Shalom everyone,
This special Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) Newsletter considers strategy ideas to get our Jewish vegetarian and environmental messages into the mainstream of Judaism today.
The newsletter has the following items:
1. JVNA Pre-Rosh Hashanah Ad/Suggestions and Contributions Very Welcome
2. Campaign to Start Dialogs With Rabbis and Other Jewish Leaders
3. Letter-Writing Campaign
4. A Call for Jews and Jewish Groups to Observe Parshat Noach, October 23-24, as “Global Climate Healing Shabbat”
5. A draft message to be sent to vegetarian, animal rights, environmental and related groups and individuals urging them to help increase awareness of the VERY important connections between animal-based diets and global warming
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. JVNA Pre-Rosh Hashanah Ad/Suggestions and Contributions Very Welcome
Since we have had limited success in getting our messages out, I am considering sending ads to some important Jewish publications. Two drafts are below and your suggestions about them are very welcome. Thanks.
We have some funds for paying for these ads, but we could be far more effective if we had additional money. Because the issues are so urgent, with our very imperiled planet rapidly approaching an unprecedented catastrophe, please consider making a generous, tax-deductible contribution to JVNA. Methods of doing so are at JewishVeg.com/action, at the bottom of the page.
As I have indicated before, I think the most important contribution you can make toward the future of children and grandchildren and all future generations is to contribute to groups like JVNA, that are seeking to awaken people to the need to switch to plant-based diets in response to the many current threats to humanity.
Our ad draft (and then a shorter version) follow:
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[JVNA logo will be at the top of the page.]
HIGH HOLIDAY GREETINGS AND
SOME POINTS TO PONDER
WE wish all our fellow Jews a very good, sweet, healthy, peaceful year. And we hope the holidays and future Jewish life will be enhanced by a consideration of the following:
As we pray for a year of good health, shouldn't we consider switching to plant-based diets that can prevent, alleviate and, in some cases, reverse many diseases?
As we ask for God's compassion during the coming year, shouldn't we consider that, contrary to Judaism's teachings on the proper treatment of animals, ten billion farmed animals, including most raised for kosher markets, are slaughtered annually, after being raised under very cruel conditions on factory farms?
As we vow to live more by Jewish values, shouldn't we consider that the production and consumption of meat and other animal products violate basic Jewish teachings about protecting our health, treating animals with compassion, preserving the environment, conserving natural resources, helping hungry people and pursuing peace and justice.
As we celebrate the creation of the world, shouldn't we consider that animal-based agriculture, according to a 2006 UN report, is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions (18 percent, in CO2 equivalents) than all the cars and other means of transportation worldwide combined, and this is contributing significantly to the world heading toward an unprecedented catastrophe from global climate change and other environmental threats?
Since, G-d's compassion is over all of His creatures (Psalms 145:9), shouldn't we observe the kapparot rite before Yom Kippur by applying the Jewishly acceptable way of using money, rather than mishandling and killing chickens?
Since Judaism welcomes discussions as a way to get to the truth, please accept our invitation for a thoughtful dialog/debate on “Should Jews Be Vegetarians?”
For more information, please visit JewishVeg.com, the Jewish Vegetarians of North America web site; JewishVeg.com/Schwartz, a site that has over 140 articles and about 36 podcasts of talks and interviews and ASacredDuty.com, where you can see our acclaimed very pro-Jewish, one-hour documentary “A Sacred Duty: Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal the World.”
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[JVNA logo will be at the top of the page.]
HOW ABOUT A HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, FOR HUNGRY PEOPLE AND ANIMALS?
We wish all our fellow Jews a very good, sweet, healthy, peaceful year. And, as we ponder our deeds in the past year, pray for good health and a good year, and think of ways of being a better Jew, please consider the many ways that switching to plant-based diets is most consistent with Jewish values:
HEALTH: Switching to plant-based diets can prevent, alleviate and, in some cases, reverse many diseases?
COMPASSION TO ANIMALS: Ten billion farmed animals, including most raised for kosher markets, are slaughtered annually in the US alone, after being raised under very cruel conditions on factory farms?
