Shalom everyone,
This update/Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) Online Newsletter has the following items:
1. Relating Vegetarianism to Lag B'Omer (the 33rd Day of the Counting of the Omer)
2. Relating Shavuot to Vegetarianism
3. Two Sample Letters re Shavuot and Vegetarianism
4. Concern for Helping Animals in Israel (CHAI) Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary
5. Update on Anti-Fur Campaign in Israel
6. My Talk on “Should YOU Be a Vegetarian?” Scheduled
7. John Robbins Discusses Reconsidering Carnivorous Holiday Traditions
8. Update on Farm Animal Rights Movement's AR 2009 Conference
9. Article Discusses Negative Effects of Animal-Based Agriculture
10. Shalom Center Promotes Campaign for “A Jewish Call for the Greening of America”/JVNA Urges Stronger Appeal to Jewish Groups and That Vegetarian Diets Be Considered
11. Resources From Canfei Nesharim re the Counting of the Omer
12. Industry Ignored Its Scientists on Climate
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. Relating Vegetarianism to Lag B'Omer (the 33rd Day of the Counting of the Omer)
[I am planning to send the article below to the Jewish media. So, suggestions are very welcome. Please consider using the article for ideas for your letters and talking points.Thanks.]
Lag B'Omer & Vegetarianism:
Making Every Day Count
Daniel Brook & Richard H. Schwartz
Lag B'Omer is considered a minor holiday in the Jewish calendar, but even a minor holiday is still a holiday and therefore worth celebrating. A great way to celebrate Lag B'Omer is through vegetarianism, as Lag B'Omer is deeply connected to the Earth and its fruits.
Lag B'Omer represents the 33rd day of the counting of the omer, the fifty days between Passover and Shavuot, reminding us of the link between these two important holidays. While Passover celebrates our freedom from slavery, Shavuot celebrates our receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai -- both events being relevant for each generation. During Passover, Jews would bring barley to the Temple in Jerusalem; on Shavuot, Jews would bring their first fruits. Between these two holidays, while counting the days, Jews traditionally brought an omer of grain to the Temple. The word lag represents 33 and an omer is a measurement. The goal is not only to count the omer but to make the omer count.
According to a midrash, there were fifty days between the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and the receiving of the Torah - between liberation and law - because the Jewish people were not yet spiritually pure. On our modern journeys, in our efforts toward liberation, we can increase our purity by eating purer foods. We can purify our health and purify our planet, while purifying our spirit, with every meal.
Many people who switch to a vegetarian diet report feeling
physically, emotionally, and spiritually better. Lag B'Omer presents a special opportunity to reflect on where we've come from as well as to look forward to where we might, and should, be going, as it is a time for self-aw areness, self-growth, and community development.
We sincerely hope that Jews will enhance their celebrations of this ancient and beautiful holiday of Lag B'Omer by making it a time to strive even harder to live up to Judaism's highest moral values and teachings. We certainly don't need more "things" in our homes and we don't necessarily need to make an agricultural pilgrimage; instead, we do need more meaning, purpose, and spirit in our lives. There are a variety of ways to accomplish this. One significant way is by moving towards vegetarianism. Promoting organic agriculture, recycling, renewable fuels, and conservation are some others ways.
By sharing grain with others, Lag B'Omer demonstrates the power of cooperation and community. In contrast, meat-eating demonstrates the opposite. Raising animals for consumption, besides being cruel to animals (and therefore violating the Torah prohibition of tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, causing unnecessary harm to animals), uses and wastes a tremendous amount of grain as well as water, land, soil, and fossil fuels (transgressing bal tashchit, the Torah injunction not to waste anything of value), while destroying communities (the opposite of tikkun olam, healing the world), degrading the environment (not the way to be shomrei adamah, partners in preserving our world), and damaging human health (going against pekuach nefesh, the need to protect our health and lives).
Judaism also stresses the importance of tzedakah, that we be kind, assist the poor and weak, and share our food with the hungry, yet approximately 3/4 of major U.S. crops - e.g., corn, wheat, soybeans, oats - is fed to the billions of animals raised for meat and destined for slaughter. Further, Judaism repeatedly suggests that we pursue peace and justice, and vegetarianism is one key step on that path.
While millions of people annually die from over-consumption, particularly consumption of fat and cholesterol, millions of people annually die from under-consumption, from starvation and hunger-related diseases. Indeed, it takes many pounds of grain, rich in fiber and other nutrients, to produce a single pound of cholesterol-laden meat. Although the world produces more than enough food to feed all its people, the inequality of wealth and power, along with the inefficiency of land use and food distribution, creates conditions that lead to scarcity, chronic hunger, malnutrition, and starvation. Lag B'Omer reminds us to enjoy the bounty of our crops - and lives - and to share what we have.
World hunger is neither necessary, automatic, nor inevitable. Vegetarianism creates conditions that are more fair and just, more efficient and sustainable, thereby potentially allowing more people to be fed, rather than using land, grain, water, labor, energy, and other resources to produce food to be fed to animals that are later killed and then fed to people. In addition to being better for one's health and our environment, vegetarianism is better for food security and the alleviation of world hunger. Food security, in turn, may prevent the all-too-common instances of jealousy, covetousness, ethnic tensions, and then violence, war, and genocide. It is worth noting that the Hebrew root word for both bread, lechem, and war, milchama, is the same, implying that when bread is scarce war is more likely.
Traditionally, many Jews refrain from open celebration during the counting of the omer. However, Lag B'Omer is a day during this season on which marriages, haircuts, and other celebrations are allowed to begin again because miracles have occurred on Lag B'Omer. It was on Lag B'Omer, for example, that a plague that had killed 24,000 of Rabbi Akiva's students finally ended. Choosing vegetarianism champions life by saving lives everyday. Shortly after the plague, Rabbi Akiva chose five students to carry on his work, one of whom was the great sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his son Rabbi Eleazar hid in a cave for thirteen years after Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was condemned to death by the Roman conquerors of Jerusalem for speaking out against them, following the murders of Rabbi Akiva and many others. While they lived in a cave, they were sustained by their studies of the Torah, a local stream, and a nearby carob tree for their food. These great sages demonstrated that a vegetarian diet, like the manna the Israelites received in the Sinai desert, is enough to sustain a person as well as a people.
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai taught that our world and the unseen "higher" worlds are unified, as manifestations of the Divine Soul, and that the meaning of life is to reunify Creation with the source of Creation. He also affirmed that the "crown" of a good name, doing good deeds, is the most important thing, even more so than studying Torah, and is within the reach of everyone. He further asked that his day of passing be a day of celebration. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai died on Lag B'Omer.
The Omer is sometimes referred to as the Sefirah, The Counting. Sefirah also means illuminating. Literally for some and figuratively for all, it is important to count each day and to make each day count. Eating vegetarian may allow us to live longer and healthier lives, as many scientific studies have shown, while saving the lives of countless animals. Doing so illuminates our lives as well as theirs, allowing us to be a light unto others.
In addition to resource conservation and economic efficiency, a switch toward vegetarianism would greatly benefit the health of individuals, the condition of our environment, and would sharply reduce the suffering and death of billions of animals. Further, the social, psychological, and spiritual benefits should not be underestimated.
The founder of Chasidism. Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer, known as the Baal Shem Tov (Master of the Good Name), became known to the rest of the world on Lag B'Omer (he died 26 years later on Shavuot in 1760). Among his great teachings, the Baal Shem Tov said that "People should consider themselves, and the worms, and all creatures as friends in the universe, for we are all created beings whose abilities are God-given."
This season, while we count the omer, we should re-educate ourselves about the hazards of mass production and consumption of meat and the many benefits of vegetarianism, as well as bring offerings to our inner temples. We can do this by practicing the powerful teachings and highest values of Judaism. A shift toward vegetarianism can be a major factor in the renewal of Judaism, as it would further demonstrate that Jewish values are not only relevant but essential to everyday personal life and global survival.
During the counting of the omer, between Passover and Shavuot, it is customary to read Pirkei Avot (Ethics of Our Parents), a section of the Talmud. In it, Rabbi Tarfon states that "It is not your obligation to complete the task [of perfecting the world], but neither are you free from engaging in it". Another Talmudic sage, Ben Hay Hay, says in Pirkei Avot that "The reward is in proportion to the effort". Therefore, it's up to us to go beyond our good intentions and do the best we can. Shifting toward vegetarianism would be a great start! And as Hillel asks, "If not now, when?"
For more information, please visit Aish Hatorah at aish.com/omer, the Jewish Vegetarians of North America at JewishVeg.com and The Vegetarian Mitzvah at Brook.com/jveg.
Daniel Brook, Ph.D., is the author of Modern Revolution and dozens of articles and is a member of the Advisory Committee of Jewish Vegetarians of North America. He maintains Eco-Eating www.brook.com/veg, The Vegetarian Mitzvah www.brook.com/jveg>, CyberBrook's ThinkLinks
www.brook.com/cyberbrook, and can be contacted at Vegnik@gmail.com.
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D., is the author of Judaism and Vegetarianism, Judaism and Global Survival, and over 100 articles located at www.JewishVeg.com/schwartz. He is President of Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) JewishVeg.com and Coordinator of the Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians (SERV) www.serv-online.org.
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2. Relating Shavuot to Vegetarianism
[I am planning to send the article below to the Jewish media. So, suggestions are very welcome. Also, please use the material in this and the above article for letters to editors and talking points. Thanks. Two sample letters are in the section below.]
Shavuot and Vegetarianism
By Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.
There are many connections between vegetarianism and the important Jewish festival of Shavuot:
1) Shavuot is described as "z'man matan Toratenu" (the season of the giving of our law (the Torah)). It is this Torah that has in its very first chapter God's original, strictly vegetarian, dietary regimen: "And God said: 'Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed - to you it shall be for food'" (Genesis 1:29).
2) To honor the Torah, many Jews stay up the entire first night of Shavuot to study Torah teachings. It is some of these teachings -to guard our health and our lives, to treat animals with compassion, to share with hungry people, to protect the environment, and to conserve natural resources - that are the basis for Jewish vegetarianism.
3) Shavuot is also known as "Chag Hakatzir" (the Harvest Festival), since it climaxes the year's first harvest. Hence, it can remind us that many more people can be sustained on vegetarian diets than on animal -centered diets. While the Torah stresses that farmers are to leave the corners of their fields and the gleanings of their harvests for the hungry, over 70% of the grain grown in the United States is fed to animals destined for slaughter, as 15 to 20 million people worldwide die annually because of hunger and its effects.
4) The Talmudic sages also referred to Shavuot as "Atzeret" (the closing festival of Passover). This name implies not only that Shavuot completes the harvest begun at Passover time, but also suggests that the Torah completes the physical liberation celebrated during Passover. Yet, while the Torah has many teachings on compassion toward animals and indicates, as part of the Ten Commandments, that animals are also to be able to rest on the Sabbath day, most farm animals are kept in cramped confined spaces where they are denied exercise, fresh air, sunlight, and the fulfillment of their instinctual needs.
5). There are several other Torah teachings that are seriously violated by animal-based diets: a) While the Torah mandates that people should be very careful about preserving their health and their lives (Deuteronomy: 4-9, 4-15), animal-centered diets have been linked to heart disease, stroke, several forms of cancer, and other illnesses. b) While many Torah teachings are concerned with protecting the environment, modern intensive animal agriculture results in soil erosion and depletion, extensive air and water pollution related to chemical fertilizer and pesticides, and the destruction of tropical rain forests and other habitats. c) While the Torah mandates bal tashchit, (Deuteronomy 20:19, 20) that we are not to waste or unnecessarily destroy anything of value, livestock agriculture requires the wasteful use of food, land, water, energy, and other resources.
6) Shavuot is a festival of thanksgiving to the Creator for His kindness. The full Hallel, psalms of praise and thanksgiving from Psalm 113 to 118, are chanted during morning synagogue services. Since one must be in good health and have a clear conscience in order to fully rejoice and be thankful, 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 thankfulness.
7) On Shavuot, Jews read the Book of Ruth in synagogues. One reason is that its barley-harvest setting echoes the harvest just ending as Shavuot arrives. One of Ruth's outstanding attributes was her acts of kindness. Vegetarianism is a way of showing kindness, because it best shares food with hungry people and it doesn't involve the mistreatment and death of animals.
8) The Book of Ruth begins with Naomi, Ruth's future mother-in-law, and her family leaving Israel because of a severe famine. Today, major shortages of food in the near future are being predicted by the Worldwatch Institute, a Washington DC think tank, and others, and one major reason is that people in China, Japan, India, and other countries where affluence has been increasing, are joining the US and other western countries by moving to animal-centered diets that require vast amounts of grain.
9) The Book of Ruth indicates that Naomi's family suffered the death of her husband and her two sons because the family fled in the time of famine rather than using their leadership to help others in need. In contrast to this selfish act, vegetarianism considers not only personal well being, but also encompasses broader concerns, including the global environment, the world's hungry people, animals, and the efficient use of the world's resources.
10) According to the Talmud, Shavuot is the day of judgment for fruit trees and there is an obligation to pray for them. Yet, to create pasture land for cattle, tropical forests are being rapidly destroyed. The production of just one quarter-pound fast food hamburger can require the destruction of almost 55 square feet of tropical rain forest along with much animal and plant life.
11) Shavuot involves the highest spiritual teachings (the revelation of the Torah on Mount Sinai) and down-to-earth considerations - the wheat harvest and the offering of the first fruits in the Temple. This reminds us that ideally we should relate heaven to earth and translate the Divine laws to our daily lives. Vegetarianism is an attempt to do this because it applies Torah teaching to our sustenance needs.
In view of these and other connections, I hope that Jews will enhance their celebrations of the beautiful and spiritually meaningful holiday of Shavuot by making it a time to begin striving even harder to live up to Judaism's highest moral values and teachings by moving toward a vegetarian diet.
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3. Two Sample Letters re Shavuot and Vegetarianism
Dear editor,
Since Shavuot commemorates God giving the Torah to the Jewish people, and there is increased Torah study on this important holiday, with many religious Jews staying up all night engaged in Torah study, it makes me wonder why the many ways that animal-based diets and agriculture violate Torah values seem to be generally ignored in the Jewish community:
1) While Judaism mandates that people should be very careful about preserving their health and their lives, numerous scientific studies have linked animal-based diets directly to heart disease, stroke, many forms of cancer, and other chronic degenerative diseases.
2) While Judaism forbids tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, inflicting unnecessary pain on animals, most farm animals -- including those raised for kosher consumers -- are raised on "factory farms" where they live in cramped, confined spaces, and are often drugged, mutilated, and denied fresh air, sunlight, exercise, and any enjoyment of life, before they are slaughtered and eaten.
