Shalom everyone,
This update/Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) Online Newsletter has the following items:
1. Best Wishes for a Joyous, Meaningful Sukkot
2. Getting A SACRED DUTY to Rabbis, Rabbinical Students and other Key People
3. Vegetarian Activist Seeking Supporters To Raise Money for His Marathon Run To Support Vegetarian Outreach
4. Another Way to Get Our Message Out
5. Some Thoughts On getting Our Vegetarian Messages Out More Effectively
6. Israel's Worst Drought Ever Continues
7. Does the Current Economic Crisis Indicate the Need for a New Way of Life (that Includes Vegetarianism?
8. NEW USGS (Geological Survey) Climate Change Website Established
9. Nearly a Quarter of World's Mammals Face Extinction, Annual "Red List" Reports
10. Petition Urges Vegetarianism as a Response to Global Hunger
11. California Ballot Proposition Supports Improving Conditions for Farmed Animals
12. 10 reasons for NOT drinking cow's milk
13. Yom Kippur Teaching on Compassion
14. Rising Seas/Severe Storms Threaten Humanity
15. Action Alert: Getting Vegetarian Options into Schools
16. Article Re Kosher Slaughter In NY Times Magazine Section
Some material has been deferred to a later update/newsletter to keep this one from being even longer.
[Materials in brackets like this [ ] within an article or forwarded message are my editorial notes/comments.]
Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the JVNA, unless otherwise indicated, but may be presented to increase awareness and/or to encourage respectful dialogue. Also, material re conferences, retreats, forums, trips, and other events does not necessarily imply endorsement by JVNA or endorsement of the kashrut, Shabbat observances, or any other Jewish observances, 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. Also, JVNA does not necessarily agree with all positions of groups whose views are included or whose events are announced in this newsletter.
As always, your comments and suggestions are very welcome.
Thanks,
Richard
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1. Best Wishes for a Joyous, Meaningful Sukkot
My article relating Sukkot and vegetarianism is below. It and other articles relating the Jewish festivals to vegetarianism can be found in the festivals at JewishVeg.com/Schwartz. Please use the material in these articles for your own articles, letters to editors and talking points.
Sukkot, Simchat Torah, and Vegetarianism
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.
president@JewishVeg.com
jewishveg.com/schwartz
There are many connections that can be made between vegetarianism and the joyous Jewish festivals of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret (the Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly), and Simchat Torah:
1. Sukkot commemorates the 40 years when the ancient Israelites lived in the wilderness in frail huts and were sustained by manna.
According to Isaac Arama (1420-1494), author of Akedat Yitzchak,and others, the manna was God's attempt to reestablish for the Israelites the vegetarian diet that prevailed before the flood in the time of Noah.
2. On Simchat Torah, Jews complete the annual cycle of Torah readings, and begin again, starting with the first chapter of Genesis, which contains God's first dietary law: "Behold I have given you every herb yielding seed which is upon the face of the earth, and every tree, in which there is the fruit of a tree-yielding seed - to you it shall be for food." (Genesis 1:29). Also, the Torah, along with prophetic and Talmudic interpretations, is the source of the Jewish mandates - to take care of our health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, conserve natural resources, help hungry people, and seek and pursue peace - that point to vegetarianism as the ideal diet today.
3. Sukkot is the Jewish harvest festival called the "Feast of Ingathering". Hence, it can remind us that many more people can be sustained on vegetarian diets than on animal-centered diets that presently involve over 70 percent of the grain produced in the United States being fed to animals raised for slaughter, while 15 to 20 million people die due to malnutrition and its effects annually.
4. The Sukkot holiday, including Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, is known as the "Season of Rejoicing", because people's worries about the success of the harvest are over. Since one must be in good health in order to fully rejoice, the many health benefits of vegetarian diets and the knowledge that such diets are not harmful to hungry people or animals are factors that can enhance rejoicing.
5. Sukkahs, the temporary structures that Jews dwell in during Sukkot, are decorated with pictures and replicas of apples, oranges, bananas, peppers, carrots, and other fruits and vegetables, never with meats or other animal products.
6. After the sukkah, the main ritual symbols for Sukkot are related to the plant kingdom. The Torah states: "On the first day, you shall take the first fruit of hadar (goodly) trees (an etrog or citron), branches of palm trees (lulav), boughs of leafy trees (hadassim) and myrtle, and willows of the field (aravot), and you shall rejoice before the Lord thy God seven days (Leviticus 23:40). These four species represent the beauty and bounty of the land of Israel's harvest.
7. On Shemini Atzeret, Jews pray for rain, and plead to God that it should be for a blessing, not a curse. This is a reminder of the preciousness of rain water to nourish the crops so that there will be a successful harvest. Also, according to the Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 1.2), the world is judged on Sukkot with regard to how much rainfall it will receive. In the days when the Temple stood in Jerusalem, there was a joyous "Water Drawing Ceremony" (Simchat Bet Shueva), designed to remind God to pour forth water when it was needed. Modern intensive livestock agriculture requires huge amounts of water, much of it to irrigate feed crops. According to Newsweek magazine, the amount of water needed to raise one steer would float a Naval destroyer. A person on an animal-based diet requires up to 14 times as much water as a person on a vegan diet.
8. Sukkot is a universal holiday. There are at least three indications related to the festival that Jews consider not only their own welfare, but also the fate of all of the world's people:
a. In Temple days, there were 70 sacrifices for the then 70 nations of the world;
b. The lulav is waved in all directions, to indicate God's rule over and concern for the entire world;
c. The roof of the sukkah is made only of natural materials such as wood and bamboo, and must be open sufficiently so that people inside can see the stars, to remind them that their concerns should extend beyond their immediate needs and should encompass the world.
Vegetarianism also considers not only a person's health, but also
encompasses broader concerns, including the global environment, the
world's hungry people, and the efficient use of the world's resources.
9. Moving out of comfortable homes to dwell in relatively frail
sukkahs indicates that it is not our power and wealth that we should rely on, but rather that our fate is in God's hands. And it is God Who originally provided vegetarian diets for people, and created us with hands, teeth, and digestive systems most conducive to eating plant foods, not animal products.
10. Dwelling in sukkahs also teaches that no matter how magnificent
our homes, no matter how extensive our wealth and material possessions, we should be humble and not be overly concerned about our status. Vegetarianism is also an attempt to not be taken in by status symbols, such as those that the eating of meat often represent.
11. Sukkot's prophetic readings point to the universal messianic transformation of the world. According to Rabbi Abraham Isaac Hakohen Kook, first Chief Rabbi of pre-state Israel, based on the prophecy of Isaiah (. . . the wolf will dwell with the lamb, . . . the lion will eat straw like the ox . . . (Isaiah 11: 6-9)), the messianic period will be vegetarian.
In summary, a shift to vegetarianism is a way to be consistent with many values and teachings related to the joyous festivals of Sukkot,
Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah.
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2. Getting A SACRED DUTY to Rabbis, Rabbinical Students and other Key People
We have already freely distributed almost 20,000 DVDs to rabbis, Hillel directors, educators, JCC directors, animal rights activists and other key people. However, there are still many people we would like to get complimentary DVDS to many more influential people.
If you can help get DVDs to key people, please let me know. Also, please let interested people know that they can see the entire DVD and/or obtain a complimentary copy and/or get background information about the acclaimed documentary at ASacredDuty.com
One important effort is indicated below in a message from Boris Dolin, web coordinator of ShalomVeg.com and a rabbinical student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College:
“I still would like to give a copy of A Sacred Duty to all RRC students and staff. If you can send me 100 copies then there would be enough for everyone with a few left over in case people want extras to hand out.”
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3. Vegetarian Activist Seeking Supporters To Raise Money for His Marathon Run To Support Vegetarian Outreach
Message from Boris Dolin, founder and coordinator or ShalomVeg.com and a rabbinical student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College:
I am currently training for my third marathon running on Team Vegan Philadelphia. I have a goal of raising $500 to go to veg education causes before the race in December, and was wondering if you could send out a blurb in the next JVNA newsletter.
The more I can raise the better.
Here's a blurb you can use:
Rabbinical Student Running on Team Vegan to Raise Awareness about Veg Issues
I am training for my third marathon in November, and this time around am running on Team Vegan Philadelphia. The group is out to show that vegans are healthy and strong, and also is raising money for local and national veg outreach. I need to raise $500 by race day, and am looking for supporters. Now is your chance to help a vegan rabbinical student finish a marathon and work for justice in the process. Even a few dollars will help do important outreach work, and if I raise $1000, I will try to beat three hours :) Go to http://www.firstgiving.com/borisdolin to make a pledge. Thank you for your help!
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4. Another Way to Get Our Message Out
Many publications on the internet permit postings after their articles. This is a great way to get our message out to many more people, through placing postings after relevant article. Below is a posting I recently submitted.
Kudos, Michael for a great article.
For more information on Jewish teachings re vegetarianism, please visit (1) the Jewish Vegetarians of North America web site (www.JewishVeg.com), (2) my over 130 articles at JewishVeg.com/schwartz and ASacredDuty.com, where you can find out about, view and/or order a complimentary copy of our one-hour documentary A SACRED DUTY: APPLYING JEWISH VALUES TO HELP HEAL THE WORLD, which relates animal-based diets to global warming and much more.
Richard Schwartz
President, Jewish Vegetarians of North America
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5. Some Thoughts On getting Our Vegetarian Messages Out More Effectively
a. Comment from JVNA advisor, rabbinical student and coordinator of ShalomVeg.com Boris Dolin:
This recent email (below), and one of your emails you sent out a few weeks ago about people ignoring a message from a vegetarian organization did make me think about some of this issues that have come up while discussing veg and animal issues with the RRC, and even the general liberal Jewish community that I work with. I have found that when I discuss the issues with other people and vegetarianism and veganism is the theme, people do often "turn off". As we all know, from a psychological and social perspective discussing veg issues is inherently challenging. When we tell other people that their eating habits might not be the best for society or the environment, they are bound to be threatened--they need to eat to survive, they have been eating the same way their entire lives, and society as a whole sees their lifestyle as normal and healthy. Then we come in and say "much of what society has been telling you is not true and is actually harmful". As Jews and people from religious communities, we are doubly challenged, since the people we are trying to influence have not only society but "tradition" to back them up. When we confront another Jewish person, they can always fall back on the argument that God or Jewish law gives them permission to continue their lifestyle. This is understandable, and of course in some way we must respect this, since as Jews we cannot deny the power of tradition and faith.
So how are supposed to influence religious communities, especially if they are so resistant as the email from Martha mentions? I am wondering if maybe we are focusing too much at first on facts and connecting to Jewish law and traditions when addressing the issues within our community. There are deeper values that Jews and of course most people hold that influence how they live their lives and how the make decisions about what to eat, and what to believe in. Instead of asking how can we be commanded in the Torah to feed the hungry or care for animals and continue to eat meat, maybe we should instead be asking first what are the deepest values that people hold--only once these values are brought out in the open, and the people accept them, can facts really connect. This is one of the main ideas behind humane education philosophy: we are not trying to get people to realize facts and statistics to make them change, we are instead asking them what its means to be the most caring and compassionate person you can be. We can do this from a "secular" and a religious perspective. Adults, just like children in a classroom, are more apt to learn and change if they are made to recognize the values that they hold, and then are presented with information that allows them to make the connections for themselves. If they are just given facts before the connections are made, then I don't think the change will be quite as strong.
One way that I think that we can do this, is by turning the focus away from animals, at least at first and put the focus on "social justice." Most Jewish communities are big on this issue, even if it can be a very broad idea that encompasses so many different issues. Being a vegan is about social justice and recognizing that we above all are working for people; by being vegan, people can come closer to each other and to their environment. Of course the non-human animals will be helped too, but since their pain is caused by our decisions, we are the ones who need to change. People are hurt by living in a hypocritical world where some choose to care about some things and be ignorant of others, no matter how much pain and suffering is causes. Being a vegan is about living justice, not only when sitting in a synagogue or marching on the street, but when we are sitting alone in our house eating breakfast or dinner. It is the only fight for justice, and the only protest against injustice that we do with one of the most important things we need to survive--food. When people ask me why I am a vegan, I do not answer because I am against animal cruelty and want to care for the environment and feed the hungry. I instead say "I am vegan because I cannot justify saying I believe in the values of social justice, human rights and caring for the environment and continue to participate in something that is a core representation of exploitation and pain in the world." Then I ask why the person has made the choice to eat meat. The facts usually do come up, but I have only been able to make people change when I can get them to answer non-threatening questions, and think through their behaviors and how they connect to the rest of the values first.
And just like other social justice causes, maybe we should be more out in the open for the "fight". Yes people might see it as a little threatening, but why are we not standing out in front of our synagogues handing out pamphlets before services? Why are we not showing more videos of animal cruelty and Jewish community events? Why are we not challenging Jewish leaders and rabbis with the idea of hypocrisy and social justice not just facts? I know that the answer is partially that we are part of the community, and the Jewish community is not one that we want to hurt. We don't want to do something that would make us outcasts or no longer fully part of this community. But not being forceful enough, and not doing whatever we can, even if it makes people uncomfortable, just will make making change more difficult. Ultimately, if we get people to first recognize their own core values, and listen to and guide them as they make connections, then they will make changes. But we have to be more "out" and visible with our views. Emails, letters and movies are an important and necessary part of the fight, but I think we need to do more. People need to see our faces and be asked questions face to face. If this is a protest against injustice, then we need to protest where we can be more visible.
Just some of my thoughts as we head into the new year,
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b. Comments from vegetarian activist Martha Sullivan:
I have wanted to run this idea by you for a few years, actually........I value your opinion and your thoughts about it. I'll supply a little background to put things in context.
I was raised Catholic. In my 20s I joined a "progressive" "Catholic" (oxymoron??) church whose members and pastors were later excommunicated by the Pope because we had broken too many rules concerning ordaining women priests, blessing same sex marriages, etc. In 2001 I eventually left that church after getting disillusioned with the hard-core hierarchical structure and hypocrisy that had emerged in it over time. "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss" - remember those lyrics? (Kind of similar to Norm Phelps' disillusionment with the Dalai Lama. People don't "walk the talk".) Losing my spiritual community after so many years remains one of the painful experiences of my life, yet my own spirituality has grown and deepened in so many ways since then. I could never regret leaving because of that.
But what was the most disappointing in all of that experience was how utterly resistant my own community was to hearing any message about adopting a more compassionate diet. All of these supposedly forward-thinking people wanted no part of hearing how they might be contributing to animal cruelty. I guess people have an enormous investment in seeing themselves as "good", "liberal", etc. Don't present them with any facts to the contrary, or suggest that there are ways they could improve - especially if it "threatens" their diet.
So for the past several years, based on both my own experiences and others I have heard about, I have begun to wonder if religious communities really are the best place to be focusing our time and efforts to promote the compassion of a vegan lifestyle. Along the way I hooked up with the traditional Catholics, and spent more than a year teamed up with a dynamic, creative guy (a Catholic deacon - head of the Adult Education in the Rochester Diocese) who worked with me to develop a great, comprehensive program (touching on not only the animal cruelty but also the environmental and social justice aspects) which he planned to introduce to all the parishes. Then there were personnel changes, he was moved out of his postion and his replacement was not interested in pursuing our program. Dead end there.
I also approached other progressive Christian denominations in Rochester with similarly disappointing results. I had some contacts in the Episcopal and Lutherin churches but their committees to address those kinds of issues were all "over-extended". No one was interested despite receiving packets of relevant material and videos.
It has been quite a while since I've seen my Jewish "partner in crime" who was going to approach her rabbi to see what she could get started. Maybe she's had more luck than I've had.
So I've started to wonder - maybe we're barking up the wrong tree, at least to begin with. Maybe people in religious communities are too entrenched in their own beliefs to be open to such a "threatening" message. Although the religious communites are obviously where the message should be originating from, maybe that's more of a theoretical idea than a practical or realistic one. Maybe we inadvertantly started with the hardest communites first, instead of the easiest.
I say that because I stumbled into a situation that turned out surprising well. I gave a small presentation to people at my workplace.
Long story short, they were receptive and interested! Not threatened! And I wondered if it was PRECISELY BECAUSE it wasn't in a religious setting. I don't have much of an idea about any of their religious leanings or practices, so I'm assuming they are as varied as the normal population. But their defenses weren't up - there was measurably less resistance........holy moly!! What a shock. So much less resistance than what I encountered in church settings.
Shortly after that my mother-in-law came to live with us, I quit my job to take care of her and I haven't returned to the work force. But I have continued to ponder that experience and wonder if we wouldn't be better off going that route first - the "workplace" route.
What's your thought?
[*** I think we should try to work with all types of groups and consider a wide variety of approaches.]
All the best to you,
Martha Sullivan, Rochester, NY
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6. Israel's Worst Drought Ever Continues
Kinneret drops two meters this year
By EHUD ZION WALDOKS
Jerusalem Post 10/3/08
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1222017443392
The water level in Lake Kinneret dropped two meters this year, the Water Authority said Thursday, a steeper annual drop than in any previous year.
The hydrological year ended on September 30 with the Kinneret at 214.05 meters below sea level, down from its height of 212.05 meters below sea level reached on April 3.
The Kinneret's "black line," newly coined this year, is 214.87 meters below sea level. When the black line is reached, the pumps in the lake are exposed to the air, and they can no longer send water into the National Water Carrier.
In July, the lake dropped below the "red line," at which the concentration of pollutants rises to undesirable levels.
Since spring 2004 the Kinneret has lost 5.13 meters, which is equivalent to 850 million cubic meters of water, the authority said. That is roughly equivalent to an entire year's worth of household water use.
