Shalom everyone,
This special Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) Online Newsletter is devoted to an update on our great potential to produce several JVNA videos on vegetarianism and on related issues.
It contains the following items:
1. Overview of Where We Stand Now
2. News Release Re the Project
3. Methods to Extend the Value of the Videos
4. How You Can Help
5. Material About Our Producer/Photographer Lionel Friedberg
6. Sample questions for (a) rabbis, (b) doctors, (c) environmentalists, and (d) animal rights activists
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.
As always, your comments and suggestions are very welcome.
Thanks,
Richard
=========================
1.Overview of Where We Stand Now
As indicated in the news release below, JVNA has the potential to produce a number of very exciting videos that can make a major difference in getting our issues onto the Jewish agenda, and possibly other agendas. We have a superb multi-award-winning producer/photographer Lionel Friedberg who is very dedicated to the success of this project, and he is doing it as a labor of love and commitment with no professional fee, but only reimbursement for his expenses and other expenses necessary to produce the videos. As also indicated in the news release, we are starting the project in Israel, where we are already scheduled to interview key Israeli rabbis, environmentalists, health professionals, and animal rights activists, and to visit important vegetarian and environmental communities and groups. After the Israeli trip, we plan to interview key people in the US, and there is a good chance that there will be a second visit to Israel to get additional footage.
The videos that we are planning to produce include:
a. “Judaism and Vegetarianism”
We will try to show the many benefits of vegetarian diets and that animal-based diets violate basic Jewish mandates to preserve our health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, conserve natural resources, and help hungry people.
b. “Vegetarianism in Israel”
We will try to illustrate the many vegetarian aspects of israel, including vegetarian restaurants, vegetarian communities, and vegetarian foods, and also spotlight Israeli vegetarian rabbis and groups.
c. “Environmental Crises in Israel”
We are scheduled to interview Israel’s leading environmentalists and representatives of groups trying to improve Israel’s environment. We plan to consider Judaism’s strong teachings on the environment, Israel’s very serious environmental problems, and what Israeli groups are doing to reduce these problems.
d. “Judaism and Health”
Through interviews with many health professional and others, we will try to discuss Judaism’s teachings on the preservation of health, how poor dietary and other lifestyle habits are causing many health problems among Jews and others, and how a shift toward vegetarianism could prevent and in some cases reverse many degenerative diseases.
e. “The Israel Jewish Vegetarian Society”
Philip Pick, the founder of the London-based International Jewish Vegetarian Society had a long-time dream to establish a center in Jerusalem. His dream came true shortly before his death, and this video would explore the center and its activities. We have a major event scheduled there in which many of the group’s leaders and activists and past speakers will speak, and this will form a major part of this video.
f. Videos of interviews of rabbis, environmentalists, medical professionals. And vegetarian and animal rights activists
I envision a series of about half-hour videos that will provide very valuable archival material.
---------------------------------------------
Some of the people and communities that we will be videotaping in Israel are indicated in the news release below.
Please consider the many ways that you can help in item 4 below.
=========================
2. News Release Re the Project
For Immediate Release:
November 1, 2005
CONTACT:
Professor Richard Schwartz, 718-761-5876 (rschw12345@aol.com)
AWARD WINNING PHOTOGRAPHER/PRODUCER VISITING ISRAEL SEEKING FOOTAGE FOR VIDEOS
Lionel Friedberg, a recipient of many professional awards including an Emmy Award for photography and film production will be visiting Israel from November 15 to December 6 to gather footage for videos on "Judaism and Vegetarianism," "Vegetarianism in Israel," “Judaism and Health,” “Israel’s Environmental Crises,” and others. He will be joined for most of his visit by Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D., author of “Judaism and Vegetarianism,” “Judaism and Global Survival” and over 100 articles at JewishVeg.com/schwartz, and president of Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA), the group that is sponsoring and will promote the videos.
Friedberg and Schwartz will interview many Israeli rabbis, environmentalists, health professionals, and scholars, including:
* Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen, Ashkenazic Chief Rabbi of Haifa;
* Rabbi David Rosen, former Chief Rabbi of ireland;
* Rabbi David Golinkin, president of the Solomon Schechter Institute, where Israeli Conservative rabbis are educated;
* Rabbi Adam Frank, Congregation Moreshet Yisrael, Israel’s largest Conservative synagogue;
* Dr. Alon Tal, director of the Arava Institute of Environmental Studies at Kibbutz Ketura and founder and board chair of Adam Teva V'Din: The Israel Union for Environmental defense;
* Dr. Jeremy Benstein, Leader at The Heschel Center for Environmental Learning and Leadership;
* Leaders of the Israeli Union for Environmental Defense (IUED) and the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI), Israel’s largest environmental groups;
* Dr. Daniel Keret, a specialist in preventing and, in some cases, reversing, diseases through dietary changes and other lifestyle changes.
Others to be announced when confirmations are received.
Friedberg and Schwartz will also visit and videotape scenes at the Arava Institute of Environmental Studies at Kibbutz Ketura, Amirim (Israel’s vegetarian community), other environmental sites, vegetarian restaurants, supermarkets and health food stores, hospitals, and several other places.
JVNA is planning a major campaign to use the videos to get issues related to diet, health, environmental stewardship, and the proper treatment of animals onto the Jewish agenda.
Schwartz stated, "It is essential that Jewish values be applied to today’s many environmental and health threats. A shift toward vegetarianism has become a Jewish imperative because the production and consumption of animal products is inconsistent with Jewish teachings on preserving human life, treating animals with compassion, protecting the environment, conserving natural resources, and helping hungry people. And it is a societal imperative because animal-based agriculture is a significant cause of global warming, widening water shortages, rapid species extinction, and many other societal problems."
On November 24 at the Orthodox Union’s Israel Center in Jerusalem, starting at 7 PM, Schwartz will discuss how a shift toward vegetarianism can help improve human health, move the planet to a more sustainable path, and revitalize Judaism, and Friedberg will discuss the Jewish community of South Africa, based on his series of films about it.
=========================
3. Ideas to increase the Outreach Potential of the Videos
I received the message below with many valuable suggestions for extending the effectiveness of the video from an anonymous JVNA newsletter reader. My comments and additions are in brackets.
Dear Richard,
Glad to hear about your potential video. Few suggestions:
a) Consider distribution also via CD (for PCs) and DVD. Please note that
many Orthodox Jews and surely "charedi" families have no video/TV but may have a computer. [Lionel points out that most of the distribution of the video will unquestionably be on DVD. VHS is slowly becoming history.]
b) Internet posting of both the video, as segments, and its audio track (with stills of corresponding video track). Your JVNA site and "mirror sites" would be ideal. [We could try to get groups like Jews for Animal Rights (JAR), Concern for Helping Animals in Israel (CHAI), PETA, Earthsave, Vegsource, etc., to carry or link to our video.]
c) Find something to do with material which does not fit into your 30 minute goal [for the “Judaism and Vegetarianism” and other main videos]. Maybe much of this could be distributed as an auxiliary video/CD/DVD - as named segments. [Yes, since there will probably be much valuable material that will have to be left out of the main videos, due to time considerations. I think that it would be wonderful if we could turn each interview of a key Jewish vegetarian into a 30 minute or so segment that could be used on radio and TV programs. It would be great if we could have weekly programs on community TV and/or on cable or public TV on vegetarian-related themes and these 30 minute segments could be used for that.]
d) Possibly consider a version which is still about Judaism and vegetarianism, but can be distributed to non-Jews -- many of whom may find the subject of much interest. [Lionel comments: Of course. But I’m hoping that the Jewish one will be suitable for general audiences anyway. After all, it’s all about peace, mercy, compassion, health and environmental concerns. These are applicable to the value sets of most people. I, Richard, agree completely. I hope that the Levy rye bread ad will be applicable to our video: “You don’t have to be Jewish to appreciate it.” I think we will have a Jewish-centered video, but that it will also have a universal message.]
e) Consider encouraging people to duplicate and distribute --- perhaps in
spirit of Open Source in software. [Yes, we are primarily interested in spreading our messages as widely as possible. We are, however, planning to copyright the material to avoid potential misuse.]
f) Probably your friends in Anonymous or elsewhere in Israel would be able to find resources to either subtitle or re-narrate into Hebrew. [I am all for a version that Hebrew speakers will be able to appreciate. We have many Israeli activists who could help us with the translation and distribution. We would investigate opportunities to get the video onto Israeli TV.
g) Setting up a permanent Web based discussion forum could be of value. [To facilitate this and also discussions after video showings, I plan to have JVNA prepare background study guides.]