3) While Judaism teaches that "the earth is the Lord's" (Psalm 24:1) and that we are to be God's partners and co-workers in preserving the world, modern intensive livestock agriculture contributes substantially to soil erosion and depletion, air and water pollution, overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the destruction of tropical rain forests and other habitats, global warming, and other environmental damage.
4) While Judaism mandates bal tashchit, that we are not to waste or unnecessarily destroy anything of value, and that we are not to use more than is needed to accomplish a purpose, animal agriculture requires the wasteful use of food, land, water, energy, and other resources.
5) While Judaism stresses that we are to assist the poor and share our bread with hungry people, over 70% of the grain grown in the United States is fed to animals destined for slaughter (it takes about 9 pounds of grain to produce one pound of edible beef), while an estimated 20 million people worldwide die because of hunger and its effects each year.
In view of these important Jewish mandates to preserve human health, attend to the welfare of animals, protect the environment, conserve resources, help feed hungry people, and pursue peace, contrasted with the harm that animal-centered diets do in each of these areas, shouldn't committed Jews (and others) sharply reduce or eliminate their consumption of animal products?
One could say "dayenu" (it would be enough) after any of the arguments above, because each one constitutes by itself a serious conflict between Jewish values and current practice that should impel Jews to seriously consider a plant-based diet. Combined, they make an urgently compelling case for the Jewish community to address these issues.
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Letter #2:
Dear Editor:
Shavuot commemorates God giving the Torah to the Jewish people. There is increased Torah study on this important holiday, and many religious Jews stay up all night engaged in Torah study. Hence, this may provide a good occasion to respectfully raise some questions, such as:
* Since the Torah mandates the avoidance of tsa'ar ba'alei chaim (causing unnecessary pain to animals), why isn't there far greater concern about the horrible treatment of animals (10 billion annually in the US alone) on factory farms?
* Since the Torah mandates that we should very diligently guard our health, why don't Jewish leaders speak out about the many negative health effects of animal-based diets?
* Since the Torah mandates that we are to be shomrei adamah (guardians of the earth - Genesis 2:15), why are the many current severe environmental threats (all of which are significantly worsened by animal-based agriculture) not being adequately addressed by the Jewish community?
* Since the Torah mandates that we are not to waste resources (bal tashchit - Deuteronomy 20: 19, 20), why isn't the Jewish community addressing the fact that animal-based agriculture requires far more land, water, energy, and other agricultural resources than plant-based agriculture?
* Since the Torah mandates that we are to share with hungry people, why isn't the Jewish community (and others) addressing the fact that 70% of the grain produced in the United States is being fed to animals destined for slaughter while an estimated 20 million people die from malnutrition and its effects annually?
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4. Concern for Helping Animals in Israel (CHAI) Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary
Forwarded message from Nina Natelson, founder and director of CHAI, and JVNA advisor:
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Please distribute widely: click Forward email at bottom of page
April 23, 2009
CHAI Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary
Over Two Decades of Helping Israel's Animals
CHAI marks its 25th anniversary of sowing seeds of compassion throughout the country, made possible by your support.
From our inception, we struggled to fulfill each request as it came in: an autoclave for sterilizing surgical instruments to one shelter, an anesthesia machine, educational videos and materials to another, surgical instruments and tranquilizers to a third, humane dog and cat traps to a fourth, and to a fifth, a large newspaper ad asking for donations for a desperately needed roof before the arrival of winter rains. Whatever the need, CHAI was there. Above all, one shelter Director told us, CHAI showed them that people saw their terrible situation and cared, offering desperately needed hope that things would change for the better.
The fruits of our efforts were videos we sent shown on Israeli TV, educating thousands around the country, spay/neuter surgeries made possible at two shelters by equipment we sent, several new shelters launched, and a new roof for a shelter built, providing dozens of dogs protection from cold winter rains.
Our Israeli sister charity, Hakol Chai, was established in 2001.
Our first year: CHAI and the Education Ministry co-sponsored Israel's first nationwide Humane Education Contest
CHAI has always believed that education is the key to positive change, as it goes to the root of the problem, and so in our first year, we co-sponsored, with Israel's Ministry of Education, the first country-wide Humane Education Contest.
A committee of Education Ministry officials judged actions to help animals and compositions submitted by students throughout the country. At the formal award ceremony in Ramat Gan, the Minister of Education awarded prizes to individual students and classes of students who had done the most to help animals or who had written the best compositions about the right attitude toward animals. For the first time, high-level government officials held up compassion for animals as an ideal for students to emulate. Response to the contest was so positive that the Ministry continued it for many years afterwards, calling it "The Love of Animals."
Winning compositions were displayed at the Ministry, one table per grade level. Classes and individuals who won were bused to the award ceremony.
Year after year, your loyal support made it possible for us to respond when and where help was most needed.
Thanks to you, we:
* Participated in the process of drafting the country's first Animal Protection Law.
*Campaigned successfully to put donated ambulances for animals on the same tax and customs duty-free basis as ambulances donated to human hospitals, and we donated the first ambulance in Israel to a shelter.
CHAI's animal ambulance, the first in Israel
* Co-sponsored professional conferences with government ministries in Israel to raise awareness about animal issues, teach proper shelter management, and replace the cruel mass strychnine poisonings with humane methods of animal control.
* Co-sponsored, with the Ministry of Education, a conference on the link between violence toward people and toward animals and the importance of humane education, which led the Knesset Education Committee to acknowledge the need to include humane education in the school curriculum.
Professional conferences
Shipped the first mobile spay/neuter clinic in the Middle East to Israel, performed operations from one end of the country to the other, and taught and demonstrated the importance of early-age spaying and neutering.
Our mobile spay/neuter clinic
* Exposed the routine cruelty to cart horses, pressing Mayors throughout the county to end the abuse, and rescued and rehabilitated as many horses as we could.
*Campaigned to block the establishment of the horseracing industry in Israel.
* Provided a lifeline in times of crisis during the Disengagement in Gaza and the West Bank, and rushed truckloads of food, hundreds of water bowls, and teams of volunteers to the north during the war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, then housed and cared for the animals and found them homes, saving hundreds of lives.
* Developed an extensive, trilingual website (English, Hebrew, and Arabic) that provides comprehensive information for animal advocates, researchers, students, and others around the world.
And so much more.
Whether it is your small contributions combined, special gifts, or bequests that made possible the ambulance, enabled us to purchase, ship, and operate the spay/neuter clinic, to build a new cat facility for a shelter, to create an extensive humane education curriculum for secular and Jewish schools and so much more - all was made possible by YOU. Read more about CHAI's accomplishments.
Please join us for another decade of progress for the animals.
CHAI's mobile spay/neuter clinic provided low-cost operations and education throughout the country and earned a reputation for professionalism and compassionate care of animals. Thanks to a bequest from a CHAI member, the clinic - whose work we had to temporarily curtail due to the economic situation - will soon be back in service. Being able to alter animals at a very low cost is even more critical in difficult economic times, preventing abandonment and euthanasia of many animals. A contribution of $26 will help subsidize one spay or neuter; $260 will underwrite 10 surgeries. Please help us keep this vital service going into the future. Send your generous tax-deductible contributions to CHAI.
Please also contribute to our campaign to prevent gambling on horse racing, a cruel industry based on greed, from entering Israel. A professional lobbyist is expensive, as much as $25,000 per year. For information about the cruelties in this industry, see Horse Racing - the Horror Behind the Glamour.
The clinic, our extensive educational curriculum for secular and Jewish schools, and many of our other major projects made dreams reality because our supporters included CHAI in their will, leaving a legacy of compassion that helped thousands of animals, educated children and adults in the importance of caring for animals, and saved countless lives. Including CHAI in your will ensures that your values will be taught in schools and demonstrated in action on behalf of animals throughout Israel.
Please Help Us Continue to Help Animals in Israel
Send your tax-deductible contributions to CHAI at
POB 3341, Alexandria, VA 22302, USA, or
donate through our website.
Yours for a more compassionate world,
Nina Natelson
CHAI - Concern for Helping Animals in Israel
PO Box 3341, Alexandria, VA 22302
Email: chai_us@cox.net
Phone: 703-658-9650
Web: http://www.chai-online.org
[Kudos to Nina and CHAI for their many achievements, and best wishes for their continued success, They have been very cooperative and helpful to JVNA for MANY years, contributing many valuable suggestions.]
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5. Update on Anti-Fur Campaign in Israel
Forwarded message from Christine Krishnasami and Chantal Buslot:
Subject: I support the Nitzan Horowitz [anti-fur] Bill
http://www.antifurcoalition.org/support-bill-int.html
Dear Knesset Member,
I'd like to show my support the bill to enforce a total ban on the fur industry in Israel.
Here follow the reasons:
1) The hope that if one country passes such a bill into law, it would encourage other countries to follow on that enlightened path. It is often the case that after one leader takes that first brave step onto a new path, proving that path to be indeed obtainable, that others happily and eagerly follow.
2) The fur industry is an outdated barbaric trade based today exclusively on greed and ego. Many barbaric traits used by our cavemen ancestors in the name of necessity and survival have been given up as humanity evolved through the ages; like the tabooing of human sacrifice, and cannibalism it has always been the more enlightened that took the first step on the path of evolution, but it is inevitable that all of human kind must follow.
And this fact holds true too, that the time has come that the barbaric era of inflicting anguish and terror upon innocent mammals to wear their skins is long ago over, and must be made taboo, in the name of the innocent mammals and the name of our humanity.
3) The wearing of fur is only natural on mammals [who are the original 'wearers'!! The fur industry in its disparate death rattles has been putting out ads filled with lies and propaganda 'that to wear fur is green'. The facts are that the fur industry destroys the environment via the chemicals used in its production like in poisonous formaldehyde and many other che micals that get into our air, water and land supply.
4) Fur endangers the balance of nature for various reasons, in that often endangered species are killed and hunted into extinction. In other cases where the mammals are not yet on the endangered list, the continuing mass slaughter of them, like in that of the baby seals, is fast putting them in danger. Take into consideration the recent years of global warming melting the birthing ice floes, and couple that with the unsustainable and brutal massacre of the infant seals, and the future of the seals is easy to predict. Again the fur industry in its desperation put out ads filled with lies and propaganda 'that to wear fur is green' and 'it protects the balance of nature', but anyone that has learned ecology or biology knows that
perhaps the most importantly relevant point to make here is that when left alone nature always balances itself.
I thank you so much for your time and attention.
Thank you in name of the animals
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6. My Talk on “Should YOU Be a Vegetarian?” Scheduled
Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
6:30 p.m
Mid-Manhattan Library
The New York Public Library
40th Street and 5th Avenue, 6th floor
(elevators access the 6th floor after 6 p.m.)
New York, NY 10016
212-340-0837
Should YOU Be a Vegetarian?
What are the health, animal-treatment, environmental, resource usage, hunger and other implications of animal-based diets?
Can one be adequately nourished and healthy without eating meat and other animal products? How are animals treated on factory farms? How much does animal-based agriculture contribute to global warming, soil erosion, species extinction, destruction of forests and other habitats and other environmental problems? How much land, water, energy and other resources are needed to produce meat and other animal-based products?
How does animal-centered agriculture affect world hunger? How important is a societal switch toward vegetarianism today?
This illustrated lecture will provide the answers to these questions and more.
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D, is Professor Emeritus, Mathematics, College of Staten Island; President of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA); and co-founder and coordinator of the Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians (SERV). He is best known as a vegetarian activist and environmental activist. He is an advocate for animal welfare in the United States and Israel.
Dr. Schwartz is the author of Judaism and Vegetarianism, Judaism and Global Survival, Mathematics and Global Survival and over 130 articles at http://jewishveg.com/schwartz/ . His writings inspired the 2007 documentary film, A Sacred Duty: Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal the World, directed by Lionel Friedberg.
All programs are FREE and subject to last minute change or cancellation.
Join in the New York Bird Club Community Discussion:
http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/luciedove/vpost?id=3178592
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7. John Robbins Discusses Reconsidering Carnivorous Holiday Traditions
Forwarded message from Earthsave:
It's a holiday week when people across the world are consuming pigs, chickens and lambs by the millions.
We thought we'd let EarthSave founder John Robbins explain why it might be a good idea to re-think our carnivorous holiday traditions.
Watch the video:
(Warning: Tragic images and language)
http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/media_robbins1.htm
Peas & Love,
Jeff & Sabrina
VegSource.com
Other recent videos:
John McDougall MD: My health awakening
http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/media_mcdougall1.htm
Jay Gordon MD: Defeating the culture of obesity
http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/media_gordon1.htm
Jeffrey Masson: On his new book, “The Face on Your Plate: The Truth About Food”:
http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/masson_booksoup.htm
Upcoming Events:
American Vegan Society Annual Meeting:
http://americanvegan.org/events.htm
Healthy Lifestyle Expo:
http://www.HealthyLifestyleExpo.com
P.S. Please share VegSource e-mails and
videos with friends and colleagues.
That's how we grow. Thanks.
VegSource Interactive, Inc.
19360 Rinaldi Street
Suite 438
Porter Ranch, CA 91326
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8. Update on Farm Animal Rights Movement's AR 2009 Conference
Forwarded message from FARM:
Discounted Registration Ends April 30th
The $40-off registration rate for the Animal Rights 2009 National Conference ends April 30th. The Conference will be held on July 16-20th at the Westin LAX Hotel near Los Angeles Airport.
A highlight of this year's conference will be the presentation of awards for the most effective local and national animal rights campaigns in 2008. Please e-mail your nominations, with a brief description and effectiveness argument.
More than 80 speakers from 60 organizations have already signed up. They include
Lorri Bauston, Michael Budkie, Karen Davis, Karen Dawn, Debra Ehrenberg, Camille Hankins, Alex Hershaft, Elliot Katz, Dennis Kucinich (by video), Elizabeth Kucinich, Bob Linden, Erik Marcus, Erica Meier, Anthony Marr, Jack Norris, Lauren Ornelas, Alex Pacheco, Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, Nathan Runkle, Brenda Shoss, Will Tuttle, Paul Watson, Peter Young.
Sponsoring organizations include FARM, In Defense of Animals, & Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, as well as ACT Radio, E/Environmental Magazine, Healing Species, Mercy For Animals, Vegetarian Times, and VegNews Magazine.
To register, visit our Registration page, call us at 888-327-6872, or mail a check to FARM/AR2009, 10101 Ashburton Lane, Bethesda MD 20817.
To book a discounted room, visit our Lodging page or call Westin reservations at 800-228-3000 or 301-216-5858 and mention Animal Rights 2009.
Contact our registrar for work scholarships and low-income discounts and housing.
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9. Article Discusses Negative Effects of Animal-Based Agriculture
Forwarded message from Dan Brook, author and JVNA advisor:
Another EXCELLENT article by Kathy Freston!
A must read and share, especially today.
Happy Earth Day!