This was the fourth consecutive year of dwindling rainfall and the forecast for the next couple of years is just as bleak.
The Water Authority has focused its efforts on two main goals. In the short term, a massive water conservation PR campaign has been launched. "Going from red to black" - a reference to the lake's dropping water levels - has appeared on billboards, on the Internet and on TV.
The Water Authority has also produced a series of commercials which depict a woman and her house drying up and cracking to hammer home the point. The authority says the campaign has achieved significant results since its launch over the summer.
In the medium to long-term, funds have been allocated to expand desalination efforts from the current level of 130 million cubic meters per year to 750 million cubic meters per year by the middle to end of the next decade. Plants in Ashkelon and Palmahim will soon be joined by one in Hadera next year and two more by 2012.
Desalination represents Israel's best hope for drinking water as rainfall has been diminishing. Environmentalists have raised concerns because desalination plants require a fair amount of electricity.
However, as more and more of Israel's electricity comes from renewable sources like solar power, that concern might be mitigated. Moreover, the desalination plants in Ashkelon and Palmahim employ reverse osmosis - the most efficient and least intrusive desalination method in the world. The plant in Hadera and likely all future plants will also use this method.
Additional efforts include reclaiming almost all of the country's sewage for agricultural purposes. Right now, 75 percent of sewage water is treated and the authority aims to bring that to close to 100%.
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7. Does the Current Economic Crisis Indicate the Need for a New Way of Life (that Includes Vegetarianism?
Spirituality and Ecological Hope
Economic crisis: invitation to a new way of life
Posted: 05 Oct 2008 08:14 PM CDT
Fostering Ecological Hope
Today from Margaret Swedish:
Can the economic crisis be perceived as an opportunity to change how we live? Of course it can. And whether one sees that as scary, or with relief, or with an “about time,” or with sadness or joy, depends upon what one values.
Humans are living in a way that is rapidly depleting the planet of all that we need to sustain rich and abundant life. As we have noted before, to continue human consumption at current levels would take more than 1.3 Earths, and that's only if we maintain the current population of 6.8 billion. But we are not going to do that. We are going to add 2-3 billion more humans over the next 4 decades.
Keep in mind that it took the 59 years that I've been on this planet for the population to get from 2.5 billion to 6.8. It is no wonder that we are seeing and feeling the collapse or endangering of ecosystems everywhere. It is no wonder that we are feeling a bit crowded. It is no wonder that one local community after another is struggling with issues of water, sewage, energy, crowded transit, and more.
The predominant mode of development has been to take from the planet whatever we need to drive the engine of 'growth.' But the planet is finite and its resources and precious gifts limited. If we are well beyond sustainability, much less the planet's ability to evolve life with greater diversity and abundance, then sane minds might suggest that something pretty basic and profound needs to change - like the economic model.
Humans in general have a great reluctance, it seems, to accept this reality of our existence because it means changing how we think of ourselves and of the meaning of life. If we think of ourselves as on top of the planet, floating on its surface, and not part of its ecosystems, its biosphere, then it is there for us to exploit for our benefit - though soon the fact that we have taken way too much means that those benefits are about to run out.
If we think of ourselves as deeply interwoven with those systems, part of the story of the evolution of life, then the situation we are in ought to raise alarm, and I mean, alarm.
What can bring about a new way of life that might salvage the human project within the evolutionary story? One thing is to challenge our sense of identity as something outside the web of life and independent of natural forces. While our technology has allowed us great ability to manipulate those natural forces, that has not put us outside them. While we can put a roof over our heads to keep out the rain, that does not mean it is not raining.
And while we build houses on stilts along the seashore, that does not mean that ocean surges will not simply wash them away in a storm. That we can build fires to cook food does not make us less dependent on food.
However, buying packaged food and sticking it in the microwave can cut us off from an experience of our dependence on what grows out of the Earth. It can keep us from experiencing that what we take in becomes part of us, part of our body's ability to be healthy and strong, or not. This alienation can keep us from realizing the threat we take in when we eat processed foods grown with chemicals in depleted soils with additives and artificial colors and flavoring.
Same with the air we breathe, the water we drink.
By the same token, our behavior can be toxic or benevolent for the planet, depending on what we put back into the soil, water, and air.
In this project, we speak of spirituality (not religion, which is different - not irrelevant, obviously, but different), meaning in broad terms our meaning frameworks, our values, our inner motivations, our raison d'etre, our reason to get out of bed in the morning. Right now, the 'spirituality' of economic growth has us entangled in a deeply dysfunctional way of life that has caused alienation from nature and in many ways within the human community.
What we know now is how bonded we all are in the ecological crisis that faces this planet. I will write more about this in next month's first issue of our online Zine. Western society has tended to focus an global climate change as the preeminent ecological threat of our time. I would argue that, even if we were not dangerously warming the planet, we face an unprecedented threat caused by our over-consumption of the natural goods of the Earth and the amount of waste we spew into its air, waters and soils which it can no longer absorb. Global warming caused by our greenhouse gas emissions is only one aspect of that crisis.
Which is one reason why, sadly, we are and will be unprepared for the collapses to come. I mean, even knowing what hurricanes can do, people still build houses on stilts on the beach, some still decide to ride out the storm, and then many can still be shocked by the destruction after. This is how we tend to approach so many of these threats. I suppose that people will be equally shocked out west when water no longer comes out of their taps - despite a generation of warnings about the depletion of water sources caused by overdevelopment and overuse.
The economic crisis that confronts us now can be, if we make it so, an invitation to change how we live. The economics of consumption and waste on which our way of life in my generation has been built is crumbling for multiple reasons, including our own selfishness and addiction to shopping and possessing - on credit for the most part in recent decades. Now the wealth of the rich and the jobs of the not-rich depend on this way of life, which means, we are wholly dependent on an unsustainable way of life for our mortgage payments, rents, tuitions, paychecks, life savings, home entertainment centers, and iPods.
That's the world we created. It seems to me the worst thing we could do right now is try to put all that back in place as corporations and government agencies use the bailout in an attempt to put some of these pieces back together. Instead, we could use the moment to begin reimagining a new way to live, a way with justice and compassion at its core, and a renewed relationship with the natural world that holds us, in which we are embedded and from whose fate we cannot separate ourselves.
Maybe we can start paying down our debts, throw away the credit cards, spend more time with family and friends, spend more time caring for the needs of others, start cooking home dinners again, take the plugs out of ears and our brains, and start actually feeling and experiencing life again, the essential relationships of life, the vibrations of the planet, all that makes us human and alive instead of robotic and numb.
Crises can paralyze us with fear, or open a door to something new. I am opting for the latter.
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8. NEW USGS (Geological Survey) Climate Change Website Established
Forwarded message:
With climate change becoming a more prominent aspect of ecological research questions, and given the USGS science strategy emphasis on the topic, FORTWeb has a new site, "Climate Change: The Science of Impacts." This site draws from the research and publications databases to consolidate FORT tasks and products that address climate change. It also features a home page and a page of related resources, comprising links to similar federal sites. See http://www.fort.usgs.gov/ClimateChange/
Dave Hamilton
Acting Director, Fort Collins Science Center
2150 Centre Avenue, Bldg C
Fort Collins, CO 80526-8118
Email: dave_hamilton@usgs.gov
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9. Nearly a Quarter of World's Mammals Face Extinction, Annual "Red List" Reports
http://www.truthout.org/100608EA
Ian Sample, The Guardian UK: "Nearly a quarter of the world's land mammal species are at risk of extinction, and many others may vanish before they are even known to science, according to a major annual survey of global wildlife. At least 1,141 of the 5,487 known species of mammal are threatened, with 188 listed in the highest-risk 'critically endangered' category. One in three marine mammals are also threatened, according to the five-year review."
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10. Petition Urges Vegetarianism as a Response to Global Hunger
Forwarded message:
Please sign: http://un.evana.org/
It is important to confront the UN with the benefits of vegetarianism for
the world.
Best regards
Renato Pichler
European Vegetarian Union (EVU)
c/o Swiss Vegetarian Union
Bahnhofstr. 52, CH-9315 Neukirch (Egnach)
Tel.: +41 71 477 33 77, Fax: +41 71 477 33 78
Homepage: www.euroveg.eu
Here is the text of above page:
--------------------------------------------
PETITION
TO:
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
COPY:
FAO - Director General Dr. Jacques Diouf
WHO - Director General Dr. Margaret Chan
Launched by:
* Jens Holm, Swedish Member of the European Parliament
* Swiss Union for Vegetarianism
* European Vegetarian and Animal News Alliance (EVANA)
'FOOD VS FEED'
Dear Mr. Secretary-General,
In 1996, the "Rome Declaration of World Food Security" reaffirmed "the right of everyone to have access to safe and nutritious food". The signatories also pledged their political will "to eradicate hunger in all countries."
In 2008, malnutrition and starvation in many parts of the world are not only increasing but are set to reach new peaks of suffering. Dwindling and wasted crops, soaring prices, unsustainable farming practices are just some of the factors which combine to put vulnerable people at life-threatening risks.
It is not acceptable that even in a grim situation with hunger and malnutrition killing nearly six million children each year, huge percentages of available crops are still being fed to farm animals.
In the name of humanity, a responsible global community can no longer afford to invest 7-16 kg of grain or soya beans, up to 15,500 liters of water, and 323 m2 of grazing land in the production of just one kilo of beef for those with the means to pay for it. More accessible and sustainable avenues to secure food for all are desperately needed.
Unfortunately, even though the experts of the FAO consider 'Livestock a major threat to environment', they merely recommend different farming techniques, some of which entail the risk of damaging an already vulnerable environment even more, perhaps beyond repair.
All hungry people, many million of vegetarians and those looking for wholesome alternatives to destructive traditions have the right to expect from decision makers, governments and international bodies a scientific investigation of all available options, including vegetarianism. This resource- and life-saving lifestyle is worthy of unbiased research and promotional effort, not last because of its potential to decide the raging battle of 'food vs feed' in favour of humanity.
For this reason, we appeal to the United Nations and its agencies to stop ignoring vegetarianism and instead study its multi-faceted benefits, with the aim of incorporating them into future strategies for a world without hunger.
Sincerely,
signature
References:
1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights: "Everyone has the right to a
standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of
his family, including food ."
2. Rome Declaration of World Food Security: "We consider it intolerable that more than 800 million people throughout the world, and particularly in developing countries, do not have enough food to meet their basic nutritional needs. This situation is unacceptable.
3. FAO: Livestock a major threat to environment
Background:
1. Jens Holm: The livestock industry and climate - Over a third of all
grain harvested becomes fodder. Is that rational?
2. Swiss Union for Vegetarianism: The Ecological Consequences of Meat
Consumption
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11. California Ballot Proposition Supports Improving Conditions for Farmed Animals
Forwarded message from Lewis Regenstein:
Thanks, Lew. We have been getting a lot of religious endorsements for Prop 2:
http://yesonprop2.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63&Itemid=86
FW: YES! ON PROP 2 CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES FIRST STATEWIDE TV ADS
Dear Friends: [Message from Lewis Regenstein]
Thanks for this excellent news release, and congratulations on the amazing progress we are making on Prop 2.
it is good we have folks from the faith community on board with us.
The teachings of the Bible can be a big help to us in this campaign.
Many people do not realize that the holiest of the laws, The Ten Commandments, given by the Almighty to Moses, require that farm animals be treated humanely.
It is specifically ordained that they be allowed a day of rest on the sabbath, so kindness to domestic animals must have been an important thing to the Lord.
This is, of course, impossible under the conditions in which farm animals are raised today.
There are many other passages teaching and requiring kindness to animals in the Bible, which are cited in our HSUS literature, such as, Proverbs 12:10, "A righteous man has regard for the life of his best...".It might be effective to promote these passages as widely as possible, especially with the millions of people who take the Bible seriously and even literally..
Please let me know if I can be of help.
Thanks, Lew
= = =
YES! ON PROP 2 CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES FIRST STATEWIDE TV ADS
Past President of California Veterinary Medical Association and UC Davis Professor of Veterinary Medicine Urge YES! on Prop 2 to Stop Animal Cruelty
SACRAMENTO - Today the YES! on Prop 2 campaign launched its first television ads of the election season, urging California voters to stop animal cruelty and improve food safety. Prop 2 is a modest measure that would allow breeding pigs, veal calves and egg-laying hens enough room to stand up, turn around and stretch their limbs.
The ads show viewers first-hand the abuses of industrial factory farms, and includes a series of scenes from California factory farms where veal calves are chained by the neck and confined in tiny crates, pigs are kept in metal cages barely larger than their bodies, and hens are crammed together in wire cages, each with less space than a letter-sized sheet of paper.
Two versions of the 30-second spot feature Dr. Jeff Smith, a Middletown veterinarian and the immediate past president of the 5,500-member California Veterinary Medical Association, and Dr. Kate Hurley, a Davis veterinarian and a professor at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Smith and Dr. Hurley each say:
“I am a California veterinarian and I am voting YES on Proposition 2. It is simply wrong to tightly confine animals in small spaces where they can barely move. We would not force our pets to live in cramped cages for their whole lives, and farm animals should not suffer this misery either. All animals, including those raised for food, deserve humane treatment. Join me and hundreds of other California veterinarians in voting YES! on Prop 2.”
Click on http://tinyurl.com/yesonprop2-ad to view the ads.
Prop 2 is supported by The Humane Society of the United States, the California Veterinary Medical Association, the Center for Food Safety, the ASPCA, the Consumer Federation of America, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the United Farm Workers, Farm Sanctuary, the Sierra Club, Cesar Chavez Foundation, Republican and Democratic elected officials, hundreds of California veterinarians, family farmers, religious leaders, and many others.
Yes on Prop. 2 - Californians for Humane Farms, sponsored by The Humane Society of the US, Farm Sanctuary and other animal protection groups, family farmers, veterinarians and public health professionals. For more information, visit YESonProp2.com.
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12. 10 reasons for NOT drinking cow's milk
By Abigail Kwok
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 10:40:00 10/08/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- Cow's blood, pus, hormones, pesticides, and antibiotics plus heaps and heaps of cholesterol -- these are just some of the things you can find in cow's milk, according to an official of an animal rights' group.
The recent melamine milk crisis that spilled over from China to the rest of the world has prompted PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) to come up with 10 reasons why cow's milk should not be taken.
Cow's milk - whether there's the poisonous melamine or none - is still a bad mix of poison, cholesterol, and fat …,” said Rochelle Regodon.
Regodon says:
o Cows are not milk-producing machines. After years of living in a dirty environment, constant reproduction of offspring, and forced milking, these cows are then slaughtered;
o You and your child are not animals to drink animal milk, so why do we have to treat them like baby cows]?”;
o Studies have shown that as much as 90 percent of Filipinos are lactos intolerant. That's why drinking cow's milk might cause diarrhea and stomach pains;
o Cow's milk is contaminated with bacteria like blood, pus, pesticides, and antibiotics.
o “You have baby cow for breakfast. Its milk is the reason why there is an industry for veal. This is a product of the milk industry, they would force baby cows inside cages even if they were born only a few hours ago.”
o High levels of protein found in milk often result to poor bone structure and weak bones. “Milk is bad for the bones. According to research, milk is the reason why our bones get brittle and as a result, we develop osteoporosis.”
o Milk is allegedly bad for the environment. Cows reportedly excrete more than 120 pounds of fecal matter daily and these go straight to the environment;
o Cow's milk is supposedly not right for humans because its nutritional content does not match the nutritional needs of humans;
o Cow's milk is a waste of palay. “Rice grains that should be fed to people are instead given to cows. A lot of rice grains are fed to cows so that they can produce milk.”
o There are reportedly no fiber and complex carbohydrates found in cow's milk, only saturated fat and cholesterol. These can result to high blood, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.
Instead, PETA is pushing for organic milk or milk made from either soy, almond, or rice, said Regodon.
Regodon is hoping that these 10 reasons that she has cited will discourage people from drinking cow's milk
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13. Yom Kippur Teaching on Compassion
Yom Kippur's Prohibition Against Leather
Blog Post from Vegetarian Axtivist and Blogger Michael Croland
http://prime.peta.org/2008/10/yom-kippurs-prohibition-against-leather
I will be wearing white, nonleather athletic sneakers to synagogue tonight and tomorrow for Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). I have dress shoes that are nonleather-all my shoes are. But I choose to make the point as glaringly as possible: Jews are prohibited from wearing leather on Yom Kippur.
On Yom Kippur, Jews beg for G-d's mercy. We pray for atonement. We recognize that we have sinned, and we repent for it. And to walk the walk, we realize that it'd be hypocritical to plead for forgiveness and compassion when dressed in the clothes of suffering. Jewish Vegetarians of North America President Richard H. Schwartz explains, “One reason is that it is not considered proper to plead for compassion when one has not shown compassion to the creatures of G-d, whose concern extends to all of His creatures.”
Many rabbis through the ages have shared this view. Rabbi Moses Isserles (c. 1528-1572), aka the Rema, said, “How can a man put on shoes, a piece of clothing for which it is necessary to kill a living thing, on Yom Kippur, which is a day of grace and compassion, when it is written 'His tender mercies are over all His works'?” (Psalms 145:9). Rabbi Amy Scheinerman, a Conservative rabbi in Maryland, adds:
Many people abstain from wearing leather on Yom Kippur, as required by tradition, since an animal died in order that the leather garment could be produced. Yom Kippur is a time for being especially sensitive to life and death concerns, including the lives of animals.
