to get the Jewish community to consider all aspects of our diets. Please use the article as the basis of your letters and talking points. Thanks.

Vegetarianism Is a Jewish Value
By Richard H. Schwartz
http://www.beliefnet.com/story/161/story_16137_1.html

The horrific scenes of the mistreatment of animals videotaped at AgriProcessor’s glatt kosher slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa, and the efforts of some Jewish groups to defend the facility’s procedures raise questions that go to the heart and soul of Judaism: If slaughterhouse procedures are not consistently monitored for strict adherence to the ideals of shechita, are we carrying out our mandate to be "rachmanim b’nei rachmanim" (compassionate children of compassionate ancestors)? Are we failing to properly imitate G-d, Whose "tender mercies are over all His creatures" (Psalms 145:9)?

Even if shechita is carried out perfectly, and pain and distress during slaughter are minimized, can we ignore the many violations of Jewish teachings on compassion to animals as billions of animals on "factory farms" in the United States and worldwide experience pain, suffering, and agony for their entire lives?

If, as is recited at synagogue services every Sabbath and yom tov (religious festival) morning, "the soul of every living creature shall bless God’s Name," can we expect these cruelly treated animals to join in the praise?

If "the righteous person considers the life of his or her animal" (Proverbs 12:10), how will we be judged, based on our vicarious treatment of the animals raised, trucked, and slaughtered for our tables?

And can we ignore the many other ways that animal-based diets and modern livestock agriculture severely violate Jewish values:

* While Judaism mandates that people should be very careful about preserving their health and their lives, numerous scientific studies have implicated the products of modern intensive livestock agriculture as significant risk factors for coronary heart disease, stroke, several forms of cancer, and other chronic degenerative diseases.

While Judaism teaches that "the earth is the Lord's" (Psalm 24:1) and that we are to be God's partners and co-workers in preserving the world, modern intensive livestock agriculture is widely recognized by independent scientists, including the Union of Concerned Scientists, as an environmentally unsustainable enterprise that grossly accelerates soil erosion and depletion, air and water pollution, overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the destruction of tropical rainforests and other habitats, global climate change, and other forms of environmental damage.

* While Judaism mandates bal tashchit, not to waste or unnecessarily destroy anything of value, or use more than is needed to accomplish a purpose, a diet based upon animal agriculture instead of plant agriculture (which provides protein from grains, beans, tubers, nuts, and seeds) wastes many times more land, fresh water, fossil fuels, grain, and other resources. It takes up to 16 pounds of grain to produce just one pound of feedlot-finished beef.

* While Judaism stresses that we are to assist the poor and share our bread with hungry people, an estimated twenty million human beings worldwide die each year because of hunger and its effects, and nearly a billion are chronically malnourished. While the solution of widespread hunger is complex, it doesn't help that over 70 percent of the grain grown in the U.S. and almost 40 percent worldwide is produced to fatten food animals, not to feed the world's most impoverished human citizens, many of whom are displaced from their land by animal feed growers.

* While Judaism stresses that we must seek and pursue peace and that violence results from unjust conditions, the global expansion of Western-style animal-centered diets is increasing the gap between food security "haves" and "have nots," a chronic injustice that can lead to political unrest and violent conflict.

If Judaism is to remain relevant to many of the great problems of today, it is my heartfelt belief that all Jews must very seriously consider adopting a sustainable vegan, vegetarian, or plant-based diet. In my view, it is a moral, social, and ecological imperative.

While Jews are a small percent of the world’s people and thereby responsible for only a small part of the problems related to modern intensive livestock agriculture and other current practices, it is essential, in view of the many threats to humanity today, that we strive to fulfill our challenge to be a "light unto the nations," and to work for "tikkun olam," the healing, repair, and proper transformation of the world.

Richard H. Schwartz, president of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America, is author of “Judaism and Vegetarianism,” “Judaism and Global Survival,” and “Mathematics and Global Survival.”

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2. Challenging the Jewish Establishment to a Respectful Dialogue/Debate

There have been many articles recently from members of the Jewish establishment, such as Rabbis Shmuely Boteach and Menachem Genack and Dennis Prager. Each article properly discusses Judaism’s wonderful teachings on treating animals with compassion, but ignores how animals are mistreated on factory farms and other negative aspects of animal-based diets and modern intensive animal agriculture.

I have written to Rabbi Boteach and Dennis Prager and to many Jewish publications, suggesting a respectful dialogue/debate on “Should Jews Be Vegetarians?” and related topics. I have offered complimentary copies of my books. So far, I have not received any replies re a possible discussion/debate.

Of course, there are many rabbis and scholars who have far greater knowledge of Judaism than I do, but it appears that our case is so strong that nobody is willing to openly discuss and debate with us on vegetarian issues. They find it convenient to be critical of PETA and other animal rights groups, and much of the criticism is unfortunately justified, but they do not appear ready to address our arguments.