PRESERVING THE ENVIRONMENT: According to a 2006 UN report, is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions (18 percent, in CO2 equivalents) than all the cars and other means of transportation worldwide combined, and this is contributing significantly to the world heading toward an unprecedented catastrophe from global climate change and other environmental threats?
CONSERVING RESOURCES AND HELPING HUNGRY PEOPLE: Animal-based agriculture requires far more water, land, grain, energy and other resources than plant-based diets.
Since, G-d's compassion is over all of His creatures (Psalms 145:9), please observe the kapparot rite before Yom Kippur by applying the Jewishly acceptable way of using money, rather than mishandling and killing chickens?
We welcome thoughtful dialogs/debates on “Should Jews Be Vegetarians?”
For more information, please visit JewishVeg.com, JewishVeg.com/Schwartz, and ASacredDuty.com, where you can see our acclaimed very pro-Jewish, one-hour documentary “A Sacred Duty: Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal the World.”
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2. Campaign to Start Dialogs With Rabbis and Other Jewish Leaders
We have close to 1,000 people receiving these email newsletters, and some are passed on to additional people. What an impact we would have if each person receiving it had a personal meeting or just a conversation with just one local rabbi, Jewish educator or other Jewish leader -- even if it was only to suggest that the Jewish leader give a sermon or other talk or a class on Jewish teachings on vegetarianism and related issues. Unfortunately, the Jewish establishment has generally been ducking the many moral issues related to the production and consumption of meat. At a time when animal-based diets are having such devastating effects on human health and the planet's ecosystems, we should respectfully challenge Jewish leaders to get involved.
Perhaps volunteer to give a talk, lead a discussion or show “A Sacred Duty” at a local school, synagogue or JCC. As indicated many times in the past, there is an abundance of background material at the JVNA web site (JewishVeg.com) and in my many articles, talks and interviews at JewishVeg.com/Schwartz. Many thanks for your consideration and involvement.
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3. Letter-Writing Campaign
If the nearly 1,000 people getting JVNA newsletters wrote an average of one letter a month to Jewish and other publications, what an impact that could have. There are articles almost every day about health, environmental, resource scarcity and other vegetarian-related issues, and responses pointing out vegetarian connections could be very valuable. Once again, material at JewishVeg.com and JewishVeg.com/Schwartz can provide valuable background material. Thanks.
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4. A Call for Jews and Jewish Groups to Observe Parshat Noach, October 23-24, as “Global Climate Healing Shabbat”
The initiative for a “Global Climate Healing Shabbat” was actually initiated by JVNA, but we happily turned it over to the Shalom Center, since they have greater contacts and resources and to avoid the implication that it was primarily a pitch for vegetarianism. Of course, it is important that vegetarianism be on the agenda for that special Shabbat.
PLEASE urge your local rabbis, Synagogues, JCCs and other Jewish groups to endorse this very important effort. MANY THANKS.
Suggestions VERY welcome.
A CALL FOR JEWS TO OBSERVE SHABBAT NOACH, OCTOBER 23-24, AS "GLOBAL CLIMATE HEALING SHABBAT"
[Message from Rabbi Arthur Waskow of the Shalom Center]
This fall, Shabbat Noach -- when Jews around the world read the Torah portion about the Flood, Noah, the Ark, and the Rainbow -- comes on October 23-24, the day when a number of experts on the global climate crisis have called for world-wide actions to protect our planet from climate disaster.
We urge all Jewish communities to observe that Shabbat Noach as "Global Climate Healing Shabbat," with special prayers, sermons, lectures, debates, panel discussions, resolutions, kiddushes, meals, nature-walks, stories for children, invitations to public officials and environmental activists, and other means of bringing Jewish commitment to bear on healing the earth from the dangers that over-use of fossil fuels is bringing upon us all.
This Torah passage lends itself to focusing on the danger of destruction of life on our planet, and also on the actions we need to take to prevent destruction and preserve the web of life in which the human race has emerged and created civilization.
[Please see the statement we are appending [below] about the worldwide scheduled events and the key planners.]
The international observance of "Global Climate Healing Shabbat Noach" is a prelude to the crucial United Nations conference on global warming scheduled for Copenhagen in December, 2009.