Leather is not a byproduct of the meat industry but rather a coproduct. Cattle killed for leather are the same animals raised by the beef and dairy industries. They are subject to the same routine branding, dehorning, tail-docking, and castration-all without any painkillers. Cows in the dairy industry are forced to give 10 times as much milk as they did a mere half-century ago, and many suffer from mastitis, a disease in which their udders have become so swollen that they hang toward the ground. Annually in the U.S., more than 41 million cows are slaughtered-usually by being stunned, hung upside-down, bled to death, and skinned. The leather industry warrants opposition all 365 days of the year, not just when we are most desperate for forgiveness.
On Yom Kippur, we apologize for our sins in the previous year, and we hope not to repeat our mistakes. So why is it that after today, most Jews consider it permissible not to show “compassion to the creatures of G-d”? If we are honest with ourselves on Yom Kippur and seek to avoid sins-and if we aspire to be compassionate beings so that G-d may treat us with compassion-we should cease promoting suffering in our attire and daily decisions on a regular basis, not just one day a year. I hope my nonleather sneakers help call attention to that.
-Posted by Michael Croland, Guest Blogger. Michael runs heebnvegan, a Jewish blog about animal rights.
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14. Rising Seas/Severe Storms Threaten Humanity
Earth Policy Institute
Plan B Update
For Immediate Release
October 9, 2008
RISING SEAS AND POWERFUL STORMS THREATEN GLOBAL SECURITY
http://www.earthpolicy.org/Updates/2008/Update76.htm
Janet Larsen
Standing before the United Nations General Assembly in October 1987, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President of the Maldives, made an appeal representing “an endangered nation.” That year for the first time, “unusual high waves” in the Indian Ocean inundated a quarter of the urban area on the capital island of Male', flooded farms, and washed away reclaimed land. Gayoom cited scientific evidence that human activities were releasing greenhouse gases that warm the planet, ultimately raising global sea level as glaciers melt and warmer water expands. The trouble extended beyond small islands; studies showed that rising seas would wreak havoc on the U.S. Gulf Coast, the Netherlands, and the river deltas of Egypt and Bangladesh.
Fast-forward through two decades of swelling seas and more powerful storms and the call has moved from the need to study global warming to the necessity of dramatic action to stabilize climate. With small island nations in peril, these days President Gayoom evokes the vision of a United Nations where “name plates are gone; seats are empty.” He does not speak alone: this fall, some 50 countries, including a number of small island nations along with Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the European Union, are planning to put a resolution before the U.N. General Assembly requesting that the U.N. Security Council address “the threat posed by climate change to international peace and security.” As Ambassador Stuart Beck of Palau has asked, “Would any nation facing an invading army not do the same?”
Without a dramatic reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, the global average temperature is projected to increase by up to 12 degrees Fahrenheit (6.4 degrees Celsius) and sea level could rise some 3 feet (1 meter) by the end of this century. Alarmingly, recent accelerated melting on the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets--which together contain enough ice to raise global sea level by 39 feet--means that seas could rise even faster than predicted.
The warming of the globe also provides more energy to fuel stronger storms. More-powerful storms can combine with even a modest rise in sea level in a dangerous synergy, allowing for ever larger storm surges that can flatten coastal communities. Because much of humanity, including many residents of the world's major cities like Kolkata (Calcutta), London, Shanghai, and Washington, DC, are located in vulnerable coastal areas, hundreds of millions of people are directly at risk. A large part of the New York metropolitan area is less than 15 feet above sea level; a Category-3 hurricane could easily swamp a third of lower Manhattan.
All together, one out of every 10 people on the planet lives in a coastal zone less than 33 feet above sea level. If higher seas and extreme weather render these areas uninhabitable, more than 630 million people could be left searching for safer ground. Yet no place in the world is equipped to deal with mass population movements or can accommodate millions of climate refugees. Fragile countries already stretched to their limits could be pushed past the breaking point into complete state failure. As British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett warned the U.N. Security Council, the risk of massive economic disruption and “migration on an unprecedented scale” make climate change a true security threat.
Already the exodus has begun. On Vanuatu's Tegua island in the South Pacific, a coastal village of 100 people has been relocated inland as erosion and rising seas raised the underground water table, flooding dwellings and overflowing pit toilets. Papua New Guinea's Carteret Islands, with maximum elevation 5 feet above sea level, are set to transplant their 2,000 residents, 10 families at a time, to Bougainville Island, a four-hour boat ride away. The Maldives and Kiribati, both under siege by the inland creep of the tides, have plans to move people from the more vulnerable small islands to larger islands.
Beyond small islands, river deltas are particularly at risk. Category-3 Cyclone Nargis made this clear when it hit Burma's Ayeyarwady Delta in May 2008. The storm brought fierce winds and a 12-foot storm surge that killed 135,000 people and damaged 9,000 square miles (23,500 square kilometers), including over 60 percent of the country's rice fields. More than 2 million people felt the impact; five months after the event, close to half of them were still relying on food aid.
Viet Nam is directly exposed to sea level rise, with some 18 million people--one fifth of the population--living in the susceptible Mekong Delta. The production of more than half the country's rice and most of its fish and shrimp depends on seasonal flooding in this area; the risk, however, is that higher seas could alter the regular flooding regime, expanding the area inundated with salty water and rendering cropland unusable. A 3-foot rise in sea level would cover close to half the delta's land area. Since 2000, when the worst flooding in at least two generations raised the Mekong waters more than 16 feet, the Vietnamese government has embarked on a program to resettle at least 33,000 families out of the most flood-prone areas.
For Egypt's Nile Delta, a 3-foot rise in sea level could displace close to 8 million people and flood 12 percent of the country's agricultural area. Natural barriers to the encroaching sea are being lost because the Aswan Dam blocks sediment deposits that otherwise would sustain the delta. Salty ocean water already makes its way onto farmland, hampering wheat production. Concrete barriers line the harbor of the ancient city of Alexandria, but they cannot always keep the waves at bay.
Higher seas could also prove disastrous for densely populated Bangladesh's 161 million residents, many of whom already suffer from annual flooding. A 3-foot sea level rise would submerge close to half the country's rice fields and displace tens of millions of people. India has built a fence on the border with Bangladesh to stave off illegal migration, but if the rise of the ocean is not stopped, concrete and barbed wire are unlikely to prevent the flows of climate migrants.
While small islands and low-lying developing countries seem the likely first fronts for environmental evacuation, industrial countries are not immune. Hurricane Katrina, which hit the already-subsiding Louisiana coast in late August 2005 with heavy winds and a 28-foot storm surge, forced the evacuation of close to 1 million residents of New Orleans and the surrounding area. Of those who left, more than 200,000 never returned. They took up permanent residence elsewhere, becoming the first major wave of U.S. climate refugees.
Following Katrina, a $125 billion disaster, major U.S. population centers have largely dodged the bullet of tropical storms. In September 2008, Hurricane Gustav urged the temporary evacuation of New Orleans before it changed course and softened its blow. Hurricane Ike, a storm remarkable in size and wind speed, fortunately weakened before making U.S. landfall, but still ravaged Galveston, Texas. The two storms arrived after tearing through Cuba (long a paragon of evacuation and return), damaging more than 440,000 homes and temporarily displacing more than 1 million people.
With climate change fueling stronger storms and taking them outside of their traditional zones and seasons, people face the difficult choice of rebuilding or moving to safer territory. In the United States, while more and more people are moving to vulnerable coastal areas, insurance companies are retreating, unwilling to pick up the hefty tab of future weather devastation.
If we allow global warming to spiral out of control, at what point could disaster fatigue completely overwhelm financial and social systems? Today we measure the early waves of rising sea refugees in the thousands, but unless we can quickly check the rise in greenhouse gas emissions, we may one day measure them in the millions.
# # #
To read Earth Policy Institute's plan to stabilize climate see Time for Plan B: Cutting Carbon Emissions 80 Percent by 2020 at www.earthpolicy.org/Books/PB3/80by2020.htm.
For information contact:
Media Contact:
Reah Janise Kauffman
Tel: (202) 496-9290 x 12
E-mail: rjk@earthpolicy.org
Research Contact:
Janet Larsen
Tel: (202) 496-9290 x 14
E-mail: jlarsen@earthpolicy.org
Earth Policy Institute
1350 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 403
Washington, DC 20036
Web: www.earthpolicy.org
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15. Action Alert: Getting Vegetarian Options into Schools
Forwarded message from the PCRM:
[I signed to support, and I hope you will also. Thanks.]
Dear Mr. Schwartz,
Hello and happy Yom Kippur from PCRM! I apologize for sending this on a holiday. I received your contact information from my colleague, Kyle Ash. We are hoping you can help us improve vegetarian options in schools, and the last day to participate is Wednesday.
Will you join us in asking the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to improve vegetarian options in schools? The USDA is accepting public comments related to the Child Nutrition Act, which is scheduled to be reauthorized next year. The deadline to submit comments is Wednesday, Oct. 15. Many children do not consume animal products due to ethical, religious, or health reasons. Children of color are especially likely to need an alternative to regular cow's milk, due to lactose intolerance. It is essential that the National School Lunch Program accommodate all students.
Will SERV help us by writing the USDA and asking for these options? There are a few ways you and your members can submit comments. Please see the information below.
You can sign PCRM's form letter to the USDA at this link: https://secure2.convio.net/pcrm/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=201&JServSessionIdr001=e5wpeccsc2.app14a
Send your own letter (by mail, fax, e-mail, or electronic submission) with the following information:
~Your name, address, and any relevant credentials
~“Request for Public Comments for Use in Preparing for 2009 Reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Programs and WIC”
~Attn: Mr. Robert M. Eadie
Policy and Program Planning Branch Chief U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service
3101 Park Center Drive, Room 640
Alexandria, VA 22302-1594
~Fax: 703-305-2879
~E-mail: robert.eadie@fns.usda.gov
~Electronic Submission to Regulations.gov: http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=SubmitComment&o=09000064805f47dd
Thanks so much for your work, and please let me know if you have any questions.
Best regards,
Katie Strong, MS, RD
Staff Dietitian
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
5100 Wisconsin Ave, NW, Suite 400
Washington, DC 20016
Phone: 202-686-2210 ext. 338
Fax: 202-686-2216
kstrong@pcrm.org
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16. Article Re Kosher Slaughter In NY Times Magazine Section
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/magazine/12kosher-t.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
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The material on this site is provided for educational and informational purposes. It may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. It is being made available in an effort to advance the understanding of vegetarian, environmental, nutritional, health, economic, social justice and human rights issues etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have an interest in using the included information for educational or research purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. The information on this site does not constitute legal, technical or medical advice.
October 13, 2008
October 3, 2008
10/3/2008 JVNA Online Newsletter
Shalom everyone,
This update/Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) Online Newsletter has the following items:
1. Asking for Forgiveness Before Yom Kippur
2. Best Wishes For a Meaningful Yom Kippur and an Easy Fast
3. Relating Sukkot to Vegetarianism
4. I am on a Podcast, Interviewed on “ Responding to Environmental Crises”
5. Setting Up a Curriculum on “Judaism and Vegetarianism”
6. My Radio Interview Discussing A SACRED DUTY and Jewish Vegetarianism
7. Major Review of A SACRED DUTY in the Latest Jewish Vegetarian Magazine
8. Rabbi Challenges Orthodox Jewry Re Agriprocessors
9. Carbon Dioxide Emissions Increasing MORE Rapidly
10. Orthodox Rabbis Initiative To Improve Jewish Business Ethics
11. Marvelous Israeli Short Video With a Powerful Vegan Message/With English Subtitles
12. Climate Change Report Calls for Mandatory Meat Rationing
13. HeebnVegan Blog on Recent Events Re Agriprocessprs Postville Slaughterhouses
14. Chance to Have A SACRED DUTY More Widely Seen/Volunteers Sought
15. Jewish Environmental Group Seeks Support
16. Jewish Environmental Teachings Related to Rosh Hashanah
17. A Vegetarian-Friendly Retreat Center
18. Internationally Acclaimed Book Published in Many Languages
19. Israeli Animal Rights Group Starts Campaign to Improve Conditions for Laying Hens
20. Severe Israeli Drought (Worst in Its History) Continues
Some material has been deferred to a later update/newsletter to keep this one from being even longer.
[Materials in brackets like this [ ] within an article or forwarded message are my editorial notes/comments.]
Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the JVNA, unless otherwise indicated, but may be presented to increase awareness and/or to encourage respectful dialogue. Also, material re conferences, retreats, forums, trips, and other events does not necessarily imply endorsement by JVNA or endorsement of the kashrut, Shabbat observances, or any other Jewish observances, 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. Also, JVNA does not necessarily agree with all positions of groups whose views are included or whose events are announced in this newsletter.
As always, your comments and suggestions are very welcome.
Thanks,
Richard
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1. Asking for Forgiveness Before Yom Kippur
An anonymous message from a High Holiday package of material:
“On Yom Kippur, God will pardon everyone who has sinned against Him. But He will not forgive a person who has sinned against another human being, unless that person has appeased the person who was wronged.”
Mishnah Yoma 8:9
“I hereby forgive whoever has hurt me,
whoever has done me any wrong,
whether deliberately or by accident,
whether by word or by deed.
May no one be punished on my account.”
“As I forgive and pardon fully
those who have done me wrong,
may those whom I have harmed
forgive and pardon me
whether I acted deliberately or by accident
whether by word or by deed,”
[Forgiveness of people who have done wrong does not imply acceptance of evil acts - we must continue to work diligently to eradicate evil and to strive for a better world.]
---------------------------------------------
If I have offended anyone by anything I have written or done during the past year, it was unintentional, and I ask your forgiveness. I plan to try to continue to be sensitive to the wide variety of people receiving these newsletters, while promoting vegetarianism as a necessary part of a healthier, more just, humane, peaceful and environmentally sustainable world. Your suggestions are always welcome, as we continue and expand our efforts to get vegetarianism and related issues onto the Jewish agenda.
Richard
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2. Best Wishes For a Meaningful Yom Kippur and an Easy Fast
and may we be written and sealed in the Book of Life for a good year.
If you have the time and inclination, please see my article “Vegetarianism and Yom Kippur” in the holiday section of JewishVeg.com/schwartz.
Suggestions always welcome. Please consider using the material in that article and in other material at JewishVeg.com/schwartz for letters to the editor and talking points. Thanks.
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3. Relating Sukkot to Vegetarianism
Since Sukkot, starting the evening of Monday, October 13 this year, follows quickly after Yom Kippur, I am including (below) a letter that I have sent to the Jewish media re Sukkot. Please consider using that letter and the material in my article on “Sukkot, Simchat Torah and Vegetarianism,” in the holiday section at JewishVeg.com/schwartz, to compose your own letters and for talking points. Thanks.
-------------------------------------
Dear Editor:
On Sukkot, the Jewish festival devoted to our offering thanksgiving for the abundance of life, we are reminded that humans are only privileged caretakers of this precious, but imperiled, planet. Like the wilderness sukkot of our Israelite ancestors, this Earth is no more than our temporary dwelling, and it is our important responsibility to cherish and care for our planet and all its creatures, as co-workers with God. The fragile shelter of the sukkah should remind us that we can't rely on technological advances to save us and we must find a way to live in harmony with nature.
As we decorate our sukkahs with pictures and replicas of fruits and vegetables on our harvest festival, we should consider how future harvests are endangered by global warming, widening water shortages and soil erosion and depletion. As our Israelite ancestors were sustained with manna, a vegetarian food “like coriander seed,” while they dwelt in sukkahs for 40 years in the wilderness, we should sustain ourselves with tofu, the modern-day manna, and a wide variety of other plant foods, to improve our health and to help move our endangered planet to a sustainable path.
Very truly yours,
Steven Schuster
Richard H. Schwartz
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4. I am on a Podcast, Interviewed on “ Responding to Environmental Crises”
Thanks to Jpseph Puentes for expertly producing this important podcast. You can hear the entire interview at:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/water/2008-09-24_VSSE_RichardSchwartz_RespondingToEnvironmentalCrises.mp3
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5. Setting Up a Curriculum on “Judaism and Vegetarianism”
I am working with some people on this. If you have suggestions or would like to volunteer to help, please let me know. Many thanks.
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6. My Radio Interview Discussing A SACRED DUTY and Jewish Vegetarianism
It can be heard at:
http://www.archive.org/download/VegetarianSolutions/2008-09-17_ASacredDuty_WRFGMelodyParisInterview.mp3
Thanks to Melody Paris for interviewing me and to Joseph Puentes for making it into a podcast.
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7. Major Review of A SACRED DUTY in the Latest Jewish Vegetarian Magazine
A SACRED DUTY: Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal the World
DVD Review by Julie Rosenfield
These days, we can scarcely open our newspapers, watch the TV or surf the internet without seeing the words “climate change” and “global warming.” We read articles every day exhorting us to cut our carbon footprint, recycle our waste and go green to save the planet.
But is environmental disaster really inevitable? What action can we take and where should we look for guidance?
A beautiful, intelligent and thoughtful new DVD: A Sacred Duty, Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal the World, produced by multi-award-winning producer, director, writer, cinematographer, Lionel Friedberg, under the sponsorship of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America, addresses these very questions and, through an inspirational hour-long documentary, gives us both hope and some of the answers we need.
The need to look after the earth, as we are reminded in the DVD, is actually nothing new. In fact, as Rabbi Yonassan Gershom reflects, the Torah is like an “operation manual” which contains instructions on how to care for the planet. Although we have faithfully heeded the commandment to be fruitful and multiply - hence the current world population of over 6.5 billion people - we have heeded less well the commandment to take care of the earth. By applying Jewish values at this crucial time, however, we can help redress this balance and start to heal the world.