Since I believe that a shift toward vegetarianism is both a societal imperative and a Jewish imperative, and that it would help revitalize Judaism and help attract many disaffected Jews back to Judaism, I believe that we should continue and expand our efforts to get vegetarianism and related issues onto the Jewish agenda. Please contact your local newspapers and radio programs and ask them to contact us about the impacts of animal-based diets on our environment, health, and on Jewish values. Please contact Dennis Prager (dennisprager@dennisprager.com) and Rabbi Shmuely Boteach (Shmuely@Shmuely.com) and Jewish blogs and publications and radip programs and suggest that Jewish teachings on vegetarianism be discussed and that there be dialogues and debates on the issues. Suggestions as always very welcome. Many thanks.

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3. Is Foie Gras Kosher?/Please Write

The article below appeared in the March 1 issue of the Jerusalem Post. Please use some of the material below the article to write a letter to the Jerusalem Post. Thanks.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/Printer&cid=1109647369298&p=1008596975996

Send e-mails at letters@jpost.com
or
http://info.jpost.com/C002/Services/Feedback/editors.html
--------------------
'Force feeding geese for foie gras is kosher'
Mati Wagner, THE JERUSALEM POST Mar. 1, 2005

Disagreeing with a High Court ruling and the adopted practice of a growing number of European countries, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv ruled there is no halachic restriction against force-feeding geese for foie gras.

Elyashiv, probably the most preeminent halachic authority living, was asked by a haredi foie gras producer to give his opinion after MK Moshe Gafni (Degel Hatorah) voted against Israeli foie gras production in the Knesset Education Committee, arguing that it contradicted the Jewish law prohibiting cruelty to animals.

Ze'ev Friedman, a resident of Bnei Brak, who has a 30 percent share in Foie Gras, a meat production plant in Petah Tikva that markets goose liver, initiated a meeting of a group of rabbis including Elyashiv, Rabbi Avraham Yosef, the chief rabbi of Holon, and Rabbi David Yehiel Verner, the chief rabbi of Hadera.

The rabbis described in detail the entire process of foie gras production to the nonagenarian rabbi. Asked if foie gras production was a violation of halacha, Elyashiv replied unequivocally that it was not. Halacha permits causing animals to suffer if, as a result, there is some tangible benefit to man. That is why animals may be slaughtered, used for plowing or for carrying heavy loads.

However, writes Rabbi Moshe Feinstein (Igrot Moshe, Even Ha'ezer IV 92), not all benefits enjoyed by man justify causing suffering to animals. Based on this distinction, Feinstein prohibits raising calves for veal. Producing white meat is nothing more than a marketing ploy, writesFeinstein, and does not justify depriving calves of iron in their diet or limiting their mobility.

In contrast, Elyashiv ruled that the enlarged liver resulting from forced-feeding practices is a tangible benefit to man and justifies animal suffering.

As further evidence that there is no halachic restriction against foie gras, Friedman, a sixth-generation foie gras producer, cited stories that Rabbi Moshe Sofer, known as the Hatam Sofer, who lived at the turn of the 19th century, ate foie gras on a regular basis.

"It could be that my forefathers in Hungary actually sold the Hatam Sofer goose liver," said Friedman.

Foie gras producers force-feed newborn geese with high-caloric food by inserting a tube into the esophagus, resulting in the swelling of the liver. The process lasts about three months, after which the geese, who have a life expectancy of about 60 years in their natural habitat, are slaughtered.

Animal rights groups say force-feeding damages the digestive system and the esophagus and causes suffering.

In August 2003, the High Court agreed with a petition by Noah, an umbrella organization for animal rights organizations in Israel, that force-feeding geese for the production of foie gras causes unnecessary suffering.

The court ruled that foie gras production violates the Protection of Animals Law, 1994, which prohibits torture, cruelty or abuse to animals.

It based its decision on a distinction between food items necessary for human existence and luxuries. Less weight is given to agriculture industry needs and more emphasis is put on animals' rights when a food product is a luxury item.

Chai Binyamini, secretary-general of the association of goose growers in Israel, said the Agriculture Ministry had invested NIS 200,000 to investigate more humane methods of producing foie gras. Binyamini said 62 geese growers employing 600 workers produce 500 tons of foie gras a year. Industry revenues, including both liver and goose meat, are NIS 100m., of which NIS 60m. are for export.

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4. Background Material on Foie Gras for Your Letters and Discussions

a. Israeli Supreme Court Landmark Decision on Force Feeding of Ducks and Geese
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D. (This article was written in August 2003)

In a landmark decision, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled on August 11, 2003 that the force-feeding of geese and ducks for the production of liver is cruel and illegal, and that the temporary regulations allowing the birds to be force-fed are to be annulled by March 2005. This ruling conforms to the position of major Ashkenazic and Sefardic rabbinical authorities in Israel, including Rabbis Zvi Pesach Frank and Eliezer Waldman of the previous generation, and Rabbis Ovadia Yosef and Shear Yashuv Cohen, among today's chief rabbis.