Almost daily reports of widespread droughts, floods, storms, wildfires and melting polar ice caps, mountain snowcaps, glaciers, and the migration of animals cry out to us for action. Passage after passage of Torah and secular Jewish writings shout out to us that as Jews we must act more vigorously, not only in private and communal households but in shaping public policy.
We urge our own members and all Jews to contact local rabbis, Jewish educators and other scholars and communal leaders to plan “Global Climate Change Shabbat” events that will make this Shabbat the beginning of a truly transformative time.
We call on Jews not only to green our own households and communal buildings but also to work for major policy changes away from fossil fuels and toward shifts in energy use, transportation, food production, housing, and other dimensions of our society.
Jewish tradition about caring for the poor also guides us to make sure that industries and regions especially affected must get help from the whole society, and that poor countries also get special help to develop on a new path and to ward off the destructive effects of climate change.
We hope the continuing momentum of Global Crisis Shabbat will help the December UN conference in Copenhagen on the global climate crisis make the decisions necessary to greatly reduce threats to our climate.
Signed:
Rabbi Steve Gutow, president, for the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.
Rabbi Arthur Waskow, director, for The Shalom Center, which initiated this call.
Nigel Savage, director, for Hazon.
Debra Kolodny, director, for ALEPH : Alliance for Jewish Renewal
Richard Schwartz, president, for Jewish Vegetarian Society of North America
Rabbi Amy Eilberg of the St. Paul Interfaith Network
Ellen Bernstein, author, The Trees Birthday and The Splendor of Creation
Rabbi Margot Stein, co-author, Guarding the Garden
Rabbi Mordechai Liebling,
[Partial list: Your signature welcome]
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Related Press Release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JUNE 18, 2009
JEWISH GROUPS URGE SHABBAT NOACH, OCT. 23-24, BE OBSERVED AS "GLOBAL CLIMATE HEALING SHABBAT"
Further info: Rabbi Arthur Waskow, 215/844-8494
A number of Jewish groups, including the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (the national umbrella group on public policy) today called for October 23-24, 2009, to be declared a “Global Climate Healing Shabbat,” in conjunction with many global climate-related events scheduled for Saturday, October 24. [Please see statement below this release about the worldwide scheduled events and the key planners.]
That Shabbat is in Jewish tradition Shabbat Noach, when Jews around the world read the Torah portion about the Flood, Noah, the Ark, and the Rainbow. This reading lends itself to focusing on the danger of destruction of life on our planet, and also on the actions we need to take to prevent destruction and preserve the web of life in which the human race has emerged and created civilization. The Call to shape Shabbat Noach in this way was initiated by The Shalom Center.
The international observance of "Global Climate Healing Shabbat Noach" is a prelude to the crucial United Nations conference on global warming scheduled for Copenhagen in December, 2009. The Jewish groups are urging that there be many global climate-related educational events that are consistent with the laws and spirit of Shabbat on that day.
“Almost daily reports of widespread droughts, floods, storms, wildfires and melting polar ice caps, mountain snowcaps, and glaciers indicate that we are already in a lot of trouble. So much trouble that I feel the words 'global warming' give people a false sense of comfort, and I call the danger 'global scorching' instead,” commented Rabbi Arthur Waskow, director of The Shalom Center, author of Down-to-Earth Judaism, and editor of two major anthologies of eco-Judaism. “Many climate scientists are projecting far higher temperatures and some, including James Hansen of NASA, are warning that the climate crisis will spin out of control with disastrous consequences in a few years, unless major changes soon occur.”
Rabbi Steve Gutow, President of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, pointed out that "The truth that climate change is caused by us humans is no longer debatable. The science is clear. The danger to our way of life on this planet is equally clear. We, as a Jewish community, who ought to take the lead in trying to stop this scourge, have not done so. It is time to change that. Dedicating Shabbat Noach to increasing awareness and action is a good way to move this process along."
Another leader of eco-Jewish activism, Nigel Savage, Hazon's director, added: “Organizations like Teva, Adamah, the Jewish Farm School, and Hazon have grown so strong precisely because we're striking a chord with so many people, especially the best of our young people. Jewish tradition cares about the world, and Jewish leaders and institutions, increasingly, want to make a real difference. This winter - from Parshat Noach in October to the Copenhagen Conference in early December, offers a unique opportunity for the Jewish community to stand up and speak out. And, most of all, to start a determined multi-year campaign to effect change within and beyond the Jewish world.”