Judaism has built into it core values such as reverence for G-d, respect for life, a code of compassion and justice and the importance of acting as responsible custodians, both for ourselves and those creatures with whom we share our planet.
Professor Richard Schwartz, who helped to produce the DVD, reminds us of the ancient rabbinic teaching of how when G-d created the world, He said to Adam, “Do not corrupt or destroy this world, for if you do there is nobody after you to set it aright.”
Looking at global warming, water shortages and rapid species extinction, it appears that we have not taken heed of this commandment.
However, as Jews, Professor Schwartz reminds us, we have a historic mission, to be a light unto the nations and to act as shomrei adamah, guardians of the earth, working towards tikkun olam, the repair of the world.
The DVD contains beautifully-photographed shots of Israel, whether of the desert, lakes such as the Galilee, the beaches of Tel-Aviv or the Dead Sea. Jonathan Wolf, another contributor, points out that Israel is really a microcosm of the earth. Despite its small size, with its variety of landscape and scenery, it contains examples of almost every ecosystem in the world. He thinks that this is not accidental and that we can visualize the whole world when we look at Israel.
However, Israel today is suffering severe environmental damage, both from its burgeoning population and its increase in industrialisation. Manufacturing industries, pharmaceuticals and heavy equipment production all play their part in damaging the environment. Israel is suffering from an air pollution crisis which has led to a disturbing figure of 17% of Israeli children suffering from asthma, an increase from 5% in 1980. Also of concern, reports Professor Alon Tal, is the fact that 1 in 7 women in Haifa suffer from breast cancer, a figure higher than the national average, again as a result of ambient air quality.
The Yarkon River in Tel Aviv, with its toxic slime, is a casualty of environmental pollution. Indeed, none of the 16 rivers of Israel, warns the DVD, is safe to swim in or to provide drinking water. Even the Dead Sea is actually dying, decreasing by 1 metre per year. Given the shortage of rainwater, and a study which predicts a future decrease in rainfall of up to 30%, this is a cause for alarm.
An important message of the DVD is that global warming does not respect boundaries. And, with climate scientists predicting an increase of 3 to 11 degrees F in the next 100 years, there is a great fear that such change could lead to droughts and famine and, in turn, increase unrest, violence, terrorism and war.
Global warming however, is not just about car emissions, as many think.
In 2006, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations published a report showing that a staggering 18% of greenhouse gases come from livestock agriculture. Farm animals, the report showed, produce more greenhouse gases (in C02 equivalents) than emissions from trucks, cars, trains, aircraft and ships of all nations combined. This is a little-known fact which is seldom discussed.
There are also other environmental ramifications of Western agricultural methods. In the US, 200 million tons of cereals, grains and soya beans are produced every year. If these were fed directly to people, they would provide a valuable source of healthy protein. However, most are fed to animals to provide meat. It takes 10 lbs of grains to produce only 1 lb of beef. Ten acres of soya beans could feed 60 people. However, using the same amount of land to raise cattle would only feed 2 people. Water is again a huge issue as it takes 2500-5000 gallons of water to produce 1lb of beef.
In a world where 900 million people are undernourished, 15% of the world, and where 30,000 children die from hunger every day, using land to produce meat and animal feed is nothing less than scandalous.
However, there is hope for the future. Important projects discussed in the film like those carried out at the learning and research centre of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in Southern Israel, where Arabs and Jews come together to face the challenges of environment in cooperative ways, surely give hope for the future. Here students learn that environmental problems are not restricted to countries but are the concern of everyone. Projects such as these offer real hope as students on the course take away the knowledge gleaned back to their own countries to put into practice.
Equally inspirational are rabbis such as Rabbi Warren Stone of the Temple Emmanuel in Kensington, Greater Washington DC who is spreading the environmental message in his own synagogue. In the DVD, we see his beautiful, solar-panel fuelled temple, which features a bimah depicting a Banyan Tree, as a strong message to stop cutting down forests. Likewise, the Torah coverings show roots to symbolise how the roots of Judaism are passed from generation to generation.
With interviews from leading Rabbis, medical professionals and many luminaries of the Jewish Vegetarian movement on important subjects such as environmental concerns, livestock production, health and Jewish values, A Sacred Duty: Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal the World offers real hope and inspiration for anyone who cares enough to save the planet.
For further information, please visit the website of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America at www.jewishveg.com.
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8. Rabbi Challenges Orthodox Jewry Re Agriprocessors
http://www.forward.com/articles/14271/
Orthodoxy's Kosher Crisis
Opinion
By Eric Yoffie
Thu. Sep 25, 2008
Over the course of the past five months, the American Jewish community has observed with dismay the gradual unfolding of the Agriprocessors scandal. Agriprocessors may be a private corporation, but as the nation's leading producer of kosher meat, it is one that operates under the Jewish communal banner. Its actions have been followed closely, not only by Jews such as myself who observe kashrut, but by all Jews - not to mention many in the broader American public.
Thus far, however, our communal response to this crisis has been decidedly mixed.
The Conservative movement deserves praise for its strong stance in favor of strengthening the bond between social justice and Jewish law. Its new Hekhsher Tzedek initiative is working to create an additional certification for kosher products that would take into account ethical considerations. We in the Reform movement have expressed our sympathy and support for this effort. The Union for Reform Judaism recently adopted resolutions endorsing Hekhsher Tzedek and stressing the need for better treatment of workers and immigrants.
Yet it is Orthodox Judaism that is primarily responsible for our system of kosher supervision. And Orthodox Jews represent the largest single consumer base for the kosher meats produced by Agriprocessors. Therefore, the Orthodox community and its leaders have a particular responsibility for addressing the troubling questions that have been raised and for working to repair the damage that has been done.
I expect nothing from the owners of Agriprocessors, the Rubashkins. Rapacious businessmen are hardly unique to the Jewish world. But I do expect something from Jewish leadership, and in particular from rabbinic leadership. The question that I keep asking myself is: Where is the voice of the Orthodox rabbinate? Why are we not hearing from the great Torah sages who are the ultimate authorities in all matters of consequence in the Orthodox world?
In talking with some of my Orthodox friends, they endlessly repeat the mantras of “due process” and “innocent until proven guilty.” But this is entirely beside the point. While there is, of course, a presumption of innocence, it could be years before the judicial proceedings are concluded.
In the meantime, the Jewish community faces a public crisis of major proportions. The scandal has raised basic questions about the ethical foundations of our religious tradition, about undue deference to the wealthy and about Jewish indifference to injustice in our midst.
Jewish tradition has a great deal to say about proper treatment of the laborer and the stranger, and throughout history our greatest rabbinic figures have not hesitated to address these matters. Let us imagine that in the early stages of the most recent scandal, the Torah authorities of the Orthodox world had emphatically proclaimed the obligation of Jews to meet the requirements of Torah and treat workers with justice, immigrants with compassion, and animals with care and consideration. To this they could have added that they had no intention of prejudging any cases currently being adjudicated in the secular courts but only to make clear the Torah principles that must guide us all. Had this happened, the scandal would have played out in a very different way, and the unease now felt throughout much of the Jewish community would have been mitigated considerably.
And where is the voice of Chabad? Since the Rubashkins' ties to Chabad are well known, it has a special responsibility to speak to the ethical issues of the scandal. Chabad-Lubavitch is a ubiquitous presence in North America, doing much to strengthen Jewish life. I know many young Jews who have studied Torah and Jewish ethics with Chabad teachers. But ethics in the abstract are meaningless if they are not applied to the real ethical challenges that we face as Jews.
It is strange that many of those most insistent on “due process” for the Rubashkins have felt no need to offer Torah opinions that are completely objective and unbiased. Rabbis who “investigate” abuses against workers from Agriprocessors while putting their expenses on the company tab are violating both accepted ethical canons and common sense. And attorneys and communal leaders who argue points of Torah to rebut company critics while remaining on the company payroll dishonor the tradition they profess to serve. Torah that is bought and paid for is not Torah at all.
Some Orthodox rabbinic voices have been heard, to be sure, and frequently they have been younger voices. Sadly, these younger rabbis have been dismissed with utter contempt by some establishment Orthodox leaders.
One very encouraging development was the recent action of O.U. Kosher, which threatened to withdraw its kashrut certification unless Agriprocessors changed its management. As a result, the company named a new CEO. Nonetheless, two caveats are in order: First, a company with a record of wiliness and deception might make management changes that are cosmetic only, and careful follow-up will obviously be required; and second, statements by kashrut officials, no matter how admirable, are no substitute for the words of the gedolim and roshei yeshiva - the great Orthodox rabbinic scholars and yeshiva heads.
This scandal cries out for religious leadership from the Orthodox world, and it is not too late for Orthodox Torah scholars to provide it. My fervent hope is that a resolution of the crisis will come speedily, with those in authority affirming Torah's message of hope - which is that we must obey God, mitigate injustice and assure human dignity for all.
Rabbi Eric Yoffie is president of the Union for Reform Judaism.
Thu. Sep 25, 2008
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My response:
The disturbing reports of alleged appalling conditions for animals and workers at the Postville, Iowa slaughterhouse should be a wake-up call to the Jewish community and to consumers of Agriprocessors' meat products to the urgent need for a major reassessment of how the current production and consumption of meat and other animal products violate basic Jewish teachings and harm people, animals and the entire planet.
I strongly support efforts by many groups to improve conditions at the slaughterhouse. But, even if these conditions become far better, we believe that it is still urgent that Jews shift away from animal-based diets because they involve many inconsistencies with Jewish law and values:
* Producing and consuming meat and other animal products represent violations of basic Jewish mandates to preserve our health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, conserve natural resources, help hungry people and avoid a chillul Hashem (desecration of God's Name).
* The raising of 60 billion animals worldwide for meat, eggs and milk is contributing to global warming, widening water shortages, rapid species extinction and many more environmental problems that threaten humanity and all of creation.
* We can reduce the current epidemic of diseases afflicting Jews and others through a switch toward plant-based diets.
* In view of the many current threats to humanity, it is scandalous that the world is not only trying to feed 6.7 billion people, but also over 50 billion farmed animals; that 70 percent of the grain produced in the United States and 40 percent produced worldwide are fed to animals raised for slaughter; that the standard American diet (SAD) requires up to 14 times as much water as a vegan diet.
* A 2006 UN FAO report indicated that animal-based agriculture emits more greenhouse gases (18 percent in CO2 equivalents) than all the world's cars and other means of transportation combined (13.5 percent), and that the number of farmed animals is projected to double in 50 years. Therefore, what we eat is more important than what we drive, and a shift to plant-based diets is essential if we are to effectively respond to global warming and other environmental threats..
* This is extremely important for Jews today because Israel is especially threatened by global warming. A report by the Israel Union for Environmental Defense in 2007 indicates that global warming could cause: (1) a rise in average temperature of 3 to 11 degrees Fahrenheit; (2) a significant increase in the Mediterranean Sea level, which would threaten the narrow coastal strip of land where 60% of Israel's population lives and where major infrastructure, such as ports and power plants, would be seriously damaged; and (3) a decrease in rainfall of 20-30%, which would disrupt agricultural production and worsen the chronic water scarcity problem in Israel and the region.
Further information about these issues can be found at our JVNA (Jewish Vegetarians of North America) web site JewishVeg.com. We will provide complimentary copies of our new, highly-acclaimed documentary A SACRED DUTY: APPLYING JEWISH VALUES TO HELP HEAL THE WORLD and related materials to rabbis and others who will contact us and indicate how they might use them to involve their congregations, schools or other groups on the issues. The entire documentary can be seen at ASacredDuty.com, and there is much background material about the film at that web site.
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9. Carbon Dioxide Emissions Increasing MORE Rapidly
Last year's world CO2 emissions exceeded most dire IPCC predictions
Grist Ezine
[This report is especially disturbing, because experts have pointed out that it is essential that annual carbon dioxide emissions be sharply reduced.]
The world's carbon dioxide emissions in 2007 exceeded even some of the direst predictions of climate scientists, growing 3 percent from 2006 according to an annual report from the Global Carbon Project. The climb in overall emissions last year was especially surprising given the economic downturn that was expected to help curb emissions. For the first time, developing nations took the lead in overall CO2 emissions, accounting for some 53 percent of the total, according to the report. China was also officially reconfirmed as the world's largest CO2 polluter; it alone accounted for some 60 percent of the rise in worldwide emissions in 2007. The report also found that the world's natural carbon sinks, such as oceans and forests that lock away carbon and keep it out of the atmosphere, have been absorbing some 3 percent less CO2 pollution since 2000 than they did in the first half of the 20th century. "We should be worried, really worried. This is happening in the context of trying to reduce emissions," said Richard Moss of the World Wildlife Fund. "We're already locked into more warming than we thought."
For more information:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/25/AR2008092503989_pf.html
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10. Orthodox Rabbis Initiative To Improve Jewish Business Ethics
Orthodox rabbis launch business ethics task force
http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080924orthodoxethics.html
JTA
An Orthodox rabbinical group is formulating a guide to ethical business practices with an eye on the kosher industry.
The Rabbinical Council of America announced Wednesday that the task force, chaired by Jewish business ethics authority Rabbi Asher Meir, would produce a detailed guide to ethical practice in business in general and the kosher industry in particular.
"We believe that the kosher food industry as a whole maintains an exemplary level of ethical practice, thanks in part to the presence of kosher agencies and supervisors," the RCA said. "Nonetheless, we attach importance to having ethical guidelines incorporated as a matter of policy by companies receiving kosher supervision, thereby further raising the level of ethical compliance throughout the industry."
The RCA initiative follows a similar effort begun by Conservative rabbis to establish an ethical certification that kosher food companies could pay to apply to their products, provided they have met certain criteria.
Rabbi Basil Herring, the RCA's executive vice president, told JTA that the new initiative would not "police" businesses, saying that is beyond the scope of his organization's abilities. The guide would require companies to pledge adherence to relevant civil laws and regulations, but would only "encourage" companies to strive for compliance with Jewish ethical principles.
Herring also stipulated that the RCA was not expanding the definition of kosher, as some critics have accused the Conservative initiative, known as Hekhsher Tzedek, of doing. The initiative's organizers deny they are expanding the definition of kosher.
"Kosher is not a catch-all," Herring said. "Kosher has a specific reference when it comes to food, and therefore we don't really want to blur that distinction.
"But having said that, it's not enough just to say I don't care as long as the meat conforms to the laws of slaughtering, nothing else is of significance. We believe that we have a moral responsibility as Jews, and if you will as religious Jews, to say that it is also improtant ... that principles of social responsibility, of social justice, be upheld. And be upheld publicly."
Herring said the organization has set mid-December as a target date for completing its guidelines
-------------------------------------------------------
My response:
As president of Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) I commend the RCA for this initiative, and I wish them much success.
However, in their consideration of the kosher meat industry, I wonder, respectfully, if the RCA will consider that:
* The production and consumption of animal-based diets arguably violate Jewish teachings on preserving human health, treating animals with compassion, protecting the environment, conserving natural resources and helping hungry people
* Animal-based diets are causing an epidemic of heart disease, several types of cancer and other diseases in the Jewish and other communities.
* Animal-based agriculture is contributing significantly to global warming and other environmental problems that threaten all of humanity.
The RCA would be doing a great kiddush Hashem (sanctification of G=d's Name) by condiuting a dialogue on “Should Jews Be Vegetarians?”
Further information can be found at JewishVeg.com/Schwartz and by seeing our movie “A Sacred Duty: Applying Jewish Values To Help Heal the World” at ASacredDuty.com.
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11. Marvelous Israeli Short Video With a Powerful Vegan Message/With English Subtitles
http://www.animal-tv.org/html/english/movie_wmp_03_03_5reasons.html
A Must See. Please do not be put off by the title. It is great satire and a message that everyone should see.
Please pass this message on to others. Thanks.
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12. Climate Change Report Calls for Mandatory Meat Rationing
http://www.dailytech.com/Climate+Change+Report+Calls+for+Mandatory+Meat+Rationing/article13097.htm
Calls for government to set consumption targets for meat, dairy, alcohol, and other food products.
-------------------------------------------------------
The average person eats 21 meals a week. According to a new plan to combat climate change, 17 of those will be government-mandated as meat-free. Targets set by the plan would limit weekly consumption of beef would be limited to 1/4 pound. Chicken and ham would be similarly limited, with four modest servings of meat available throughout a week.
The report, sponsored by the University of Surrey, U.K., called for a return to old-fashioned cooking and shopping habits, such as walking to stores, buying only local produce, eating leftovers, and cooking in bulk, so that several meals can be prepared at once. More controversially, the report suggests people should "accept different notions of quality" in regards to food consumption, so that foods we now discard or use for animal feed can instead be directed to human consumption.
Drastic reductions in consumption of alcohol, dairy products, and sweets were also part of the plan.
The report's author, Tara Garnett, noted that voluntary campaigns were "doomed to fail" and strongly urged governments to mandate compliance through carbon trading and caps on greenhouse gas emissions. Ms. Garnett, who says "we cannot assume [the consumer] will necessarily make the right choice", advocates large-scale government intervention to ensure targets are met.
An investigation in the October edition of the Ecologist magazine advocated the developed world cut its meat consumption in half as a tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The head of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Rajendra Pachauri, also recently suggested people go at least partially vegetarian.
The report found that a fifth of all emissions were the result of the food sector, a value larger than that from the combined transportation sector. The majority of those emissions were from meat production.
Ms. Garnett is a research fellow at the Center for Environmental Strategy at the University of Surrey.
Very important article. Please also read the posted comments, and note why we are having such a difficult time.