The judges indicated that, to produce this pâté delicacy, the birds are force fed enormous amounts of grain through a pressurized pipe shoved down their throats. As a result the birds develop degenerative diseases of the liver.

Rabbi David Rosen, a contemporary Israeli Orthodox rabbi and former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, states: “It should be obvious that pate de foie gras is produced in a manner that is in complete contravention of the Torah's prohibition of causing tsa'ar ba'alei chayim - pain to animals (see Maimonides, Yad Chazakah, Hilchot Rozeah, Ch. 13, M. 8). Rabbi Yechezkel Landau, the Noda Bi-Yehuda, clarifies that causing any cruelty to an animal while alive is a desecration of this prohibition (Noda Bi-Yehuda, Yoreh Deah, Response No. 10) and that if food can be obtained in a manner that does not involve additional pain and one chooses to obtain such through causing pain to an animal, one desecrates a Torah prohibition. Pate de foie gras is obtained through the willful desecration of a Torah prohibition and any truly God-revering Jew will not partake of such a product which is an offense against the Creator and His Torah.”

The court decision is an important step in a nearly ten year campaign led by NOAH, a coalition of about 20 Israeli animal rights groups, to implement Israel’s animal welfare laws, designed to prevent cruelty to animals. NOAH representatives visited some of the 45 farms where geese are force-fed, and documented the entire force-feeding process. They also submitted opinions from experts in several countries, who blamed the force-feeding process for causing severe respiratory problems, internal injuries and damaged organs.

Israel has 45 farms that raise geese and ducks to produce foie gras (liver). The National Poultry Council estimates that the industry annually produces 450 tons of goose liver and 50 tons of duck liver. The industry has an annual turnover of $30 million, and almost half of the liver is exported.

Ehud Peleg, one of NOAH’s lawyers, believes that the ruling sends a clear message that the Supreme Court places more value on compassion, morality, and justice than on luxury foods and profits. He believes that the decision means that the large-scale rearing of geese will now become uneconomic and thus there will be an end to the goose liver industry's use of artificially enlarged livers - a practice that is now officially recognized as cruel. However, it is expected that foie gras producers and other supporters of intensive rearing of animals will seek loopholes, and thus that the Israeli animal rights movement must remain vigilant and continue lobbying for an enforcement of the Supreme Court decision.

The Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) commends the Supreme Court decision, and hopes that it will be the first step in applying Judaism’s splendid teachings on tsa’ar ba’alei chayim, the Torah mandate to avoid causing pain to animals, to the many horrible examples of mistreatment of animals on factory farms. It is time to end practices that have become standard cost-saving measures in the raising of animals for both kosher and non-kosher animal products, including keeping animals in closed spaces so small that they cannot make normal movements and starving animals for extended periods.

JVNA urges our spiritual leaders to follow the lead of the Israeli Supreme Court by condemning clear violations of Jewish teachings on the proper treatment of animals. We also urge Jews to stop contributing to the suffering of billions of G-d’s creatures by moving towards plant-based diets, consistent with Jewish mandates to preserve our health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, conserve natural resources, help the hungry, and pursue a more peaceful, less violent world.

In addition to ending violations of basic Jewish mandates, a shift toward vegetarianism would have many additional benefits, because animal-based diets and agriculture contribute significantly to an epidemic of chronic degenerative diseases, global climate change, widening water shortages, rapid species extinction, destruction of tropical rain forests, coral reefs, and other habitats, soil erosion, and depletion, and other environmental and societal threats.

More information on Jewish vegetarianism is available at JewishVeg.com. The JVNA will send a complimentary copy of Richard Schwartz’s acclaimed book “Judaism and Vegetarianism,” and a related cassette tape, to anyone who contacts us and tells us how he or she will use the materials to make people more aware of Jewish teachings on vegetarianism and related issues.

--------------------------
b. JVNA Press Release Re Banning Foie Gras

PRESS RELEASE

JEWISH GROUP URGES BANNING OF FORCE-FEEDING OF DUCKS AND GEESE IN THE UNITED STATES

For Immediate Release:
March 3, 2004
Contact:
Richard H. Schwartz, President of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA)
Rschw12345@aol.com Phone: (718) 761-5876


The Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) urges that the force-feeding of geese and ducks for the production of foie gras be banned by California and New York State legislative bodies. The JVNA position is based on the tremendous cruelty involved in producing foie gras, which violates Jewish teachings on compassion to animals, the many rabbinic opinions forbidding the production of foie gras, and the fact that foie gras production has already been outlawed by many European countries, including the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K.

[The following three paragraphs on rabbinic views on the force-feeding of ducks and geese was provided by Rabbi David Sears, author of “The Vision of Eden: Animal Welfare and Vegetarianism in Jewish Law and Mysticism.”]

