9/22/2008 JVNA Online Newsletter

Shalom everyone,

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

1. Rosh Hashanah Greetings

2. Accomplishments for JVNA for the Past Year

3. Plans/Dreams for the New Year

4. We Desperately Need Funding To Continue and Expand Our Efforts

5. Next Israeli Prime Minister May Be a Vegetarian/JVNA Press Release

6. Getting Our Message Out More Widely

7. My Letter on Kapparot Published in Several Jewish Weeklies

8. B'Nai B'rith Magazine Article Suggests Using Money Instead of Chickens for the Kapparot Ritual

9. Statement by the Vegetarian Union of North America (VUNA) re My Efforts

10. A SACRED DUTY Can Now Be Seen at Another Internet Site

11. New Report Indicates Health Benefits of Planted-Based Diets

12. Another Underground Video Shows Abuses of Farmed Animals

13. US High School Educates “Green Ambassadors”

14. Two short videos showing sensitivity of Chassidic Rabbis to Animals

15. World Farm Animal Day Volunteers Sought

16. Initiative To Get Religious Groups to Be More Sensitive to Animal Rights Concerns and Advocates

17. Article: “Eating Greens Makes You Greener”

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. Rosh Hashanah Greetings

Shalom everybody,

On the occasion of the Jewish New Year -- Rosh Hashana, which begins on Monday evening, September 29:

Wishing you all a very healthy, happy, uplifting and inspiring, peaceful, environmentally-sustainable, humane and compassionate, love-filled New Year, with all of your wishes being fulfilled.

Shanah Tovah U'metukah,

Many thanks for your involvement and help throughout this year.

For my article, “Rosh Hashanah and Vegetarianism,” please visit the holidays section at JewishVeg.com/Schwartz, where you can also find articles connecting all the Jewish holidays to vegetarianism. And please use the points in my article and other material for background for letters to editors and talking points. Thanks.

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2. Accomplishments for JVNA for the Past Year

This was a very good year for the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA)

Our main achievement was the release of our one-hour documentary: A SACRED DUTY: APPLYING JWISH VALUES TO HELP HEAL THE WORLD. There are many positive things about the movie this past Jewish year:

We have distributed close to 20,000 complimentary copies.

The movie can be seen on You Tube, where it has already received over 12,000 hits.

We have set up a web site ASacredDuty.com, where the complete movie can be seen and complimentary copies can be ordered.

* We have received many positive blurbs; they can be viewed at ASacredDuty.com.

* We have received several favorable reviews. They can also be seen at ASacredDuty.com.

* There have been many screenings of A SACRED DUTY throughout the world and several other countries.

* We have many dedicated volunteers who have actively promoted the movie.

* The movie has won three film festival awards: The Green Apple Award, the Columbus International Film Festival's Silver Chris Award and the US Film and Video Festival's “Certificate for Creative Excellence.”.

* DVDS were distributed at many vegetarian conferences and Jewish conferences.

* DVDs were distributed to many key people, including rabbis, Hillel directors, religious studies professors, JCC directors and media people.

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3. Plans/Dreams for the New Year

There is a wonderful very short video produced by the Israeli yeshiva Aish Hatorah that can inspire us to dream and work to carry out our dreams for the new year. It is called “Dare to Dream,” and I highly recommend it.

http://www.aish.com/movies/DareToDream.asp

A New Year is a great time to dream a bit and think about what we would like to happen in the new year to build upon our successes of the present year. While we have made some progress, there is still an epidemic of diseases in the Jewish and other communities, and the world seems increasingly to be heading toward an unprecedented catastrophe from global warming and other environmental threats. And, some notable climate scientists, such as James Hansen of NASA, are arguing that we may have only a few years to turn things around before global warming reaches a tipping point and spirals out of control. So, it is essential that we continue and actually greatly expand our efforts.

So, my dreams:

o that we finally get a breakthrough and get vegetarianism onto the Jewish agenda;
o that we get many more people to recognize the connections between animal-based agriculture and global warming and other environmental threats;
o that synagogues increasingly make tikkun olam (the repair and healing of the world) a central focus;
o that we successfully challenge the medical establishment to stress the importance of a shift toward plant-based diets;
o in short, that there is major progress toward a vegetarian-conscious world

Along with the many dedicated JVNA volunteers (far too many to mention, especially since I am sure I would inadvertently omit some), I intend to do all that I can to help make these dreams come true. Your help and suggestions will always be welcome.