In summary, these are 7 very good ideas to extend the value of the videos. Comments/suggestions for further extensions very welcome.
Lionel adds: Please do not forget to include the potency and power of the internet. The JVNA videos (or sections thereof) can easily be posted on a website, or even downloaded as files for showing on computers or for burning DVDs in schools, homes, academic institutions, etc. etc. etc. Syd Baumel adds: Consider making these available online the way PBS has its "watch the full interview at pbs.org" feature on Frontline and other documentaries.
=========================
4. How You Can Help
As indicated, we have a wonderful opportunity to use the power of videos and modern technology to educate people on Jewish teachings on vegetarianism, health, the environment, the proper treatment of animals, and related issues. Having Lionel Friedberg, a superb photographer/ producer working with us greatly enhances our chances for success. It is essential that we make the best of our opportunities, so please consider helping if you can in one or more of the following ways:
* Please send suggestions re the news release above and any other part of this message;
* Please send suggestions re contact people, people we should interview, scenes and locales that we should videotape, etc.;
* Please send info re material already available on other videotapes or films which might be valuable as background for our videos;
* If you live in Israel and can help at some times re making contacts, transportation, translations, or in any other way, please let me know.
* If you have suggestions re hotels in Jerusalem and/or Tel Aviv where Lionel could stay, please let me know.
* Please send suggestions re granting agencies and other possible sources of funding;
* There is a crucial need for funding. Producing videos is a costly affair. We want to make them as good and as enriching as we possibly can, and that takes money.
Please make a tax deductible donation to
Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA)
6938 Reliance Road
Federalsburg, MD 21631
This will be very important in seeing that we can successfully produce and distribute the videos. Any amount will be welcome and appreciated. Anyone giving $1,000 will be acknowledged in the credits at the end of the “Judaism and Vegetarianism” video, or another video of your choice. For each additional $500, you will also be acknowledged in another video of your choice.
Many thanks.
=========================
5. Material About Our Producer/Photographer Lionel Friedberg
a. Letters of Recommendation (included in this newsletter with permission):
Richard,
I have known Lionel since 1989 and in that time I have worked for him, along side him, and he has worked for me. He's a man of impeccable virtue and character. He also happens to be a highly skilled television writer and producer. One of the best, quite frankly, in the world of documentary/non-fiction television in all of Los Angeles. I have never heard of a project that did not benefit from his involvement.
Hope this helps. Best of luck.
Mark Finkelpearl
Executive Producer
Discovery Networks -- United States
---------------------------------------------
Dear Dr. Schwartz,
It is a great, great pleasure to talk about working with Lionel Friedberg,
because he is both a consummate professional and a joy to work with. Lionel has produced about a dozen programs for my company over the past few years and done an outstanding job on each of them. He is equally gifted as a producer, director, writer and photographer. I would have to say he is among the couple of best storytellers I've worked with during my 25 years in the industry. And more than anything, he is a person of great integrity and principle, respectful of all those he works with. You can count on him completely. As you can tell, I look forward to working with him on future projects. In the meantime, if you can get him on your project, I have no doubt you will be thoroughly pleased.
If you have any specific questions that I haven't answered above, please feel free to call or email me.
Best wishes,
Dan Arden
President
Arden Entertainment
12034 Riverside Drive, Suite 200
N. Hollywood, CA 91607
Tel: 818.985.4600
Fax: 818.985.3021
---------------------------------------------
b. Summary of Lionel’s Experience
Lionel Friedberg
Supervising Producer • Producer • Director • Writer
With an initial background in cinematography – including 18 feature film credits as Director of Photography – I have worked all over the world on both dramatic and non-fiction productions. For the past 25 years I have concentrated on supervising, producing, writing and directing documentaries, reality, investigative report and educational programs. I have won a Primetime Emmy, the American Association for the Advancement of Science ‘Westinghouse’ Award for Science Programming, three Columbus and two Golden Eagles for Best Documentaries, and various awards as a dramatic and episodic TV director.
c. Lionel’s Location Production Experience:
United States, Canada, Chile, Brazil, Antarctica, Australia, Mauritius, Malagasy, Reunion, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Zaire, Kenya, Tanzania, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mozambique, Ivory Coast, Marion Island, Cape Verde Islands, Egypt, Israel, Italy, Greece, Spain, Holland, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, England, Ireland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan
=========================
6. Sample questions for (a) rabbis, (b) doctors, (c) environmentalists, and (d) animal rights activists
a. Sample questions for rabbis
1. Please state your name and provide a brief bio, with an emphasis on anything related to vegetarianism and related issues.
2. Why are you a vegetarian? How is it related to your Jewish beliefs?
3. Briefly, how did you become a vegetarian? What personal
experiences led you toward vegetarianism?
4. Do you think that Jews should preferably be vegetarians? If so, why?
5. What Jewish teachings point to vegetarianism?
6. Do you believe that God prefers that people be vegetarians? Please explain.
7. Is it too strong to state that, because of the many Jewish teachings violated by animal-based diets, a switch toward vegetarianism is a Jewish imperative? If it's ethically desirable for Jews to be vegetarians, what
about eating eggs and dairy? Should Jews be vegans too?
8. What are Jewish teachings re vegetarianism, in terms of:
Preserving our health?
Treating animals properly?
Protecting the environment?
Conserving natural resources?
Helping hungry people?
Seeking and pursuing peace?
9. How does the production and consumption of meat and other animal products violate these basic Jewish teachings?
10. Does vegetarianism run against the grain of 'Yiddishkeit?' In other words, is it 'wrong' to be a vegetarian in that it violates how Jews are traditionally expected to behave? How should we respond to such statements as "The best penicillin is bubba's chicken soup," "It's as Jewish as chopped liver," and "It's Shabbos, eat up your pickled herring and your roast."
11. Weren’t people given dominion over animals? Didn’t God put them here for our use?
12. How do you respond to the argument that we elevate holy sparks when we eat animals, thus giving the animals to serve a higher purpose?
13. If God wanted us to have vegetarian diets and not harm animals, why were the Temple sacrificial services established? Is the emphasis on sacrifices in Torah readings and synagogue services keeping many Jews away from considering Jewish teachings on the proper treatment of animals?
14. Don't the laws of shechitah (Jewish ritual slaughter) provide for a humane slaughter of animals so that we need not be concerned with violations of tsa'ar ba'alei chayim (the Torah mandate to treat animals with compassion)?
15. Doesn't vegetarianism place greater priority on animal rights than on the many problems related to human welfare?
16. Isn't a movement toward vegetarianism a movement away from Jewish traditions with regard to diet? Isn't there a danger that once some traditions are changed, others may readily follow, and little will be left of Judaism as we have known it
17. By putting vegetarian values ahead of Jewish/religious teachings, aren't vegetarians, in effect, creating a new religion, with values contrary to Jewish teachings?
18. Aren't vegetarians being more righteous than God, since God gave permission to eat meat?
19. If God did not want meat to be eaten, why did God give permission to people to eat meat after the flood, and why are there so many laws concerning the slaughter, preparation, and consumption of meat?
20. Don’t Jews have to eat meat to honor the Sabbath and to rejoice on Jewish holidays?
21. If the case for vegetarianism is so strong, why isn’t there more support for it in the Jewish community?
22. How can we get vegetarianism and related issues onto the Israeli agenda and the Jewish agendas in other countries?
23. What do you think of the apparently increasing practice of the kapparot ritual before Yom Kippur?
Are there any additional questions that you think would help you discuss your views on vegetarianism?
b. Sample questions for doctors
1. Please state your name and provide a brief bio, with an emphasis on anything related to vegetarianism and related issues.
2. What are Jewish teachings re the preservation of health?
3. How do animal-based diets contribute to disease?
4. What would be the health benefits of a switch toward plant-based diets?
5. Would disease rates be significantly reduced if many people switched to plant-based diets?
6. Are there diseases that can be reversed through vegetarian or vegan diets?
7. Is a vegetarian diet really healthier? Is it even better to be a vegan?
8. Can one be properly nourished as a vegetarian?
9. How do you respond to the common question: “How do you get your protein?”
10. How do you respond to the question: “Won’t you be missing some vital nutrients if you are a vegetarian?”
11. Why do so few doctors promote vegetarianism and veganism?
12. If a doctor fails to tell patients about the health benefits of plant-based diets, is this an example of medical malpractice?
13. Is it to strong to state that, because of the many Jewish teachings violated by animal-based diets, a switch toward vegetarianism is a Jewish imperative?