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13. HeebnVegan Blog on Recent Events Re Agriprocessprs Postville Slaughterhouses
9.24.2008
Yet Another Post About AgriProcessors
http://heebnvegan.blogspot.com/2008/09/yet-another-post-about-agriprocessors.html [the original site has a number of links for further info]
[Thanks to Michael Croland for his continued important writings in his blog on vegetarian-related issues.]
There's a lot going on related to AgriProcessors, but I'll start out with the big news. Today, the JTA reported that 12 Jewish members of Congress have sent a letter criticizing AgriProcessors on a variety of issues. The letter largely focuses on animal welfare matters:
The allegations about the company's treatment of its workers and the animals raise serious questions about the company's compliance with U.S. law and the highest standards of Jewish law and tradition concerning kashrut-a subject certainly beyond the scope of the U.S. government's concern, but one of considerable importance to the Jewish communities in our districts. . . .
In addition to our alarm over reports of your company's extensive, deplorable and illegal treatment of many of its workers, we have been disgusted by revelations about Agriprocessors' slaughtering practices and the company's treatment of animals. Between January 1, 2006 and January 24, 2007, Agriprocessors was issued five separate citations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for faulty monitoring of mad cow disease and more than a dozen citations for fecal and bile contamination of beef and poultry, which resulted in two separate meat recalls. A 2005 report by the USDA Inspector General also found evidence of inhumane slaughter practices.
After an undercover investigation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in 2004 showed footage of cattle walking inside the Agriprocessors facility with slit throats ... the company asked Dr. Temple Grandin, a well-respected expert in the fields of animal rights and humane slaughtering practices, to tour the facility and recommend reforms.
More recently, another undercover PETA investigation filmed the use of a practice known as “gouging,” which inflicts deep, agonizing, saw-like wounds onto an animal immediately after the rabbi completed the ritual cut as proscribed by Jewish law. The new report led Dr. Grandin to rescind her earlier support of the slaughtering practices employed by the company and recommend the permanent installment of cameras that would be independently monitored. . . .
We would appreciate a detailed explanation of the steps Agriprocessors will be taking ... to address the company's systemic problems and ensure the humane and ethical treatment of both workers and animals in accordance with both U.S. laws and Jewish standards.
The Forward reported:
“We wanted them to know from whence this came - that they have conducted this offense and that we are particularly offended as Jews,” Rep. Gary Ackerman, a New York Democrat who organized the letter, told the Forward. “As my mother used to say, it's a shande to the goyim.”
Ackerman said that they had deliberately asked only Jewish members of Congress to add their signatures.
I've been following the AgriProcessors saga since 2004, and it's heartening to see more and more that people in power are catching on. In the words of British politician Tony Benn, "It's the same each time with progress. First they ignore you, then they say you're mad, then dangerous, then there's a pause, and then you can't find anyone who disagrees with you." Slowly but surely, we're getting there.
Other AgriProcessors News
1. Last Wednesday, Yeshiva World News posted an interview with Rabbi Menachem Genack, head of kosher supervision for the Orthodox Union. When asked why AgriProcessors rather than any other company has been the focus of so much controversy and attention (from the government, media, activists, consumers, etc.), Rabbi Genack noted that it is in part "because Agri was in the crosshairs after the story with PETA four years ago." That backs up what I've been saying all along: The 2004 animal welfare scandal at AgriProcessors is one of the chief foundations of the current/ongoing saga.
2. Earlier this month, Shmarya Rosenberg from FailedMessiah posted a must-read overview of the ongoing AgriProcessors saga on Jewcy, discussing both animal welfare aspects and other topics. Says Rosenberg, "I'd like to say that the Jewish community deserves better than this - but we don't. We stood by silently as Agriprocessors business practices became exponentially more abusive and exploitative. Having access to kosher meat was more important that how that access was gained or who was hurt as a result."
3. Last week, AgriProcessors hired a new CEO, Bernard Feldman. The Associated Press reported that Feldman "said Agriprocessors has treated its workers fairly," FailedMessiah noted. Click here to read an open letter (courtesy of FailedMessiah) to Feldman from a Postville, Iowa, resident. "As you decide what is 'right for the company,' please try to decide what is right for the community, too," says the letter.
4. I often link to articles from secular media, Jewish papers, and relatively few Jewish blogs, but it's nice to have another perspective from time to time. Here's a thought-provoking piece from a J-blog called Jewneric in which the writer explains why he and his wife have stopped buying "any Kosher butchered red meat." The post says, "Every single shechita should be done the best way possible. Anything less than this means unnecessary tza'ar ba'ale chaim to the animal. While we are permitted to cause the minimal pain necessary to slaughter the animal, we are obligated to ensure that we cause only the minimal pain."
5. A new article in The Jewish Week suggests that AgriProcessors and Hekhsher Tzedek will be common sermon topics for many rabbis during the High Holidays. "The issues of our day include topics like Darfur and the ethical treatment of animals,” says Rabbi Eric Stark, director of the Union for Reform Judaism Greater New York Council.
posted by heebnvegan @ 9/24/2008 09:26:00 PM
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14. Chance to Have A SACRED DUTY More Widely Seen/Volunteers Sought
Forwarded message from: "Filmmaker Opportunities, Withoutabox."
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CreateSpace is an on-demand distribution platform, enabling filmmakers to make their products available to potentially millions of customers on
Amazon.com and other channels without requiring an upfront investment. You start making money with your first sale, and again with each subsequent sale. Your films will appear as in-stock DVDs for sale on Amazon.com, as well as be available through other distribution channels. They will also be eligible for possible email and/or online promotion as part of the CreateSpace disc-on-demand program. Other great benefits:
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Just open a free CreateSpace account. With this account, you will be able to select distribution options, track the sales of your film, and receive any
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information, upload artwork for your DVD, and send in a copy of your film.
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Withoutabox has made CreateSpace our preferred independent distribution partner. Originally founded as CustomFlix Labs in 2002 and acquired by Amazon.com in 2005, CreateSpace shares Withoutabox's mission of connecting filmmakers profitably to their worldwide audience.
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Or, login to Withoutabox at www.withoutabox.com and look for "Distribute on
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Forgot password? Go to:
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Sincerely,
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15. Jewish Environmental Group Seeks Support
Forward Message from the TEVA (Nature) Center:
Please Support Teva
Go To:
www.tevacenter.org/support.asp
Teva: Inspirational Jewish Education for an Ecological Age
September 2008
Dear Friend of Teva,
I want to tell you that the 2008 Teva-thon Campaign is underway! At this time, Teva needs your help to get us to our goal of $25,000.
Teva is undertaking a major expansion of its work in Jewish environmental education. Since our founding in 1994, we've primarily focused on working with Jewish day schools. Teva is currently trying to reach an even wider audience through a Congregational Education Initiative that has been growing over the last two years. This effort includes Shabbat Retreat and Educator-in-Residence programs. These programs are far reaching and, with the heightened awareness of ecological concerns, in strong demand.
At Teva we're now reaching 4,000 participants each year through our work with Jewish day schools, camps, congregations and community groups. Teva's students understand the power of experiential Jewish education that brings Jewish practice alive. When they leave a Teva program, they are motivated to implement greening projects in their schools and personal lives.
After leading a training for Temple Educators in Westchester, NY, Laura Bellow's (Teva's New Congregational Coordinator) wrote me:
I am struck by how much hunger there is for this kind of Jewish education. I was reminded that even in a room of very experienced educators; there is still a lot to be learned about experiential, energetic, positive and meaningful Jewish Earth Education.
Yet, Teva Learning Center's educators are still not reaching many Jewish communities. In order to enable the continued growth of our programs, Teva needs support for curriculum development, scholarships and training.
We need your help to move us to the next stage.
Support Teva's work by going to:
www.tevacenter.org/support.asp
Thank you,
Nili Simhai, Director
Exclusive Gifts for Teva-thon 2008
During the Teva-thon 2008 fund drive, we'd like to recognize your generous donations by offering the following exclusive gifts:
$1,000 - Sustainer in name along with all other gifts
$540 - Blessing Art made by one of Teva's talented artists
$360 - Teva Tunes, a brand new two-disc CD set.
$180 - Inspirational greeting cards displaying artwork and quotations.
All Gifts - Certified Organic "Seeds of Change"
Teva Programs at Jewish Summer Camps are Growing!
This summer Teva established a new program at the Henry Kaufmann Campgrounds on Long Island. At the newly re-built Rose Nature and Ecology Center, campers experienced the wonders of the natural world through investigation and radical amazement! Veteran Teva Educators worked with over 1,000 campers. Their aim was to help participants develop a more meaningful relationship with nature and their own Jewish practices.
But Teva's impact on Jewish summer camps goes beyond that...
Wendy Rosen, one of 37 counselors trained at this year's Teva Seminar, was inspired to expand Camp Ramah of the Berkshire's environmental education program. She led the charge of large-scale camp programming, which included P'solet Patrol, a composting display, a camp-wide star-gazing event, and green infomercials on the camp radio station. Experiential activities integrated Teva's teaching into group hikes, Tefillah B'Teva, and an Environmental Beit Din.
And... of course, at Surprise Lake Camp, Teva's program continues to reach over 700 campers each year. These campers participate in overnights, nature exploration, caring for animals, gardening, eco-art projects, backpacking and wilderness skills. Also, a committee of counselors led the camp in environmentally responsible actions such as camp-wide recycling challenges and personal environmental pledges.
Teva Learning Center: 307 7th Ave. Suite 900, New York, NY 10001
If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe
Click here to forward this email to a friend
Teva Learning Center
307 7th Avenue
Suite 900
New York, New York 10001
Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.
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16. Jewish Environmental Teachings Related to Rosh Hashanah
Keepers of the Garden: A Responsive Reading
This piece was written by Alan Elfanbaum, a longtime member of the Jewish Environmental Initiative, St. Louis.
Awaken, awaken to the sacred sounds of the Shofar, Oh Keepers of the Garden
It cries in mourning for the numberless creatures of earth, sea and sky that are no more. It cries for the great forests, meadows and wetlands that are slowly dying. It cries for the earth itself which has been stripped and plundered beyond recognition It cries for its Children who refuse to listen as the sounds of life are slowly being stilled
Awaken, awaken, to the sacred sounds of the Shofar, Oh Keepers of the Garden
And ask forgiveness for what we have done. For the sins that we have committed in spewing noxious pollutants into the air that we breathe
that descend to the pristine lakes and forests beyond that rise to the protective and nurturing layers far above.
And for the sins that we have committed in pouring poisonous wastes into our clear streams and broad rivers that flow into mighty seas and oceans beyond that poison the deep waters where life first began.
For the sins that we have committed in burying the earth under billions of tons of refuse and garbage in destroying the living soil with herbicides and pesticides in creating radioactive wastes that persist for millenniums.
And for the sins that we have committed in cutting down the ancient forests, home to countless unnamed species in culling the oceans empty of whales and dolphins in hunting the earth barren of elephants and lions.
For the sins that we have committed in shackling animals in fetid and overcrowded factory farms in caging them for years in sterile laboratories in displaying them in zoos for our amusement.
And for all of these, O God of forgiveness
Forgive us.
Pardon us.
Grant us atonement.
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17. A Vegetarian-Friendly Retreat Center
Am Kolel Sanctuary & Renewal Center (www.sanctuaryretreatcenter.com) is a Jewish owned and operated ecumenical and vegetarian-friendly retreat center in the Agricultural Reserve of Upper Montgomery County, MD. Enjoy our beautifully maintained 1890s farmhouse with two spacious living rooms, large dining room, sun room, well-equipped kitchen, huge deck, beautiful chapel (seats 75), and guest house. Our28 gorgeous acres of trees, lawns and gardens includes Meditation Garden, labyrinth, screened gazebo, outdoor chapel, campfire ring and woods. Wonderful massage therapist on site. Affordable rates for day, weekend or longer events… A/C and wireless available.
The Sanctuary Committee wishes to make Sanctuary as inclusive as possible and to aspire to a dietary code that honors body, mind and spirit with a particular sensitivity to the Earth and compassion for animals. Our kitchen is a vegetarian/dairy kitchen. Kosher cheeses and cheeses with rennet from non-animal sources are permitted. For private events fish with fins and scales is also permitted. (No meat or shellfish, please.)
The retreat center does not provide food. Guests may bring their own food and prepare their own meals in our fully equipped, kosher kitchen if they observe the guidelines stated above. We are happy to refer prospective clients and guests to three excellent caterers. Two are vegetarian (one strictly vegan), and one is Kosher (with a special menu for Sanctuary customers).
For more information: Contact Gilah at 301-349-2799 or gilah@am-kolel.org
Gilah Rosner, Ph.D.
Retreat Manager
Am Kolel Sanctuary & Renewal Center
301-349-2799
www.sanctuaryretreatcenter.com
To ensure the privacy of our guests, visitation to Am Kolel Sanctuary is by appointment only.
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18. Internationally Acclaimed Book Published in Many Languages
Internationally Acclaimed Book--Eternal Treblinka--Now Published in Spanish
[My review of Eternal Treblinka and my interview with its author can be found in the book reviews section of JewishVeg.com/Schwartz.]
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/09/prweb1363654.htm
Spain is the latest country to publish "Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of Animals and the Holocaust." Its Spanish title is "Por qué maltratamos tanto a los animales?" Many consider Charles Patterson's book--soon to be in 13 languages--the most powerful defense of animals ever written.
New York, NY (PRWEB) September 23, 2008 -- Editorial Milenio in Lerida, Spain announces the publication of "Por qué maltratamos tanto a los animales? Un modelo para la masacre de personas en los campos de exterminio nazis" (ISBN 978-84-9743-254-2). It's the Spanish edition of the highly acclaimed "Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of Animals and the Holocaust" (ISBN 1-930051-99-9) by American author Charles Patterson.
Eternal Treblinka has also been published in Israel, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Serbia, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Japan. Russian, Slovenian and Portuguese translations are also underway. In the United States the book is in its third printing.
Important and timely...written with great sensitivity and compassion. I hope that Eternal Treblinka will be widely read.
In January, 2008, several days after Calmann-Lévy published "Un éternel Treblinka" (ISBN 978-2-7021-3845-8) in Paris, France's leading newspaper Le Monde reviewed it favorably. It was the subject of an hour-long discussion about the origins of violence by French intellectuals on national radio.
In February, 2005, a jury of 30 of the Germany's leading scholars and media figures chose "Für die Tiere ist jeden Tag Treblinka" (ISBN 3-6150-649-1), the German edition of Eternal Treblinka, as one of the country's ten most important non-fiction books. It was honored alongside books about Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, and World War I.
The book's title comes from the Yiddish writer and Nobel Laureate, Isaac Bashevis Singer, to whom the book is dedicated. He was the first major modern author to describe the exploitation and slaughter of animals in terms of the Holocaust. "In relation to them, all people are Nazis," he wrote, "for animals it is an eternal Treblinka." (Treblinka was the Nazi death camp north of Warsaw.)
Eternal Treblinka examines the common roots of animal and human oppression and the similarities between how the Nazis treated their victims and how modern society treats the animals it slaughters for food.
The first part of the book describes the emergence of humans as the "master species" and how we came to dominate the earth and its other inhabitants. The second part examines the industrialization of slaughter of both animals and humans in modern times, while the last part of the book profiles Jewish and German animal advocates on both sides of the Holocaust, including Isaac Bashevis Singer himself.
http://www.powerfulbook.com
Praise From Around The World--
"I urge you to read Eternal Treblinka and think deeply about its important message." --Dr. Jane Goodall, UK
"The moral challenge posed by Eternal Treblinka turns it into a must for anyone who seeks to delve into the universal lesson of the Holocaust." --Maariv (Israeli newspaper)
"A thought-provoking masterpiece meticulously and brilliantly articulated." --Dr. Ndubuisi Eke, Head, Department of Surgery, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria
"Important and timely...written with great sensitivity and compassion. I hope that Eternal Treblinka will be widely read." --Martyrdom and Resistance (Holocaust publication), New York, USA
"Kafka would have applauded Eternal Treblinka. It grips like a thriller." --The Freethinker, UK
"Eternal Treblinka should be on every list of essential reading for an informed citizenry...for the compelling comprehensiveness of the life-and-death story it tells." --National Jewish Post & Opinion, USA
"The book does a perfect and professional job of showing the similarity between the mistreatment of people and of animals. It's written with great sensitivity. Will no doubt be a valuable addition to everyone's collection." --Dr. Vugar Huseynov, Baku, Azerbaijan Republic.
"A very important achievement for animals and humans alike. Most probably your work will only be truly appreciated in years to come, but this is the fate of nearly all original and independent authors." --Christa Blanke, Freiburg, Germany
"It's one of the few books which totally grabs the reader, not only while reading it, but afterwards also, and probably forever...it profoundly disturbs, shocks and destroys." --Croatian philosopher Hrvoje Juric, Zagreb, Croatia
"You must read this carefully documented book." --La Stampa (Italian national newspaper)
"It is seldom that such a comprehensive work of scholarship springs from a heart of compassion in the service of a noble and necessary idea. All the ingredients of your thesis--that the oppression of animals serves as the model for all other forms of oppression--have been available to thinking people for generations, but it remained for you to pull them together." --Helen Weaver, author of The Daisy Sutra, USA
"I believe, along with many others, that your book is one of the most important books of the century." --Tanja Tuma, publisher, Ljubljana, Slovenia
"Very well researched and written with great sensitivity...a compelling, useful and informative book, which I strongly recommend to others in sub-Saharan Africa." --Professor P S Igbigbi, Head, Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, University of Malawi
"A thorough and thought-provoking book." --Ha'aretz (Israeli newspaper)
"The book that breaks all taboos. The book that fires up controversies all over the world." --Prijatelji Zivotinja (Animal Friends Croatia), Zagreb, Croatia
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19. Israeli Animal Rights Group Starts Campaign to Improve Conditions for Laying Hens
Forwarded message from Uri Lorber, Anonymous for Animal Rights activist:
Greetings,
Yael Shemesh [an Israeli vegetarian activist and teacher at Bar Ilan University] has suggested that we contact you and suggest cooperation in working toward relieving the suffering of animals in the spirit of Jewish law.