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4. We Desperately Need Funding To Continue and Expand Our Efforts

I mentioned above the many accomplishments of the past year, including getting many thousands of DVDs to key people and activists. This has badly depleted our budget, but it will soon be necessary to produce more DVDs. Also, with additional funds we can do much more, such as taking out ads in Jewish publications, applying for and attending more film festivals, attending conferences, etc.

So, please consider an end-of -the (Jewish) -year contribution. It is fully tax deductible and would certainly be put to good use and make a big difference.

I know that this is not a good time financially for many people. But, as indicated previously, I strongly believe that the most important contribution that we can make for our children and grandchildren and a more livable future world, in general, is to invest in groups that can help shift our greatly imperiled world to a sustainable path.

So, please visit JewishVeg.com/action and make a tax-deductible donation to Jewish Vegetarians of North America. Since All our work is done by volunteers, every dollar will be used to further vegetarianism.
MANY thanks!

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5. Next Israeli Prime Minister May Be a Vegetarian/JVNA Press Release

This is in no way an endorsement of anyone or any political party, but only a consideration of a leading possibility to become Israel's prime minister who is a vegetarian, and how she might help promote vegetarianism.]

JEWISH GROUP CONGRATULATES TZIPI LIVNI, POTENTIALLY ISRAEL'S FIRST VEGETARIAN PRIME MINISTER

For Immediate Release:
September 19, 2008
Contact:
Richard H. Schwartz, President of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA)
president@JewishVeg.com Phone: (718) 761-5876

Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) issued the following statement today:

We congratulate vegetarian and animal-lover Tzipi Livni for winning the Kadima primary, which would make her Israel's first vegetarian prime minister, if she is able to form a government..

We urge Ms. Livni, should she become prime minister, to make it a major priority of her administration to help increase awareness of the many reasons for considering a shift toward vegetarian (and preferably vegan) diets. This would have the following benefits:

It would help reduce the epidemic of diseases afflicting many Israelis, and thus reduce Israel's soaring health costs, freeing money for other societal needs at a time when funds for these needs have been cut;

It would help reduce global warming and other environmental threats to Israel. A 2006 UN report indicated that 'livestock' agriculture emits more greenhouse gases (in CO2 equivalents) than all the cars and other means of transportation worldwide combined (18% vs. 13.5%). A 2007 report from the Israel Union for Environmental Defense projected that, unless major changes soon occur, global warming will cause severe heat waves, reduced rainfall of up to 30%, major storms, and flooding of the coastal plain where moat Israelis live by a rising Mediterranean.

It would result in the more efficient use of resources. While Israel is facing the worst drought in its history, animal-based diets require up to 14 times as much water as vegan diets, and also require far more energy and other resources.

It would be most consistent with Jewish teachings on preserving human health, treating animals with compassion, protecting the environment, conserving natural resources, helping hungry people and seeking and pursuing peace.

JVNA would very much welcome respectful dialogues/debates with on “Should Jews be Vegetarians?” Such discussions would constitute a kiddush Hashem (a sanctification of G-d's Name) because it would show the applicability of eternal Jewish teachings to dietary issues.


Further information about these issues can be found at the JVNA web site JewishVeg.com. We will provide complimentary copies of its new documentary A SACRED DUTY: APPLYING JEWISH VALUES TO HELP HEAL THE WORLD to rabbis and other Jewish leaders who will contact us (president@JewishVeg.com) and indicate how they will use them to involve their congregations on the issues. The entire movie can be seen and further information about it can be found at ASacredDuty.com.

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The press release was posted by EVANA (European Vegetarian and Animals News Alliance):

http://www.evana.org/index.php?id=37558&lang=en

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6. Getting Our Message Out More Widely

Author, environmental activist and JVNA advisor Lewis Regenstein made the following comment and suggestion:

I think lots of the media tend to dismiss our news releases when they see we are a vegetarian organization.

Why don't we form a group, Jewish Coalition for the protection of health, animals & the Env, & use that name when appropriate, to try to get coverage on an issue, when we would stand a better chance of success than using JVNA.