14. Do you have any suggestions for getting vegetarianism and increased health consciousness onto the Jewish agenda?
For Israeli doctors:
15. What is the status of the health care system in Israel? Is it very costly? Would a shift toward vegetarianism be beneficial?
16. Is the Israeli government doing enough to educate Israelis re the benefits of plant foods and the harm of animal-products in the diet? If not, how can this be changed?
c. Sample questions for Israeli environmentalists
1. Please state your name and provide a brief bio, with an emphasis on any aspects related to vegetarianism and related issues.
2. What are the important Jewish teachings on the environment?
3. Is there sufficient emphasis on these teachings in Israeli schools and synagogues? If not, any suggestions for improving the situation?
4. What are the major Israeli environmental problems and what is being done to address these problems?
5. If not discussed as part of the last question, please discuss any of the following issues that you have been working on:
* water shortages
* water pollution
* air pollution
* lack of open space
* garbage disposal
* congestion
6. Is the government doing enough to address Israeli environmental problems?
7. What is being done to address Israel’s environmental threats? What else should be done?
8. What are the major causes of Israel’s environmental problems?
9. Do you think that environmentalists should be vegetarians?
10. What are the effects of animal-based agriculture on Israel’s environmental problems?
11. What environmental benefits would result from a shift toward vegetarian diets
12. Do you have any suggestions for getting Israeli environmental threats and Jewish teachings on the environment onto the Jewish agenda?
13. Are there any additional questions that you think would help you discuss your views on these issues?
d. Sample questions for vegetarian and animal rights activists
1. Please state your name and provide a brief bio, with an emphasis on anything related to vegetarianism and related issues.
2. Why are you a vegetarian? How is it related to your Jewish beliefs?
3. Briefly, how did you become a vegetarian?
4. Do you think that Jews should preferably be vegetarians? If so, why?
5. What biblical teachings point to vegetarianism?
6. Is it to strong to state that, because of the many Jewish teachings violated by animal-based diets, a switch toward vegetarianism is a Jewish imperative?
7. Please describe your vegetarian activism?
8. Briefly describe the state of animal activism in Israel today? What are Israeli animal rights groups promoting?
9. What arguments are used to counter your arguments for Jews being vegetarians and how do you respond?
10. How would you respond to an assertion that vegetarianism places greater priority on animal rights than on the many problems related to human welfare?
11. By putting vegetarian values ahead of Jewish/religious teachings, aren't vegetarians, in effect, creating a new religion, with values contrary to Jewish teachings?
12. How is the Jewish community responding to your efforts?
13. What is the significance of Israeli laws on the proper treatment of animals?
14. Are there any additional questions that you think would help you discuss your views on vegetarianism and animal rights?
=========================
** Fair Use Notice**
This document may contain copyrighted material, use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owners. I believe that this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
November 1, 2005
October 28, 2005
10/28/05 JVNA Online Newsletter
Shalom everyone,
This update/Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) Online Newsletter has the following items:
1. Raising Chickens (Broilers) in Israel
2. Another Letter in Yosef Hakohen’s Series on Jewish Teachings on Animals
3. Relevant Torah Message As We Start to Read the Torah From the Beginning Again
4. Commentary Article on Animal Rights
5. Historical Note Re Meat-Eating in the Jewish Community
6. New Book Updates Animal Rights Philosophy and Activities
7. Fighting Hunger Through Vegetarianism?
8. Lecture About Bird Flu Scheduled
9. World Go-Vegan Days Announced
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 kashrut, Shabbat observances, or any other Jewish observance, but may be presented for informational purposes. Please use e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, and web sites to get further information about any event that you are interested in.
As always, your comments and suggestions are very welcome.
Thanks,
Richard
=========================
1. Raising Chickens (Broilers) in Israel
Wed., October 26, 2005
Haaretz article
Please write to editor at letters@haaretz.co.il. Thanks. My letter to the editor is below the article.
Congratulations to Israeli attorney Yossi Wolfson, a JVNA Newsletter reader, for his fine work on this issue. We are scheduled to interview Yossi on November 16 in Jerusalem for our vegetarian videos.
Broiler chickens face some foul conditions
By Tamara Traubman
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/637742.html
Fifty years ago, a broiler chicken reached its maximum weight in 80 days. Today, through genetic selection, its life cycle has been reduced to 42 days. The reason is economic: All broilers born in hatcheries in Israel belong to one of two varieties, developed through genetic selective breeding, to achieve the most profitable result - a chicken that will swell to the largest possible proportions in the shortest space of time. However, a consumer searching for chicken breasts at the supermarket has no way of knowing who bred the plastic-wrapped chicken, where, or under what conditions - unlike many other food products for which information is available.
Chickens raised for meat, called broilers, have become an industrial product, in an industry that produces some 170 million broilers per year. When they are one or two days old, the chicks are sent to the shed for fattening. Results of the genetic selection are apparent early in life: All the broilers develop exceptionally large breasts - bred this way intentionally because chicken breast receives the highest market price.
A report published in 2000 by the Scientific Veterinary Committee of the European Commission stated that the broilers' legs can hardly bear the excess weight of their bodies. The chickens may suffer from painful lameness, because of abnormal skeletal development or diseased bones.
A large number of immobile chickens is a problem for chicken farmers because of high rates of disease and mortality, which harm profits. In recent years, leg strength has been improved through genetic selection, and the problem has been reduced. Israel's Agriculture Ministry does not have precise data about its incidence. However, in visiting the chicken farms one still finds chickens that wobble and some that are unable to walk at all. The chickens are frightened. When they see humans walking outside the shed they retreat in flocks. The immobile ones remain on the ground and flap their wings, unable to escape.
According to the European Commission's report, the broiler's heart and lungs cannot supply the demands of the overgrown body. Insufficient development of the heart can cause sudden death syndrome among some 3 percent of the chickens, as well as ascites, a disease affecting lung and heart functions. Some 5 percent of the broilers die from these causes before reaching the slaughterhouse.
Genetic selection for a single parameter of quick growth has hampered the development of broilers' immune system, increasing their sensitivity to the environment. In conditions of factory farming, the health of every chicken cannot be monitored. In large farms, diagnosis of disease relies largely on changes in the death rate in the sheds. Workers collect the corpses every day and count them. If more than 10 have died, they know there has been an outbreak of disease. At a chicken farm in the center of the country, a farmer explains the causes of death: Some were not able to compete for food and water, others suffered a "heart attack," their bodies were too heavy for them.
Itzik Malka, head of the poultry department in the Agriculture Ministry's training division, thinks the death rate of chickens in Israel is "reasonable." What are the causes of death? "Normal mortality. Sometimes there is bronchitis or respiratory problems, like in any population. I don't think there's a special problem of lameness in the broilers. These breeds are in use everywhere in the world."
Distributors make good profits from the chicken industry, but a farmer's margin of profit is small, leaving him almost no leeway for improving breeding conditions. Meir Ben Shalom, a chicken farmer from Moshav Eshtaol, says chickens sold at a profit of NIS 0.10 per kilogram in September. At the same time last year they were sold at a loss. According to Malka, profits never exceed NIS 0.50 per kilo. The competitive broiler market dictates "efficiency" in the production process and forces farmers to cram thousands of chickens into the sheds to increase productivity and save on electricity for lighting and heat.
Arik Ben Moshe, chief nutritionist at the Amir-Dagan feed mill, said the source of protein in the chicken feed is grains, feathers, and sterilized meal mead from bodies of chicken, fish and meat. After the outbreak of mad cow disease, these meals were prohibited for use in cow feed, but are still permitted in chicken feed.
The Agriculture Ministry says the use of preventive antibiotics is prohibited, and they may only be used to treat disease, with veterinary authorization.
However, at many feed mills small doses of antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) are added to the meal. "AGPs are used at all feed mills, for all feeds," says Ben Moshe.
A week before slaughtering, the chickens receive a different, antibiotic-free feed, so that its residue will not be detected by tests, and won't reach the consumer.
When they are 42 days old, the chickens are crammed into small transport containers and taken to the slaughterhouse. An Agriculture Ministry-appointed committee recommended in 2001 that the transport process be regulated because this phase is "particularly traumatic." The committee recommended minimizing the waiting time for transport, giving the chickens access to food and water while waiting, and prohibiting seizing them by the head, neck, wing or tail. The ministry has not yet approved the regulations.
According to attorney Yossi Wolfson, an animal rights activist who chaired the committee, the ministry prepared a "soft" version of the regulations, which has been bouncing back and forth between the ministries of agriculture and justice to finalize the wording.