Poskim (rabbinic authorities) opposed to the forced feeding of birds include the Bach on Yoreh De'ah 33:9; Chochmas Adam 16:10; Sha'arei Tzedek on Yoreh De'ah 33; Divrei Menachem (Divrei Shalom), p. 143, col. 2; Darkei Teshuvah, Yoreh De’ah 33:131, 142, 143, citing Teshuvos HaTzemach Tzedek, no. 17, Nekudas HaKessef, et al.; She'ilas Shalom Tinyana, no. 154 (end); Tzitz Eliezer, Vol. XI, nos. 49, 55 (end), citing the Chida in Machzik Beracha, Yoreh De'ah 33:19, and R. Zvi Elimelech Spira of Dinov, et al.; ibid. Vol. XII, no. 52; Teshuvos Har Tzvi, no. 26; Shema Shlomo, Yoreh De'ah, no. 1.

Rav Ovadiah Yosef, the most influential contemporary halachic authority in the Sefardic world and former Sefardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, forbids the forced feeding of fowl in Israel in Yabia Omer, Vol. 9, Yoreh De'ah, no. 3 (originally issued in 1976), both for reasons of kashrus and tza'ar baalei chaim, which Rav Ovadia mentions explicitly.

Based on a leniency of the Turei Zahav, there are several decisors who permit forced feeding if it is done gently; however the majority view is opposed to it. Thus, the majority of religious Jews today refrain from consuming foie gras.

On August 11, 2003, the Israeli Supreme Court made a landmark decision that banned the force-feeding of geese and ducks for the production of foie gras, effective in 2005, as a violation of Israel’s animal cruelty laws. As the judges indicated, to produce this pâté “delicacy,” the birds are force-fed enormous amounts of grain through a pressurized pipe shoved down their throats. As a result the birds develop degenerative diseases of the liver.

Since so many countries have already banned the production of foie gras, it is time that the U.S. follows suit.

California Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, introduced a measure in February, 2004, that would ban foie gras from being produced and consumed in California. Burton stated: "We just shouldn't be cramming a tube down a duck's throat and forcing in food to make foie gras. It's an inhumane process that other countries have sensibly banned. I'm pleased California will be next on the list."

Legislation has also been introduced in New York State to ban the production of foie gras. Assembly bill 1821 and Senate Bill 5153 would amend the state animal cruelty law to make it "unlawful to force feed a bird, by hand or machine, for the purpose of fatty enlargement of the bird’s liver."

Since California and New York are the only states that produce foie gras, the JVNA urges members of the California and New York State Senates and State Assembles to follow the lead of Israel and other countries by addressing the cruelty involved in producing foie gras, through passing legislation that would ban its production. This would be consistent with Judaism’s teachings on tsa’ar ba’alei chayim, the Torah mandate to avoid causing pain to animals, and with teachings about compassion in Judaism and other religions.

Rabbi David Rosen, Rabbinic Advisor to the JVNA, and a contemporary Israeli Orthodox rabbi and former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, stated:
“It should be obvious that pate de foie gras is produced in a manner that is in complete contravention of the Torah's prohibition of causing tsa'ar ba'alei chayim - pain to animals (see Maimonides, Yad Chazakah, Hilchot Rozeah, Ch. 13, M. 8). Rabbi Yechezkel Landau, the Noda Bi-Yehuda, clarifies that causing any cruelty to an animal while alive is a desecration of this prohibition (Noda Bi-Yehuda, Yoreh Deah, Response No. 10) and that if food can be obtained in a manner that does not involve additional pain and one chooses to obtain such through causing pain to an animal, one desecrates a Torah prohibition. Pate de foie gras is obtained through the willful desecration of a Torah prohibition and any truly God-revering Jew will not partake of such a product, which is an offense against the Creator and His Torah.”

More information on Jewish vegetarianism is available at JewishVeg.com. The JVNA will send a complimentary copy of Richard Schwartz’s book “Judaism and Vegetarianism,” and a related cassette tape, to anyone who contacts the group (rschw12345@aol.com) and tells them how he or she will use the materials to make people more aware of Jewish teachings on these issues.

c. Graphic Photos of Foie Gras Production

http://www.stopforcefeeding.com/page.php?module=photos&article_id=33

d. David Sears on Pate De Foie Gras (From “The Vision of Eden …” (2003))

From the blog www.mentalblog.com
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
http://www.mentalblog.com/2005/03/david-sears-on-pate-de-foie-gras.html

A follow up to our previous post. We quote David Sears, he writes in his book The Vision of Eden (published in 2003, and thus not a response to Rabbi Elyashiv) on pages 86-87:

Pate De Foie Gras: The forced feeding of geese and other species of fowl for the production of pate de foie gras was the subject of debate among rabbinic decisors during the 18th and 19th centuries, when many Jewish families in Eastern Europe subsisted from the breeding and sale of livestock. Stuffing geese was deemed halachically unacceptable by most prominent authorities, although several, including the Chasam Sofer (R. Moshe Sofer, 1762-1839), permitted it.(75) Thus, Jewish farmers in Hungary force-fed their geese, while those living in Rumania, Poland, Ukraine, and Russia did not.