These days, Anonymous for Animal Rights is starting a public campaign aimed at minimizing the use of battery cages in the eggs industry. This cruel keeping method is currently in common use in Israel.
Raising hens in battery cages is by any measure a cruel practice. Hens in such cages are unable to move freely or even spread their wings in their cells. Usually, three hens are crammed in a single cell, each on a surface of 20x20cm. The small space raises stress among hens, who then tend to attack each other, and the weaker ones have no way to escape. The cage floor is made of tilted metal mesh, which is painful to stand on, and injures the feet of then hens, and the mesh walls of the cells rub their skin and cause wounds. Under such conditions even the most basic and natural needs of the birds cannot be met.
Battery cages have been banned in the European Union: it is unlawful to build new battery coops, and by 2012 all existing battery coops in the EU are to switch to more humane keeping methods. Some countries have already banned the operation of battery cages.
A year ago, the Israeli government has decided on a reform in the poultry industry, aimed at making production more efficient from various aspects. The planned reform includes retiring almost all existing egg coups, and building new ones instead, with government aid.
Anonymous for Animal Rights is intent on not missing the historic opportunity to prevent suffering from hens. We aim to make the construction of new battery coops a thing of the past.
We regard our action as drawing from the Jewish teaching of tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, and would like to request Jewish law rulings from rabbinical authorities as part of our planned public campaign. We believe that a ruling calling to refrain from consuming eggs originating in battery cages could contribute to minimizing the unnecessary harm, by both influencing choices made by the public and by putting positive pressure on decision makers.
This could strengthen the connection between the traditional values of tsa'ar ba'alei chayim and the daily lives of Jews in Israel.
Therefore we request your help in formulating a joint letter to Rabbis, or your signing a letter we could formulate.
I'd be glad to hear from you,
Uri Lorber Egg industry project coordinator
Anonymous for Animal Rights
Telephone: 052-6719063
E-mail: uri.anon@gmail.com
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20. Severe Israeli Drought (Worst in Its History) Continues
Kinneret drops two meters this year
By EHUD ZION WALDOKS
Jerusalem Post 10/3/08
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1222017443392
The water level in Lake Kinneret dropped two meters this year, the Water Authority said Thursday, a steeper annual drop than in any previous year.
The hydrological year ended on September 30 with the Kinneret at 214.05 meters below sea level, down from its height of 212.05 meters below sea level reached on April 3.
The Kinneret's "black line," newly coined this year, is 214.87 meters below sea level. When the black line is reached, the pumps in the lake are exposed to the air, and they can no longer send water into the National Water Carrier.
In July, the lake dropped below the "red line," at which the concentration of pollutants rises to undesirable levels.
Since spring 2004 the Kinneret has lost 5.13 meters, which is equivalent to 850 million cubic meters of water, the authority said. That is roughly equivalent to an entire year's worth of household water use.
This was the fourth consecutive year of dwindling rainfall and the forecast for the next couple of years is just as bleak.
The Water Authority has focused its efforts on two main goals. In the short term, a massive water conservation PR campaign has been launched. "Going from red to black" - a reference to the lake's dropping water levels - has appeared on billboards, on the Internet and on TV.
The Water Authority has also produced a series of commercials which depict a woman and her house drying up and cracking to hammer home the point. The authority says the campaign has achieved significant results since its launch over the summer.
In the medium to long-term, funds have been allocated to expand desalination efforts from the current level of 130 million cubic meters per year to 750 million cubic meters per year by the middle to end of the next decade. Plants in Ashkelon and Palmahim will soon be joined by one in Hadera next year and two more by 2012.
Desalination represents Israel's best hope for drinking water as rainfall has been diminishing. Environmentalists have raised concerns because desalination plants require a fair amount of electricity.
However, as more and more of Israel's electricity comes from renewable sources like solar power, that concern might be mitigated. Moreover, the desalination plants in Ashkelon and Palmahim employ reverse osmosis - the most efficient and least intrusive desalination method in the world. The plant in Hadera and likely all future plants will also use this method.
Additional efforts include reclaiming almost all of the country's sewage for agricultural purposes. Right now, 75 percent of sewage water is treated and the authority aims to bring that to close to 100%.
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This update/Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) Online Newsletter has the following items:
1. Asking for Forgiveness Before Yom Kippur
2. Best Wishes For a Meaningful Yom Kippur and an Easy Fast
3. Relating Sukkot to Vegetarianism
4. I am on a Podcast, Interviewed on “ Responding to Environmental Crises”
5. Setting Up a Curriculum on “Judaism and Vegetarianism”
6. My Radio Interview Discussing A SACRED DUTY and Jewish Vegetarianism
7. Major Review of A SACRED DUTY in the Latest Jewish Vegetarian Magazine
8. Rabbi Challenges Orthodox Jewry Re Agriprocessors
9. Carbon Dioxide Emissions Increasing MORE Rapidly
10. Orthodox Rabbis Initiative To Improve Jewish Business Ethics
11. Marvelous Israeli Short Video With a Powerful Vegan Message/With English Subtitles
12. Climate Change Report Calls for Mandatory Meat Rationing
13. HeebnVegan Blog on Recent Events Re Agriprocessprs Postville Slaughterhouses
14. Chance to Have A SACRED DUTY More Widely Seen/Volunteers Sought
15. Jewish Environmental Group Seeks Support
16. Jewish Environmental Teachings Related to Rosh Hashanah
17. A Vegetarian-Friendly Retreat Center
18. Internationally Acclaimed Book Published in Many Languages
19. Israeli Animal Rights Group Starts Campaign to Improve Conditions for Laying Hens
20. Severe Israeli Drought (Worst in Its History) Continues
Some material has been deferred to a later update/newsletter to keep this one from being even longer.
[Materials in brackets like this [ ] within an article or forwarded message are my editorial notes/comments.]
Opinions expressed do not necessarily represent the views of the JVNA, unless otherwise indicated, but may be presented to increase awareness and/or to encourage respectful dialogue. Also, material re conferences, retreats, forums, trips, and other events does not necessarily imply endorsement by JVNA or endorsement of the kashrut, Shabbat observances, or any other Jewish observances, 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. Also, JVNA does not necessarily agree with all positions of groups whose views are included or whose events are announced in this newsletter.
As always, your comments and suggestions are very welcome.
Thanks,
Richard
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1. Asking for Forgiveness Before Yom Kippur
An anonymous message from a High Holiday package of material:
“On Yom Kippur, God will pardon everyone who has sinned against Him. But He will not forgive a person who has sinned against another human being, unless that person has appeased the person who was wronged.”
Mishnah Yoma 8:9
“I hereby forgive whoever has hurt me,
whoever has done me any wrong,
whether deliberately or by accident,
whether by word or by deed.
May no one be punished on my account.”
“As I forgive and pardon fully
those who have done me wrong,
may those whom I have harmed
forgive and pardon me
whether I acted deliberately or by accident
whether by word or by deed,”
[Forgiveness of people who have done wrong does not imply acceptance of evil acts - we must continue to work diligently to eradicate evil and to strive for a better world.]
---------------------------------------------
If I have offended anyone by anything I have written or done during the past year, it was unintentional, and I ask your forgiveness. I plan to try to continue to be sensitive to the wide variety of people receiving these newsletters, while promoting vegetarianism as a necessary part of a healthier, more just, humane, peaceful and environmentally sustainable world. Your suggestions are always welcome, as we continue and expand our efforts to get vegetarianism and related issues onto the Jewish agenda.
Richard
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2. Best Wishes For a Meaningful Yom Kippur and an Easy Fast
and may we be written and sealed in the Book of Life for a good year.
If you have the time and inclination, please see my article “Vegetarianism and Yom Kippur” in the holiday section of JewishVeg.com/schwartz.
Suggestions always welcome. Please consider using the material in that article and in other material at JewishVeg.com/schwartz for letters to the editor and talking points. Thanks.
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3. Relating Sukkot to Vegetarianism
Since Sukkot, starting the evening of Monday, October 13 this year, follows quickly after Yom Kippur, I am including (below) a letter that I have sent to the Jewish media re Sukkot. Please consider using that letter and the material in my article on “Sukkot, Simchat Torah and Vegetarianism,” in the holiday section at JewishVeg.com/schwartz, to compose your own letters and for talking points. Thanks.
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Dear Editor:
On Sukkot, the Jewish festival devoted to our offering thanksgiving for the abundance of life, we are reminded that humans are only privileged caretakers of this precious, but imperiled, planet. Like the wilderness sukkot of our Israelite ancestors, this Earth is no more than our temporary dwelling, and it is our important responsibility to cherish and care for our planet and all its creatures, as co-workers with God. The fragile shelter of the sukkah should remind us that we can't rely on technological advances to save us and we must find a way to live in harmony with nature.
As we decorate our sukkahs with pictures and replicas of fruits and vegetables on our harvest festival, we should consider how future harvests are endangered by global warming, widening water shortages and soil erosion and depletion. As our Israelite ancestors were sustained with manna, a vegetarian food “like coriander seed,” while they dwelt in sukkahs for 40 years in the wilderness, we should sustain ourselves with tofu, the modern-day manna, and a wide variety of other plant foods, to improve our health and to help move our endangered planet to a sustainable path.
Very truly yours,
Steven Schuster
Richard H. Schwartz
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4. I am on a Podcast, Interviewed on “ Responding to Environmental Crises”
Thanks to Jpseph Puentes for expertly producing this important podcast. You can hear the entire interview at:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/water/2008-09-24_VSSE_RichardSchwartz_RespondingToEnvironmentalCrises.mp3
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5. Setting Up a Curriculum on “Judaism and Vegetarianism”
I am working with some people on this. If you have suggestions or would like to volunteer to help, please let me know. Many thanks.
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6. My Radio Interview Discussing A SACRED DUTY and Jewish Vegetarianism
It can be heard at:
http://www.archive.org/download/VegetarianSolutions/2008-09-17_ASacredDuty_WRFGMelodyParisInterview.mp3
Thanks to Melody Paris for interviewing me and to Joseph Puentes for making it into a podcast.
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7. Major Review of A SACRED DUTY in the Latest Jewish Vegetarian Magazine
A SACRED DUTY: Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal the World
DVD Review by Julie Rosenfield
These days, we can scarcely open our newspapers, watch the TV or surf the internet without seeing the words “climate change” and “global warming.” We read articles every day exhorting us to cut our carbon footprint, recycle our waste and go green to save the planet.
But is environmental disaster really inevitable? What action can we take and where should we look for guidance?
A beautiful, intelligent and thoughtful new DVD: A Sacred Duty, Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal the World, produced by multi-award-winning producer, director, writer, cinematographer, Lionel Friedberg, under the sponsorship of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America, addresses these very questions and, through an inspirational hour-long documentary, gives us both hope and some of the answers we need.
The need to look after the earth, as we are reminded in the DVD, is actually nothing new. In fact, as Rabbi Yonassan Gershom reflects, the Torah is like an “operation manual” which contains instructions on how to care for the planet. Although we have faithfully heeded the commandment to be fruitful and multiply - hence the current world population of over 6.5 billion people - we have heeded less well the commandment to take care of the earth. By applying Jewish values at this crucial time, however, we can help redress this balance and start to heal the world.
Judaism has built into it core values such as reverence for G-d, respect for life, a code of compassion and justice and the importance of acting as responsible custodians, both for ourselves and those creatures with whom we share our planet.
Professor Richard Schwartz, who helped to produce the DVD, reminds us of the ancient rabbinic teaching of how when G-d created the world, He said to Adam, “Do not corrupt or destroy this world, for if you do there is nobody after you to set it aright.”
Looking at global warming, water shortages and rapid species extinction, it appears that we have not taken heed of this commandment.
However, as Jews, Professor Schwartz reminds us, we have a historic mission, to be a light unto the nations and to act as shomrei adamah, guardians of the earth, working towards tikkun olam, the repair of the world.
The DVD contains beautifully-photographed shots of Israel, whether of the desert, lakes such as the Galilee, the beaches of Tel-Aviv or the Dead Sea. Jonathan Wolf, another contributor, points out that Israel is really a microcosm of the earth. Despite its small size, with its variety of landscape and scenery, it contains examples of almost every ecosystem in the world. He thinks that this is not accidental and that we can visualize the whole world when we look at Israel.
However, Israel today is suffering severe environmental damage, both from its burgeoning population and its increase in industrialisation. Manufacturing industries, pharmaceuticals and heavy equipment production all play their part in damaging the environment. Israel is suffering from an air pollution crisis which has led to a disturbing figure of 17% of Israeli children suffering from asthma, an increase from 5% in 1980. Also of concern, reports Professor Alon Tal, is the fact that 1 in 7 women in Haifa suffer from breast cancer, a figure higher than the national average, again as a result of ambient air quality.
The Yarkon River in Tel Aviv, with its toxic slime, is a casualty of environmental pollution. Indeed, none of the 16 rivers of Israel, warns the DVD, is safe to swim in or to provide drinking water. Even the Dead Sea is actually dying, decreasing by 1 metre per year. Given the shortage of rainwater, and a study which predicts a future decrease in rainfall of up to 30%, this is a cause for alarm.
An important message of the DVD is that global warming does not respect boundaries. And, with climate scientists predicting an increase of 3 to 11 degrees F in the next 100 years, there is a great fear that such change could lead to droughts and famine and, in turn, increase unrest, violence, terrorism and war.
Global warming however, is not just about car emissions, as many think.
In 2006, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations published a report showing that a staggering 18% of greenhouse gases come from livestock agriculture. Farm animals, the report showed, produce more greenhouse gases (in C02 equivalents) than emissions from trucks, cars, trains, aircraft and ships of all nations combined. This is a little-known fact which is seldom discussed.
There are also other environmental ramifications of Western agricultural methods. In the US, 200 million tons of cereals, grains and soya beans are produced every year. If these were fed directly to people, they would provide a valuable source of healthy protein. However, most are fed to animals to provide meat. It takes 10 lbs of grains to produce only 1 lb of beef. Ten acres of soya beans could feed 60 people. However, using the same amount of land to raise cattle would only feed 2 people. Water is again a huge issue as it takes 2500-5000 gallons of water to produce 1lb of beef.
In a world where 900 million people are undernourished, 15% of the world, and where 30,000 children die from hunger every day, using land to produce meat and animal feed is nothing less than scandalous.
However, there is hope for the future. Important projects discussed in the film like those carried out at the learning and research centre of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies in Southern Israel, where Arabs and Jews come together to face the challenges of environment in cooperative ways, surely give hope for the future. Here students learn that environmental problems are not restricted to countries but are the concern of everyone. Projects such as these offer real hope as students on the course take away the knowledge gleaned back to their own countries to put into practice.
Equally inspirational are rabbis such as Rabbi Warren Stone of the Temple Emmanuel in Kensington, Greater Washington DC who is spreading the environmental message in his own synagogue. In the DVD, we see his beautiful, solar-panel fuelled temple, which features a bimah depicting a Banyan Tree, as a strong message to stop cutting down forests. Likewise, the Torah coverings show roots to symbolise how the roots of Judaism are passed from generation to generation.
With interviews from leading Rabbis, medical professionals and many luminaries of the Jewish Vegetarian movement on important subjects such as environmental concerns, livestock production, health and Jewish values, A Sacred Duty: Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal the World offers real hope and inspiration for anyone who cares enough to save the planet.
For further information, please visit the website of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America at www.jewishveg.com.
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8. Rabbi Challenges Orthodox Jewry Re Agriprocessors
http://www.forward.com/articles/14271/
Orthodoxy's Kosher Crisis
Opinion
By Eric Yoffie
Thu. Sep 25, 2008
Over the course of the past five months, the American Jewish community has observed with dismay the gradual unfolding of the Agriprocessors scandal. Agriprocessors may be a private corporation, but as the nation's leading producer of kosher meat, it is one that operates under the Jewish communal banner. Its actions have been followed closely, not only by Jews such as myself who observe kashrut, but by all Jews - not to mention many in the broader American public.
Thus far, however, our communal response to this crisis has been decidedly mixed.
The Conservative movement deserves praise for its strong stance in favor of strengthening the bond between social justice and Jewish law. Its new Hekhsher Tzedek initiative is working to create an additional certification for kosher products that would take into account ethical considerations. We in the Reform movement have expressed our sympathy and support for this effort. The Union for Reform Judaism recently adopted resolutions endorsing Hekhsher Tzedek and stressing the need for better treatment of workers and immigrants.
Yet it is Orthodox Judaism that is primarily responsible for our system of kosher supervision. And Orthodox Jews represent the largest single consumer base for the kosher meats produced by Agriprocessors. Therefore, the Orthodox community and its leaders have a particular responsibility for addressing the troubling questions that have been raised and for working to repair the damage that has been done.
I expect nothing from the owners of Agriprocessors, the Rubashkins. Rapacious businessmen are hardly unique to the Jewish world. But I do expect something from Jewish leadership, and in particular from rabbinic leadership. The question that I keep asking myself is: Where is the voice of the Orthodox rabbinate? Why are we not hearing from the great Torah sages who are the ultimate authorities in all matters of consequence in the Orthodox world?