Ami Ettinger assisted in the preparation of the report.
---------------------------------------------
My letter to Haaretz, in response to the above article is below:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
October 27, 2005
Editor, Haaretz
letters@haaretz.co.il
Dear Editor:
As president of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America, I was distressed to read of the horrible treatment of “broilers” in Israel (“Broiler chickens face some foul conditions.” October 26 issue). This treatment seems inconsistent with the Jewish mandate that we should be rachmanim b’nei rachmanim (compassionate children of compassionate ancestors) and with Jewish teachings that “God’s compassion is over all of His creatures” (Psalms 145:9, recited three times daily in synagogue services) and that we are to avoid causing tsa’ar ba’alei chaim, any unnecessary pain to animals. What makes the situation even more upsetting is that the production and consumption of broilers has very negative effects on the environment and on human health.
Very truly yours,
Richard H. Schwartz
=========================
2. Another Letter in Yosef Hakohen’s Series on Jewish Teachings on Animals
The Journey to Unity - 141
Our Gratitude to All Creations:
Dear Friends,
Our father, Jacob, was also called Israel. And the Torah records that Israel said to his son, Joseph:
"Your brothers are pasturing in Shechem...Go now, look into the shalom of your brothers and the shalom of the sheep, and bring me back word." (Genesis 37:13,14)
Israel asked Joseph to look into the "shalom" - peace and welfare - of his brothers, and to also look into the shalom of the sheep. Why did the sheep merit a special inquiry about their shalom? Was it simply an expression of concern for his property? According to our tradition, there was a deeper reason for his concern. The Midrash explains that Israel inquired about the shalom of the sheep because of a sense of gratitude to the sheep for all the benefits that he received from them. The Midrash states that we can therefore learn from Israel's words the following good trait: "A person should inquire about the shalom of anything that he benefited from" (Genesis Rabbah).
The Compassionate One created an interdependent world in which all forms of life depend on each other. As Rabbi Hirsch wrote:
"All the world's creations give and receive - one from the other and one to the other. All separation and detachment is for the sake of mutual influence. Truly, this is the essence of all life on earth; all are in need of one another - not only to receive, but to give. The tree requires the earth but the earth also requires the tree. Everything receives only to give, and everything given ascends and returns to the giver - to bring about a further outpouring of blessing." (Commentary of Rabbi S.R. Hirsch on Genesis 1:11-13)
When we become more aware of what we receive – directly or indirectly – from all forms of life, we will experience a greater sense of gratitude for all the benefits that we receive. In this spirit, we should be concerned about the shalom of all living things.
Shalom,
Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen
Related Teachings:
1. There is another verse which demonstrates the compassionate concern of our father for the shalom of the sheep: "And Jacob journeyed to Succos and built himself a house, and for his flocks, he made succos (booths of shelter); he therefore called the name of the place, Succos" (Genesis 33:17).
It seems strange that Jacob would name a place "Succos" just because he built there "succos" for his flocks. The Ohr HaChaim, a noted Sephardic kabbalist and biblical commentator, suggests that Jacob may have been the first person to build "succos" - booths of shelter - for his flocks, as a result of his compassion for the animals. Jacob therefore named the place "Succos" in order to commemorate this historic innovation.
2. The Midrash states: "When Moshe Rebbeinu - Moses, our Teacher - was tending the flock of Jethro in the wilderness, a little kid ran away from him. He ran after the kid until it reached the oasis, Hasuah. Upon reaching Hasuah, it came upon a pool of water, and the kid stopped to drink. When Moshe reached it, he said: 'I did not know that you were running because you were thirsty. You must be tired.' He placed the kid on his shoulder and began to walk. The Holy One, Blessed Be He, said: 'You are compassionate in leading flocks belonging to mortals; I swear you will similarly shepherd My flock, Israel.' " (Exodus Rabbah 2:2).
Hazon - Our Universal Vision: www.shemayisrael.co.il/publicat/hazon
=========================
3. Relevant Torah Message As We Start to Read the Torah
Thanks to Charles Stahler, a long time JVNA activists and co-founder of the Vegetarian Resource Group, for forwarding the following message, which discusses our obligations to animals.
*/Parashat B’reishit /**Genesis 1:1-6:8*
/B’reishit/, our first /parashah/ in the Torah cycle, begins with the creation of the world. God creates the world in seven days, concluding with the first Shabbat. The /parashah/ provides a second version of the creation story, in which Adam is created from the dust of the earth rather than as a result of a divine breath. Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden of Eden for eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and have two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain kills Abel out of jealousy and anger, and God sends Cain off to wander. Adam and Eve have another on named Seth, from whom Noah descends. Although God expresses disappointment with human corruption, God finds favor in Noah’s character.
This week’s selection, taken from the first /aliyah/, is God’s assessment which follows the creation of the sixth day:
/God then surveyed all that God had made, and look – it was very good!
And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. /(1:31)
On other days, God observes that the creation is good or at least acknowledges that creation indeed occurred. On the sixth day of creation, God pronounces that it is “exceedingly good” (Fox translation, /Schocken Bible/, 17). One possible interpretation is that the creation of human beings that occurred on the sixth day is unique when compared with the rest of creation. Humans are set apart from all of God’s other creations, made /b’zelem Elohim/ “in the image of God” (1:27). People are commanded not only to reproduce, but to “tame” or “master” the
earth, “holding sway” over all the animals (1:28). Humans hold a unique position in that they have been granted a special relationship with God. In the Psalms we read, /The heavens belong to God, but the earth God gave to humanity/ (Psalms 115:16).
We might be led to believe that our mastery gives warrant for us to mold the world as we wish and to see the rest of creation’s value as less significant than our own. Our egos, unique also to humanity out of all creation, may lead us to think that God’s judgment of /very good/ refers to us. Alternatively, imagine God as an artist, measuring decisions along the way, ultimately stepping back and positively viewing the final work. In this interpretation, God is not satisfied solely with human beings, but with the completeness and complementarity of Creation.
Commenting on Genesis 2:1: /Completed now were heaven and earth *and all their host*/, the Midrash teaches, “Even those creatures that you may look upon as superfluous in the world, such as flies, fleas or gnats—they too are part of the entirety of creation. The Holy One effects God’s purpose through all creatures, even through a frog or a flea” (/B’reishit Rabbah/ 10:7). Every element of creation serves God, not just people. Each one of God’s creations is one building block in the total structure of the world, and without one piece, the structure would collapse. Lest we think that we are the only creatures on earth that can accomplish what God wants, we are to remember that even the seemingly insignificant fly and gnat also each have their own purpose.
Humans are indeed set apart. In one respect, humans are the pinnacle of creation, for the entire story to follow is of human-centered orientation! However, our blessing to master over the earth is to be understood as a statement of our responsibility as sentry over everything that has unique purpose. Among all God’s creatures, we are the only ones capable of appreciating the moral value of the creation process. We do so every morning when we say the prayer that recognizes creation, the /Yotzer/. We praise God who “forms light and creates darkness, makes peace and creates all,” lessening the shock value of the verse from Isaiah 45:7, /I form light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil. /The preeminence that humans have in creation is the unique ability to care for the rest of creation, to appreciate the scope, depth and sanctity of God’s work, and ultimately to accept the responsibility of becoming co-creators of this world.
*Table talk*
1. God’s role in the story of creation is not only to create, but also to appreciate each aspect of creation and approve of it. Why is it important to recognize good work, even your own? How do you do this?
2. There are no creatures that do not have a function in creation. Choose one towards which you have negative feelings, and learn about it so that you can explain the important role it plays.
3. In our comment, we discussed several ways that humans are distinct from the rest of creation. In what other ways are we unique? What characteristics do we share with other creations?
Copyright © 2005, Union for Reform Judaism
=========================
4. Commentary Article on Animal Rights
[Judaism teaches that human beings are uniquely created in God’s image, but that Judaism has very powerful teachings on compassion to animals. I believe that it is essential that we keep both these teachings in mind as we try to work effectively in the Jewish community. With this in mind, I am including the article below as food for thought as we wrestle with the issues. Comments/suggestions welcome.]
---------------------------------------------
The current, October 8, issue of New Scientist, includes a commentary piece on animal rights by Professor Gary Francione. (Pg 24.) The first few paragraphs are available on line at http://www.newscientist.com/channel/opinion/mg18825205.100 (the website is worth checking out) and I will paste the full piece below.