"Israel is especially threatened,” stated Richard Schwartz of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America. “It is now facing the worst drought in its history, and in 2007 the Israel Union for Environmental Defense projected that, if present trends continue, global warming will produce major heat waves, a decrease in rainfall of 20 - 30 percent, severe storms and a flooding of the coastal plain where most Israelis live by a rising Mediterranean Sea.”
“Global Climate Healing Shabbat” events could include sermons, lectures, debates, panel discussions, resolutions, special kiddushes and meals, nature-walks, invitations to public officials and environmental activists, stories for children, and much more. Environmental movies could be shown during or after Shabbat, in accordance with the practice of each congregation.
The Jewish groups plan to urge their members to contact local rabbis, Jewish educators and other scholars and communal leaders to urge them to plan “Global Climate Change Shabbat” events that will make this Shabbat the beginning of a truly transformative time.
Jews need not only to green their own households and communal buildings but also to work for major policy changes away from fossil fuels and toward shifts in energy use, transportation, food production, housing, and other dimensions of our society.
Jewish tradition about caring for the poor also guides us to make sure that industries and regions especially affected must get help from the whole society, and that poor countries also get special help to develop on a new path and to ward off the destructive effects of climate change.
We hope the continuing momentum of Global Crisis Shabbat will help the December UN conference make the decisions necessary to greatly reduce threats to our climate.
Information on Jewish teachings on environmental stewardship and sustainability can be found at the websites of The Shalom Center 's Green Menorah Covenant (http://www.shalomctr.org), the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish life (COEJL - www.coejl.org), Canfei Nesharim (www.canfeiNesharim.org), Hazon, Teva, Adamah Fellowship, Jewish Farm School, http://www.shalomctr.org, Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA - JewishVeg.com).
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5. A draft message to be sent to vegetarian, animal rights, environmental and related groups and individuals urging them to help increase awareness of the VERY important connections between animal-based diets and global warming
{My article below makes a comprehensive case for why a major societal shift to plant-based diets is essential to effectively respond to global warming threats. Please help to make other people aware of it. Many thanks.]
Veganism's Essential Role In Preventing
an Unprecedented Global Catastrophe
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D
Synopsis: The world is rapidly approaching an unprecedented catastrophe from global climate change and other environmental threats, and a major societal shift to plant-based (vegan) diets is an essential part of the necessary responses to avoid that catastrophe. Since methane emitted by farmed animals is in the atmosphere for less than 20 years and is 72 times as potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide during that time, reducing the number of farmed animals would have a major, rapid effect in reducing climate change. A major shift to plant-centered diets would have many other benefits, including reducing diseases, hunger, water and energy shortages, rapid species extinction, water pollution, destruction of rainforests and other valuable habitats and soil erosion and depletion.
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Global catastrophe or sustainable future? It will depend largely on our food choices!
It may seem naïve to argue that dietary shifts can make a major difference in responding to today's many crises, but if we stopped raising the current 60 billion farmed animals that are slaughtered annually worldwide, it would make a tremendous difference with regard to many, if not all, of today's current problems. Let us consider how.
First, it is important to recognize that the world is rapidly heading toward an unprecedented catastrophe from global climate change and other environmental threats. There are almost weekly reports of severe droughts, heat waves, storms, flooding, wildfires and meltings of polar icecaps and glaciers. [1] While these events have occurred due to an average temperature increase of less than 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit in the past 100 years, global climate scientists, including those with the Nobel Prize-winning UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), are projecting an increase of from 3 to 11 degrees Fahrenheit in the next 100 years [2], which would have devastating effects on humanity and all of life on the planet.