Both the unnatural method of feeding and the suffering the birds inevitably endure as their sclerotic livers become enlarged to as much as eight times their natural size raise the issue of transgressing the laws of tza'ar baalei chaim. Of pressing halachic concern is whether or not forced feeding renders the birds treifos (internally damaged). The smallest puncture in the animal's esophagus as a result of foreign matter or a coarse particle of grain in the feed would render it non-kosher. Therefore, religious Jews today almost universally abstain from pate de foie gras. Most European countries forbid raising geese for pate de foie gras for humane reasons, but some allow it to be imported.(76) Ironically, among the world's main producers of foie gras are the secular Kibbutzim (farming collectives) in Israel.(77)

Footnotes:
75. Authorities opposed to this practice include the Bach on Yoreh De'ah 33:9; Chochmas Adam 16:10; Sha'arei Tzedek on Yoreh De'ah 33; Divrei Menachem (Divrei Shalom), p. 143, col. 2; Darkei Teshuvah, Yoreh De'ah 33:131, 142, 143, citing Teshuvos HaTzemach Tzedek, no. 17, Nekudas HaKessef, et al.; She'ilas Shalom Tinyana, no. 154 (end); Tzitz Eliezer, Vol. XI, nos. 49, 55 (end), citing the Chida in Machzik Beracha, Yoreh De'ah 33:19, and R. Zvi Elimelech Spira of Dinov, et al.; ibid. Vol. XII, no. 52; Teshuvos Har Tzvi, no. 26; Shema Shiomo, Yoreh De'ah, no. 1. The Taz is inclined to permit it if the birds are fed gently. On this basis the Chasam Sorer takes a lenient view in Teshuvos Chasam Safer, Vol. I, no. 25. Nevertheless, I am told that most Chassidim in Hungary before the Holocaust would not eat force-fed geese due to uncertainty as to their kashrus. For a comprehensive halachic perspective, see R, Binyamin Adier, Kashrus U'Treifos B'Ohf, chap. 33, sec. 98-129.

76. Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, as well as Australia have banned this practice. Italy has recently implemented such legislation, to be complied with by 2004.

77. The Knesset, Israel's parliament, recently initiated a process of reassessing its standards for raising fowl in order to produce pate de foieyas. As of July 2001, the forced feeding of ducks, which represent 12% of the birds slaughtered for foiegras in Israel, has been banned. However, Israel's rabbinate has opposed the forced feeding of fowl all along; see above n. 75, Teshuvos Har Tzvi, Tzitz Eliezer, op cit. R. Ovadiah Yosef, the most influential contemporary halachic authority in the Sefardic world and former Sefardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, forbids the forced feeding of fowl in Israel in Yabia Omer, Vol. 9, Yoreh De'ah, no. 3 (originally issued in 1976), both for reasons of kashrus and tza'ar baalei chaim.

posted by Tzemach Atlas at 7:32 PM

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e. My Letter to the Editor

March 3, 2005
Editor, the Jerusalem Post
letters@jpost.com

Dear Editor:

As president of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) and author of “Judaism and Vegetarianism,” I would like to respectfully indicate my surprise and sorrow at reading that Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv ruled there is no halachic restriction against force-feeding geese for foie gras, despite an Israeli High Court ruling banning the production of foie gras and the adopted practice of a growing number of European countries (“Force feeding geese for foie gras is kosher,” Mar. 1, 2005 issue.)

Rabbi Elyashiv’s ruling would seem to condone any mistreatment of animals, including recreational hunting that our sages have condemned, as long as some people felt it beneficial. Even if one believes that meat is necessary for proper nutrition, in spite of the abundant evidence to the contrary, surely there are many choices that do not involve such
systemic brutality as force-feeding young geese until their livers swell to many times their normal size, causing serious, sometimes fatal, pain and trauma.

In his book, “The Vision of Eden: Animal Welfare and Vegetarianism in Jewish Law and Mysticism,” Rabbi Dovid Sears cites many Jewish sources who deemed the stuffing of geese halachically unacceptable. He indicates that Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, the most influential contemporary halachic authority in the Sefardic world and former Sefardic Chief Rabbi of Israel, forbids the forced feeding of fowl in Israel in Yabia Omer, Vol. 9, Yoreh De'ah, no. 3 (originally issued in 1976), both for reasons of kashrus and tza'ar baalei chaim. Rabbi David Rosen, former Chief Rabbi of Ireland, stated: “Pate de foie gras is obtained through the willful desecration of a Torah prohibition and any truly God-revering Jew will not partake of such a product, which is an offense against the Creator and His Torah.”

Very truly yours,
Richard H. Schwartz

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5. Messages From Important Vegetarian Group -- VUNA (Vegetarian Union of North America)

VUNA’s objective is promoting a strong, effective, cooperative vegetarian movement throughout North America

Their aim is to supply vegetarian organizations and individuals with information that will help them organize and maintain a strong vegetarian lifestyle.