If your views align with Francione's, please send an appreciative letter to the editor. The magazine takes letters at:
http://www.newscientist.com/contactperson.ns?recipient=lett
Here's the article:
--------------------------
One right for all; We treat animals how we used to treat human slaves. What possible justification is there for that, asks Gary Francione
---
Do animals have moral rights? What kind of legal status should we afford them? This debate has become hugely confused. Some animal rights campaigners maintain that we should allow animals the same rights enjoyed by humans. That is, of course, absurd. There are many human rights that simply have no application to non-humans.
I would like to propose something a little different: that a sensible and coherent theory of animal rights should focus on just one right for animals. That is the right not to be treated as the property of humans.
Let me explain why this makes sense. At present, animals are commodities that we own in the same way that we own automobiles or furniture. Like these inanimate forms of property, animals have only the value that we choose to give them. Any moral or other interest an animal has represents an economic cost that we can choose to ignore.
We have laws that supposedly regulate our treatment of our animal property, and prohibit the infliction of "unnecessary" suffering. These laws require that we balance the interests of humans and animals in order to ensure that animals are treated "humanely". It is, however, a fallacy to suppose that we can balance human interests, which are protected by claims of right in general and of a right to own property in particular, against the interests of animals which, as property, exist only as a means to the ends of humans. The animal in question is always a "pet" or a "laboratory animal" or a "game animal" or a "food animal" or a "circus animal" or some other form of animal property that exists solely for our use. We prohibit animal suffering only when it has no economic benefit. The balance is unbalanced from the outset.
There are parallels here with the institution of human slavery. While we tolerate varying degrees of human exploitation, we no longer regard it as legitimate to treat anyone, irrespective of their particular characteristics, as the property of others. In a world deeply divided on many moral issues, one of the few norms steadfastly endorsed by the international community is the prohibition of human slavery. Some forms of slavery are worse than others, yet we prohibit all of them – however "humane" – because they more or less allow the fundamental interests of slaves to be ignored if it provides a benefit to slave owners. We recognize all humans as having a basic right not to be treated as the property of others.
Is there a morally sound reason not to extend this single right – the right not to be treated as property – to animals? Or to ask the question another way, why do we deem it acceptable to eat animals, hunt them, confine and display them in circuses and zoos, use them in experiments or rodeos, or otherwise treat them in ways in which we would never think it appropriate to treat any human irrespective of how "humane" we were being?
The response that animals lack some special characteristic that is possessed solely by humans not only flies in the face of the theory of evolution, but is completely irrelevant to whether it is morally permissible to treat non-humans as commodities – just as differences among humans would not serve to justify treating some as slaves. Also of no use is the response that it is acceptable for humans to exploit non-humans because it is "traditional" or "natural" to do so. This merely states a conclusion and does not constitute an argument.
The bottom line is that we cannot justify human domination of non-humans except by appeal to religious superstition focused on the supposed spiritual superiority of humans. [Such statements have the potential to divide groups of people and they are, I believe, very counterproductive in terms of promoting vegetarianism and better conditions for animals. I believe in seeking common ground and not making divisive statements. The reality is that Judaism has many very powerful teachings on compassion to animals. If these teachings were followed, there would be far less mistreatment of animal. Since people are created in God’s image, we should imitate God’s positive traits of compassion, justice, and sharing. That people were given dominion means that we should be responsible stewards. Only human beings can make choices re our diets and we have the capacity to make changes that can be very positive or negative for the future of humanity.] Our "conflicts" with animals are mostly of our own doing. We bring billions of sentient animals into the world in order to kill them for reasons that are often trivial. We then seek to understand the nature of our moral obligations to these animals. But by bringing these animals into existence for reasons that we would never consider appropriate for humans, we have already decided that animals are outside the scope of our moral community altogether.
Accepting that animals have this one right does not entail letting cows, chickens, pigs and dogs run free in the streets. We have brought these animals into existence and they depend on us for their survival. We should care for those currently in existence, but we should stop causing more to come into being to serve as our resources. We would thereby eliminate any supposed conflicts we have with animals. We may still have conflicts with wild animals, and we would have to address hard questions about how to apply equal consideration to humans and animals in those circumstances.
Recognizing animal rights really means accepting that we have a duty not to treat sentient non-humans as resources. The interesting question is not whether the cow should be able to sue the farmer for cruel treatment, but why the cow is there in the first place.
Gary Francione is professor of law and Nicholas deB. Katzenbach Distinguished Scholar of Law and Philosophy at Rutgers University School of Law, New Jersey
(END OF NEW SCIENTIST PIECE)
=========================
5. Historical Note Re Meat-Eating in the Jewish Community
MEAT IN THE STETL -- a historical reference
By Rabbi Yonnassan Gershom
Here's a useful reference for something we all "know" but may sometimes need to footnote for the carnivorous skeptics:
This material comes from a book of artwork entitled "Memories of My Life in a Polish Village" by Toby Knobel Fluek, a Holocaust survivor who grew up on a farm in Poland. (Which is why I bought the book -- about a Jewish stetl farmer! Published by Alfred A. Knopf, 1990.)
The book consists of 94 paintings and drawings of her life before and during the Holocaust, arranged in chronological order. With each painting she provides an explanation. On page 14 for the still-life painting "Red Potatoes," she writes: "Potatoes were the main source of nourishment. We grew them in our fields. They were used in countless main dishes. We boiled, baked, and mashed potatoes... There was a song we used to sing: "Sunday Potatoes, Monday Potatoes, Tuesday and Wednesday Potatoes, Thursday Potatoes, Friday Potatoes, Shabbos in cholent (Sabbath stew) also Potatoes!"
[Author’s note: I remember this song in Yiddish: "Sontag bulbes, Montag bulbes..." only our version had a "bulbeleh kicheleh" (potato kugel) for Shabbos.]
Fluek's family had other veggies as well and yes, meat was eaten, but not for everyday meals. On page 22 for the drawing "Koshering the Meat" she writes: "Chicken and flanken (beef) we ate only for Sabbath meals. A midweek meat meal we had once in a while when Father slaughtered an animal. He sold most of the meat, and then we would have a treat, dinner made from the lungs, heart, pancreas, liver and cheeks. Drelis, a chilled stew from calves' feet, was a Sabbath delicacy, and the small intestines would make another meal."
As unappetizing as that might sound to a vegetarian, it does prove this important point: Meat was NOT eaten every day by traditional Jews even as recently as 50 years ago. This was a Jewish farm family who raised their own animals and, we can assume, took good care of them. When they did slaughter, a relatively rare occurrence, nothing was wasted. Every possible part of the animal was eaten or otherwise used. Hence the above recipes for the organs and feet – parts that are discarded as "animal by-products" today. We should also note that stetl Jews used to trayber (remove the sciatic nerve, which is forbidden to eat) from the flank of the animal. Today this is rarely done, because it is too time-consuming for the high-speed assembly line. Instead, the hindquarters are sold to the non-kosher market. Which means that a LOT of the meat from a kosher slaughtered animal is never even eaten by Jews.
We should also note that this book is about an observant, Orthodox family -- Ms. Fluek's painting of her father in his Sabbath finery (page 24) shows him wearing a Hasidic streimel (traditional fur hat). I mention this because the modern Hasidic diet is very meat-oriented, but this is a relatively new phenomenon. When we read stories about Hasidic masters "raising holy sparks" by eating meat, it is important to keep in mind that the meat was almost ALWAYS being eaten on the Sabbath or a holy day, in an atmosphere of worship, song, storytelling and community. This is in sharp contrast to wolfing down a corned beef sandwich on the subway or
nibbling on sausage slices while sitting in gridlock traffic. (I am currently working on a longer article to address this issue of "holy sparks" more fully.)
[I expect to include that article in a JVNA newsletter once it is completed.]
You can read my full review of this book on Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0394586174/yonassangershoms
posted at: http://discussions.pbs.org/viewtopic.pbs?t=27759
I went to a meeting recently of representatives from local religious communities who want to fight hunger locally and throughout the world.
I want to see our religious communities--and all of us who strive to be moral beings--consider the moral arguments about what we eat. If we come together to address the problem of hunger, it seems fair to raise the point that a much more efficient use of natural resources will mean fewer hungry people. The limited amount of natural resources--earth's surface, aquifer water and petroleum--available for planting, watering and fertilizing crop can feed more people when we eat the grains and other plants directly rather than process them through the bodies of animals such as cows, pigs, various kinds of birds, etc.
If we want to feed more people and we are coming up against limits on natural resources involved in food production, then we must be interested in finding the more efficient sources of nutrition.