Peace, Dan
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/an-earth-day-reflection-o_b_189979.html
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10. Shalom Center Promotes Campaign for “A Jewish Call for the Greening of America”/JVNA Urges Stronger Appeal to Jewish Groups and That Vegetarian Diets Be Considered
Forwarded message from Shalom Director Arthur Waskow:
[JVNA responses below the statement below.]
Dear chevra [friends],
As promised, here's the proposed statement -- “A Jewish Call for the Greening of America” -- on public policy and the bills that are now about to come before Congress on energy and climate.
I would of course be delighted if you feel fine with it as it stands -- but if there is some really important sticking point that would keep you from signing, please let me know what it is and we will see what's possible. (And if there's a minor point that you think could improve it, let me know that too.) If there's someone I should have included in this letter but didn't, please let me know.
I am hoping to proceed as follows:
1) You-all sign this by writing me at Awaskow@shalomctr.org and making a commitment to make a (tax-deductible) donation to make possible its publication in as wide a way as we can support.
I am requesting that your signature be “sealed” with a donation of at least $36 if you are living on a limited income; for most of you, in the range from $180 to $720 or $1,000. Your letter adding your signature should include a statement of how much you are willing to commit to donating.
2) With a list of signatories stretching across Jewish life, we will then go to broader lists that The Shalom Center and I hope many of you will then write, asking for signatures and donations.
3) Meanwhile, we will approach some people of great means and great commitment to donate considerably larger amounts of money.
4) Our goal will be to publish this if possible in the only national “megaphone” we have in the USA - the New York Times -- and to win public media attention, in and beyond the Jewish community, for what will be a quite unprecedented call for the Jewish community on this subject.
5) Finally, we will be in touch with you about bringing together an organizing/ strategy meeting for planning Jewish advocacy on public policy beyond the decisions made by Congress in the next couple of months.
The statement follows. It's also attached.
With blessings of refuah [healing] for our planet --
Arthur
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A JEWISH CALL FOR THE GREENING OF AMERICA
Twenty-five hundred years ago, the last of the classical Hebrew prophets - Malachi -- proclaimed that a day was coming that would burn like a furnace; that its remedy would be a "sun of justice with healing in its wings"; and that to forestall utter destruction of the earth, the Prophet Elijah would turn the hearts of parents and children to each other.
There are many such strands of deep concern for the earth woven into the fabric of our tradition. Indeed., through centuries of rabbinic tradition, the principle of Bal Tashchit, "Do not destroy," has reminded us of our broader responsibility to the earth.
In our own era, we see in quite practical reality the danger of a burning global climate crisis; we can already see that this disaster can only be averted if we turn away from burning fossil fuels to drawing on the healing energy of sun and wind; and that elders and youth and children -- all the generations -- must come together to heal our wounded earth.
We are Jews of several generations, ranging in age from the 80s to the 20s, many of us with children and grandchildren even younger. We turn our hearts to each other; we call ourselves together to address the Jewish community and American society in this time of danger and of promise:
American society has, per capita, been the worst contributor of carbon dioxide and methane to the heating of our planet. Yet now the American public is poised to turn from this dangerous course, as Congress takes up major legislation to reduce carbon emissions and turn to the use of renewable energy and the creation of green jobs.
During the past decade, many Jewish institutions and leaders have called for the "greening" of our congregational and organizational buildings and our homes - -- though many fewer have actually begun the work. Some groups have passed resolutions calling for the greening of American society as a whole, through changes in public and corporate policy. Far fewer have turned these resolutions from paper into action. The time has come when the values of Judaism, the needs of our country, and the health of life upon this planet must coalesce into vigorous action by every Jewish institution.
We call upon Congress to pass the strongest possible legislation that -
1) Ends all subsidies for oil and coal production, and devotes massive resources to research, development, and actual deployment of transportation and construction based on wind and solar energy --- including high-speed rail, electric cars, wind farms, solar installations, and the reshaping of neighborhoods so that work and home are close to each other and do not need long energy-wasting commuter transport.
2) Actually reduces greenhouse gas emissions by the developed countries by 40% by 2020 and achieves the relatively safe limit of 350 parts per million carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, using whatever combination of cap-and invest, carbon fees on high-carbon fuels, early replacement of wasteful coal power plants and low-mileage autos, and other steps that will actually produce that result.
3) Submits all cap-and-invest "permits to pollute" to auction, not giving any away free.
4) Transfers the funds raised by carbon fees and cap-and-invest auctions to drastic reductions in payroll taxes on low-income and middle-income Americans, and to vouchers for use of home insulation, public transit, and other energy efficiencies.
5) Sets aside substantial funds to meet the special needs of economic conversion for regions, businesses, and workers in the US that are heavily impacted by these changes.
6) Sets aside substantial funds to assist poorer nations in the world to follow a non-fossil path toward economic improvement and to meet the urgent needs of societies that are specially vulnerable to climate-caused disaster.
We ask every congregation and organization in the Jewish community to commit at least 1% of its time and its budget to pursuing these changes in American public policy through community organizing, lobbying, public vigils, religious celebrations with an activist component, and other such means to join in a concerted effort to make this Jewish vision of healing the world into practical reality.
Only in this way can we fulfill the vision of Malachi, the commitment of Elijah, and the teaching of the rabbis -- joining the generations to heal our wounded planet and give new meaning and new purpose to the age-old Jewish people and to Jewish wisdom.
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My response to Rabbi Arthur Waskow:
Dear Arthur,
Kol hakavod for your excellent statement and for your continued splendid efforts to alert people to the importance of responding quickly and effectively to global scorching.
I do have two suggestions:
I think your statement re synagogues' and other Jewish institutions' involvement should be FAR stronger than asking for a commitment of 1 percent of their time and budget. As you know, the world is heading rapidly toward an unprecedented catastrophe from global scorching and other environmental threats, with some climate experts, including James Hansen of NASA, arguing that we could soon reach a tipping point when climate change could spiral out of control with disastrous consequences, unless major changes soon occur. Hence, I strongly suggest that you urge Jewish leaders and institutions to make global scorching a major focus of their activities and preferably THE major focus. This would be consistent with your call for vigorous action in response to the present crisis. Limited measures are not sufficient to address the magnitude of the crisis that all of humanity faces.
Second, I urge you to add something about the importance of reducing the consumption of meat. As you also know, the 2006 UN report "Livestock's Long Shadow" indicated that animal-based agriculture emits more greenhouse gases (in CO2 equivalents) than all the cars and other means of transportation worldwide combined (18% vs. 13.5%), and that the consumption of meat and other animal products is projected to double in 50 years, negating the effects of many of your valuable suggested changes.. So, I think it is essential that there be at least a mention of the importance of reducing the consumption of animal products. The statement below by Nina Natelson, JVNA advisor and the founder and director of Concern for Helping Animals in Israel (CHAI), and the suggestion by JVNA advisor Rena Reason (also below) reinforce my dietary suggestion.
If you make changes along the lines I have suggested, I would be happy to support your statement and make a contribution toward the ad's publication, and I would urge others in the vegetarian and animal rights communities to do so also.
Many thanks for all you are doing toward a more sustainable world.
-----------------------------
Message from Nina Natelson of CHAI:
The concept and contents of the letter are excellent, but how is it that animal agriculture, the #2 cause of global warming per the U.N., is omitted from the list? To draft an action plan to halt global warming, but exclude a top contributor to it seems like declaring one's intention to lose weight while failing to reduce one's intake of fattening foods.
The just aired PBS/WETA Frontline documentary, Poisoned Waters, pointed out that our waterways are dangerously polluted and the number of dead zones around the world doubles every decade. One result is cancer and mutations in marine mammals and other aquatic creatures, and health threats to people. The documentary placed the blame for the destruction of the Chesapeake Bay (40% of which is already a dead zone) squarely on the shoulders of the numerous Perdue chicken farms on Maryland's Eastern Shore. 1.5 billion pounds of chicken manure from hundreds of thousands of chickens (more than all the human waste from 4 major cities) runs off into waterways, its nitrogen and phosphorous content feeding algae that sucks up oxygen so nothing can live. The program cited animal agriculture as the primary source of water pollution (60%) in the U.S., from hog farms (which caused a 6,000 mile dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico) and cattle farms across the country, in addition to chicken farms.
How can the Jewish community fail to act on this information, knowing that besides animal agriculture's major contribution to global warming and water pollution, animal products have been linked, in one scientific study after another, to cancer and other degenerative diseases (see the American Cancer Society and American Dietetic Association's websites, for example, on the documented health benefits of vegetarianism)? Just how close to planetary destruction do we have to come before rational thinking overrides lust for the taste of meat?
I hope individuals and organizations will defer signing the letter until vegetarianism is given appropriate priority on the list of actions being promoted., perhaps with wording such as: “Sets aside substantial funds to make available a wider variety of vegetarian options for school lunch programs and hospital and government office cafeterias, and to promote understanding by the general public of the importance of reducing or eliminating our consumption of animal products in halting global warming. ” Changing light bulbs won't do enough to save us. Going veg will.
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Hi Richard,
How about the idea that public schools implement hands-on experience growing and preparing vegetables? This could be a powerful way for children to explore the cycles, seasons, and other processes of nature while enjoying healthy food that they have grown themselves. See "Rethinking School Lunch" at www.ecoliteracy.org/programs/index.html
Rena Reason
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11. Resources From Canfei Nesharim re the Counting of the Omer
Forwarded message from Evonne, director of Canfei Nesharim (an Orthodox Jewish environmental group):
Make it Count This Omer!
Exploring the Land, Refining Ourselves
Order Fact Sheets for your community
Program Ideas and Lesson Plans
Support Canfei Nesharim
Last week, we concluded the joyous holiday of freedom. As we move toward Shavuot, we refine ourselves and develop our relationship to the land by counting the Omer. Canfei Nesharim has resources to help you and your community connect to the land during this special time of year!
* NEW! "Counting the Omer, Refining Ourselves" - A Torah teaching about the Omer and our relationship to the land during this time;
* Additional Torah Teachings about the environment for the eight weekly Torah portions during the Omer;
* FREE fact sheets to distribute to your community, with a Torah teaching and facts about the environment in Israel; and
* Great NEW program ideas and lesson plans about the Omer season for children in your synagogue and school.
View Our Full Set of Omer Resources
http://canfeinesharim.org/learning/holidays.php?page=20228
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12. Industry Ignored Its Scientists on Climate
NY Times article
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
Published: April 23, 2009
For more than a decade the Global Climate Coalition, a group representing industries with profits tied to fossil fuels, led an aggressive lobbying and public relations campaign against the idea that emissions of heat-trapping gases could lead to global warming.
“The role of greenhouse gases in climate change is not well understood,” the coalition said in a scientific “backgrounder” provided to lawmakers and journalists through the early 1990s, adding that “scientists differ” on the issue.
But a document filed in a federal lawsuit demonstrates that even as the coalition worked to sway opinion, its own scientific and technical experts were advising that the science backing the role of greenhouse gases in global warming could not be refuted.
“The scientific basis for the Greenhouse Effect and the potential impact of human emissions of greenhouse gases such as CO2 on climate is well established and cannot be denied,” the experts wrote in an internal report compiled for the coalition in 1995.
The coalition was financed by fees from large corporations and trade groups representing the oil, coal and auto industries, among others. In 1997, the year an international climate agreement that came to be known as the Kyoto Protocol was negotiated, its budget totaled $1.68 million, according to tax records obtained by environmental groups.
Throughout the 1990s, when the coalition conducted a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign challenging the merits of an international agreement, policy makers and pundits were fiercely debating whether humans could dangerously warm the planet. Today, with general agreement on the basics of warming, the debate has largely moved on to the question of how extensively to respond to rising temperatures.
Environmentalists have long maintained that industry knew early on that the scientific evidence supported a human influence on rising temperatures, but that the evidence was ignored for the sake of companies' fight against curbs on greenhouse gas emissions. Some environmentalists have compared the tactic to that once used by tobacco companies, which for decades insisted that the science linking cigarette smoking to lung cancer was uncertain. By questioning the science on global warming, these environmentalists say, groups like the Global Climate Coalition were able to sow enough doubt to blunt public concern about a consequential issue and delay government action.
George Monbiot, a British environmental activist and writer, said that by promoting doubt, industry had taken advantage of news media norms requiring neutral coverage of issues, just as the tobacco industry once had.
“They didn't have to win the argument to succeed,” Mr. Monbiot said, “only to cause as much confusion as possible.”
William O'Keefe, at the time a leader of the Global Climate Coalition, said in a telephone interview that the group's leadership had not been aware of a gap between the public campaign and the advisers' views. Mr. O'Keefe said the coalition's leaders had felt that the scientific uncertainty justified a cautious approach to addressing cuts in greenhouse gases.
The coalition disbanded in 2002, but some members, including the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Petroleum Institute, continue to lobby against any law or treaty that would sharply curb emissions. Others, like Exxon Mobil, now recognize a human contribution to global warming and have largely dropped financial support to groups challenging the science.
Documents drawn up by the coalition's advisers were provided to lawyers by the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers, a coalition member, during the discovery process in a lawsuit that the auto industry filed in 2007 against the State of California's efforts to limit vehicles' greenhouse gas emissions. The documents included drafts of a primer written for the coalition by its technical advisory committee, as well as minutes of the advisers' meetings.
The documents were recently sent to The New York Times by a lawyer for environmental groups that sided with the state. The lawyer, eager to maintain a cordial relationship with the court, insisted on anonymity because the litigation is continuing.
The advisory committee was led by Leonard S. Bernstein, a chemical engineer and climate expert then at the Mobil Corporation. At the time the committee's primer was drawn up, policy makers in the United States and abroad were arguing over the scope of the international climate-change agreement that in 1997 became the Kyoto Protocol.
SNIP
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April 30, 2009
April 5, 2009
4/5/2009 JVNA Online Newsletter
Shalom everyone,
This update/Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) Online Newsletter has the following items:
1. Happy Passover
2. YOU Can Represent JVNA as a Speaker and/or Spokesperson
3. JVNA Press Release On Birkat HaChamah
4. My Vegetarian-Related Dvar Torah for Parshat Tzav
5. Eating Meat Even More Harmful Than Thought
6. Getting JVNA Onto Facebook and MySpace
7. Some Quotations and Thoughts on “Judaism and Vegetarianism”
8. More Thoughts and Quotations re “Judaism and Vegetarianism”
9. Podcasts on the Effects of Ranching and Animal Grazing on Western Lands
10. Artic Ice Melting Faster Than Expected
11. Global warming May Wipe Out Canadian Winter Sports
12. How YOU Can Support The Historic Bill to Ban all Fur in Israel
13. Switch to Vegetarianism Would Have a Great Societal Effect
14. FARM Schedules AR2009 Conference
15. One Minute Video Shows the Dietary/Global Warming Connection Very Well
16. Press Release on World Health Day 2009
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. Happy Passover
Best wishes for a happy, healthy, kosher Passover. My latest article re Passover (below) challenges the Jewish community, while being properly careful to avoid eating chometz, to consider the many inconsistencies between Jewish teachings and the realities of animal-based diets and agriculture. Please use the material in the article and other material in the festivals section at JewishVeg.com/Schwartz to help spread the vegetarian message.