You can be president.

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Seeking input on Lew's suggestion, I responded to the JVNA advisory committee as follows:

Lew's idea is that we do not actually form a new group, but just use that different name sometimes when sending out some press releases. I am hesitant because:

a. if anyone asks who is in the coalition, how would we respond?;

b. publications are generally familiar with getting material from me, and if I sent out material, even using a group with a different name, I think editors would not be fooled.

Perhaps we just have to find a way to meet editors and other leaders and engage in one-to-one dialogues and try other new approaches.

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Rabbi Barry Silver of Boca Raton, Florida responded as follows:

Hi Richard:

It is an interesting idea, but I would not be in favor of a new organization. I do a lot of work for NOW and Planned Parenthood, legally protecting a woman's right to abortion and family planning. The anti-abortionists have done such a great PR job, that even pro-choice people never mention abortion. They say they are for a
woman's right to choose, for reproductive freedom, and other euphemisms. They are made to feel ashamed of being in favor of supporting abortion rights. They urge me never to mention the word "abortion". This has had a devastating impact upon those who favor woman's rights, including the right to abortion. The pro-choice
community is on the defensive, letting the anti-abortion crowd dictate the argument, never mentioning that the Bible is silent on abortion and is thus pro-choice.

[JVNA takes no position on the issue of abortion. We generally do not include material on topics not related to vegetarianism, but the material above is included here as an example only.]

It would be a mistake for animal rights people and vegetarians to repeat this mistake. The anti-slavery people, the anti-Vietnam war people, the civil rights marchers, those who opposed apartheid, etc. were not immediately vindicated either. We are a new group. Let's keep at it and proudly and strongly stand for truth. Eventually, if we are intelligent, persistent, and continue to spread the truth, our cause will prevail and others will see the merit of becoming vegetarians, or at least of eating less meat. The worst thing we could do would be to lose our credibility, and appear ashamed of who we are, by making up a phony name, and avoiding the truth. We should be proud to let people know we are vegetarians. If we are trying to hide this fact, and are not proud of it, and do not openly advocate it, who will?

Regards, Barry.

Suggestions welcome. Meanwhile, please feel free to forward material in JVNA newsletters to others who might be interested, unless indicated otherwise. Thanks.

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7. My Letter on Kapparot Published in Several Jewish Weeklies

Kapparot Alternatives

As president of Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA), I urge Jews who take part in the kapparot ceremony before Yom Kippur to do so with the approved method of using and donating money rather than chickens who are later slaughtered and then donated to the poor.

This would show that we are acting consistently with our mission to be "rachmanim b'nei rachmanim" (compassionate children of compassionate ancestors) and to the Torah mitzvah of tsa'ar ba'alei chaim (the prohibition against causing unnecessary harm to animals). It would also be consistent with the Jewish teachings that "G-d's mercies are over all of His creatures" (Psalms 145:9) and "the righteous person considers the life of his or her animals" (Proverbs 12:10).

In addition, substituting money for chickens would be consistent with the urgent need to make dietary changes at a time when the production and consumption of meat and other animal products violate basic Jewish mandates to preserve human health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, conserve natural resources, help hungry people and pursue peace. [Meat production also] contributes to global warming, species extinction, soil erosion and depletion, the destruction of valuable habitats, and many more environmental problems that are moving the world toward an unprecedented catastrophe.

JVNA would very much welcome respectful dialogues/debates with rabbis and other Jewish leaders on "Should Jews be Vegetarians?" Such discussions would constitute a kiddush Hashem (a sanctification of G-d's Name) because it would show the applicability of eternal Jewish teachings to dietary issues.
Further information about these issues can be found at the JVNA web site JewishVeg.com.

Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, College of Staten Island
President of Jewish Vegetarians of North America

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8. B'Nai B'rith Magazine Article Suggests Using Money Instead of Chickens for the Kapparot Ritual

Forwarded message from United Poultry Concerns:

[This is consistent with JVNA's position that kapparot should be carried out with money, rather than chickens. For my article on the issue, please visit the section on animals at JewishVeg.com/Schwartz.]