In the large group that I saw that night, no one said that they knew a moral argument related to what we eat. I think this question of whether we use our precious life-sustaining resources efficiently, (so fewer or no people are hungry, and wildlife and biodiversity are not needlessly distroyed), is a moral question. We should choose a more environmentally friendly diet-style over a less environmentally friendly diet-style. Our times demand it. We need to respond intelligently and morally to the reality of our situation.
Another moral argument related to what we eat would be that we treat beings as things when we mechanize animal agriculture and intensify confinement systems: more crowding, more abuse, more fetid, miserable conditions, more pollution. Treating a being as a thing is tantamount to slavery. It is wrong.
Do we want a culture of tolerance and non-violence? We can bring ourselves closer to achieving this goal by developing a deeper respect for one another's person and psyche. To say that we must recognize others as individuals who are not objects but who are subjects of their own lives would be to state the obvious.
We sometimes come to know members of other species as individuals. We see their unique personalities. We feel a concern for their interests and well-being. But at the same time, we prefer not to consider the fact that creatures held captive on our behalf in conditions that we do not want to know about are themselves unique individuals, subjects of their own lives--not objects to be used by us as means to our ends.
Where is the sense of outrage?
John Champagne
A truly democratic society:
http://discussions.pbs.org/viewtopic.pbs?t=27299
=========================
8. Lecture About Bird Flu Scheduled
Forwarded message:
MONTHLY DINNER/LECTURE SERIES
Join Healthy Planet for fun, friends and a completely plant-based finger foods
Hear Dr. Michael Greger speak about
"The scary truth about bird flu"
Saturday, October 29th, 2005
Sweet Hollow Hall in Melville
in West Hills County Park
Doors Open: 6:15 p.m. Lecture: 7:30 p.m.
Attend any or all portions of the event!
=> Bring healthful finger foods to share all night
=> Bring the whole family for fun, dancing, prizes
ALL DETAILS AT:
http://www.healthy-planet.org/Series/index.asp
HealthyPlanet is an all new, fast growing, mostly volunteer group whose mission is to promote food choices and lifestyles that respect our bodies and our shared environment.They educate people about the deep connection among all life on Earth, and the powerful effect our everyday choices can have on creating a cleaner, healthier and more compassionate world.
=========================
9. World Go-Vegan Days Announced
World Go-Vegan Days Mission Statement
The purpose of IDA's [IDA stands for “In Defense of Animals.”] World Go Vegan Days is to spread information and educate people about the vegan lifestyle, which is a compassionate way of eating and living. Veganism is a healthy choice that shows love and respect for animals, the environment and your own life. As a vehicle to promote veganism each year through outreach events and the media, we hope that World Go Vegan Days will help make the word "vegan" a household term that is universally recognized as meaning love and compassion for all living beings.
"World Go Vegan Days" is also about celebrating what it means to be vegan. Veganism enables people to live in balance with all of Earth's creatures and promote freedom for animals from exploitation as part of their everyday lives. Modern animal agriculture is cruel and violent toward the chickens, cows, pigs and other creatures used to make meat, milk and eggs. During World Go Vegan Days, we encourage people to become conscious of what - and who - they are eating, the effect it has on the world, and that a non-violent alternative exists.
For the health of people, the environment, and farmed animals, veganism is the best choice. World Go Vegan Days embodies this idea. As an international campaign, it encourages people around the world to experience the benefits and joys of a more compassionate way of life.
Find out more:
http://www.idausa.org/worldgovegandays.html
Celebrating the power and compassion of veganism.
October 30th - November 1st
Help celebrate World Go Vegan Days:
* Share a delicious vegan meal with family and friends by hosting a vegan potluck dinner or restaurant outing. Visit www.happycow.net for reviews of vegetarian restaurants in Tennessee and around the country.
* Enter cooking competitions using vegan recipes. Label them "vegan" so people know that your delicious dishes don't contain any animal ingredients.
* Teachers: talk with your class about veganism and the importance of respect for animals.
* Students: write a paper on veganism, hand out vegan literature at a college campus or help get vegan meals into your school's cafeteria. Visit www.idausa.org/campaigns/choice to learn how.
* Ask your local newspaper to feature a story about the benefits of a vegan diet or the cruelties of factory farming, or write a letter to the editor on the subject.
For more great ideas visit Action Center
=========================
** Fair Use Notice**
This document may contain copyrighted material, use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owners. I believe that this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from thecopyright owner.
This update/Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) Online Newsletter has the following items:
1. Raising Chickens (Broilers) in Israel
2. Another Letter in Yosef Hakohen’s Series on Jewish Teachings on Animals
3. Relevant Torah Message As We Start to Read the Torah From the Beginning Again
4. Commentary Article on Animal Rights
5. Historical Note Re Meat-Eating in the Jewish Community
6. New Book Updates Animal Rights Philosophy and Activities
7. Fighting Hunger Through Vegetarianism?
8. Lecture About Bird Flu Scheduled
9. World Go-Vegan Days Announced
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 kashrut, Shabbat observances, or any other Jewish observance, but may be presented for informational purposes. Please use e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, and web sites to get further information about any event that you are interested in.
As always, your comments and suggestions are very welcome.
Thanks,
Richard
=========================
1. Raising Chickens (Broilers) in Israel
Wed., October 26, 2005
Haaretz article
Please write to editor at letters@haaretz.co.il. Thanks. My letter to the editor is below the article.
Congratulations to Israeli attorney Yossi Wolfson, a JVNA Newsletter reader, for his fine work on this issue. We are scheduled to interview Yossi on November 16 in Jerusalem for our vegetarian videos.
Broiler chickens face some foul conditions
By Tamara Traubman
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/637742.html
Fifty years ago, a broiler chicken reached its maximum weight in 80 days. Today, through genetic selection, its life cycle has been reduced to 42 days. The reason is economic: All broilers born in hatcheries in Israel belong to one of two varieties, developed through genetic selective breeding, to achieve the most profitable result - a chicken that will swell to the largest possible proportions in the shortest space of time. However, a consumer searching for chicken breasts at the supermarket has no way of knowing who bred the plastic-wrapped chicken, where, or under what conditions - unlike many other food products for which information is available.
Chickens raised for meat, called broilers, have become an industrial product, in an industry that produces some 170 million broilers per year. When they are one or two days old, the chicks are sent to the shed for fattening. Results of the genetic selection are apparent early in life: All the broilers develop exceptionally large breasts - bred this way intentionally because chicken breast receives the highest market price.
A report published in 2000 by the Scientific Veterinary Committee of the European Commission stated that the broilers' legs can hardly bear the excess weight of their bodies. The chickens may suffer from painful lameness, because of abnormal skeletal development or diseased bones.
A large number of immobile chickens is a problem for chicken farmers because of high rates of disease and mortality, which harm profits. In recent years, leg strength has been improved through genetic selection, and the problem has been reduced. Israel's Agriculture Ministry does not have precise data about its incidence. However, in visiting the chicken farms one still finds chickens that wobble and some that are unable to walk at all. The chickens are frightened. When they see humans walking outside the shed they retreat in flocks. The immobile ones remain on the ground and flap their wings, unable to escape.
According to the European Commission's report, the broiler's heart and lungs cannot supply the demands of the overgrown body. Insufficient development of the heart can cause sudden death syndrome among some 3 percent of the chickens, as well as ascites, a disease affecting lung and heart functions. Some 5 percent of the broilers die from these causes before reaching the slaughterhouse.
Genetic selection for a single parameter of quick growth has hampered the development of broilers' immune system, increasing their sensitivity to the environment. In conditions of factory farming, the health of every chicken cannot be monitored. In large farms, diagnosis of disease relies largely on changes in the death rate in the sheds. Workers collect the corpses every day and count them. If more than 10 have died, they know there has been an outbreak of disease. At a chicken farm in the center of the country, a farmer explains the causes of death: Some were not able to compete for food and water, others suffered a "heart attack," their bodies were too heavy for them.
Itzik Malka, head of the poultry department in the Agriculture Ministry's training division, thinks the death rate of chickens in Israel is "reasonable." What are the causes of death? "Normal mortality. Sometimes there is bronchitis or respiratory problems, like in any population. I don't think there's a special problem of lameness in the broilers. These breeds are in use everywhere in the world."
Distributors make good profits from the chicken industry, but a farmer's margin of profit is small, leaving him almost no leeway for improving breeding conditions. Meir Ben Shalom, a chicken farmer from Moshav Eshtaol, says chickens sold at a profit of NIS 0.10 per kilogram in September. At the same time last year they were sold at a loss. According to Malka, profits never exceed NIS 0.50 per kilo. The competitive broiler market dictates "efficiency" in the production process and forces farmers to cram thousands of chickens into the sheds to increase productivity and save on electricity for lighting and heat.