Membership is open to groups and individuals.
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Forwarded message from VUNA (a group that I used to be actively involved with):

Hello VUNA Members and Supporters,

We realize you haven't heard from us in a long time, but wanted to let you know that we've been working behind the scenes on reorganizing and rebuilding the Vegetarian Union of North America. The VUNA Council has been holding regular planning sessions via teleconference and also keeps in touch via e-mail.

Gerry Coffey has done a great new issue of VUNA VIEWS which is too big to send to you via e-mail, but we know you'll want to read all the details so we've posted it on our website at the following address: www.ivu.org/vuna/news/2005

Included in the newsletter are updates on what we've been doing (including a submission to the USDA), Councilor profiles, news items, and more!

Another important development is that we are holding elections for the VUNA Council this Spring. We are seeking a few good vegetarians or vegans to join our team. For more details see the following message from Saurabh Dalal, VUNA Secretary, below and the online VUNA VIEWS at the above URL.

Peter McQueen
VUNA President

Second message from VUNA:
Hello VUNA Members and Friends

We are once again doing organizational planning for VUNA, specifically in the establishment of a new VUNA Board of Directors (also called the VUNA Council).

"The property, affairs, and business of the Corporation shall be managed by the Board of Directors." The Council consists of between 3 and 12 individuals.

This is the official Call for Nominations for names as candidates for the VUNA Council. Candidates must be:
- vegetarian, which according to the VUNA definition is "the practice of living without the use of meat, fish, or fowl, with or without the addition of eggs and dairy products."
- an individual member of VUNA (which includes all members of IVU in North America)
- prepared to undertake agreed specific responsibilities on behalf of the Council.

Please note:
1. an official email, nominating yourself or anyone else, must come to Dennis Bayomi of the VUNA Nominating Committee: dbayomi@mts.net . You may also send this by regular mail to: Winnipeg Vegetarian Association, Attn: Dennis Bayomi, Box 2721; Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3C 4B3.
2. each candidate should then submit a 'position statement' not to exceed 250 words to dbayomi@mts.net or by snail mail to the address above. The format is open and can address past experience, specific skills or knowledge that would be of likely interest to VUNA, a willingness to undertake specific responsibilities, ideas to move VUNA forward, and anything else that the candidate feels important and relevant.
3. #1 and #2 above must be submitted via email or regular mail to Dennis Bayomi by 1 April, 2005.

Please review the relevant information (Bylaws) on the VUNA website:
http://www.ivu.org/vuna/members/bylaws.html

THANKS for your interest and support of the greater vegetarian movement!

Wishing you the very best -
Saurabh Dalal
VUNA Secretary

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6. Action Alert: Responding to Canada’s Annual Slaughter of Seals

Forwarded message from the Humane Society of the US (HSUS):

STAND UP FOR SEALS
In late March the ice floes off Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada will once again run red with the blood of hundreds of thousands of harp seals, some as young as 12 days old. Canada's annual seal slaughter is the largest commercial hunt of marine mammals anywhere in the world--and the rest of the world is taking notice.

On March 15, The HSUS and our Protect Seals Network partners will hold the first International Day of Action Against the Canadian Seal Hunt. Participating groups will announce a boycott of Canadian seafood--to be launched once the first seal is clubbed or shot to death on the ice this year. More than 40 demonstrations are planned at Canadian embassies and consulates around the world. Please make your plans to attend an event near you and add your voice. http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/Zdzf5tE1VBCZ/

The U.S. Senate introduced a resolution, S. Res. 33, on February 1 urging the Canadian government to call off the hunt. Senator Carl Levin (D-MI), the lead sponsor, noted that polls reflect 71 percent of Canadians believe the seal hunt should be banned outright, or limited to seals over one year of age.

"The clubbing of baby seals can't be defended or justified, and Canada should end it just as we ended the Alaska baby seal massacre 20 years ago," said Senator Levin in his remarks to the Senate.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
1. Attend an International Day of Action rally on March 15:
http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/N7zf5tE1ZjKP/

2. Ask your U.S. Senators to co-sponsor S. Res. 33 and send a message to Canada to end the bloody seal hunt:
http://hsus.ga4.org/ct/N1zf5tE1ZjK0/

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7. Valuable Vegetarian Links

The information below was submitted by author, activist, and JVNA advisor Dan Brook

Here is a very good list of vegetarian links from Vegetarians in Paradise:
http://www.vegparadise.com/linkswe.html

Mine are listed under General Information Sources:
http://www.vegparadise.com/linkswe.html#infosources

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8. Ad Campaign Protests Agriprocessers/Postville Slaughterhouse Practices

Search http://www.kwqc.com/Global/story.asp?S=3002176
http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43035

POSTVILLE Animal rights activists have launched an ad campaign against a meatpacking plant in northeast Iowa, saying it uses cruel practices to slaughter cattle.

Agriprocessors in Postville is the world's largest kosher slaughterhouse. The company sells meat under the Aaron's Best and Rubashkin's brand names.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals hopes its campaign will encourage Jews to buy other brands of meat.