INCONSISTENCIES IN PASSOVER EATING
Richard H. Schwartz
It seems strange that Jews go to great lengths on the festival of Passover to observe Torah verses commanding us to avoid some foods, while ignoring other verses relevant to the consumption of other foods.
Among the features of Passover are the prohibitions of eating, owning or benefiting from chometz, foods such as breads, cakes and cereals that are made from one of the five grains (wheat, barley, rye, spelt and oats) that have undergone fermentation as the result of contact with liquid. These prohibitions are based on several Torah verses and are treated with great seriousness by religious Jews.
Many Jews spend weeks before Passover cleaning their houses, cars and other possessions to make sure that not even a drop of chometz will remain during the holiday. Because the Torah indicates a severe punishment (koret, meaning that one's life is cut short, or that one is spiritually severed from the root of one's soul) for violating the chometz prohibitions, many Jewish communities have adopted additional stringencies to avoid inadvertent transgressions. For example, the practice among many Ashkenazi Jews is to not only refrain from products of the five grains, but also from kitniyot, other grains and legumes, including rice, corn, lentils and beans. While the origins of this practice are not clear, two common theories are that such items are sometimes made into products that resemble chometz, such as cornbread, or that these items were generally stored in sacks similar to these for the five prohibited grains and people were concerned that the sacks might become contaminated with chometz.
So important are the chometz prohibitions that, while a common greeting on other Jewish festivals is “chag samayach” (may you have a joyous holiday), on Passover it is often “chag kasher v'samayach” (may you have a kosher and joyous holiday).
This article is not (God forbid) to argue against these prohibitions and additional stringencies, but to suggest that many foods that Jews eat on Passover, including meat, fish, dairy products and eggs, violate Torah mandates that are also critically important, especially today.
Among these Torah mandates are:
1) We are to diligently guard our health. Judaism teaches that we should be more careful about mitzvot (commandments) concerning health than about ritual mitzvot. For example, if it might help save a life, a Jew may violate the Sabbath, eat non-kosher foods, and avoid fasting on Yom Kippur. Yet, the consumption of meat and other animal products has been linked to heart disease, various types of cancer and other chronic degenerative diseases.
2) Judaism forbids tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, inflicting unnecessary pain on animals. The psalmist indicated that “God's mercies are over all of His creatures” (Psalms 145:9) and the Book of Proverbs indicates that “the righteous individual considers the life of his or her animal.” (12:10) Compassion to animals is even part of the Ten Commandments, which indicates that animals as well as people are to rest on the Sabbath day. Many other Torah laws involve treating animals with respect and compassion. Moses and King David were deemed suitable to be Israelite leaders because of their compassionate treatment of sheep in their youth. However, generally farm animals -- including most raised for kosher consumers -- are treated worse than slaves, as they are raised on "factory farms" where they live in cramped, confined spaces, and are often drugged, mutilated, and denied fresh air, sunlight, exercise, and any enjoyment of life, before they are slaughtered and eaten.
3) Judaism teaches that "the earth is the Lord's" (Psalm 24:1) and that we are to be God's partners and co-workers in preserving the world. Yet, modern intensive livestock agriculture contributes substantially to global warming, soil erosion and depletion, air and water pollution, overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the destruction of tropical rain forests and other habitats and other environmental damage. While the world is arguably heading toward an unprecedented catastrophe from global warming and these other environmental problems, a UN 2006 study “Livestock's Long Shadow” indicated that animal-based agriculture emits more greenhouse gases (18 percent in CO2 equivalents) than all of the cars, planes, ships and other means of transportation worldwide combined (13.5 percent).
4)Judaism mandates bal tashchit, that we are not to waste or unnecessarily destroy anything of value, and that we are not to use more than is needed to accomplish a purpose. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, an Orthodox rabbi and thinker of towering stature in nineteenth century Germany, viewed bal tashchit as the most basic Jewish principle of all -- acknowledging the sovereignty of God and the limitation of our own will and ego. However, animal-agriculture requires the wasteful use of food, land, water, energy, and other resources. The average meat-based diet requires up to ten times the energy, 14 times the water and 20 times the land required for a vegan diet.
5) Judaism stresses that we are to assist the poor and share our bread with hungry people. The Torah indicates that farmers must leave the corners of their fields and the gleanings of their harvests for the needy, Yet, over 70% of the grain grown in the United States is fed to animals destined for slaughter (it takes about 9 pounds of grain to produce one pound of edible beef), while an estimated 20 million people, mostly children, worldwide die because of hunger and its effects each year.
6^ Judaism stresses that we must seek and pursue peace and that violence results from unjust conditions. While most mitzvot require a definite time or place, peace is so important that, like justice, we are to seek it nearby and pursue it in other places at all times. However, animal-centered diets, by wasting valuable resources, help to perpetuate the widespread hunger and poverty that eventually lead to instability and war.
In view of these important Jewish mandates to preserve human health, attend to the welfare of animals, protect the environment, conserve resources, help feed hungry people, and pursue peace, contrasted with the harm that animal-centered diets do in each of these areas, dietary choices should be on the Jewish agenda.
One could say "dayenu" (it would be enough) after any of the contrasts between Jewish teachings and dietary realities above, because each one constitutes by itself a serious conflict between Jewish values and current practices that should impel Jews to seriously consider a plant-based diet. Combined, they make an urgently compelling case for the Jewish community to address these issues.
Perhaps it is time to apply these important teachings to our diets, thereby helping shift our precious, but imperiled, planet to a sustainable path. Since Passover is the holiday of freedom, the seder would be a great time to free ourselves from eating habits that are so harmful to people, animals and the planet.
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2. YOU Can Represent JVNA as a Speaker and/or Spokesperson
Recently, background material was sent to everyone in this group, providing help for you to speak on Judaism and vegetarianism and otherwise promote vegetarianism from a Jewish vegetarian perspective. Please consider taking advantage of that material and other material at the JVNA web site (http://www.JewishVeg.com) and at the web site that has many of my articles and podcasts ((http://www.JewishVeg.com/schwartz). It is increasingly important that we get the Jewish vegetarian message out there and you can help do that. We will be happy to help guide you in this as much as possible.
Many thanks.
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3. JVNA Press Release On Birkat HaChamah
PRESS RELEASE
March 30, 2009
For Immediate Release
Contact Person: Richard H. Schwartz,
President, Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA)
President@JewishVeg.com
718-761-5876 Cell: (917) 576-0344
Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) issued the following statement today:
Birkat HaChamah, an event that commemorates the time that the sun will be in the same position relative to the earth that it was at the time of creation, is an ideal time for Jews to consider the state of our imperiled planet and how to shift it to a sustainable path. This commemoration occurs every 28 years and this year it will occur on the morning of April 8.
“When God created the world, He was able to say, 'It is tov meod (very good)' “ (Genesis 1:31), stated JVNA president Richard Schwartz. “Everything was in harmony as God had planned; the waters were clean and the air was pure. But what must God think about the world today, when it is so threatened by global warming, rapid species extinction, destruction of tropical rain forests and many other environmental problems?”
Israel is especially threatened by global warming. It Is now suffering from the worst drought in its history, and a 2007 report from the Israel Union for Environmental Defense projects that global warming will cause a temperature increase of 3-11 degrees Fahrenheit, an average decrease in rainfall of 20 - 30 percent, severe storms and major flooding from a rising Mediterranean Sea.
It is time to apply Judaism's powerful environmental teachings to reducing global warming and other environmental threats. Since Birkat HaChamah focuses on the sun, this is a good time to consider using solar energy and other renewable forms of energy, in order to reduce global warming and our dependence on fossil fuels.
When thanking God for the many blessings of Creation on Birkat HaChhamah, we might also consider returning to the vegan, strictly plant-based dietary regimen that God provided for humans when the world was created (Genesis 1:29), because animal-based agriculture is having devastating effects on the environment. Raising 60 billion farmed animals worldwide for slaughter annually causes soil erosion and depletion, the loss of biological diversity, the destruction of tropical rain forests and other valuable habitats and other environmental problems and requires far more land, water and energy than plant-based agriculture. Most importantly, with the world apparently rapidly approaching an unprecedented catastrophe from global warming, a 2006 UN report indicated that the production of meat and other animal-foods emits more greenhouse gases (in CO2 equivalents) than all of the world's cars, planes, ships and all other means of transportation combined (18 percent vs. 13.5 percent).
We are to be responsible stewards, co-workers with God, in protecting the environment. Hence, with our world so threatened today, Birkat HaChamah would be a great time to start applying Jewish values to help respond to the environmental threats to Israel and to all of humanity.
Further information about JVNA and its campaigns to get vegetarianism and environmental activism onto the Jewish agenda, as well as much background material on Jewish teachings on the environment and vegetarianism can be found at the JVNA web site (www.JewishVeg.com). JVNA is very interested in respectful dialogues and debates on dietary connections to global climate change and other current environmental global threats and on questions such as “Should Jews Be Vegetarians?” The group believes that the Jewish community should make tikkun olam, the repair, healing and proper transformation of the world a central focus in Jewish life today. It will send a complimentary DVD with its acclaimed documentary “A Sacred Duty: Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal the World” to rabbis and other Jewish leaders who request one at mail@JewishVeg.com. The entire movie can also be seen at ASacredDuty.com.
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4. My Vegetarian-Related Dvar Torah for Parshat Tzav
I am sorry that this is a bit late, as this parsha was read this past Shabbat, but I hope it is still of some interest.
Parshat Tzav
How Meat Consumption Today Differs From
The Time of the Mishkan (Sanctuary)
in the Wilderness
“And that which is left thereof [from the meal-offering] shall Aaron and his sons eat; it shall be eaten without leaven in a holy place; in the tent of meeting they shall eat it. . . . it is most holy as the sin-offering and the guilt-offering.” Leviticus 6:9.10
When the Jewish people were in the wilderness before they entered the land of Israel, the consumption of meat was associated with holiness. Every piece of meat consumed came from an animal sacrificed in the Mishkan (Sanctuary), an act meant to bring the worshipper closer to God.
Through the sacrifice, worshippers felt that they were giving themselves vicariously to God and being received by Him.
If an animal was slaughtered in a place other than the altar of the Sanctuary, it was considered unlawful bloodshed, and the perpetrator was deserving of Divine punishment. (Leviticius 17:3,4)
The consumption of meat was not something taken for granted, as it generally is today. Worshippers were very much involved with the entire process. Each sacrifice had a definite purpose; to offer thanksgiving, to compensate for a sin or to assuage guilt, or to make one feel closer to God. People offering a sacrifice felt that they were giving up something form their valuable possessions. People owned animals as sources of labor or milk; hence killing them before their time was a sacrifice of a precious source of income and food. The animal was not considered just a commodity as is the case generally today, but a creature that was seen and raised on a daily basis, often one to whom the person had become very close. Since an animal and its offspring could not be slaughtered on the same day (Leviticus 22:26-28), offerers of sacrifices needed to be aware of familial relationships among animals to be offered as sacrifices.
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, Chief Rabbi of Efrat, teaches that worshippers were very involved in the sacrificial process. For sin offerings, their hands would lean on the animal and they would make a confession prior to the slaughter, Observing the animal being killed, they would recognize that because of their sin they should be the ones on the altar, and they would be more likely to do teshuvah (repentance) and become a transformed individual, worthy of a renewed lease on life. [Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, “There, but for the Grace of God,” Jerusalem Post International edition, March 28, 1998.]
The relatively few number of sacrifices performed daily meant that attention was given to the death of each animal. Holiness was related to physical wholeness and perfection. The priests had to be free of bodily imperfections and the animals to be sacrificed had to be free of blemishes. Hence, the notion of holiness was given physical expression in the concept of holiness of body and limb.
Far different is the eating of meat today. Rather than an infrequent act, meat consumption generally occurs daily, if not several times a day. Instead of an individual sacrifice of one person's animal in a special ceremony, animals are currently raised in mass-production procedures on factory farms in huge numbers. In place of slaughter by a priest focusing his intention in the Sanctuary imbued with holiness,today the slaughter is generally done by a shochet (ritual slaughterer) who slaughters hundreds of animals a day in an industrial facility
Because of these major changes, the massive production and widespread consumption of meat today have negative effects that did not occur in the days of the Sanctuary, raising concern that basic Jewish teachings are being violated
Mistreatment of animals
While Judaism forbids tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, inflicting unnecessary pain on animals, most farm animals -- including those raised for kosher consumers -- are raised on "factory farms" where they live in cramped, confined spaces, and are often drugged, mutilated, and denied fresh air, sunlight, exercise, and any enjoyment of life, before they are slaughtered and eaten.
Negative health effects
Judaism mandates that people should be very careful about preserving their health and their lives. Yet, numerous scientific studies have linked animal-based diets directly to heart disease, stroke, many forms of cancer, and other chronic degenerative diseases. In addition, modern methods of raising animals have raised new health threats, including the potential for the human variant of “mad-cows disease,” bird flu. E-coli contamination and negative effects from the use of large amounts of hormones, pesticides and other chemicals.
Negative environmental effects
Judaism teaches that "the earth is the Lord's" (Psalm 24:1) and that we are to be God's partners and co-workers in preserving the world. In conflict with this teaching, modern intensive livestock agriculture contributes substantially to global warming, soil erosion and depletion, air and water pollution, overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the destruction of tropical rain forests and other habitats and other environmental damage. As a recent indication of just how significant this is, a November 2006 report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization indicated that animal-based agriculture emits more greenhouse gases (18 percent, in CO2 equivalents) than the entire transport sector. [“Livestock's Long Shadow” (http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448)
Inefficient use of resources
While Judaism mandates bal tashchit, that we are not to waste or unnecessarily destroy anything of value, and that we are not to use more than is needed to accomplish a purpose, animal agriculture requires the wasteful use of grain, land, water, energy, and other resources. As one example, at a time when it is estimated that over half of the world's people will live in areas chronically short of water by the middle of this century, typical animal-based diets require up to 14 times as much water than diets completely free of animal products.
Contributions to widespread hunger
While Judaism stresses that we are to assist the poor and share our bread with hungry people, over 70% of the grain grown in the United States and over 40% of the grain grown worldwide are fed to animals destined for slaughter, while an estimated 20 million people worldwide die because of hunger and its effects each year. It takes up to 16 pounds of grain in a feedlot to produce one pound of meat. While a shift to plant-based diets would not in itself solve the problem of widespread hunger, it would free up grain, land, water, energy and other resources that could make a major difference.