In talking with some of my Orthodox friends, they endlessly repeat the mantras of “due process” and “innocent until proven guilty.” But this is entirely beside the point. While there is, of course, a presumption of innocence, it could be years before the judicial proceedings are concluded.
In the meantime, the Jewish community faces a public crisis of major proportions. The scandal has raised basic questions about the ethical foundations of our religious tradition, about undue deference to the wealthy and about Jewish indifference to injustice in our midst.
Jewish tradition has a great deal to say about proper treatment of the laborer and the stranger, and throughout history our greatest rabbinic figures have not hesitated to address these matters. Let us imagine that in the early stages of the most recent scandal, the Torah authorities of the Orthodox world had emphatically proclaimed the obligation of Jews to meet the requirements of Torah and treat workers with justice, immigrants with compassion, and animals with care and consideration. To this they could have added that they had no intention of prejudging any cases currently being adjudicated in the secular courts but only to make clear the Torah principles that must guide us all. Had this happened, the scandal would have played out in a very different way, and the unease now felt throughout much of the Jewish community would have been mitigated considerably.
And where is the voice of Chabad? Since the Rubashkins' ties to Chabad are well known, it has a special responsibility to speak to the ethical issues of the scandal. Chabad-Lubavitch is a ubiquitous presence in North America, doing much to strengthen Jewish life. I know many young Jews who have studied Torah and Jewish ethics with Chabad teachers. But ethics in the abstract are meaningless if they are not applied to the real ethical challenges that we face as Jews.
It is strange that many of those most insistent on “due process” for the Rubashkins have felt no need to offer Torah opinions that are completely objective and unbiased. Rabbis who “investigate” abuses against workers from Agriprocessors while putting their expenses on the company tab are violating both accepted ethical canons and common sense. And attorneys and communal leaders who argue points of Torah to rebut company critics while remaining on the company payroll dishonor the tradition they profess to serve. Torah that is bought and paid for is not Torah at all.
Some Orthodox rabbinic voices have been heard, to be sure, and frequently they have been younger voices. Sadly, these younger rabbis have been dismissed with utter contempt by some establishment Orthodox leaders.
One very encouraging development was the recent action of O.U. Kosher, which threatened to withdraw its kashrut certification unless Agriprocessors changed its management. As a result, the company named a new CEO. Nonetheless, two caveats are in order: First, a company with a record of wiliness and deception might make management changes that are cosmetic only, and careful follow-up will obviously be required; and second, statements by kashrut officials, no matter how admirable, are no substitute for the words of the gedolim and roshei yeshiva - the great Orthodox rabbinic scholars and yeshiva heads.
This scandal cries out for religious leadership from the Orthodox world, and it is not too late for Orthodox Torah scholars to provide it. My fervent hope is that a resolution of the crisis will come speedily, with those in authority affirming Torah's message of hope - which is that we must obey God, mitigate injustice and assure human dignity for all.
Rabbi Eric Yoffie is president of the Union for Reform Judaism.
Thu. Sep 25, 2008
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My response:
The disturbing reports of alleged appalling conditions for animals and workers at the Postville, Iowa slaughterhouse should be a wake-up call to the Jewish community and to consumers of Agriprocessors' meat products to the urgent need for a major reassessment of how the current production and consumption of meat and other animal products violate basic Jewish teachings and harm people, animals and the entire planet.
I strongly support efforts by many groups to improve conditions at the slaughterhouse. But, even if these conditions become far better, we believe that it is still urgent that Jews shift away from animal-based diets because they involve many inconsistencies with Jewish law and values:
* Producing and consuming meat and other animal products represent violations of basic Jewish mandates to preserve our health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, conserve natural resources, help hungry people and avoid a chillul Hashem (desecration of God's Name).
* The raising of 60 billion animals worldwide for meat, eggs and milk is contributing to global warming, widening water shortages, rapid species extinction and many more environmental problems that threaten humanity and all of creation.
* We can reduce the current epidemic of diseases afflicting Jews and others through a switch toward plant-based diets.
* In view of the many current threats to humanity, it is scandalous that the world is not only trying to feed 6.7 billion people, but also over 50 billion farmed animals; that 70 percent of the grain produced in the United States and 40 percent produced worldwide are fed to animals raised for slaughter; that the standard American diet (SAD) requires up to 14 times as much water as a vegan diet.
* A 2006 UN FAO report indicated that animal-based agriculture emits more greenhouse gases (18 percent in CO2 equivalents) than all the world's cars and other means of transportation combined (13.5 percent), and that the number of farmed animals is projected to double in 50 years. Therefore, what we eat is more important than what we drive, and a shift to plant-based diets is essential if we are to effectively respond to global warming and other environmental threats..
* This is extremely important for Jews today because Israel is especially threatened by global warming. A report by the Israel Union for Environmental Defense in 2007 indicates that global warming could cause: (1) a rise in average temperature of 3 to 11 degrees Fahrenheit; (2) a significant increase in the Mediterranean Sea level, which would threaten the narrow coastal strip of land where 60% of Israel's population lives and where major infrastructure, such as ports and power plants, would be seriously damaged; and (3) a decrease in rainfall of 20-30%, which would disrupt agricultural production and worsen the chronic water scarcity problem in Israel and the region.
Further information about these issues can be found at our JVNA (Jewish Vegetarians of North America) web site JewishVeg.com. We will provide complimentary copies of our new, highly-acclaimed documentary A SACRED DUTY: APPLYING JEWISH VALUES TO HELP HEAL THE WORLD and related materials to rabbis and others who will contact us and indicate how they might use them to involve their congregations, schools or other groups on the issues. The entire documentary can be seen at ASacredDuty.com, and there is much background material about the film at that web site.
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9. Carbon Dioxide Emissions Increasing MORE Rapidly
Last year's world CO2 emissions exceeded most dire IPCC predictions
Grist Ezine
[This report is especially disturbing, because experts have pointed out that it is essential that annual carbon dioxide emissions be sharply reduced.]
The world's carbon dioxide emissions in 2007 exceeded even some of the direst predictions of climate scientists, growing 3 percent from 2006 according to an annual report from the Global Carbon Project. The climb in overall emissions last year was especially surprising given the economic downturn that was expected to help curb emissions. For the first time, developing nations took the lead in overall CO2 emissions, accounting for some 53 percent of the total, according to the report. China was also officially reconfirmed as the world's largest CO2 polluter; it alone accounted for some 60 percent of the rise in worldwide emissions in 2007. The report also found that the world's natural carbon sinks, such as oceans and forests that lock away carbon and keep it out of the atmosphere, have been absorbing some 3 percent less CO2 pollution since 2000 than they did in the first half of the 20th century. "We should be worried, really worried. This is happening in the context of trying to reduce emissions," said Richard Moss of the World Wildlife Fund. "We're already locked into more warming than we thought."
For more information:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/25/AR2008092503989_pf.html
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10. Orthodox Rabbis Initiative To Improve Jewish Business Ethics
Orthodox rabbis launch business ethics task force
http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/news/article/20080924orthodoxethics.html
JTA
An Orthodox rabbinical group is formulating a guide to ethical business practices with an eye on the kosher industry.
The Rabbinical Council of America announced Wednesday that the task force, chaired by Jewish business ethics authority Rabbi Asher Meir, would produce a detailed guide to ethical practice in business in general and the kosher industry in particular.
"We believe that the kosher food industry as a whole maintains an exemplary level of ethical practice, thanks in part to the presence of kosher agencies and supervisors," the RCA said. "Nonetheless, we attach importance to having ethical guidelines incorporated as a matter of policy by companies receiving kosher supervision, thereby further raising the level of ethical compliance throughout the industry."
The RCA initiative follows a similar effort begun by Conservative rabbis to establish an ethical certification that kosher food companies could pay to apply to their products, provided they have met certain criteria.
Rabbi Basil Herring, the RCA's executive vice president, told JTA that the new initiative would not "police" businesses, saying that is beyond the scope of his organization's abilities. The guide would require companies to pledge adherence to relevant civil laws and regulations, but would only "encourage" companies to strive for compliance with Jewish ethical principles.
Herring also stipulated that the RCA was not expanding the definition of kosher, as some critics have accused the Conservative initiative, known as Hekhsher Tzedek, of doing. The initiative's organizers deny they are expanding the definition of kosher.
"Kosher is not a catch-all," Herring said. "Kosher has a specific reference when it comes to food, and therefore we don't really want to blur that distinction.
"But having said that, it's not enough just to say I don't care as long as the meat conforms to the laws of slaughtering, nothing else is of significance. We believe that we have a moral responsibility as Jews, and if you will as religious Jews, to say that it is also improtant ... that principles of social responsibility, of social justice, be upheld. And be upheld publicly."
Herring said the organization has set mid-December as a target date for completing its guidelines
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My response:
As president of Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) I commend the RCA for this initiative, and I wish them much success.
However, in their consideration of the kosher meat industry, I wonder, respectfully, if the RCA will consider that:
* The production and consumption of animal-based diets arguably violate Jewish teachings on preserving human health, treating animals with compassion, protecting the environment, conserving natural resources and helping hungry people
* Animal-based diets are causing an epidemic of heart disease, several types of cancer and other diseases in the Jewish and other communities.
* Animal-based agriculture is contributing significantly to global warming and other environmental problems that threaten all of humanity.
The RCA would be doing a great kiddush Hashem (sanctification of G=d's Name) by condiuting a dialogue on “Should Jews Be Vegetarians?”
Further information can be found at JewishVeg.com/Schwartz and by seeing our movie “A Sacred Duty: Applying Jewish Values To Help Heal the World” at ASacredDuty.com.
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11. Marvelous Israeli Short Video With a Powerful Vegan Message/With English Subtitles
http://www.animal-tv.org/html/english/movie_wmp_03_03_5reasons.html
A Must See. Please do not be put off by the title. It is great satire and a message that everyone should see.
Please pass this message on to others. Thanks.
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12. Climate Change Report Calls for Mandatory Meat Rationing
http://www.dailytech.com/Climate+Change+Report+Calls+for+Mandatory+Meat+Rationing/article13097.htm
Calls for government to set consumption targets for meat, dairy, alcohol, and other food products.
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The average person eats 21 meals a week. According to a new plan to combat climate change, 17 of those will be government-mandated as meat-free. Targets set by the plan would limit weekly consumption of beef would be limited to 1/4 pound. Chicken and ham would be similarly limited, with four modest servings of meat available throughout a week.
The report, sponsored by the University of Surrey, U.K., called for a return to old-fashioned cooking and shopping habits, such as walking to stores, buying only local produce, eating leftovers, and cooking in bulk, so that several meals can be prepared at once. More controversially, the report suggests people should "accept different notions of quality" in regards to food consumption, so that foods we now discard or use for animal feed can instead be directed to human consumption.
Drastic reductions in consumption of alcohol, dairy products, and sweets were also part of the plan.
The report's author, Tara Garnett, noted that voluntary campaigns were "doomed to fail" and strongly urged governments to mandate compliance through carbon trading and caps on greenhouse gas emissions. Ms. Garnett, who says "we cannot assume [the consumer] will necessarily make the right choice", advocates large-scale government intervention to ensure targets are met.
An investigation in the October edition of the Ecologist magazine advocated the developed world cut its meat consumption in half as a tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The head of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Rajendra Pachauri, also recently suggested people go at least partially vegetarian.
The report found that a fifth of all emissions were the result of the food sector, a value larger than that from the combined transportation sector. The majority of those emissions were from meat production.
Ms. Garnett is a research fellow at the Center for Environmental Strategy at the University of Surrey.
Very important article. Please also read the posted comments, and note why we are having such a difficult time.
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13. HeebnVegan Blog on Recent Events Re Agriprocessprs Postville Slaughterhouses
9.24.2008
Yet Another Post About AgriProcessors
http://heebnvegan.blogspot.com/2008/09/yet-another-post-about-agriprocessors.html [the original site has a number of links for further info]
[Thanks to Michael Croland for his continued important writings in his blog on vegetarian-related issues.]
There's a lot going on related to AgriProcessors, but I'll start out with the big news. Today, the JTA reported that 12 Jewish members of Congress have sent a letter criticizing AgriProcessors on a variety of issues. The letter largely focuses on animal welfare matters:
The allegations about the company's treatment of its workers and the animals raise serious questions about the company's compliance with U.S. law and the highest standards of Jewish law and tradition concerning kashrut-a subject certainly beyond the scope of the U.S. government's concern, but one of considerable importance to the Jewish communities in our districts. . . .
In addition to our alarm over reports of your company's extensive, deplorable and illegal treatment of many of its workers, we have been disgusted by revelations about Agriprocessors' slaughtering practices and the company's treatment of animals. Between January 1, 2006 and January 24, 2007, Agriprocessors was issued five separate citations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for faulty monitoring of mad cow disease and more than a dozen citations for fecal and bile contamination of beef and poultry, which resulted in two separate meat recalls. A 2005 report by the USDA Inspector General also found evidence of inhumane slaughter practices.
After an undercover investigation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in 2004 showed footage of cattle walking inside the Agriprocessors facility with slit throats ... the company asked Dr. Temple Grandin, a well-respected expert in the fields of animal rights and humane slaughtering practices, to tour the facility and recommend reforms.
More recently, another undercover PETA investigation filmed the use of a practice known as “gouging,” which inflicts deep, agonizing, saw-like wounds onto an animal immediately after the rabbi completed the ritual cut as proscribed by Jewish law. The new report led Dr. Grandin to rescind her earlier support of the slaughtering practices employed by the company and recommend the permanent installment of cameras that would be independently monitored. . . .
We would appreciate a detailed explanation of the steps Agriprocessors will be taking ... to address the company's systemic problems and ensure the humane and ethical treatment of both workers and animals in accordance with both U.S. laws and Jewish standards.
The Forward reported:
“We wanted them to know from whence this came - that they have conducted this offense and that we are particularly offended as Jews,” Rep. Gary Ackerman, a New York Democrat who organized the letter, told the Forward. “As my mother used to say, it's a shande to the goyim.”
Ackerman said that they had deliberately asked only Jewish members of Congress to add their signatures.
I've been following the AgriProcessors saga since 2004, and it's heartening to see more and more that people in power are catching on. In the words of British politician Tony Benn, "It's the same each time with progress. First they ignore you, then they say you're mad, then dangerous, then there's a pause, and then you can't find anyone who disagrees with you." Slowly but surely, we're getting there.
Other AgriProcessors News
1. Last Wednesday, Yeshiva World News posted an interview with Rabbi Menachem Genack, head of kosher supervision for the Orthodox Union. When asked why AgriProcessors rather than any other company has been the focus of so much controversy and attention (from the government, media, activists, consumers, etc.), Rabbi Genack noted that it is in part "because Agri was in the crosshairs after the story with PETA four years ago." That backs up what I've been saying all along: The 2004 animal welfare scandal at AgriProcessors is one of the chief foundations of the current/ongoing saga.
2. Earlier this month, Shmarya Rosenberg from FailedMessiah posted a must-read overview of the ongoing AgriProcessors saga on Jewcy, discussing both animal welfare aspects and other topics. Says Rosenberg, "I'd like to say that the Jewish community deserves better than this - but we don't. We stood by silently as Agriprocessors business practices became exponentially more abusive and exploitative. Having access to kosher meat was more important that how that access was gained or who was hurt as a result."
3. Last week, AgriProcessors hired a new CEO, Bernard Feldman. The Associated Press reported that Feldman "said Agriprocessors has treated its workers fairly," FailedMessiah noted. Click here to read an open letter (courtesy of FailedMessiah) to Feldman from a Postville, Iowa, resident. "As you decide what is 'right for the company,' please try to decide what is right for the community, too," says the letter.
4. I often link to articles from secular media, Jewish papers, and relatively few Jewish blogs, but it's nice to have another perspective from time to time. Here's a thought-provoking piece from a J-blog called Jewneric in which the writer explains why he and his wife have stopped buying "any Kosher butchered red meat." The post says, "Every single shechita should be done the best way possible. Anything less than this means unnecessary tza'ar ba'ale chaim to the animal. While we are permitted to cause the minimal pain necessary to slaughter the animal, we are obligated to ensure that we cause only the minimal pain."
5. A new article in The Jewish Week suggests that AgriProcessors and Hekhsher Tzedek will be common sermon topics for many rabbis during the High Holidays. "The issues of our day include topics like Darfur and the ethical treatment of animals,” says Rabbi Eric Stark, director of the Union for Reform Judaism Greater New York Council.
posted by heebnvegan @ 9/24/2008 09:26:00 PM
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14. Chance to Have A SACRED DUTY More Widely Seen/Volunteers Sought
Forwarded message from: "Filmmaker Opportunities, Withoutabox."
Subject: Distribute your film on Amazon.com and other channels
Just wanted to let you know about a new opportunity to distribute your film on DVD and VOD via CreateSpace. With no upfront costs, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Respond to this offer and get a free proof copy of your film, available for a limited time.
What is CreateSpace?
CreateSpace is an on-demand distribution platform, enabling filmmakers to make their products available to potentially millions of customers on
Amazon.com and other channels without requiring an upfront investment. You start making money with your first sale, and again with each subsequent sale. Your films will appear as in-stock DVDs for sale on Amazon.com, as well as be available through other distribution channels. They will also be eligible for possible email and/or online promotion as part of the CreateSpace disc-on-demand program. Other great benefits:
* Membership and title set-up provided at no charge
* A Free UPC will be assigned if you do not already have one
* DVDs are produced when customers order, so there is no need for
inventory and you don't have to hassle with order fulfillment and customer service
* Your title becomes eligible for listing on IMDb.com
* DVDs can be made available as video downloads through Amazon Video On Demand (formerly Unbox)
* Multi-disc set, multi-case collection, and combined DVD and CD set
options are available
How can I distribute through the CreateSpace program?