PETA is spending 15-thousand-dollars to purchase ads in eight Jewish publications.

PETA has filed a complaint with the U-S Department of Agriculture alleging that Agriprocessors routinely violates the federal law demanding the humane slaughtering of animals.

A U-S-D-A investigation of the complaint is ongoing.

A company spokesman says the ad campaign will not hurt business. He says retailers and customers are standing by the company.

Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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9. Israeli Teens and Vegetarianism

Teens need their greens
By Bruria Atar

http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=217547&contrassID=3&subContrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=0

In fact, adolescents need to be especially careful to eat properly to encourage healthy functioning and optimum growth

The number of overweight young people in Israel has doubled in the past 10 years. Today, about a quarter of Israeli kids are too fat. Moreover, 75 to 80 percent of the overweight adolescents will grow up to be overweight adults. In terms of morbidity and mortality, they are at higher risk later on for high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and so forth. People are considered overweight if they deviate by more than 20 percent from their ideal weight.

This is not to say that overweight adolescents or children should diet. "I'm against dieting and especially against avoiding certain food groups," says Nira Feldman, a clinical dietitian with the Maccabi health maintenance organization (HMO) in northern Israel. "Adolescents must eat well, and correctly. Drastically reducing the amount of food consumed is dangerous, especially for girls, because it can interfere with normal menstruation.

"Crash diets generally make people even fatter, hungrier and more frustrated. Most important is to make sure that a youngster doesn't begin skipping entire food groups, like cutting out all dairy products or legumes. Those situations should be discussed with a dietitian," she continues.

The main problem during adolescence, emphasize nutrition experts, is a lack of nutritional balance that can retard development, since it's precisely then that the child is undergoing accelerated growth and reaching his or her full height. Hence the essential minerals must be provided: iron, calcium, zinc, magnesium.

In a survey done in the Dan region of children aged 1 to 16, 34 percent suffered a preliminary iron deficiency and 15.7 percent were anemic. Iron is necessary for moving oxygen properly to the body's tissues through the red blood cells. According to Dr. Sarah Kaplan, chief dietitian at the Meuhedet HMO, a lack of iron is the main reason for anemia, which can cause fatigue, weakness, poor concentration and a decline in the ability to learn and remember. Sometimes it can even lead to retarded development and behavioral disturbances like apathy and absent-mindedness.

Therefore, Dr. Kaplan emphasizes, iron-rich foods like meat and liver should be consumed in greater quantities along with dark, leafy green vegetables, walnuts and whole grains, plus foods with plenty of Vitamin C like melon, citrus fruit and kiwi. Food supplements or medicines can be added if necessary.

SNIP

Meat? Ugh!

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10. Can We Learn From Anti-smoking Campaigns

There has been much recent progress in reducing smoking through education campaigns. Hence, perhaps the article below re reducing smoking might trigger off some ideas re reducing the consumption of animal products.

Smoking gets own 'Kyoto treaty'
By Nick Triggle, BBC News health reporter
February 27, 2005, BBC NEWS
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/4295845.stm

Each day about 13,500 people worldwide die from smoking-related diseases. By 2020 the mortality rate will have doubled - the equivalent of 10 million a year.

To tackle the rise, which is expected to be felt hardest in developing countries, the World Health Organization's tobacco control treaty comes into force on Sunday.

It is regarded as smoking's answer to the Kyoto agreement - only with teeth.

Ratified by 57 countries, including the UK, the document sets out a programme to reduce the number of people smoking across the world.

Under its terms governments have promised to introduce smoking bans, tobacco advertising restrictions and health warnings on cigarette packets, draw up anti-smuggling strategies and agree to increase tax on tobacco sales.

Developing countries

It has been hailed as a landmark in the fight against smoking after developing countries - where 84% of the world's 1.8 billion smokers live - took a lead role in setting it up.

Two thirds of the 57 founding members are developing nations.

And while many of the Western governments which are on board have already taken a tough stance against smoking, the signatories do include Japan and Germany, both of which have been slow to introduce tobacco control.

Supporters also point out some of the world's largest tobacco growers - India, Japan, Pakistan, Thailand and Turkey - have agreed to be bound by it.

Key requirements of treaty Ban tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion, where constitutions allow, within five years Tobacco packaging must include health warnings covering at least 30% of packet within 3 years Introduce measures to protect people from second-hand tobacco smoke in public places Draw up strategies to combat smuggling Adopt tax policies which discourage smoking

But with just over a third of the WHO's member states adopting the treaty, the impact is likely to be limited initially.

Dr Vera Luiza Da Costa e Silva, director of the Tobacco Free Initiative, the WHO department behind the treaty, said she expected the number of countries to have ratified it to top 100 by November.

More than 100 other countries have also signed the treaty, but will not be bound by its restrictions until they agree to ratify it.

"Obviously getting other countries to ratify it is the natural step and I think that will happen.

"The framework allows member countries to work together to protect themselves from the big cigarette manufacturers through tightening marketing restrictions, controlling pricing and sponsorship.