And we are talking about threats that must be addressed very soon. Some climate scientists, including James Hansen, director of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Goddard Institute for Space Studies, are warning that global warming could reach a tipping point and spin out of control within a few years, with disastrous consequences, unless major changes soon occur. [3] Scientists at the February, 2009 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science indicated that global warming will likely increase more rapidly than expected because greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) have increased faster than recent predictions and increased temperatures are setting off positive feedback (self-reinforcing) mechanisms in global ecosystems. [4]
There is increasing awareness of the need to make major changes in many phases of society to reduce global climate change. However, most lists of recommendations ignore or give little attention to the impact of our diets on GHGs. A landmark 2006 report by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization estimated that livestock production globally is responsible for more GHGs (in CO2 equivalents) than the world's entire transportation sector combined (18 percent of worldwide anthropogenic GHGs for livestock vs. 13.5 percent for transportation). [5] The report, “Livestock's Long Shadow,” also projects that the world's current population of about 60 billion farmed animals will double in 50 years if human population growth and dietary trends continue. [6] The resulting increase in GHGs would largely negate reduced GHG emissions from improved efficiencies in transportation, electricity and other sectors and conservation steps, and make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to reach the GHG reductions that climate experts think are essential to avoid a climate disaster.
Expert recognition of the importance of diet in preventing global warming is growing. In the Fall of 2008, Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the IPCC, which shared a Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore in 2008, called on people in the developed world to "give up meat for one day [a week] initially, and decrease [meat consumption] from there.” [7] More recently, James Hansen, perhaps the most prominent scientific advocate of aggressive action against global warming -- told an interviewer:
"... if you eat further down on the food chain rather than animals, which have produced many greenhouse gases, and used much energy in the process of growing that meat, you can actually make a bigger contribution in that way than just about anything. So, that, in terms of individual action, is perhaps the best thing you can do." [8]
The main reason that animal agriculture's contribution is so great is that farmed animals, especially cattle and other ruminants, emit methane as part of their digestive processes (belching and farting) and methane is about 23 times as potent as CO2 in producing global warming, when standard 100 year periods are considered. [9] However, since most methane survives in the atmosphere for less than 20 years, if a 20 year period is considered, methane is about 72 times as potent as CO2. [10] (While the 23 number is more commonly used, the 72 factor is really far more meaningful, since the methane is not acting at all for at least 80 years of the 100 year standard period.) By contrast, CO2 is in the atmosphere for hundreds of years and its impact is reduced by the predominantly cooling aerosols emitted by typical CO2 sources like smokestacks and tailpipes. [11]
Since methane contributes a significant amount of GHGs (in CO2 equivalents) [12] and since farmed animals and their manure are by far the major source of methane, and since methane is in the atmosphere for only a short time, a major societal shift to plant-based diets would have a substantial and very rapid effect in reducing global climate change. Having major world leaders call for such a change, preferably after publicly announcing suitable changes in their own diets, could very dramatically increase awareness of the threats of global warming and the need for major dietary and other lifestyle changes. Such changes could provide some breathing space, during which other important changes could be made.
Additional factors that make switches to plant-based diets even more important are: (1) the production of animal products causes about nine percent of total CO2 emissions, from the production of pesticides and fertilizer, use of irrigation pumps, extensive refrigeration and other processes; [13] (2) nitrous oxides are emitted from animals' manure and from chemical fertilizer used to grow feed crops and these gases are almost 300 times as potent as CO2 in producing warming; [14] (3) the burning of rainforests to create grazing land and land to grow feed crops for animals releases substantial CO2 and also destroys trees that would absorb CO2; [15] (4) because they feast on the charred remains of these trees, termites are perhaps the fastest growing animal species on the planet, and they also emit methane as part of their digestive processes. [16] Taking all of the above factors into account, the UN FAO estimate that animal agriculture emits 18 percent of anthropogenic GHGs (in CO2 equivalents) is arguably significantly lower than the true number, as incredible as the 18 percent value is when one considers that percent is more than 30 percent greater than the percent for all the cars, trucks, buses, planes, ships and other means of transportation worldwide combined.