Arik Ben Moshe, chief nutritionist at the Amir-Dagan feed mill, said the source of protein in the chicken feed is grains, feathers, and sterilized meal mead from bodies of chicken, fish and meat. After the outbreak of mad cow disease, these meals were prohibited for use in cow feed, but are still permitted in chicken feed.
The Agriculture Ministry says the use of preventive antibiotics is prohibited, and they may only be used to treat disease, with veterinary authorization.
However, at many feed mills small doses of antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) are added to the meal. "AGPs are used at all feed mills, for all feeds," says Ben Moshe.
A week before slaughtering, the chickens receive a different, antibiotic-free feed, so that its residue will not be detected by tests, and won't reach the consumer.
When they are 42 days old, the chickens are crammed into small transport containers and taken to the slaughterhouse. An Agriculture Ministry-appointed committee recommended in 2001 that the transport process be regulated because this phase is "particularly traumatic." The committee recommended minimizing the waiting time for transport, giving the chickens access to food and water while waiting, and prohibiting seizing them by the head, neck, wing or tail. The ministry has not yet approved the regulations.
According to attorney Yossi Wolfson, an animal rights activist who chaired the committee, the ministry prepared a "soft" version of the regulations, which has been bouncing back and forth between the ministries of agriculture and justice to finalize the wording.
Ami Ettinger assisted in the preparation of the report.
---------------------------------------------
My letter to Haaretz, in response to the above article is below:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
October 27, 2005
Editor, Haaretz
letters@haaretz.co.il
Dear Editor:
As president of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America, I was distressed to read of the horrible treatment of “broilers” in Israel (“Broiler chickens face some foul conditions.” October 26 issue). This treatment seems inconsistent with the Jewish mandate that we should be rachmanim b’nei rachmanim (compassionate children of compassionate ancestors) and with Jewish teachings that “God’s compassion is over all of His creatures” (Psalms 145:9, recited three times daily in synagogue services) and that we are to avoid causing tsa’ar ba’alei chaim, any unnecessary pain to animals. What makes the situation even more upsetting is that the production and consumption of broilers has very negative effects on the environment and on human health.
Very truly yours,
Richard H. Schwartz
=========================
2. Another Letter in Yosef Hakohen’s Series on Jewish Teachings on Animals
The Journey to Unity - 141
Our Gratitude to All Creations:
Dear Friends,
Our father, Jacob, was also called Israel. And the Torah records that Israel said to his son, Joseph:
"Your brothers are pasturing in Shechem...Go now, look into the shalom of your brothers and the shalom of the sheep, and bring me back word." (Genesis 37:13,14)
Israel asked Joseph to look into the "shalom" - peace and welfare - of his brothers, and to also look into the shalom of the sheep. Why did the sheep merit a special inquiry about their shalom? Was it simply an expression of concern for his property? According to our tradition, there was a deeper reason for his concern. The Midrash explains that Israel inquired about the shalom of the sheep because of a sense of gratitude to the sheep for all the benefits that he received from them. The Midrash states that we can therefore learn from Israel's words the following good trait: "A person should inquire about the shalom of anything that he benefited from" (Genesis Rabbah).
The Compassionate One created an interdependent world in which all forms of life depend on each other. As Rabbi Hirsch wrote:
"All the world's creations give and receive - one from the other and one to the other. All separation and detachment is for the sake of mutual influence. Truly, this is the essence of all life on earth; all are in need of one another - not only to receive, but to give. The tree requires the earth but the earth also requires the tree. Everything receives only to give, and everything given ascends and returns to the giver - to bring about a further outpouring of blessing." (Commentary of Rabbi S.R. Hirsch on Genesis 1:11-13)
When we become more aware of what we receive – directly or indirectly – from all forms of life, we will experience a greater sense of gratitude for all the benefits that we receive. In this spirit, we should be concerned about the shalom of all living things.
Shalom,
Yosef Ben Shlomo Hakohen
Related Teachings:
1. There is another verse which demonstrates the compassionate concern of our father for the shalom of the sheep: "And Jacob journeyed to Succos and built himself a house, and for his flocks, he made succos (booths of shelter); he therefore called the name of the place, Succos" (Genesis 33:17).
It seems strange that Jacob would name a place "Succos" just because he built there "succos" for his flocks. The Ohr HaChaim, a noted Sephardic kabbalist and biblical commentator, suggests that Jacob may have been the first person to build "succos" - booths of shelter - for his flocks, as a result of his compassion for the animals. Jacob therefore named the place "Succos" in order to commemorate this historic innovation.
2. The Midrash states: "When Moshe Rebbeinu - Moses, our Teacher - was tending the flock of Jethro in the wilderness, a little kid ran away from him. He ran after the kid until it reached the oasis, Hasuah. Upon reaching Hasuah, it came upon a pool of water, and the kid stopped to drink. When Moshe reached it, he said: 'I did not know that you were running because you were thirsty. You must be tired.' He placed the kid on his shoulder and began to walk. The Holy One, Blessed Be He, said: 'You are compassionate in leading flocks belonging to mortals; I swear you will similarly shepherd My flock, Israel.' " (Exodus Rabbah 2:2).
Hazon - Our Universal Vision: www.shemayisrael.co.il/publicat/hazon
=========================
3. Relevant Torah Message As We Start to Read the Torah
Thanks to Charles Stahler, a long time JVNA activists and co-founder of the Vegetarian Resource Group, for forwarding the following message, which discusses our obligations to animals.
*/Parashat B’reishit /**Genesis 1:1-6:8*
/B’reishit/, our first /parashah/ in the Torah cycle, begins with the creation of the world. God creates the world in seven days, concluding with the first Shabbat. The /parashah/ provides a second version of the creation story, in which Adam is created from the dust of the earth rather than as a result of a divine breath. Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden of Eden for eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and have two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain kills Abel out of jealousy and anger, and God sends Cain off to wander. Adam and Eve have another on named Seth, from whom Noah descends. Although God expresses disappointment with human corruption, God finds favor in Noah’s character.
This week’s selection, taken from the first /aliyah/, is God’s assessment which follows the creation of the sixth day:
/God then surveyed all that God had made, and look – it was very good!
And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. /(1:31)
On other days, God observes that the creation is good or at least acknowledges that creation indeed occurred. On the sixth day of creation, God pronounces that it is “exceedingly good” (Fox translation, /Schocken Bible/, 17). One possible interpretation is that the creation of human beings that occurred on the sixth day is unique when compared with the rest of creation. Humans are set apart from all of God’s other creations, made /b’zelem Elohim/ “in the image of God” (1:27). People are commanded not only to reproduce, but to “tame” or “master” the
earth, “holding sway” over all the animals (1:28). Humans hold a unique position in that they have been granted a special relationship with God. In the Psalms we read, /The heavens belong to God, but the earth God gave to humanity/ (Psalms 115:16).
We might be led to believe that our mastery gives warrant for us to mold the world as we wish and to see the rest of creation’s value as less significant than our own. Our egos, unique also to humanity out of all creation, may lead us to think that God’s judgment of /very good/ refers to us. Alternatively, imagine God as an artist, measuring decisions along the way, ultimately stepping back and positively viewing the final work. In this interpretation, God is not satisfied solely with human beings, but with the completeness and complementarity of Creation.
Commenting on Genesis 2:1: /Completed now were heaven and earth *and all their host*/, the Midrash teaches, “Even those creatures that you may look upon as superfluous in the world, such as flies, fleas or gnats—they too are part of the entirety of creation. The Holy One effects God’s purpose through all creatures, even through a frog or a flea” (/B’reishit Rabbah/ 10:7). Every element of creation serves God, not just people. Each one of God’s creations is one building block in the total structure of the world, and without one piece, the structure would collapse. Lest we think that we are the only creatures on earth that can accomplish what God wants, we are to remember that even the seemingly insignificant fly and gnat also each have their own purpose.
Humans are indeed set apart. In one respect, humans are the pinnacle of creation, for the entire story to follow is of human-centered orientation! However, our blessing to master over the earth is to be understood as a statement of our responsibility as sentry over everything that has unique purpose. Among all God’s creatures, we are the only ones capable of appreciating the moral value of the creation process. We do so every morning when we say the prayer that recognizes creation, the /Yotzer/. We praise God who “forms light and creates darkness, makes peace and creates all,” lessening the shock value of the verse from Isaiah 45:7, /I form light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil. /The preeminence that humans have in creation is the unique ability to care for the rest of creation, to appreciate the scope, depth and sanctity of God’s work, and ultimately to accept the responsibility of becoming co-creators of this world.