"This is particularly relevant for the developing countries, which are increasingly being targeted by tobacco companies."

Smoking bans

But she said it was also relevant to countries who had already introduced advertising and smoking bans.

"The framework also deals with smuggling, that is a problem for these countries."

Global tobacco control expert Jeff Collin, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, also believes the treaty, called the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, will have an impact.

"This is a very strong treaty that asks a lot of signatories, unlike say Kyoto. There would be no point in having a weakened treaty that was acceptable to everyone.

"What has been particularly impressive is that the developing countries from Africa and Asia have led the way, they really wanted this.

"It has had a low profile as many think it will only have an impact in developing countries but that is not true.

"It also encourages best practice, new protocols and further progress, some of the western countries could really take a lead.

"And you only need to have a look at the tobacco industry's sponsorship of Formula One.

"They can get round national bans because TV shows the advertising when the races happen in countries with no ban."

Anti-smoking campaigners also believe the treaty will have an impact.

Deborah Arnott, director of Ash, said: "The smoking industry is very nervous about it, it is already encouraging countries to adopt policies to cut smoking such as public bans and warnings.

"We are not going to see it make an impact straight away but over a number of years I think we will see a difference."

She also believes it could force the UK government into a rethink about its proposed smoking ban which does not include pubs which do not serve food.

"I think you could argue the public are not being protected."

Warnings

But the apparent lack of enthusiasm among EU states has caused some concern.

Only 10 of the EU's 25 states have ratified the treaty even though under European legislation health warnings are placed on all cigarette packets and a total ban on advertising in print and on-line comes into force in July.

Philip Tod, a spokesman on health and consumer protection at the European Commission, agreed the remaining 15 member states should commit themselves.

"The treaty is an important step forward in tackling tobacco control worldwide but we need more countries to sign up.

"The framework is a reflection of EU actions on tobacco control so we would expect member states to ratify it."

We sell our products in more than 160 countries and in all of them we target adults and support regulation of the industry Di Giovanni Tommaso, of Philip Morris

However, some believe the treaty is weakened by the refusal of the US to become a member.

Officials close to the treaty negotiators told BBC News that ever since the idea was first proposed in 1995, the US has been trying to water down the contents under pressure from the tobacco industry.

Laurent Huber, a co-ordinator for the Framework Convention Alliance, an international umbrella group to support NGOs in implementing the treaty, said: "If there is one area of it that is weak, it is to do with trade.

"A lot is expected on public health, but I am afraid it is not as strong on trade.

"And that is where the battle is going to be. The tobacco industry is increasingly looking to push its trade into poorer countries."

And he said that as the US - home to many of the leading cigarette manufacturers - had not ratified the treaty, the tobacco industry could exploit loopholes to push their interests abroad.

Behind the scenes the tobacco industry is said to have objected to many of the treaty measures, however in public market leaders say they are behind it.

Di Giovanni Tommaso, a spokesman for Philip Morris, the world's largest cigarette manufacturer, said: "We look forward to continuing to work with governments on making sure different regulatory systems complement each other.

"We sell our products in more than 160 countries and in all of them we target adults and support regulation of the industry."

© BBC MMV

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11. Action Alert: Saving Our National Forests

Thanks to Rabbi Dovid Sears, long time friend and JVNA advisor, scholar, and author of many books, including “The Vision of Eden: Animal Welfare and Vegetarianism in Jewish Law and Mysticism” for submitting the report below.

Forwarded message from:
Katelyn Sabochik
Online Campaign Manager
info@saveourenvironment.org

This fall the Bush administration issued deplorable new management rules for our national forests that put millions of acres of our public lands at risk.

Now the Forest Service wants to exempt forest management plans - the blueprints for how our National Forests are run - from public environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Exempting these plans from public scrutiny would be very dangerous for our forests - we can't let this happen!

I just submitted my comment to the Forest Service, will you join me? Tuesday March 7, is the deadline to provide feedback on this dangerous proposal, so please use the link below to submit your comments now before it's too late!

[Please note that there is a reference to Christmas on the petition's form letter, but you can modify the form letter if you wish.]

http://www.saveourenvironment.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=13074&ref=482315

NEPA is a landmark environmental law that has protected our natural heritage for over thirty years. This law requires federal agencies to study and disclose the environmental effects of their actions and to include the public in their decision-making.

The Bush administration has worked to steadily chip away at this important law over the past four years. This latest attack on NEPA would greatly reduce information available to the public, scientists, and other agencies. It would make it much more difficult for the public to weigh in on or provide comments, concerns, objections, or alternatives to Forest Service proposals.

Well over 100 national forests are due for revised management plans by the end of this decade and therefore at risk. If we don't nip it in the bud now, the effects of this exemption could stretch across millions of acres of our forestlands.

Please don't wait. Click this link to let the Forest Service know that you are opposed to this harmful proposal!
http://www.saveourenvironment.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=13074&ref=482315

Thanks for your help!

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