In summary, there is a world of difference between the consumption of meat in the time of the sanctuary and today, with holiness replaced by speed, individual attention and kavannah replaced by inattentiveness, the priest replaced by a shochet, special events replaced by mass production, one sanctuary replaced by many slaughterhouses, and positive effects replaced by many serious negative consequences. Perhaps it is time for the Jewish community to reconsider our diets in efforts to restore holiness, kavannah and other positive Jewish values.
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Personal Lifestyle Changes That Reflect This Dvar Torah:
* Consider substituting fruits and vegetables and other plant-foods for some or all of your meat consumption.
* Avoid animal products that involve especially serious violations of tsa'ar ba'alei chaim (causing pain to living creatures), such as white veal and foie gras (produced by force feeding ducks and geese).
* If you eat animal products, try to limit them to those that were raised more humanely, such as free-range eggs and chickens and organic beef. However, since standards for such products are often vague, check that conditions for the animals are actually better.
* Try to have issues related to the production and consumption of meat and other animal products discussed in synagogues, yeshivas and other Jewish settings, so that people will become aware of the issues.
* Support efforts to improve general animal welfare standards both in animal agriculture and animal slaughter.
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5. Eating Meat Even More Harmful Than Thought
Eating Meat Kills More People Than Previously Thought
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 by: Andreas Moritz, citizen journalist
(NaturalNews) There is no more denying it. Meat contains highly toxic substances that are responsible for many deaths and diseases. Heavy meat consumption increases your risk of dying from all causes, including heart disease and cancer, according to a federal study conducted by the National Cancer Institute and featured in Archives of Internal Medicine on Monday.
The study looked at the records of more than half a million men and women aged 50 to 71, following their diet and other health habits for 10 years. Between 1995 and 2005, 47,976 men and 23,276 women died.
The researchers divided the volunteers into 5 groups or "quintiles." All other major factors were accounted for -- eating fresh fruits and vegetables, smoking, exercise, obesity, etc. People eating the most meat consumed about 160g of red or processed meat per day - approximately a 6oz steak.
Women who ate large amounts of red meat had a 20 percent higher risk of dying of cancer and a 50 percent higher risk of dying of heart disease than women who ate less. Men had a 22 percent higher risk of dying of cancer and a 27 percent higher risk of dying of heart disease. That`s compared to those who ate the least red meat, just 5 ounces per week, or 25g per day -- approximately a small rasher of bacon.
The study also included data on white meat and found that a higher intake was associated with a slightly reduced risk of death over the same period. However, high white meat consumption still posed a major risk of dying.
- - -
Full story:
http://www.naturalnews.com/025957.html
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6. Getting JVNA Onto Facebook and MySpace
Forwarded message from JVNA advisor Rina Deych:
Awhile back, I set up Facebook and MySpace pages for Richard Schwartz.
Unfortunately, I do not have time to check them (and respond to messages) on a regular basis. I would appreciate it if someone could take over. This person should be extremely trustworthy, familiar with Facebook/MySpace, and willing to devote some time to updating the pages and responding to messages. Please email Richard if you are interested. When he forwards your message to me (with his approval) I'll give you the sign-on information.
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7. Some Quotations and Thoughts on “Judaism and Vegetarianism”
Forwarded message from People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals:
"It appears that the first intention of the Maker was to have men live on a strictly vegetarian diet. The very earliest periods of Jewish history are marked with humanitarian conduct towards the lower animal kingdom. ... It is clearly established that the ancient Hebrews knew and perhaps were the first among men to know, that animals feel and suffer pain."
-Rabbi Simon Glazer
"There is no difference between the worry of a human mother and an animal mother for their offspring. A mother's love does not derive from the intellect but from the emotions, in animals just as in humans."
-Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides)
Passover-the universal story of dignity, hope, and freedom-teaches that all suffering matters to God. And that means, of course, that it should matter to us as well. It is odd to celebrate freedom if we still dine on the flesh of animals who spend their lives caged in cement stalls no bigger than their own bodies, never able to look up at the sky or feel grass beneath their feet. The very premises that lead many to
conclude that it is permissible to eat meat-that animals have no merit beyond how they might taste and that animal suffering is of no consequence-are antithetical to the humanity and compassion of Judaism.
Refusing to have a hand in that suffering is especially timely at Passover, for in commemorating the escape of the Jews from Egyptian bondage, the holiday reminds us of the importance of continuing the battle for freedom. Prayers said on Passover call on us to be kind to those who are now oppressed and to deepen our commitment to liberty today. What better time than Passover to extend our compassion to every living being? And what better way to celebrate the spirit of the holiday than by practicing vegetarianism?
We hope that you will start a new Passover tradition this year by adding kindness to the plate. Traditionally, most Jews include an egg on the ritual seder plate-to symbolize spring and life-but many now replace it with a flower. Using an egg from a chicken who spent her short life in death-like conditions-squeezed inside a tiny, crowded cage, barely able to move-mocks that symbolism. In place of the shank bone set on the seder plate to remind us of "the mighty arm of God," many Jews use a beet, as allowed in the Talmud. And the cholesterol-laden array of animal foods often found on the Passover table can easily be replaced with delicious, healthful, and humane dishes.
Protesting against injustice should lead to a table free of cruelty, as people of all religions begin to recognize that suffering is suffering-no matter who is experiencing it.
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8. More Thoughts and Quotations re “Judaism and Vegetarianism”
Forwarded message from the International Vegetarian Union (IVU)
Judaism and Vegetarianism
by Ted Altar
http://www.ivu.org/religion/articles/judaism.html
It is interesting to note that legislation was once introduced by Mordecai Ben Porat in the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) proposing to outlaw meat-eating! Can you imagine any other country that had enough political support to venture such a bold proposal? Unfortunately, the legislation did not pass; unfortunate because this would indeed have been an interesting social experiment and Israel could indeed stand head and shoulders above all nations in its respect towards animals.
The recent chief rabbi of Israel, Scholomo Goren, is a strict vegetarian and so was the first chief rabbi of the modern state of Israel, Abraham Isaac Kook. Kook's successor, the late Isaac ha-Levi Herzog, wrote:
Jews will move increasingly to vegetarianism out of their own deepening knowledge of what their tradition commands...Man's carnivorous nature is not taken for granted or praised in the fundamental teachings of Judaism...A whole galaxy of central rabbinic and spiritual leaders...has been affirming vegetarianism as the ultimate meaning of Jewish moral teaching.
There are several Jewish organizations currently working to promote vegetarianism. "The International Jewish Vegetarian Society" publishes a five page quarterly called the JEWISH VEGETARIAN, and has offices or chapters worldwide included the U.S. Canada, Australia, Britain, Israel, etc. There is also the "Jewish Vegetarians" in Baltimore who say:
We feel ourselves to be part of an ancient people and a living tradition -- one whose ethical principles, we believe, point towards vegetarianism.
Roberta Kalechofsky, head of Micah Publications and Jews for Animal Rights, in Marblehead, Massachusetts, publishes various works on Judaism and animal welfare. Among these is her HAGGADAH FOR THE LIBERATED LAMB, which serves as a guide for "a vegetarian (Passover) Seder that celebrates compassion for all creatures".
Here are just a few more interesting statements and quotes from the Jewish tradition that are of relevance here.
According to Rabbi Sidney Jacobs, author of the THE JEWISH WORD BOOK:
The bottom line is that there can be no "humane" procedure when slaughter is involved, nor can factory farming ever be made merciful. Ironically, the dilemma of Jewish ritual slaughter could be resolved by switching to a vegan diet, the grain-based diet set forth in Genesis.
[from "A Jewish voice for Animals" published in THE ANIMALS' VOICE, 1989 (Aug): 48-9]
From THE NINE QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK ABOUT JUDAISM by Dennis Prager and Rabbi Telushkin:
Keeping kosher is Judaism's compromise with its ideal vegetarianism. Ideally, according to Judaism, man would confine his eating to fruits and vegetables and not kill animals for food.
According to Rabbi Simon Glazer's GUIDE TO JUDAISM:
It appears that the first intention of the Maker was to have men live on a strictly vegetarian diet. The very earliest periods of Jewish history are marked with humanitarian conduct towards the lower animal kingdom...It is clearly established that the ancient Hebrews knew, and perhaps were the first among men to know, that animals feel and suffer pain.
From the ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA:
According to rabbinic tradition, interpreting the Biblical record, mankind was not allowed to eat meat until after the Flood...Once permitted, the consumption of meat remained surrounded with many restrictions. According to the rabbis, the Hebrew word for "desireth" in the verse, "when the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border and thou shall say: `I will eat flesh,' because thy soul desireth to eat flesh" (Deut. 12:20), has a negative connotation; hence, although it is permitted to slaughter animals for food, this should be done in moderation.
According the ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, 1974:
Moral and legal rules condemning the treatment of animals are based on the principle that animals are part of God's creation towards which man bears responsibility. Laws...make it clear not only that cruelty to animals is forbidden but also that compassion and mercy to them are demanded of may by God...In later rabbinic literature,...great prominence is also given to demonstrating God's mercy to animals, and to the importance of not causing them pain. ...The principle of kindness to animals...is as though God's treatment of man will be according to [people's] treatment of animals".
According to the UNIVERSAL JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA, 1939.
The Jewish attitude toward animals has always been governed by the consideration that they, too, are God's creatures...[and] the obligation to respect and consider the feelings and needs of these lower creatures...The non-canonical...writings strongly urge kindness toward animals, declaring that one who harms an animal harms his own soul". [1:330]
According to Professor Richard Schwartz (author of JUDAISM and VEGETARIANISM):
In Judaism, one who does not treat animals with compassion cannot be regarded as a righteous individual.
[from JUDAISM & ANIMAL RIGHTS]
According to the CODE OF JEWISH LAW:
...it is forbidden, according to the law of the Torah, to inflict pain upon any living creature. On the contrary, it is our duty to relieve the pain of any creature, even if it is ownerless or belongs to a non-Jew.
According to the medieval Hebrew work SEFER CHASIDIM:
Be kind and compassionate to all creatures that the Holy One, blessed be He, created in this world. Never beat nor inflict pain on any animal, beast, bird, or insect. Do not throw stones at a dog or a cat, nor kill flies or wasps.
Everything on this website is copyright © International Vegetarian Union, unless stated otherwise.
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9. Podcasts on the Effects of Ranching and Animal Grazing on Western Lands
Forwarded message from animal rights activist Mike Hudak:
As you may know, search engines do not index mp3 files. As I have recently produced a couple of podcasts in this format and would like them to be more widely known, I have today produced an individual webpage for each podcast. These webpages will, of course, in due time be indexed by search engines.
I just pass along this information to a few people who have websites and may wish to incorporate these links. In the future I'll supply the corresponding webpage at the time I announce the podcast.
Here are the appropriate links:
Ranchers Mortgage Our Natural Capital:
http://mikehudak.com/Articles/MikeHudak_Podcast090115.html
Politics Trumps Science in Rangeland Management:
http://mikehudak.com/Articles/MikeHudak_Podcast090318.html
Best regards,
Mike
--
Mike Hudak, PhD
Chair, Sierra Club National Grazing Committee
Director, Public Lands Without Livestock
Author, Western Turf Wars
38 Oliver Street
Binghamton, NY 13904-1516
Personal website: http://mikehudak.com
Biome Books: http://biomebooks.com
MySpace Profile: http://www.myspace.com/plwl
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10. Artic Ice Melting Faster Than Expected
[Thanks to Lionel Friedberg, producer of “A Sacred Duty” for sending us this article.]
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer Randolph E. Schmid, Ap Science Writer -
WASHINGTON - Arctic sea ice is melting so fast most of it could be gone in 30 years. A new analysis of changing conditions in the region, using complex computer models of weather and climate, says conditions that had been forecast by the end of the century could occur much sooner.
A change in the amount of ice is important because the white surface reflects sunlight back into space. When ice is replaced by dark ocean water that sunlight can be absorbed, warming the water and increasing the warming of the planet.
The finding adds to concern about climate change caused by human activities such as burning fossil fuels, a problem that has begun receiving more attention in the Obama administration and is part of the G20 discussions under way in London.
"Due to the recent loss of sea ice, the 2005-2008 autumn central Arctic surface air temperatures were greater than 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit) above" what would be expected, the new study reports.
That amount of temperature increase had been expected by the year 2070.
The new report by Muyin Wang of the Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Ocean and James E. Overland of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, appears in Friday's edition of the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
They expect the area covered by summer sea ice to decline from about 2.8 million square miles normally to 620,000 square miles within 30 years.
Last year's summer minimum was 1.8 million square miles in September, second lowest only to 2007 which had a minimum of 1.65 million square miles, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
The Center said Arctic sea ice reached its winter maximum for this year at 5.8 million square miles on Feb. 28. That was 278,000 square miles below the 1979-2000 average making it the fifth lowest on record. The six lowest maximums since 1979 have all occurred in the last six years.
Overland and Wang combined sea-ice observations with six complex computer models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to reach their conclusions. Combining several computer models helps avoid uncertainties caused by natural variability.
Much of the remaining ice would be north of Canada and Greenland, with much less between Alaska and Russia in the Pacific Arctic.
"The Arctic is often called the Earth's refrigerator because the sea ice helps cool the planet by reflecting the sun's radiation back into space," Wang said in a statement. "With less ice, the sun's warmth is instead absorbed by the open water, contributing to warmer temperatures in the water and the air."
The study was supported by the NOAA Climate Change Program Office, the Institute for the Study of the Ocean and Atmosphere and the U.S. Department of Energy.
___
On the Net:
NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov
Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Ocean: http://jisao.washington.edu/
National Snow and Ice Data Center: http://nsidc.org/
Geophysical Research Letters: http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/
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11. Global warming May Wipe Out Canadian Winter Sports
Global warming could all but wipe out ice skating, cross-country skiing, and low-elevation downhill skiing by 2050 if no action is taken, Canadian eco-guru David Suzuki warns.
http://lists.grist.org/t?ctl=3D4B7:262C6417D8F048A18FD66FB142E72114&
* Climate & Energy
David Suzuki
Vancouverite David Suzuki and his namesake foundation surface in the U.S. news from time to time, typically through climate initiatives and ocean conservation initiatives such as its estimate of the carbon impact of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
But for our Northern neighbors, the 73-year-old Suzuki is a household name. He's become the Canada's preeminent environmental activist-David Roberts likened him to the Canadian Al Gore. At this weeks' World Conference on Sport and the Environment, I asked some youngish Canucks about his first claim to fame. They weren't sure, they said. He's sort of always been around. (The often-helpful interwebs mention he was a genetist and longtime host of the Canadian Broadcast Corporation's science TV series, “The Nature of Things.”)