Major shifts to vegan diets would also provide substantial relief to many other threats to humanity:
* Widespread hunger is an increasingly important issue. A June 2009 UN Food and Agriculture report indicated that the number of chronically hungry people passed the one billion mark (almost one person in six) for the first time. [17] An estimated 20 million people, mostly children, die annually from hunger and its effects and many more suffer permanent physical or mental damage due to insufficient nutrition. [18] While more than enough grain is produced today to feed all of the world's people [19], over 70 percent of the grain produced in the United States and almost 40 percent produced worldwide are fed to animals raised for slaughter. [20] The hunger situation is likely to become even more critical as world population continues to increase and droughts, reduced soil fertility, storms and other effects of global warming reduce food production. [21]
* It is projected that half of the world's people will live in areas chronically short of water by 2050. [22] Some climate experts are calling this the “Century of Drought.” [23] Many US regions have experienced severe droughts for the past few years. According to California's governor, the state's drought has resulted in its wildfire season, which used to last a few months, now lasting all year round. [24] Major parts of Australia have experienced drought for ten years, and there are fears that this may become a permanent condition. [25] Israel is facing the worst drought in its history, one so severe that the level in the Sea of Galilee dropped to a level too low to have water pumped from it. [26]
The dietary connection is that it takes up to 14 times as much water per person for a typical animal-based diet than for a vegan diet. [27] The amount of water necessary to raise one steer to maturity would float a naval destroyer. [28] Also, as indicated above, animal-based agriculture contributes significantly to global warming which contributes to droughts and to the melting of glaciers and the reduced flow of rivers and streams and levels of lakes and ponds.
* A recent report by 11 retired US generals and admirals indicated that global warming is a multiplier effect for potential violence. They pointed out that there will be increasing numbers of desperate refugees fleeing floods, storms, droughts, wildfires, heat waves and other conditions caused or worsened by global climate change, and this increases the potential for instability, violence, terrorism and war. [29] Several experts assert that a major factor behind the recent violence in Darfur is the severe drought that has afflicted the area and created many refugees. [30]
* Species of plants and animals are disappearing at what many experts consider the fastest rate in history. One major reason is the rapid destruction of tropical rainforests (where over half of the species of plants and animals live) at a very rapid rate to create pasture land and land to raise feed crops for animals. One study indicated an average of 55 square feet of rainforest are destroyed for every quarter pound hamburger patty produced and exported for consumption in a fast food market. [31] A recent report indicated that our oceans may be virtually free of fish by 2048, because huge trawlers put out very wide nets that capture all marine life in its area. [32]
* There is currently an epidemic of heart disease, various types of cancer and other chronic, degenerative diseases. Efforts to treat these diseases has resulted in soaring medical costs which have resulted in major deficits and other financial problems at national, state and local levels. These financial difficulties reduce money available for environmental protection and for many other essential services. Yet, there is little effort to inform people that well-balanced, nutritious vegan diets can prevent, alleviate and sometimes reverse diseases. Instead, there are major debates about how to end the current dysfunctional medical system, in which millions of people have no or inadequate medical insurance coverage.
* Many more examples of problems made worse by animal-based agriculture can be given related to such issues as the destruction of coral reefs, soil erosion and depletion, animal wastes polluting our waters and animal-initiated diseases such as swine flu.
In view of the above and more, the world's people face a major choice. We can continue basically with current practices as the world continues on its increasingly rapid path to an unparalleled cataclysm. Or we can adopt healthy plant-based diets and other practices that can help shift our very imperiled world to a sustainable path. If we fail to act and soon, how will we explain our inaction to future generations?
1. See, for example, “Climate Change, Global risks, challenges & decisions,” Copenhagen 10-12 March, 2009, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, http://lyceum.anu.edu.au/wp-content/blogs/3/uploads//Synthesis%20Report%20Web.pdf
2. “Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth
Assessment Report,” February, 2007. http://www.ipcc.ch/
3. James Hansen, “Tipping Point: Perspective of a Climatologist,” 2008=2009 State of the World, 6,
http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/2008/StateOfWild_20080428.pdf
4. American Association for the Advancement of Science, February, 2009 annual conference, Public release, “Climate change likely to be more devastating than experts predicted, warns top IPCC scientist,”