Questioning Kapparot" in the Fall Edition of B'nai B'rith Magazine

The internationally prestigious quarterly Jewish magazine, B'nai B'rith, has an article in the Fall issue entitled "Questioning Kapparot," by Senior Editor, Janet Lubman Rathner, on page 13. The article below is reprinted with permission from B'nai B'rith Magazine, Fall 2008 edition.

Questioning Kapparot

An animal rights organization is suggesting an alternative to the ancient High Holidays custom of Kapparot, a tradition that involves swinging a live chicken over one's head while reciting psalms and prayers. The custom is a sin-cleansing exercise performed between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Observers are typically from ultra-Orthodox communities who are then supposed to donate the birds to charity.

The treatment of the birds in the days leading up to, during, and after Kapparot has attracted controversy. There have been several reports and photos of starving and abandoned chickens, hundreds of which were rescued by the ASPCA in New York City, after being found crated and abandoned in a garage and parking lot in 2005 and 2006.

United Poultry Concerns (UPC), a nonprofit dedicated to the compassionate treatment of domestic fowl, wants Kapparot practitioners to use money - swinging coins in a handkerchief - instead of birds, and then donate the proceeds.

"Kapparot is not required by the Torah, the Talmud, or any laws of religious practice. It is a symbolic gesture and any kind of object is acceptable," says Karen Davis, founder and president of UPC. "We do not object to Kapparot. We just want it practiced in a humane way."

Although the UPC's 2007 request received no acknowledgement last year, Davis says the Rabbinical Council of America, which represents many Orthodox rabbis, will once again receive a letter from UPC asking for endorsement of the substitution.*

"We're not asking that Kapparot be abandoned; just the use of chickens," Davis says. "We don't want to see any animal go through suffering when there is no requirement."

Janet Lubman Rathner.
Senior Editor
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*UPC's 2008 letter to the Rabbinical Council of America can be read
at:
www.upc-online.org/kaparos/90908kapparotletter.html &
www.upc-online.org/kaparos/.
A polite letter to the editor of B'nai B'rith Magazine thanking them for this important and timely article may be sent to:

Letters Editor
Editorial Offices
B'nai B'rith Magazine
2020 K St. NW, 7th Floor
Washington, DC 20006
bbmag@bnaibrith.org
202-857-6681

Thank you for helping to promote a compassionate understanding and treatment of chickens as part of the worldwide effort to bring kindness to all living creatures.

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9. Statement by the Vegetarian Union of North America (VUNA) re My Efforts

Dr. Richard Schwartz, Professor Emeritus, Author, and President of Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA), is now being hailed throughout the world thanks to his co-production of “A Sacred Duty” --hundreds of which were freely distributed at the WVC [World Vegetarian Congress] in Dresden-- along with his proposal for IVU [International Vegetarian Union] to endorse his Resolution on Global Warming.

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10. A SACRED DUTY Can Now Be Seen at Another Internet Site

Thanks to JVNA advisor Leonardo Fishmen for making this happen:

Part 1:
in http://myspeaking.speakingchannel.tv/kickapps/_A-Sacred-Duty/video/328503/9176.html?b=125191&pageId=107568

Part 2:
http://myspeaking.speakingchannel.tv/kickapps/_A-Sacred-Duty-Last-part/video/329968/9176.html?b=125191&pageId=107568

Thanks to Speech Coach TJ Walker for providing this opportunity
TJ Walker is also Founderof The Speaking Channel
www.speakingchannel.tv

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11. New Report Indicates Health Benefits of Planted-Based Diets

PCRM [Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine] report, forwarded by JVNA Secretary/Treasurer John Diamond

Plant-Based Diet Helps Reduce Premature Aging and Disease Risk

In a study released today by The Lancet Oncology, Dean Ornish, M.D., and colleagues found that comprehensive lifestyle changes, including a low-fat vegan diet, increase the body's ability to fight premature aging, cancer, heart disease, and other chronic diseases. Twenty-four men participating in a prostate cancer study switched to a plant-based diet and added daily exercise and relaxation techniques. Among other beneficial effects that were previously reported, the intervention led to increased levels of telomerase, an enzyme that protects and repairs DNA. Blood levels of telomerase increased by an average of 29 percent during the study. (Ornish D, Lin J, Daubenmier J, et al. Increased telomerase activity and comprehensive lifestyle changes: a pilot study. Lancet Oncol [advance online publication]. September 16, 2008; DOI 10.1016/S1470-2045(08)70234-1.)