When the Vancouver Organizing Committee released a plan yesterday to make the 2010 Winter Games carbon neutral, reporters immediately turned to Suzuki and the policy wonks at his foundation for an assessment. The foundation provided the orginal forecast of the carbon impact of the 2010 Olympics -- 300,000 tons. But it hadn't seen VANOC's offset purchasing plan before yesterday, so it couldn't vouch for it.
“I would plead with VANOC to please set the bar high,” said Suzuki.
He held his own news conference to announce the release of On Thin Ice, a report on the threat climate change poses to winter sports in Canada. It found that global warming could all but wipe out ice skating, cross-country skiing, and low-elevation downhill skiing by 2050 if no action is taken.
Suzuki mentioned two “iconic Canadian images” that are already endangered by climate change - polar bears and backyard skating rinks, like the one on which a young Wayne Gretzky learned to skate.
As he's done before, Suzuki enlisted Canadian athletes to help make his case. Professional snowboarder Justin Lamoureaux, who trains in Whistler, B.C., said he's already found his training season and availabe space shrunk by melting glaciers.
“Imagine a Canada with no pond hockey, no snow days, no skiing,” he said. “No snowmen, snowballs or snow forts and less maple syrup. As much as some people dislike it, winter is Canada.”
Suzuki also offered a harsh critique of the Conservative-led federal government and its lack of climate action, and of the national media's downplaying of the climate issue in last fall's election.
“Hundreds of thousands of Canadians are already acting at the individual level, but we need leadership at the federal level,” he said.
The foundation's report concludes with a call for national carbon regulation.
“Canada is a northern country,” Suzuki said. “We are probably as vulnerable to the effects of greenhouse gases and global warming as any country in the world.”
Jonathan Hiskes is a Seattle freelance journalist who formerly covered rural and environmental issues in southern Indiana.
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12. How YOU Can Support The Historic Bill to Ban all Fur in Israel
Thanks to JVNA advisor Rina Deych for forwarding this message to us. I went to the web site and indicated by support for the bill, and I hope that you will also do so.
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Support needed for The Historic Bill to Ban all Fur in Israel
The first nationwide bill to ban all fur has been proposed in Israel.
We need international support to help push the bill through into law:
http://www.antifurcoalition.org/support-bill-int.html
Thank you very much!
Cheers,
Jane Halevy
International Anti-Fur Coalition
http://www.antifurcoalition.org
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13. Switch to Vegetarianism Would Have a Great Societal Effect
http://www.alternet.org/
The Startling Effects of Going Vegetarian for Just One Day
[Many very interesting facts given. Read them and then consider how great it would be if there was a major switch toward vegetarianism.]
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14. FARM Schedules AR2009 Conference
Forwarded message from the Farm Animal Rights Movement:
You're Invited to Our Movement's Annual Conference
We are pleased to invite you to take part in the Animal Rights 2009 National Conference, our movement's largest and oldest annual gathering.
The Conference will be held on July 16-20th at the Westin LAX Hotel near Los Angeles Airport. This venue offers $95 rooms, accommodations for dogs, cruelty-free bedding and personal care products, $6 parking, free internet access, magnificent meeting and exhibit space, vegan cuisine, and free airport shuttle.
The program will focus on effective tactics to promote animal rights and veganism, to stop federal repression of animal activism, and to engage other social justice movements. We will have eyewitness accounts of the whale wars, California's Prop 2 initiative, and other high-profile campaigns.
We are maintaining the traditional five-track structure (problems/issues, organizing, remedies, raps/reports, and videos). Saturday night will feature the traditional Awards Banquet. Monday following the conference will offer intensive seminars, lobbying, and demonstrations planned by participating groups.
To register, visit our Registration page or call us at 888-327-6872. Or send a check to FARM/AR2009, 10101 Ashburton Lane, Bethesda MD 20817.
To book a discounted room, visit our Lodging page or call Westin reservations at 800-228-3000 or 301-216-5858 and mention Animal Rights 2009.
Contact our registrar for work scholarships and low-income discounts and housing.
10101 Ashburton Lane, Bethesda MD 20817;
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15. One Minute Video Shows the Dietary/Global Warming Connection Very Well
Thanks to author and JVNA activist Dan Brook for sending us the message and link below:
Here's a 1-minute Greenpeace video making the clear connection between cattle ranching/meat eating and Amazon Rainforest destruction/global warming:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNx51WqBBgM
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16. Press Release on World Health Day 2009
Medical doctors blame lifestyle for obesity epidemics and related illnesses
World Health Day 2009
Press Statement - SHARAN
7 April 2009
In spite of a multitude of initiatives the surge in obesity is ongoing and seems unstoppable. This preventable health risk is leading to an increased number of connected illnesses like heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, rheumatism and cancer, and today is supersedes even infectious illnesses like malaria
and tuberculosis in the third world.
According to groups of medical doctors all over the world working to prevent and reverse diseases, this epidemic is man-made and can easily be averted by a
diet that is anatomically suitable to our species.
All animal products, including dairy, are rich in fat and cholesterol. It's impossible to remove all this because every cell contains fat. We are also consuming far too many proteins and acid yielding foods. Refined foods like white rice, white flour, vegetable fats and sugar add insult to injury.
Our anatomy is designed to process mainly complex carbohydrates which can be obtained from whole plant based sources, which reduce obesity, thus at the same time decrease the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Studies have
shown that vegetarians and particularly vegans have a lower average body mass index than meat eaters, warranting the adoption of a plant-based diet as a most beneficial step for the individual as well as for public health systems.
According to the American Dietetic Association position paper, appropriately planned vegetarian diets have been shown to be healthful, nutritionally adequate, and beneficial in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. However, paving the way for such a rational diet at a large level requires education, de-conditioning and government incentives.
For that reason governments must stop subsidizing animal agriculture. Moreover we require health education and cooking classes in schools, healthy food in cafeterias and the official encouragement to adopt a whole food plant based diet.
In this time of economic crises, when the public health system may not be able to meet medical costs for all, governments must aim for prevention rather than cure.
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SHARAN
22 Matru Chhaya, 70 Marine Drive,
Mumbai 400 020
India
http://sharan-india.org/health/
For more information and a list of medical doctors all over the world who are using this method to prevent and reverse diseases in their patients, please contact
Dr. Nandita Shah, shahnandi@gmail.com,
Tel: 9869454909, 0413 2623007, 0413 2622646
This press statement is endorsed by
AgireOra Network
www.agireora.org
Italy
European Vegetarian and Animal News Alliance (EVANA
www.evana.org
International Nutrition Ecology International Centre - NEIC
www.nutritionecology.org
International Swiss Union for Vegetarianism
www.vegetarismus.ch
Switzerland
Veg Climate Alliance (pending)
www.VegClimateAlliance.org
International
Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians (SERV) (pending)
www.serv-online.org/
United States
Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) (pending)
www.JewishVeg.com
North America
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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.
This update/Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) Online Newsletter has the following items:
1. Happy Passover
2. YOU Can Represent JVNA as a Speaker and/or Spokesperson
3. JVNA Press Release On Birkat HaChamah
4. My Vegetarian-Related Dvar Torah for Parshat Tzav
5. Eating Meat Even More Harmful Than Thought
6. Getting JVNA Onto Facebook and MySpace
7. Some Quotations and Thoughts on “Judaism and Vegetarianism”
8. More Thoughts and Quotations re “Judaism and Vegetarianism”
9. Podcasts on the Effects of Ranching and Animal Grazing on Western Lands
10. Artic Ice Melting Faster Than Expected
11. Global warming May Wipe Out Canadian Winter Sports
12. How YOU Can Support The Historic Bill to Ban all Fur in Israel
13. Switch to Vegetarianism Would Have a Great Societal Effect
14. FARM Schedules AR2009 Conference
15. One Minute Video Shows the Dietary/Global Warming Connection Very Well
16. Press Release on World Health Day 2009
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. Happy Passover
Best wishes for a happy, healthy, kosher Passover. My latest article re Passover (below) challenges the Jewish community, while being properly careful to avoid eating chometz, to consider the many inconsistencies between Jewish teachings and the realities of animal-based diets and agriculture. Please use the material in the article and other material in the festivals section at JewishVeg.com/Schwartz to help spread the vegetarian message.
INCONSISTENCIES IN PASSOVER EATING
Richard H. Schwartz
It seems strange that Jews go to great lengths on the festival of Passover to observe Torah verses commanding us to avoid some foods, while ignoring other verses relevant to the consumption of other foods.
Among the features of Passover are the prohibitions of eating, owning or benefiting from chometz, foods such as breads, cakes and cereals that are made from one of the five grains (wheat, barley, rye, spelt and oats) that have undergone fermentation as the result of contact with liquid. These prohibitions are based on several Torah verses and are treated with great seriousness by religious Jews.
Many Jews spend weeks before Passover cleaning their houses, cars and other possessions to make sure that not even a drop of chometz will remain during the holiday. Because the Torah indicates a severe punishment (koret, meaning that one's life is cut short, or that one is spiritually severed from the root of one's soul) for violating the chometz prohibitions, many Jewish communities have adopted additional stringencies to avoid inadvertent transgressions. For example, the practice among many Ashkenazi Jews is to not only refrain from products of the five grains, but also from kitniyot, other grains and legumes, including rice, corn, lentils and beans. While the origins of this practice are not clear, two common theories are that such items are sometimes made into products that resemble chometz, such as cornbread, or that these items were generally stored in sacks similar to these for the five prohibited grains and people were concerned that the sacks might become contaminated with chometz.
So important are the chometz prohibitions that, while a common greeting on other Jewish festivals is “chag samayach” (may you have a joyous holiday), on Passover it is often “chag kasher v'samayach” (may you have a kosher and joyous holiday).
This article is not (God forbid) to argue against these prohibitions and additional stringencies, but to suggest that many foods that Jews eat on Passover, including meat, fish, dairy products and eggs, violate Torah mandates that are also critically important, especially today.
Among these Torah mandates are:
1) We are to diligently guard our health. Judaism teaches that we should be more careful about mitzvot (commandments) concerning health than about ritual mitzvot. For example, if it might help save a life, a Jew may violate the Sabbath, eat non-kosher foods, and avoid fasting on Yom Kippur. Yet, the consumption of meat and other animal products has been linked to heart disease, various types of cancer and other chronic degenerative diseases.
2) Judaism forbids tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, inflicting unnecessary pain on animals. The psalmist indicated that “God's mercies are over all of His creatures” (Psalms 145:9) and the Book of Proverbs indicates that “the righteous individual considers the life of his or her animal.” (12:10) Compassion to animals is even part of the Ten Commandments, which indicates that animals as well as people are to rest on the Sabbath day. Many other Torah laws involve treating animals with respect and compassion. Moses and King David were deemed suitable to be Israelite leaders because of their compassionate treatment of sheep in their youth. However, generally farm animals -- including most raised for kosher consumers -- are treated worse than slaves, as they are raised on "factory farms" where they live in cramped, confined spaces, and are often drugged, mutilated, and denied fresh air, sunlight, exercise, and any enjoyment of life, before they are slaughtered and eaten.
3) Judaism teaches that "the earth is the Lord's" (Psalm 24:1) and that we are to be God's partners and co-workers in preserving the world. Yet, modern intensive livestock agriculture contributes substantially to global warming, soil erosion and depletion, air and water pollution, overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the destruction of tropical rain forests and other habitats and other environmental damage. While the world is arguably heading toward an unprecedented catastrophe from global warming and these other environmental problems, a UN 2006 study “Livestock's Long Shadow” indicated that animal-based agriculture emits more greenhouse gases (18 percent in CO2 equivalents) than all of the cars, planes, ships and other means of transportation worldwide combined (13.5 percent).
4)Judaism mandates bal tashchit, that we are not to waste or unnecessarily destroy anything of value, and that we are not to use more than is needed to accomplish a purpose. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, an Orthodox rabbi and thinker of towering stature in nineteenth century Germany, viewed bal tashchit as the most basic Jewish principle of all -- acknowledging the sovereignty of God and the limitation of our own will and ego. However, animal-agriculture requires the wasteful use of food, land, water, energy, and other resources. The average meat-based diet requires up to ten times the energy, 14 times the water and 20 times the land required for a vegan diet.
5) Judaism stresses that we are to assist the poor and share our bread with hungry people. The Torah indicates that farmers must leave the corners of their fields and the gleanings of their harvests for the needy, Yet, over 70% of the grain grown in the United States is fed to animals destined for slaughter (it takes about 9 pounds of grain to produce one pound of edible beef), while an estimated 20 million people, mostly children, worldwide die because of hunger and its effects each year.
6^ Judaism stresses that we must seek and pursue peace and that violence results from unjust conditions. While most mitzvot require a definite time or place, peace is so important that, like justice, we are to seek it nearby and pursue it in other places at all times. However, animal-centered diets, by wasting valuable resources, help to perpetuate the widespread hunger and poverty that eventually lead to instability and war.
In view of these important Jewish mandates to preserve human health, attend to the welfare of animals, protect the environment, conserve resources, help feed hungry people, and pursue peace, contrasted with the harm that animal-centered diets do in each of these areas, dietary choices should be on the Jewish agenda.
One could say "dayenu" (it would be enough) after any of the contrasts between Jewish teachings and dietary realities above, because each one constitutes by itself a serious conflict between Jewish values and current practices that should impel Jews to seriously consider a plant-based diet. Combined, they make an urgently compelling case for the Jewish community to address these issues.
Perhaps it is time to apply these important teachings to our diets, thereby helping shift our precious, but imperiled, planet to a sustainable path. Since Passover is the holiday of freedom, the seder would be a great time to free ourselves from eating habits that are so harmful to people, animals and the planet.
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2. YOU Can Represent JVNA as a Speaker and/or Spokesperson
Recently, background material was sent to everyone in this group, providing help for you to speak on Judaism and vegetarianism and otherwise promote vegetarianism from a Jewish vegetarian perspective. Please consider taking advantage of that material and other material at the JVNA web site (http://www.JewishVeg.com) and at the web site that has many of my articles and podcasts ((http://www.JewishVeg.com/schwartz). It is increasingly important that we get the Jewish vegetarian message out there and you can help do that. We will be happy to help guide you in this as much as possible.
Many thanks.
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3. JVNA Press Release On Birkat HaChamah
PRESS RELEASE
March 30, 2009
For Immediate Release
Contact Person: Richard H. Schwartz,
President, Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA)
President@JewishVeg.com
718-761-5876 Cell: (917) 576-0344
Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) issued the following statement today:
Birkat HaChamah, an event that commemorates the time that the sun will be in the same position relative to the earth that it was at the time of creation, is an ideal time for Jews to consider the state of our imperiled planet and how to shift it to a sustainable path. This commemoration occurs every 28 years and this year it will occur on the morning of April 8.