Just open a free CreateSpace account. With this account, you will be able to select distribution options, track the sales of your film, and receive any
payments you are owed. You will be asked to submit some basic title
information, upload artwork for your DVD, and send in a copy of your film.
What is the relationship of Withoutabox to CreateSpace?
Withoutabox has made CreateSpace our preferred independent distribution partner. Originally founded as CustomFlix Labs in 2002 and acquired by Amazon.com in 2005, CreateSpace shares Withoutabox's mission of connecting filmmakers profitably to their worldwide audience.
How do I get started?
To Create Your Free CreateSpace Account:
http://www.createspace.com/Signup.jsp?ref=304617
To Get More Details:
http://www.createspace.com/Products/DVDOnDemand.jsp?ref=304617
Or, login to Withoutabox at www.withoutabox.com and look for "Distribute on
DVD and VOD" next to any film title on your Account Home Page....
Username: lionel9@sbcglobal.net
Forgot password? Go to:
http://www.withoutabox.com/index.php?cmd=public.forgot
Sincerely,
Team Withoutabox
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15. Jewish Environmental Group Seeks Support
Forward Message from the TEVA (Nature) Center:
Please Support Teva
Go To:
www.tevacenter.org/support.asp
Teva: Inspirational Jewish Education for an Ecological Age
September 2008
Dear Friend of Teva,
I want to tell you that the 2008 Teva-thon Campaign is underway! At this time, Teva needs your help to get us to our goal of $25,000.
Teva is undertaking a major expansion of its work in Jewish environmental education. Since our founding in 1994, we've primarily focused on working with Jewish day schools. Teva is currently trying to reach an even wider audience through a Congregational Education Initiative that has been growing over the last two years. This effort includes Shabbat Retreat and Educator-in-Residence programs. These programs are far reaching and, with the heightened awareness of ecological concerns, in strong demand.
At Teva we're now reaching 4,000 participants each year through our work with Jewish day schools, camps, congregations and community groups. Teva's students understand the power of experiential Jewish education that brings Jewish practice alive. When they leave a Teva program, they are motivated to implement greening projects in their schools and personal lives.
After leading a training for Temple Educators in Westchester, NY, Laura Bellow's (Teva's New Congregational Coordinator) wrote me:
I am struck by how much hunger there is for this kind of Jewish education. I was reminded that even in a room of very experienced educators; there is still a lot to be learned about experiential, energetic, positive and meaningful Jewish Earth Education.
Yet, Teva Learning Center's educators are still not reaching many Jewish communities. In order to enable the continued growth of our programs, Teva needs support for curriculum development, scholarships and training.
We need your help to move us to the next stage.
Support Teva's work by going to:
www.tevacenter.org/support.asp
Thank you,
Nili Simhai, Director
Exclusive Gifts for Teva-thon 2008
During the Teva-thon 2008 fund drive, we'd like to recognize your generous donations by offering the following exclusive gifts:
$1,000 - Sustainer in name along with all other gifts
$540 - Blessing Art made by one of Teva's talented artists
$360 - Teva Tunes, a brand new two-disc CD set.
$180 - Inspirational greeting cards displaying artwork and quotations.
All Gifts - Certified Organic "Seeds of Change"
Teva Programs at Jewish Summer Camps are Growing!
This summer Teva established a new program at the Henry Kaufmann Campgrounds on Long Island. At the newly re-built Rose Nature and Ecology Center, campers experienced the wonders of the natural world through investigation and radical amazement! Veteran Teva Educators worked with over 1,000 campers. Their aim was to help participants develop a more meaningful relationship with nature and their own Jewish practices.
But Teva's impact on Jewish summer camps goes beyond that...
Wendy Rosen, one of 37 counselors trained at this year's Teva Seminar, was inspired to expand Camp Ramah of the Berkshire's environmental education program. She led the charge of large-scale camp programming, which included P'solet Patrol, a composting display, a camp-wide star-gazing event, and green infomercials on the camp radio station. Experiential activities integrated Teva's teaching into group hikes, Tefillah B'Teva, and an Environmental Beit Din.
And... of course, at Surprise Lake Camp, Teva's program continues to reach over 700 campers each year. These campers participate in overnights, nature exploration, caring for animals, gardening, eco-art projects, backpacking and wilderness skills. Also, a committee of counselors led the camp in environmentally responsible actions such as camp-wide recycling challenges and personal environmental pledges.
Teva Learning Center: 307 7th Ave. Suite 900, New York, NY 10001
If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe
Click here to forward this email to a friend
Teva Learning Center
307 7th Avenue
Suite 900
New York, New York 10001
Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.
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16. Jewish Environmental Teachings Related to Rosh Hashanah
Keepers of the Garden: A Responsive Reading
This piece was written by Alan Elfanbaum, a longtime member of the Jewish Environmental Initiative, St. Louis.
Awaken, awaken to the sacred sounds of the Shofar, Oh Keepers of the Garden
It cries in mourning for the numberless creatures of earth, sea and sky that are no more. It cries for the great forests, meadows and wetlands that are slowly dying. It cries for the earth itself which has been stripped and plundered beyond recognition It cries for its Children who refuse to listen as the sounds of life are slowly being stilled
Awaken, awaken, to the sacred sounds of the Shofar, Oh Keepers of the Garden
And ask forgiveness for what we have done. For the sins that we have committed in spewing noxious pollutants into the air that we breathe
that descend to the pristine lakes and forests beyond that rise to the protective and nurturing layers far above.
And for the sins that we have committed in pouring poisonous wastes into our clear streams and broad rivers that flow into mighty seas and oceans beyond that poison the deep waters where life first began.
For the sins that we have committed in burying the earth under billions of tons of refuse and garbage in destroying the living soil with herbicides and pesticides in creating radioactive wastes that persist for millenniums.
And for the sins that we have committed in cutting down the ancient forests, home to countless unnamed species in culling the oceans empty of whales and dolphins in hunting the earth barren of elephants and lions.
For the sins that we have committed in shackling animals in fetid and overcrowded factory farms in caging them for years in sterile laboratories in displaying them in zoos for our amusement.
And for all of these, O God of forgiveness
Forgive us.
Pardon us.
Grant us atonement.
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17. A Vegetarian-Friendly Retreat Center
Am Kolel Sanctuary & Renewal Center (www.sanctuaryretreatcenter.com) is a Jewish owned and operated ecumenical and vegetarian-friendly retreat center in the Agricultural Reserve of Upper Montgomery County, MD. Enjoy our beautifully maintained 1890s farmhouse with two spacious living rooms, large dining room, sun room, well-equipped kitchen, huge deck, beautiful chapel (seats 75), and guest house. Our28 gorgeous acres of trees, lawns and gardens includes Meditation Garden, labyrinth, screened gazebo, outdoor chapel, campfire ring and woods. Wonderful massage therapist on site. Affordable rates for day, weekend or longer events… A/C and wireless available.
The Sanctuary Committee wishes to make Sanctuary as inclusive as possible and to aspire to a dietary code that honors body, mind and spirit with a particular sensitivity to the Earth and compassion for animals. Our kitchen is a vegetarian/dairy kitchen. Kosher cheeses and cheeses with rennet from non-animal sources are permitted. For private events fish with fins and scales is also permitted. (No meat or shellfish, please.)
The retreat center does not provide food. Guests may bring their own food and prepare their own meals in our fully equipped, kosher kitchen if they observe the guidelines stated above. We are happy to refer prospective clients and guests to three excellent caterers. Two are vegetarian (one strictly vegan), and one is Kosher (with a special menu for Sanctuary customers).
For more information: Contact Gilah at 301-349-2799 or gilah@am-kolel.org
Gilah Rosner, Ph.D.
Retreat Manager
Am Kolel Sanctuary & Renewal Center
301-349-2799
www.sanctuaryretreatcenter.com
To ensure the privacy of our guests, visitation to Am Kolel Sanctuary is by appointment only.
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18. Internationally Acclaimed Book Published in Many Languages
Internationally Acclaimed Book--Eternal Treblinka--Now Published in Spanish
[My review of Eternal Treblinka and my interview with its author can be found in the book reviews section of JewishVeg.com/Schwartz.]
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/09/prweb1363654.htm
Spain is the latest country to publish "Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of Animals and the Holocaust." Its Spanish title is "Por qué maltratamos tanto a los animales?" Many consider Charles Patterson's book--soon to be in 13 languages--the most powerful defense of animals ever written.
New York, NY (PRWEB) September 23, 2008 -- Editorial Milenio in Lerida, Spain announces the publication of "Por qué maltratamos tanto a los animales? Un modelo para la masacre de personas en los campos de exterminio nazis" (ISBN 978-84-9743-254-2). It's the Spanish edition of the highly acclaimed "Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of Animals and the Holocaust" (ISBN 1-930051-99-9) by American author Charles Patterson.
Eternal Treblinka has also been published in Israel, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Serbia, Croatia, the Czech Republic and Japan. Russian, Slovenian and Portuguese translations are also underway. In the United States the book is in its third printing.
Important and timely...written with great sensitivity and compassion. I hope that Eternal Treblinka will be widely read.
In January, 2008, several days after Calmann-Lévy published "Un éternel Treblinka" (ISBN 978-2-7021-3845-8) in Paris, France's leading newspaper Le Monde reviewed it favorably. It was the subject of an hour-long discussion about the origins of violence by French intellectuals on national radio.
In February, 2005, a jury of 30 of the Germany's leading scholars and media figures chose "Für die Tiere ist jeden Tag Treblinka" (ISBN 3-6150-649-1), the German edition of Eternal Treblinka, as one of the country's ten most important non-fiction books. It was honored alongside books about Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci, and World War I.
The book's title comes from the Yiddish writer and Nobel Laureate, Isaac Bashevis Singer, to whom the book is dedicated. He was the first major modern author to describe the exploitation and slaughter of animals in terms of the Holocaust. "In relation to them, all people are Nazis," he wrote, "for animals it is an eternal Treblinka." (Treblinka was the Nazi death camp north of Warsaw.)
Eternal Treblinka examines the common roots of animal and human oppression and the similarities between how the Nazis treated their victims and how modern society treats the animals it slaughters for food.
The first part of the book describes the emergence of humans as the "master species" and how we came to dominate the earth and its other inhabitants. The second part examines the industrialization of slaughter of both animals and humans in modern times, while the last part of the book profiles Jewish and German animal advocates on both sides of the Holocaust, including Isaac Bashevis Singer himself.
http://www.powerfulbook.com
Praise From Around The World--
"I urge you to read Eternal Treblinka and think deeply about its important message." --Dr. Jane Goodall, UK
"The moral challenge posed by Eternal Treblinka turns it into a must for anyone who seeks to delve into the universal lesson of the Holocaust." --Maariv (Israeli newspaper)
"A thought-provoking masterpiece meticulously and brilliantly articulated." --Dr. Ndubuisi Eke, Head, Department of Surgery, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria
"Important and timely...written with great sensitivity and compassion. I hope that Eternal Treblinka will be widely read." --Martyrdom and Resistance (Holocaust publication), New York, USA
"Kafka would have applauded Eternal Treblinka. It grips like a thriller." --The Freethinker, UK
"Eternal Treblinka should be on every list of essential reading for an informed citizenry...for the compelling comprehensiveness of the life-and-death story it tells." --National Jewish Post & Opinion, USA
"The book does a perfect and professional job of showing the similarity between the mistreatment of people and of animals. It's written with great sensitivity. Will no doubt be a valuable addition to everyone's collection." --Dr. Vugar Huseynov, Baku, Azerbaijan Republic.
"A very important achievement for animals and humans alike. Most probably your work will only be truly appreciated in years to come, but this is the fate of nearly all original and independent authors." --Christa Blanke, Freiburg, Germany
"It's one of the few books which totally grabs the reader, not only while reading it, but afterwards also, and probably forever...it profoundly disturbs, shocks and destroys." --Croatian philosopher Hrvoje Juric, Zagreb, Croatia
"You must read this carefully documented book." --La Stampa (Italian national newspaper)
"It is seldom that such a comprehensive work of scholarship springs from a heart of compassion in the service of a noble and necessary idea. All the ingredients of your thesis--that the oppression of animals serves as the model for all other forms of oppression--have been available to thinking people for generations, but it remained for you to pull them together." --Helen Weaver, author of The Daisy Sutra, USA
"I believe, along with many others, that your book is one of the most important books of the century." --Tanja Tuma, publisher, Ljubljana, Slovenia
"Very well researched and written with great sensitivity...a compelling, useful and informative book, which I strongly recommend to others in sub-Saharan Africa." --Professor P S Igbigbi, Head, Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, University of Malawi
"A thorough and thought-provoking book." --Ha'aretz (Israeli newspaper)
"The book that breaks all taboos. The book that fires up controversies all over the world." --Prijatelji Zivotinja (Animal Friends Croatia), Zagreb, Croatia
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19. Israeli Animal Rights Group Starts Campaign to Improve Conditions for Laying Hens
Forwarded message from Uri Lorber, Anonymous for Animal Rights activist:
Greetings,
Yael Shemesh [an Israeli vegetarian activist and teacher at Bar Ilan University] has suggested that we contact you and suggest cooperation in working toward relieving the suffering of animals in the spirit of Jewish law.
These days, Anonymous for Animal Rights is starting a public campaign aimed at minimizing the use of battery cages in the eggs industry. This cruel keeping method is currently in common use in Israel.
Raising hens in battery cages is by any measure a cruel practice. Hens in such cages are unable to move freely or even spread their wings in their cells. Usually, three hens are crammed in a single cell, each on a surface of 20x20cm. The small space raises stress among hens, who then tend to attack each other, and the weaker ones have no way to escape. The cage floor is made of tilted metal mesh, which is painful to stand on, and injures the feet of then hens, and the mesh walls of the cells rub their skin and cause wounds. Under such conditions even the most basic and natural needs of the birds cannot be met.
Battery cages have been banned in the European Union: it is unlawful to build new battery coops, and by 2012 all existing battery coops in the EU are to switch to more humane keeping methods. Some countries have already banned the operation of battery cages.
A year ago, the Israeli government has decided on a reform in the poultry industry, aimed at making production more efficient from various aspects. The planned reform includes retiring almost all existing egg coups, and building new ones instead, with government aid.
Anonymous for Animal Rights is intent on not missing the historic opportunity to prevent suffering from hens. We aim to make the construction of new battery coops a thing of the past.
We regard our action as drawing from the Jewish teaching of tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, and would like to request Jewish law rulings from rabbinical authorities as part of our planned public campaign. We believe that a ruling calling to refrain from consuming eggs originating in battery cages could contribute to minimizing the unnecessary harm, by both influencing choices made by the public and by putting positive pressure on decision makers.
This could strengthen the connection between the traditional values of tsa'ar ba'alei chayim and the daily lives of Jews in Israel.
Therefore we request your help in formulating a joint letter to Rabbis, or your signing a letter we could formulate.
I'd be glad to hear from you,
Uri Lorber Egg industry project coordinator
Anonymous for Animal Rights
Telephone: 052-6719063
E-mail: uri.anon@gmail.com
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20. Severe Israeli Drought (Worst in Its History) Continues
Kinneret drops two meters this year
By EHUD ZION WALDOKS
Jerusalem Post 10/3/08
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1222017443392
The water level in Lake Kinneret dropped two meters this year, the Water Authority said Thursday, a steeper annual drop than in any previous year.
The hydrological year ended on September 30 with the Kinneret at 214.05 meters below sea level, down from its height of 212.05 meters below sea level reached on April 3.
The Kinneret's "black line," newly coined this year, is 214.87 meters below sea level. When the black line is reached, the pumps in the lake are exposed to the air, and they can no longer send water into the National Water Carrier.
In July, the lake dropped below the "red line," at which the concentration of pollutants rises to undesirable levels.
Since spring 2004 the Kinneret has lost 5.13 meters, which is equivalent to 850 million cubic meters of water, the authority said. That is roughly equivalent to an entire year's worth of household water use.
This was the fourth consecutive year of dwindling rainfall and the forecast for the next couple of years is just as bleak.
The Water Authority has focused its efforts on two main goals. In the short term, a massive water conservation PR campaign has been launched. "Going from red to black" - a reference to the lake's dropping water levels - has appeared on billboards, on the Internet and on TV.
The Water Authority has also produced a series of commercials which depict a woman and her house drying up and cracking to hammer home the point. The authority says the campaign has achieved significant results since its launch over the summer.
In the medium to long-term, funds have been allocated to expand desalination efforts from the current level of 130 million cubic meters per year to 750 million cubic meters per year by the middle to end of the next decade. Plants in Ashkelon and Palmahim will soon be joined by one in Hadera next year and two more by 2012.
Desalination represents Israel's best hope for drinking water as rainfall has been diminishing. Environmentalists have raised concerns because desalination plants require a fair amount of electricity.
However, as more and more of Israel's electricity comes from renewable sources like solar power, that concern might be mitigated. Moreover, the desalination plants in Ashkelon and Palmahim employ reverse osmosis - the most efficient and least intrusive desalination method in the world. The plant in Hadera and likely all future plants will also use this method.
Additional efforts include reclaiming almost all of the country's sewage for agricultural purposes. Right now, 75 percent of sewage water is treated and the authority aims to bring that to close to 100%.
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