For information about nutrition and health, please visit www.pcrm.org/.
Breaking Medical News is a service of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, 5100 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Suite 400, Washington, DC 20016.

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12. Another Underground Video Shows Abuses of Farmed Animals

Forwarded message:

AP Exclusive: Video shows workers abusing pigs

By FREDERIC J. FROMMER -

WASHINGTON (AP) - An undercover video shot at an Iowa pig farm shows workers hitting sows with metal rods, slamming piglets on a concrete floor and bragging about jamming rods up into sows' hindquarters.

On the video, obtained by The Associated Press, a supervisor tells an undercover investigator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that when he gets angry or a sow won't move, "I grab one of these rods and jam it in her (anus)."

The farm, located outside of Bayard, Iowa, about 60 miles west of Des Moines, is a supplier to Hormel Foods of Austin, Minn. PETA wants to use the results of the investigation to pressure Hormel, the maker of Spam and other food products, to demand that its suppliers ensure humane treatment of pigs.

Hormel spokeswoman Julie Henderson Craven on Tuesday called the abuses "completely unacceptable."

The animal rights group also planned to send the video to the sheriff in Greene County, Iowa, seeking prosecution of 18 people on animal cruelty violations. According to PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich, the video shows eight people directly abusing animals.

"Abuse on factory farms is the absolute norm, not the exception, and anyone eating factory-farmed meat is paying to support it," Friedrich said.

After getting a whistleblower complaint from someone inside the farm, PETA sent two undercover investigators to get hired at the farm and document its practices - one from June 10 to Sept. 8, and the other from July 23 to Sept. 11.

At one point on the video, an employee shouts to an investigator, "Hurt 'em! There's nobody works for PETA out here. You know who PETA is?"

The undercover PETA investigator replies that he's heard of the group.

"I hate them. These (expletives) deserve to be hurt. Hurt, I say!," the employee yells as he hits a sow with a metal rod. "Hurt! Hurt! Hurt! Hurt! ... Take out your frustrations on 'em." He encourages the investigator to pretend that one of the pigs scared off a voluptuous and willing 17- or 18-year-old girl, and then beat the pig for it.

Records at the Greene County Assessor's Office show the property was owned by Natural Pork Production II LLP of Iowa until Aug. 18, and then was transferred to MowMar LLP of Fairmont, Minn.

Lynn Becker, an owner of MowMar, called the abuses on the video "completely intolerable, reprehensible. We condemn these types of acts. If any animals were abused in the brief time we've owned the farm, if we still employ these people, any attempt will made to investigate and initiate corrective action immediately."

Becker said his company provided animal welfare training to the staff when it took over the farm.

Natural Pork Production II referred questions to AMVC Management Services, which managed the farm under its ownership. Mark Jones, AMVC's network manager, said the video showed "unacceptable practices" and that his company is working with the new ownership to investigate.

Craven, the Hormel spokeswoman, said the farm became a Hormel supplier only after the change in ownership, and that MowMar "shares our commitment to animal welfare and humane handling."

Craven said it was her understanding that the abuses took place before the change in ownership. But PETA's Friedrich said the abuses continued, and that the new manager abused animals by shocking and kicking pigs.

Dr. Jennifer Greiner, a veterinarian and director of science and technology at the National Pork Producers Council, said the industry condemns "willful abuse" of pigs and that the video depicts acts that are not acceptable.

"Our industry is committed to handling pigs humanely," she said. "My industry is full of good people."

At one point in the video, workers are shown slamming piglets on the ground, a practice designed to instantly kill those baby pigs that aren't healthy enough. But on the video, the piglets are not killed instantly, and in a bloodied pile, some piglets can be seen wiggling vainly. The video also shows piglets being castrated, and having their tails cut off, without anesthesia.

Temple Grandin, a leading animal welfare expert who serves as a consultant to the livestock industry, said that while those are standard industry practices, the treatment of the sows on the video was far from it.

"This is atrocious animal abuse," Grandin said after PETA sent her the video. But she disagreed with PETA's contention that it was widespread in the industry.

"I've been on many good farms, and the pigs are handled gently," she said. "This was blatant, deliberate animal cruelty. These people are sick. They need to be prosecuted. There are certain people that enjoy hurting animals and they should not be working with them - period."