“When God created the world, He was able to say, 'It is tov meod (very good)' “ (Genesis 1:31), stated JVNA president Richard Schwartz. “Everything was in harmony as God had planned; the waters were clean and the air was pure. But what must God think about the world today, when it is so threatened by global warming, rapid species extinction, destruction of tropical rain forests and many other environmental problems?”
Israel is especially threatened by global warming. It Is now suffering from the worst drought in its history, and a 2007 report from the Israel Union for Environmental Defense projects that global warming will cause a temperature increase of 3-11 degrees Fahrenheit, an average decrease in rainfall of 20 - 30 percent, severe storms and major flooding from a rising Mediterranean Sea.
It is time to apply Judaism's powerful environmental teachings to reducing global warming and other environmental threats. Since Birkat HaChamah focuses on the sun, this is a good time to consider using solar energy and other renewable forms of energy, in order to reduce global warming and our dependence on fossil fuels.
When thanking God for the many blessings of Creation on Birkat HaChhamah, we might also consider returning to the vegan, strictly plant-based dietary regimen that God provided for humans when the world was created (Genesis 1:29), because animal-based agriculture is having devastating effects on the environment. Raising 60 billion farmed animals worldwide for slaughter annually causes soil erosion and depletion, the loss of biological diversity, the destruction of tropical rain forests and other valuable habitats and other environmental problems and requires far more land, water and energy than plant-based agriculture. Most importantly, with the world apparently rapidly approaching an unprecedented catastrophe from global warming, a 2006 UN report indicated that the production of meat and other animal-foods emits more greenhouse gases (in CO2 equivalents) than all of the world's cars, planes, ships and all other means of transportation combined (18 percent vs. 13.5 percent).
We are to be responsible stewards, co-workers with God, in protecting the environment. Hence, with our world so threatened today, Birkat HaChamah would be a great time to start applying Jewish values to help respond to the environmental threats to Israel and to all of humanity.
Further information about JVNA and its campaigns to get vegetarianism and environmental activism onto the Jewish agenda, as well as much background material on Jewish teachings on the environment and vegetarianism can be found at the JVNA web site (www.JewishVeg.com). JVNA is very interested in respectful dialogues and debates on dietary connections to global climate change and other current environmental global threats and on questions such as “Should Jews Be Vegetarians?” The group believes that the Jewish community should make tikkun olam, the repair, healing and proper transformation of the world a central focus in Jewish life today. It will send a complimentary DVD with its acclaimed documentary “A Sacred Duty: Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal the World” to rabbis and other Jewish leaders who request one at mail@JewishVeg.com. The entire movie can also be seen at ASacredDuty.com.
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4. My Vegetarian-Related Dvar Torah for Parshat Tzav
I am sorry that this is a bit late, as this parsha was read this past Shabbat, but I hope it is still of some interest.
Parshat Tzav
How Meat Consumption Today Differs From
The Time of the Mishkan (Sanctuary)
in the Wilderness
“And that which is left thereof [from the meal-offering] shall Aaron and his sons eat; it shall be eaten without leaven in a holy place; in the tent of meeting they shall eat it. . . . it is most holy as the sin-offering and the guilt-offering.” Leviticus 6:9.10
When the Jewish people were in the wilderness before they entered the land of Israel, the consumption of meat was associated with holiness. Every piece of meat consumed came from an animal sacrificed in the Mishkan (Sanctuary), an act meant to bring the worshipper closer to God.
Through the sacrifice, worshippers felt that they were giving themselves vicariously to God and being received by Him.
If an animal was slaughtered in a place other than the altar of the Sanctuary, it was considered unlawful bloodshed, and the perpetrator was deserving of Divine punishment. (Leviticius 17:3,4)
The consumption of meat was not something taken for granted, as it generally is today. Worshippers were very much involved with the entire process. Each sacrifice had a definite purpose; to offer thanksgiving, to compensate for a sin or to assuage guilt, or to make one feel closer to God. People offering a sacrifice felt that they were giving up something form their valuable possessions. People owned animals as sources of labor or milk; hence killing them before their time was a sacrifice of a precious source of income and food. The animal was not considered just a commodity as is the case generally today, but a creature that was seen and raised on a daily basis, often one to whom the person had become very close. Since an animal and its offspring could not be slaughtered on the same day (Leviticus 22:26-28), offerers of sacrifices needed to be aware of familial relationships among animals to be offered as sacrifices.
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, Chief Rabbi of Efrat, teaches that worshippers were very involved in the sacrificial process. For sin offerings, their hands would lean on the animal and they would make a confession prior to the slaughter, Observing the animal being killed, they would recognize that because of their sin they should be the ones on the altar, and they would be more likely to do teshuvah (repentance) and become a transformed individual, worthy of a renewed lease on life. [Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, “There, but for the Grace of God,” Jerusalem Post International edition, March 28, 1998.]
The relatively few number of sacrifices performed daily meant that attention was given to the death of each animal. Holiness was related to physical wholeness and perfection. The priests had to be free of bodily imperfections and the animals to be sacrificed had to be free of blemishes. Hence, the notion of holiness was given physical expression in the concept of holiness of body and limb.
Far different is the eating of meat today. Rather than an infrequent act, meat consumption generally occurs daily, if not several times a day. Instead of an individual sacrifice of one person's animal in a special ceremony, animals are currently raised in mass-production procedures on factory farms in huge numbers. In place of slaughter by a priest focusing his intention in the Sanctuary imbued with holiness,today the slaughter is generally done by a shochet (ritual slaughterer) who slaughters hundreds of animals a day in an industrial facility
Because of these major changes, the massive production and widespread consumption of meat today have negative effects that did not occur in the days of the Sanctuary, raising concern that basic Jewish teachings are being violated
Mistreatment of animals
While Judaism forbids tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, inflicting unnecessary pain on animals, most farm animals -- including those raised for kosher consumers -- are raised on "factory farms" where they live in cramped, confined spaces, and are often drugged, mutilated, and denied fresh air, sunlight, exercise, and any enjoyment of life, before they are slaughtered and eaten.
Negative health effects
Judaism mandates that people should be very careful about preserving their health and their lives. Yet, numerous scientific studies have linked animal-based diets directly to heart disease, stroke, many forms of cancer, and other chronic degenerative diseases. In addition, modern methods of raising animals have raised new health threats, including the potential for the human variant of “mad-cows disease,” bird flu. E-coli contamination and negative effects from the use of large amounts of hormones, pesticides and other chemicals.
Negative environmental effects
Judaism teaches that "the earth is the Lord's" (Psalm 24:1) and that we are to be God's partners and co-workers in preserving the world. In conflict with this teaching, modern intensive livestock agriculture contributes substantially to global warming, soil erosion and depletion, air and water pollution, overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the destruction of tropical rain forests and other habitats and other environmental damage. As a recent indication of just how significant this is, a November 2006 report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization indicated that animal-based agriculture emits more greenhouse gases (18 percent, in CO2 equivalents) than the entire transport sector. [“Livestock's Long Shadow” (http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448)
Inefficient use of resources
While Judaism mandates bal tashchit, that we are not to waste or unnecessarily destroy anything of value, and that we are not to use more than is needed to accomplish a purpose, animal agriculture requires the wasteful use of grain, land, water, energy, and other resources. As one example, at a time when it is estimated that over half of the world's people will live in areas chronically short of water by the middle of this century, typical animal-based diets require up to 14 times as much water than diets completely free of animal products.
Contributions to widespread hunger
While Judaism stresses that we are to assist the poor and share our bread with hungry people, over 70% of the grain grown in the United States and over 40% of the grain grown worldwide are fed to animals destined for slaughter, while an estimated 20 million people worldwide die because of hunger and its effects each year. It takes up to 16 pounds of grain in a feedlot to produce one pound of meat. While a shift to plant-based diets would not in itself solve the problem of widespread hunger, it would free up grain, land, water, energy and other resources that could make a major difference.
In summary, there is a world of difference between the consumption of meat in the time of the sanctuary and today, with holiness replaced by speed, individual attention and kavannah replaced by inattentiveness, the priest replaced by a shochet, special events replaced by mass production, one sanctuary replaced by many slaughterhouses, and positive effects replaced by many serious negative consequences. Perhaps it is time for the Jewish community to reconsider our diets in efforts to restore holiness, kavannah and other positive Jewish values.
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Personal Lifestyle Changes That Reflect This Dvar Torah:
* Consider substituting fruits and vegetables and other plant-foods for some or all of your meat consumption.
* Avoid animal products that involve especially serious violations of tsa'ar ba'alei chaim (causing pain to living creatures), such as white veal and foie gras (produced by force feeding ducks and geese).
* If you eat animal products, try to limit them to those that were raised more humanely, such as free-range eggs and chickens and organic beef. However, since standards for such products are often vague, check that conditions for the animals are actually better.
* Try to have issues related to the production and consumption of meat and other animal products discussed in synagogues, yeshivas and other Jewish settings, so that people will become aware of the issues.
* Support efforts to improve general animal welfare standards both in animal agriculture and animal slaughter.
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5. Eating Meat Even More Harmful Than Thought
Eating Meat Kills More People Than Previously Thought
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 by: Andreas Moritz, citizen journalist
(NaturalNews) There is no more denying it. Meat contains highly toxic substances that are responsible for many deaths and diseases. Heavy meat consumption increases your risk of dying from all causes, including heart disease and cancer, according to a federal study conducted by the National Cancer Institute and featured in Archives of Internal Medicine on Monday.
The study looked at the records of more than half a million men and women aged 50 to 71, following their diet and other health habits for 10 years. Between 1995 and 2005, 47,976 men and 23,276 women died.
The researchers divided the volunteers into 5 groups or "quintiles." All other major factors were accounted for -- eating fresh fruits and vegetables, smoking, exercise, obesity, etc. People eating the most meat consumed about 160g of red or processed meat per day - approximately a 6oz steak.
Women who ate large amounts of red meat had a 20 percent higher risk of dying of cancer and a 50 percent higher risk of dying of heart disease than women who ate less. Men had a 22 percent higher risk of dying of cancer and a 27 percent higher risk of dying of heart disease. That`s compared to those who ate the least red meat, just 5 ounces per week, or 25g per day -- approximately a small rasher of bacon.
The study also included data on white meat and found that a higher intake was associated with a slightly reduced risk of death over the same period. However, high white meat consumption still posed a major risk of dying.
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Full story:
http://www.naturalnews.com/025957.html
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6. Getting JVNA Onto Facebook and MySpace
Forwarded message from JVNA advisor Rina Deych:
Awhile back, I set up Facebook and MySpace pages for Richard Schwartz.
Unfortunately, I do not have time to check them (and respond to messages) on a regular basis. I would appreciate it if someone could take over. This person should be extremely trustworthy, familiar with Facebook/MySpace, and willing to devote some time to updating the pages and responding to messages. Please email Richard if you are interested. When he forwards your message to me (with his approval) I'll give you the sign-on information.
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7. Some Quotations and Thoughts on “Judaism and Vegetarianism”
Forwarded message from People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals:
"It appears that the first intention of the Maker was to have men live on a strictly vegetarian diet. The very earliest periods of Jewish history are marked with humanitarian conduct towards the lower animal kingdom. ... It is clearly established that the ancient Hebrews knew and perhaps were the first among men to know, that animals feel and suffer pain."
-Rabbi Simon Glazer
"There is no difference between the worry of a human mother and an animal mother for their offspring. A mother's love does not derive from the intellect but from the emotions, in animals just as in humans."
-Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides)
Passover-the universal story of dignity, hope, and freedom-teaches that all suffering matters to God. And that means, of course, that it should matter to us as well. It is odd to celebrate freedom if we still dine on the flesh of animals who spend their lives caged in cement stalls no bigger than their own bodies, never able to look up at the sky or feel grass beneath their feet. The very premises that lead many to
conclude that it is permissible to eat meat-that animals have no merit beyond how they might taste and that animal suffering is of no consequence-are antithetical to the humanity and compassion of Judaism.
Refusing to have a hand in that suffering is especially timely at Passover, for in commemorating the escape of the Jews from Egyptian bondage, the holiday reminds us of the importance of continuing the battle for freedom. Prayers said on Passover call on us to be kind to those who are now oppressed and to deepen our commitment to liberty today. What better time than Passover to extend our compassion to every living being? And what better way to celebrate the spirit of the holiday than by practicing vegetarianism?
We hope that you will start a new Passover tradition this year by adding kindness to the plate. Traditionally, most Jews include an egg on the ritual seder plate-to symbolize spring and life-but many now replace it with a flower. Using an egg from a chicken who spent her short life in death-like conditions-squeezed inside a tiny, crowded cage, barely able to move-mocks that symbolism. In place of the shank bone set on the seder plate to remind us of "the mighty arm of God," many Jews use a beet, as allowed in the Talmud. And the cholesterol-laden array of animal foods often found on the Passover table can easily be replaced with delicious, healthful, and humane dishes.
Protesting against injustice should lead to a table free of cruelty, as people of all religions begin to recognize that suffering is suffering-no matter who is experiencing it.
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8. More Thoughts and Quotations re “Judaism and Vegetarianism”
Forwarded message from the International Vegetarian Union (IVU)
Judaism and Vegetarianism
by Ted Altar
http://www.ivu.org/religion/articles/judaism.html
It is interesting to note that legislation was once introduced by Mordecai Ben Porat in the Israeli Knesset (Parliament) proposing to outlaw meat-eating! Can you imagine any other country that had enough political support to venture such a bold proposal? Unfortunately, the legislation did not pass; unfortunate because this would indeed have been an interesting social experiment and Israel could indeed stand head and shoulders above all nations in its respect towards animals.
The recent chief rabbi of Israel, Scholomo Goren, is a strict vegetarian and so was the first chief rabbi of the modern state of Israel, Abraham Isaac Kook. Kook's successor, the late Isaac ha-Levi Herzog, wrote:
Jews will move increasingly to vegetarianism out of their own deepening knowledge of what their tradition commands...Man's carnivorous nature is not taken for granted or praised in the fundamental teachings of Judaism...A whole galaxy of central rabbinic and spiritual leaders...has been affirming vegetarianism as the ultimate meaning of Jewish moral teaching.
There are several Jewish organizations currently working to promote vegetarianism. "The International Jewish Vegetarian Society" publishes a five page quarterly called the JEWISH VEGETARIAN, and has offices or chapters worldwide included the U.S. Canada, Australia, Britain, Israel, etc. There is also the "Jewish Vegetarians" in Baltimore who say:
We feel ourselves to be part of an ancient people and a living tradition -- one whose ethical principles, we believe, point towards vegetarianism.