http://www.eurekalert.org/aaasnewsroom/2009/index.php?start=25
5. FAO Newsroom, “Livestock a major threat to environment,” November 29. 2006,
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448
6. Ibid.
7. Juliette Jowitt, “UN says eat less meat to curb global warming,” The Observer, September 7, 2008, http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/07/food.foodanddrink
8. Be Veg! Go Green! Save the Planet, February 8, 2008, “Dr. James Hansen: “We have only four years left to act on climate change,” http://veg4planet.blogspot.com/2009/02/dr-james-hansenwe-have-only-four-years.html
9. Noam Mohr, “A New Global Warming Strategy:
How Environmentalists are Overlooking Vegetarianism as the Most Effective Tool Against Climate Change in Our Lifetimes,” Earthsave,
http://www.earthsave.org/globalwarming.htm
10. Supreme Master TV Video, “Methane __ 72 Times the Warming Potential of CO2,” June, 2009,
http://vegclimatealliance.org/methane-72-times-the-warming-potential-of-c02/
11. Same as #9
12. Ibid.
13. UN News Centre Report, “Rearing cattle produces more greenhouse gases than driving cars, UN report warns, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=20772&Cr=global&Cr1=environment
14. Ibid.
15. “Burning rainforests, melting tundra could accelerate global warming well beyond current projections.” mongabay.com, February 16, 2009
http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0216-climate.html
16. Greg Brockberg, “Termites as a Source of Atmospheric Methane,” http://www.iitap.iastate.edu/gcp/studentpapers/1996/atmoschem/brockberg.html
17. UN FAO Report, “1.02 billion people hungry; one sixth of humanity malnourished - more than ever before.” June 19, 2009, http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/20568/icode/
18. “Our Food, Our World,” Earthsave Foundation, 1992, p.6.
19. ”Eating up the World: the Environmental Consequences of Human Food Choices,” 16 page booklet, Vegetarian Network Victoria, 2009,
http://www.vnv.org.au/site/htmfiles/eatinguptheworld.htm
20. GoVeg.com, “Wasted Resources - Food,”
http://www.goveg.com/environment-wastedResources-food.asp
21. Paul Kedrosky, “Lester Brown on the Coming Food Crisis (Again), Infectious Greed, May 20, 2009, http://paul.kedrosky.com/archives/2009/05/lester_brown_on.html
22. Dan Vergano, “Water shortages will leave world in dire straits,” USA Today, January 26, 2003,
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-01-26-water-usat_x.htm
23. Michael McCarthy, “The Century of Drought
One third of the planet will be desert by the year 2100, say climate experts in the most dire warning yet of the effects of global warming,” CommonDreams.org, October 4, 2006,
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1004-02.htm
24. Brad Johnson, The Wonk Room, “”Global Boiling: In California It's 'Fire Season All Year Round,'”
http://wonkroom.thinkprogress.org/2008/11/17/schwarzenegger-always-wildfires/
25. Kristin Underwood, “Australia's Drought Worsens,” Treehugger, February 9, 2008,
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/09/australias-drought-worsens.php
Also: “Report: Climate Change 2009 - Faster Change and More Serious Risks,” Australian Government Department of Climate Change, July 9, 2009,
http://www.anu.edu.au/climatechange/content/news/report-climate-change-2009-faster-change-and-more-serious-risks/
26. Jewish Telegraphic Agency Report, “Israel halts Sea of Galilee water pumping, January 22, 2009, http://jta.org/news/article/2009/01/22/1002430/israel-halts-sea-of-galilee-water-pumping
27. Tell Youth the Truth, “Animal Agriculture Equates to Wasted Resources and environmental Degradation,”
http://www.all-creatures.org/tytt/env-animalag.html
28. “The Browning of America,: Newsweek, February 22, 1981, p. 26.
29. John Timmer, ars technia, “Ex-military leaders call climate change a national security issue,” May 28, 2007, http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070528-ex-military-leaders-call-climate-change-a-national-security-issue.html
30. Jacl Burton, “Climate Change as Catalyst for War: Can We Stop the World's Water Crisis or Is Darfur Only the Beginning,” Suite 101.com,February 11, 2008,
http://war-poverty.suite101.com/article.cfm/war_and_water
31. Crede Calhound, “Kids Can Help Save the Rainforest,”
http://www.deepcreektimes.com/kids/march2005.html
32. John Roach, “Seafood May Be Gone by 2048, Study Says,” National Geographic News, November 2, 2006,
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/11/061102-seafood-threat.html
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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.
FAIR USE NOTICE
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.
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.