One of the PETA investigators, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect his ability to do further undercover operations, said there was a culture of violence on the farm, and working there was an emotionally and physically exhausting experience that typically involved working 12-hour shifts and walking 15 miles a day.

"So many times, it took all of my willpower not to step up and do something," he said, adding that he also saw the supervisor shove a cane into a sow's vagina. "I was just shocked. What do you say to that?"
On the Net:
1. PETA video: http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/iowa_pigfarm_abuse
2. National Pork Producers Council: http://www.nppc.org/index.php
Hosted by
Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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13. US High School Educates “Green Ambassadors”

Forwarded message from Saran:

Go to this web site for information about what the high school is doing, The Green Ambassadors, will warm the cockles of your heart.

There are some good ideas for any school or organization. Saran

http://greenambassadors.org/

[I did find the video interesting and gratifying.]

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14. Two short videos showing sensitivity of Chassidic Rabbis to Animals

Thanks to Rabbi Dovid Sears, author of “The Vision of Eden: Animal Welfare and Vegetarianism in Jewish Law and Mysticism” for sending these links to us:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI3_4FWVLjA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkEa8e6g4dk&feature=related

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15. World Farm Animal Day Volunteers Sought

Forwarded message from Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM):

We still need volunteers to get active in honor of World Farm Animals Day (on or around October 2nd)! Join us by educating your community and speaking out on behalf of the more than 55 billion sentient animals who are brutalized in the world's farms and slaughterhouses every year.

Participating can be as easy as leafleting or distributing colorful WFAD handouts in your area (vet offices, libraries, health food stores, universities, or anywhere else you see fit). If you have a little more time, we can send you an Event Pack with display materials for an information table. Click here to see our brand handouts and poster: http://www.wfad.org/materials.jpg

Visit www.WFAD.org to register your plans and request free materials.

Please don't miss this opportunity to provide a much-needed voice for the animals. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Thanks for caring,
Jen Riley, Program Director
888-327-6872 jen@wfad.org

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World Farm Animals Day is a campaign of FARM (Farm Animal Rights Movement), a non-profit advocacy organization promoting plant-based (vegan) diets to save animals, reduce global warming, conserve environmental resources, and improve public health.

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16. Initiative To Get Religious Groups to Be More Sensitive to Animal Rights Concerns and Advocates

Forwarded message from animal rights activist Veda Stram:

Have Churches/Synogogues/Mosques be Compassionate to People Who Care About Animals
http://www.all-creatures.org/alert/alert-20080916-2.html

All-Creatures.org is committed to having all religious groups become more sensitive to the feelings of their parishioners who care about the treatment of animals and who live a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.

If you are interested in making this happen, please contact us so that we can work together to find ways to end events that religious groups are sponsoring or promoting that abuse animals, whether it involves food issues, or entertainment, or other events where animals are exploited.

If you believe it is important that religious groups should lead the way in inspiring people to have love and compassion for all of God's creation, contact us.

We look forward to hearing from you by email flh@all-creatures.org so that we can get to work!

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17. Article: “Eating Greens Makes You Greener”

Forwarded Message from: "AnimalConcerns.org"

VEGETARIANS save 20 per cent at the checkout and have sixfold lower greenhouse gas emissions than carnivores, a new study shows.

Research comparing diets heavy, light and free of meat has found that vegetarianism is cheaper, healthier and easier on the environment.

But dieticians urge caution with the study, produced by the manufacturer Sanitarium, which is owned by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, saying going meat-free is not necessarily better.

The findings show it costs $508 a week to feed four adults on a traditional meat diet. A reduced meat diet costs $418 a week, while a vegetarian diet costs $394.

"A massive 20 per cent reduction in costs can be achieved by maintaining the vegetarian diet," the company said in a statement.

The analysis also showed the plant-based diet used 50 per cent less water, led to 12 times less land being cleared and had six times lower greenhouse gas emissions than a meat rich diet similar to the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet.

It also contained almost 50 per cent lower saturated fat and 25 per cent more fibre and folate.

"The findings will shock most Australians and should cause a rethink about what we eat every day," Sanitarium said.

full story:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24384992-12377,00.html

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