Roberta Kalechofsky, head of Micah Publications and Jews for Animal Rights, in Marblehead, Massachusetts, publishes various works on Judaism and animal welfare. Among these is her HAGGADAH FOR THE LIBERATED LAMB, which serves as a guide for "a vegetarian (Passover) Seder that celebrates compassion for all creatures".
Here are just a few more interesting statements and quotes from the Jewish tradition that are of relevance here.
According to Rabbi Sidney Jacobs, author of the THE JEWISH WORD BOOK:
The bottom line is that there can be no "humane" procedure when slaughter is involved, nor can factory farming ever be made merciful. Ironically, the dilemma of Jewish ritual slaughter could be resolved by switching to a vegan diet, the grain-based diet set forth in Genesis.
[from "A Jewish voice for Animals" published in THE ANIMALS' VOICE, 1989 (Aug): 48-9]
From THE NINE QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK ABOUT JUDAISM by Dennis Prager and Rabbi Telushkin:
Keeping kosher is Judaism's compromise with its ideal vegetarianism. Ideally, according to Judaism, man would confine his eating to fruits and vegetables and not kill animals for food.
According to Rabbi Simon Glazer's GUIDE TO JUDAISM:
It appears that the first intention of the Maker was to have men live on a strictly vegetarian diet. The very earliest periods of Jewish history are marked with humanitarian conduct towards the lower animal kingdom...It is clearly established that the ancient Hebrews knew, and perhaps were the first among men to know, that animals feel and suffer pain.
From the ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA:
According to rabbinic tradition, interpreting the Biblical record, mankind was not allowed to eat meat until after the Flood...Once permitted, the consumption of meat remained surrounded with many restrictions. According to the rabbis, the Hebrew word for "desireth" in the verse, "when the Lord thy God shall enlarge thy border and thou shall say: `I will eat flesh,' because thy soul desireth to eat flesh" (Deut. 12:20), has a negative connotation; hence, although it is permitted to slaughter animals for food, this should be done in moderation.
According the ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, 1974:
Moral and legal rules condemning the treatment of animals are based on the principle that animals are part of God's creation towards which man bears responsibility. Laws...make it clear not only that cruelty to animals is forbidden but also that compassion and mercy to them are demanded of may by God...In later rabbinic literature,...great prominence is also given to demonstrating God's mercy to animals, and to the importance of not causing them pain. ...The principle of kindness to animals...is as though God's treatment of man will be according to [people's] treatment of animals".
According to the UNIVERSAL JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA, 1939.
The Jewish attitude toward animals has always been governed by the consideration that they, too, are God's creatures...[and] the obligation to respect and consider the feelings and needs of these lower creatures...The non-canonical...writings strongly urge kindness toward animals, declaring that one who harms an animal harms his own soul". [1:330]
According to Professor Richard Schwartz (author of JUDAISM and VEGETARIANISM):
In Judaism, one who does not treat animals with compassion cannot be regarded as a righteous individual.
[from JUDAISM & ANIMAL RIGHTS]
According to the CODE OF JEWISH LAW:
...it is forbidden, according to the law of the Torah, to inflict pain upon any living creature. On the contrary, it is our duty to relieve the pain of any creature, even if it is ownerless or belongs to a non-Jew.
According to the medieval Hebrew work SEFER CHASIDIM:
Be kind and compassionate to all creatures that the Holy One, blessed be He, created in this world. Never beat nor inflict pain on any animal, beast, bird, or insect. Do not throw stones at a dog or a cat, nor kill flies or wasps.
Everything on this website is copyright © International Vegetarian Union, unless stated otherwise.
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9. Podcasts on the Effects of Ranching and Animal Grazing on Western Lands
Forwarded message from animal rights activist Mike Hudak:
As you may know, search engines do not index mp3 files. As I have recently produced a couple of podcasts in this format and would like them to be more widely known, I have today produced an individual webpage for each podcast. These webpages will, of course, in due time be indexed by search engines.
I just pass along this information to a few people who have websites and may wish to incorporate these links. In the future I'll supply the corresponding webpage at the time I announce the podcast.
Here are the appropriate links:
Ranchers Mortgage Our Natural Capital:
http://mikehudak.com/Articles/MikeHudak_Podcast090115.html
Politics Trumps Science in Rangeland Management:
http://mikehudak.com/Articles/MikeHudak_Podcast090318.html
Best regards,
Mike
--
Mike Hudak, PhD
Chair, Sierra Club National Grazing Committee
Director, Public Lands Without Livestock
Author, Western Turf Wars
38 Oliver Street
Binghamton, NY 13904-1516
Personal website: http://mikehudak.com
Biome Books: http://biomebooks.com
MySpace Profile: http://www.myspace.com/plwl
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10. Artic Ice Melting Faster Than Expected
[Thanks to Lionel Friedberg, producer of “A Sacred Duty” for sending us this article.]
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer Randolph E. Schmid, Ap Science Writer -
WASHINGTON - Arctic sea ice is melting so fast most of it could be gone in 30 years. A new analysis of changing conditions in the region, using complex computer models of weather and climate, says conditions that had been forecast by the end of the century could occur much sooner.
A change in the amount of ice is important because the white surface reflects sunlight back into space. When ice is replaced by dark ocean water that sunlight can be absorbed, warming the water and increasing the warming of the planet.
The finding adds to concern about climate change caused by human activities such as burning fossil fuels, a problem that has begun receiving more attention in the Obama administration and is part of the G20 discussions under way in London.
"Due to the recent loss of sea ice, the 2005-2008 autumn central Arctic surface air temperatures were greater than 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit) above" what would be expected, the new study reports.
That amount of temperature increase had been expected by the year 2070.
The new report by Muyin Wang of the Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Ocean and James E. Overland of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, appears in Friday's edition of the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
They expect the area covered by summer sea ice to decline from about 2.8 million square miles normally to 620,000 square miles within 30 years.
Last year's summer minimum was 1.8 million square miles in September, second lowest only to 2007 which had a minimum of 1.65 million square miles, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
The Center said Arctic sea ice reached its winter maximum for this year at 5.8 million square miles on Feb. 28. That was 278,000 square miles below the 1979-2000 average making it the fifth lowest on record. The six lowest maximums since 1979 have all occurred in the last six years.
Overland and Wang combined sea-ice observations with six complex computer models used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to reach their conclusions. Combining several computer models helps avoid uncertainties caused by natural variability.
Much of the remaining ice would be north of Canada and Greenland, with much less between Alaska and Russia in the Pacific Arctic.
"The Arctic is often called the Earth's refrigerator because the sea ice helps cool the planet by reflecting the sun's radiation back into space," Wang said in a statement. "With less ice, the sun's warmth is instead absorbed by the open water, contributing to warmer temperatures in the water and the air."
The study was supported by the NOAA Climate Change Program Office, the Institute for the Study of the Ocean and Atmosphere and the U.S. Department of Energy.
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On the Net:
NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov
Joint Institute for the Study of Atmosphere and Ocean: http://jisao.washington.edu/
National Snow and Ice Data Center: http://nsidc.org/
Geophysical Research Letters: http://www.agu.org/journals/gl/
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11. Global warming May Wipe Out Canadian Winter Sports
Global warming could all but wipe out ice skating, cross-country skiing, and low-elevation downhill skiing by 2050 if no action is taken, Canadian eco-guru David Suzuki warns.
http://lists.grist.org/t?ctl=3D4B7:262C6417D8F048A18FD66FB142E72114&
* Climate & Energy
David Suzuki
Vancouverite David Suzuki and his namesake foundation surface in the U.S. news from time to time, typically through climate initiatives and ocean conservation initiatives such as its estimate of the carbon impact of the 2010 Winter Olympics.
But for our Northern neighbors, the 73-year-old Suzuki is a household name. He's become the Canada's preeminent environmental activist-David Roberts likened him to the Canadian Al Gore. At this weeks' World Conference on Sport and the Environment, I asked some youngish Canucks about his first claim to fame. They weren't sure, they said. He's sort of always been around. (The often-helpful interwebs mention he was a genetist and longtime host of the Canadian Broadcast Corporation's science TV series, “The Nature of Things.”)
When the Vancouver Organizing Committee released a plan yesterday to make the 2010 Winter Games carbon neutral, reporters immediately turned to Suzuki and the policy wonks at his foundation for an assessment. The foundation provided the orginal forecast of the carbon impact of the 2010 Olympics -- 300,000 tons. But it hadn't seen VANOC's offset purchasing plan before yesterday, so it couldn't vouch for it.
“I would plead with VANOC to please set the bar high,” said Suzuki.
He held his own news conference to announce the release of On Thin Ice, a report on the threat climate change poses to winter sports in Canada. It found that global warming could all but wipe out ice skating, cross-country skiing, and low-elevation downhill skiing by 2050 if no action is taken.
Suzuki mentioned two “iconic Canadian images” that are already endangered by climate change - polar bears and backyard skating rinks, like the one on which a young Wayne Gretzky learned to skate.
As he's done before, Suzuki enlisted Canadian athletes to help make his case. Professional snowboarder Justin Lamoureaux, who trains in Whistler, B.C., said he's already found his training season and availabe space shrunk by melting glaciers.
“Imagine a Canada with no pond hockey, no snow days, no skiing,” he said. “No snowmen, snowballs or snow forts and less maple syrup. As much as some people dislike it, winter is Canada.”
Suzuki also offered a harsh critique of the Conservative-led federal government and its lack of climate action, and of the national media's downplaying of the climate issue in last fall's election.
“Hundreds of thousands of Canadians are already acting at the individual level, but we need leadership at the federal level,” he said.
The foundation's report concludes with a call for national carbon regulation.
“Canada is a northern country,” Suzuki said. “We are probably as vulnerable to the effects of greenhouse gases and global warming as any country in the world.”
Jonathan Hiskes is a Seattle freelance journalist who formerly covered rural and environmental issues in southern Indiana.
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12. How YOU Can Support The Historic Bill to Ban all Fur in Israel
Thanks to JVNA advisor Rina Deych for forwarding this message to us. I went to the web site and indicated by support for the bill, and I hope that you will also do so.
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Support needed for The Historic Bill to Ban all Fur in Israel
The first nationwide bill to ban all fur has been proposed in Israel.
We need international support to help push the bill through into law:
http://www.antifurcoalition.org/support-bill-int.html
Thank you very much!
Cheers,
Jane Halevy
International Anti-Fur Coalition
http://www.antifurcoalition.org
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13. Switch to Vegetarianism Would Have a Great Societal Effect
http://www.alternet.org/
The Startling Effects of Going Vegetarian for Just One Day
[Many very interesting facts given. Read them and then consider how great it would be if there was a major switch toward vegetarianism.]
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14. FARM Schedules AR2009 Conference
Forwarded message from the Farm Animal Rights Movement:
You're Invited to Our Movement's Annual Conference
We are pleased to invite you to take part in the Animal Rights 2009 National Conference, our movement's largest and oldest annual gathering.
The Conference will be held on July 16-20th at the Westin LAX Hotel near Los Angeles Airport. This venue offers $95 rooms, accommodations for dogs, cruelty-free bedding and personal care products, $6 parking, free internet access, magnificent meeting and exhibit space, vegan cuisine, and free airport shuttle.
The program will focus on effective tactics to promote animal rights and veganism, to stop federal repression of animal activism, and to engage other social justice movements. We will have eyewitness accounts of the whale wars, California's Prop 2 initiative, and other high-profile campaigns.
We are maintaining the traditional five-track structure (problems/issues, organizing, remedies, raps/reports, and videos). Saturday night will feature the traditional Awards Banquet. Monday following the conference will offer intensive seminars, lobbying, and demonstrations planned by participating groups.
To register, visit our Registration page or call us at 888-327-6872. Or send a check to FARM/AR2009, 10101 Ashburton Lane, Bethesda MD 20817.
To book a discounted room, visit our Lodging page or call Westin reservations at 800-228-3000 or 301-216-5858 and mention Animal Rights 2009.
Contact our registrar for work scholarships and low-income discounts and housing.
10101 Ashburton Lane, Bethesda MD 20817;
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15. One Minute Video Shows the Dietary/Global Warming Connection Very Well
Thanks to author and JVNA activist Dan Brook for sending us the message and link below:
Here's a 1-minute Greenpeace video making the clear connection between cattle ranching/meat eating and Amazon Rainforest destruction/global warming:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNx51WqBBgM
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16. Press Release on World Health Day 2009
Medical doctors blame lifestyle for obesity epidemics and related illnesses
World Health Day 2009
Press Statement - SHARAN
7 April 2009
In spite of a multitude of initiatives the surge in obesity is ongoing and seems unstoppable. This preventable health risk is leading to an increased number of connected illnesses like heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, rheumatism and cancer, and today is supersedes even infectious illnesses like malaria
and tuberculosis in the third world.
According to groups of medical doctors all over the world working to prevent and reverse diseases, this epidemic is man-made and can easily be averted by a
diet that is anatomically suitable to our species.
All animal products, including dairy, are rich in fat and cholesterol. It's impossible to remove all this because every cell contains fat. We are also consuming far too many proteins and acid yielding foods. Refined foods like white rice, white flour, vegetable fats and sugar add insult to injury.
Our anatomy is designed to process mainly complex carbohydrates which can be obtained from whole plant based sources, which reduce obesity, thus at the same time decrease the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Studies have
shown that vegetarians and particularly vegans have a lower average body mass index than meat eaters, warranting the adoption of a plant-based diet as a most beneficial step for the individual as well as for public health systems.
According to the American Dietetic Association position paper, appropriately planned vegetarian diets have been shown to be healthful, nutritionally adequate, and beneficial in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. However, paving the way for such a rational diet at a large level requires education, de-conditioning and government incentives.
For that reason governments must stop subsidizing animal agriculture. Moreover we require health education and cooking classes in schools, healthy food in cafeterias and the official encouragement to adopt a whole food plant based diet.
In this time of economic crises, when the public health system may not be able to meet medical costs for all, governments must aim for prevention rather than cure.
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SHARAN
22 Matru Chhaya, 70 Marine Drive,
Mumbai 400 020
India
http://sharan-india.org/health/
For more information and a list of medical doctors all over the world who are using this method to prevent and reverse diseases in their patients, please contact
Dr. Nandita Shah, shahnandi@gmail.com,
Tel: 9869454909, 0413 2623007, 0413 2622646
This press statement is endorsed by
AgireOra Network
www.agireora.org
Italy
European Vegetarian and Animal News Alliance (EVANA
www.evana.org
International Nutrition Ecology International Centre - NEIC
www.nutritionecology.org
International Swiss Union for Vegetarianism
www.vegetarismus.ch
Switzerland
Veg Climate Alliance (pending)
www.VegClimateAlliance.org
International
Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians (SERV) (pending)
www.serv-online.org/
United States
Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) (pending)
www.JewishVeg.com
North America
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