*Table talk*
1. God’s role in the story of creation is not only to create, but also to appreciate each aspect of creation and approve of it. Why is it important to recognize good work, even your own? How do you do this?
2. There are no creatures that do not have a function in creation. Choose one towards which you have negative feelings, and learn about it so that you can explain the important role it plays.
3. In our comment, we discussed several ways that humans are distinct from the rest of creation. In what other ways are we unique? What characteristics do we share with other creations?
Copyright © 2005, Union for Reform Judaism
=========================
4. Commentary Article on Animal Rights
[Judaism teaches that human beings are uniquely created in God’s image, but that Judaism has very powerful teachings on compassion to animals. I believe that it is essential that we keep both these teachings in mind as we try to work effectively in the Jewish community. With this in mind, I am including the article below as food for thought as we wrestle with the issues. Comments/suggestions welcome.]
---------------------------------------------
The current, October 8, issue of New Scientist, includes a commentary piece on animal rights by Professor Gary Francione. (Pg 24.) The first few paragraphs are available on line at http://www.newscientist.com/channel/opinion/mg18825205.100 (the website is worth checking out) and I will paste the full piece below.
If your views align with Francione's, please send an appreciative letter to the editor. The magazine takes letters at:
http://www.newscientist.com/contactperson.ns?recipient=lett
Here's the article:
--------------------------
One right for all; We treat animals how we used to treat human slaves. What possible justification is there for that, asks Gary Francione
---
Do animals have moral rights? What kind of legal status should we afford them? This debate has become hugely confused. Some animal rights campaigners maintain that we should allow animals the same rights enjoyed by humans. That is, of course, absurd. There are many human rights that simply have no application to non-humans.
I would like to propose something a little different: that a sensible and coherent theory of animal rights should focus on just one right for animals. That is the right not to be treated as the property of humans.
Let me explain why this makes sense. At present, animals are commodities that we own in the same way that we own automobiles or furniture. Like these inanimate forms of property, animals have only the value that we choose to give them. Any moral or other interest an animal has represents an economic cost that we can choose to ignore.
We have laws that supposedly regulate our treatment of our animal property, and prohibit the infliction of "unnecessary" suffering. These laws require that we balance the interests of humans and animals in order to ensure that animals are treated "humanely". It is, however, a fallacy to suppose that we can balance human interests, which are protected by claims of right in general and of a right to own property in particular, against the interests of animals which, as property, exist only as a means to the ends of humans. The animal in question is always a "pet" or a "laboratory animal" or a "game animal" or a "food animal" or a "circus animal" or some other form of animal property that exists solely for our use. We prohibit animal suffering only when it has no economic benefit. The balance is unbalanced from the outset.
There are parallels here with the institution of human slavery. While we tolerate varying degrees of human exploitation, we no longer regard it as legitimate to treat anyone, irrespective of their particular characteristics, as the property of others. In a world deeply divided on many moral issues, one of the few norms steadfastly endorsed by the international community is the prohibition of human slavery. Some forms of slavery are worse than others, yet we prohibit all of them – however "humane" – because they more or less allow the fundamental interests of slaves to be ignored if it provides a benefit to slave owners. We recognize all humans as having a basic right not to be treated as the property of others.
Is there a morally sound reason not to extend this single right – the right not to be treated as property – to animals? Or to ask the question another way, why do we deem it acceptable to eat animals, hunt them, confine and display them in circuses and zoos, use them in experiments or rodeos, or otherwise treat them in ways in which we would never think it appropriate to treat any human irrespective of how "humane" we were being?
The response that animals lack some special characteristic that is possessed solely by humans not only flies in the face of the theory of evolution, but is completely irrelevant to whether it is morally permissible to treat non-humans as commodities – just as differences among humans would not serve to justify treating some as slaves. Also of no use is the response that it is acceptable for humans to exploit non-humans because it is "traditional" or "natural" to do so. This merely states a conclusion and does not constitute an argument.
The bottom line is that we cannot justify human domination of non-humans except by appeal to religious superstition focused on the supposed spiritual superiority of humans. [Such statements have the potential to divide groups of people and they are, I believe, very counterproductive in terms of promoting vegetarianism and better conditions for animals. I believe in seeking common ground and not making divisive statements. The reality is that Judaism has many very powerful teachings on compassion to animals. If these teachings were followed, there would be far less mistreatment of animal. Since people are created in God’s image, we should imitate God’s positive traits of compassion, justice, and sharing. That people were given dominion means that we should be responsible stewards. Only human beings can make choices re our diets and we have the capacity to make changes that can be very positive or negative for the future of humanity.] Our "conflicts" with animals are mostly of our own doing. We bring billions of sentient animals into the world in order to kill them for reasons that are often trivial. We then seek to understand the nature of our moral obligations to these animals. But by bringing these animals into existence for reasons that we would never consider appropriate for humans, we have already decided that animals are outside the scope of our moral community altogether.
Accepting that animals have this one right does not entail letting cows, chickens, pigs and dogs run free in the streets. We have brought these animals into existence and they depend on us for their survival. We should care for those currently in existence, but we should stop causing more to come into being to serve as our resources. We would thereby eliminate any supposed conflicts we have with animals. We may still have conflicts with wild animals, and we would have to address hard questions about how to apply equal consideration to humans and animals in those circumstances.
Recognizing animal rights really means accepting that we have a duty not to treat sentient non-humans as resources. The interesting question is not whether the cow should be able to sue the farmer for cruel treatment, but why the cow is there in the first place.
Gary Francione is professor of law and Nicholas deB. Katzenbach Distinguished Scholar of Law and Philosophy at Rutgers University School of Law, New Jersey
(END OF NEW SCIENTIST PIECE)
=========================
5. Historical Note Re Meat-Eating in the Jewish Community
MEAT IN THE STETL -- a historical reference
By Rabbi Yonnassan Gershom
Here's a useful reference for something we all "know" but may sometimes need to footnote for the carnivorous skeptics:
This material comes from a book of artwork entitled "Memories of My Life in a Polish Village" by Toby Knobel Fluek, a Holocaust survivor who grew up on a farm in Poland. (Which is why I bought the book -- about a Jewish stetl farmer! Published by Alfred A. Knopf, 1990.)
The book consists of 94 paintings and drawings of her life before and during the Holocaust, arranged in chronological order. With each painting she provides an explanation. On page 14 for the still-life painting "Red Potatoes," she writes: "Potatoes were the main source of nourishment. We grew them in our fields. They were used in countless main dishes. We boiled, baked, and mashed potatoes... There was a song we used to sing: "Sunday Potatoes, Monday Potatoes, Tuesday and Wednesday Potatoes, Thursday Potatoes, Friday Potatoes, Shabbos in cholent (Sabbath stew) also Potatoes!"
[Author’s note: I remember this song in Yiddish: "Sontag bulbes, Montag bulbes..." only our version had a "bulbeleh kicheleh" (potato kugel) for Shabbos.]
Fluek's family had other veggies as well and yes, meat was eaten, but not for everyday meals. On page 22 for the drawing "Koshering the Meat" she writes: "Chicken and flanken (beef) we ate only for Sabbath meals. A midweek meat meal we had once in a while when Father slaughtered an animal. He sold most of the meat, and then we would have a treat, dinner made from the lungs, heart, pancreas, liver and cheeks. Drelis, a chilled stew from calves' feet, was a Sabbath delicacy, and the small intestines would make another meal."
As unappetizing as that might sound to a vegetarian, it does prove this important point: Meat was NOT eaten every day by traditional Jews even as recently as 50 years ago. This was a Jewish farm family who raised their own animals and, we can assume, took good care of them. When they did slaughter, a relatively rare occurrence, nothing was wasted. Every possible part of the animal was eaten or otherwise used. Hence the above recipes for the organs and feet – parts that are discarded as "animal by-products" today. We should also note that stetl Jews used to trayber (remove the sciatic nerve, which is forbidden to eat) from the flank of the animal. Today this is rarely done, because it is too time-consuming for the high-speed assembly line. Instead, the hindquarters are sold to the non-kosher market. Which means that a LOT of the meat from a kosher slaughtered animal is never even eaten by Jews.
We should also note that this book is about an observant, Orthodox family -- Ms. Fluek's painting of her father in his Sabbath finery (page 24) shows him wearing a Hasidic streimel (traditional fur hat). I mention this because the modern Hasidic diet is very meat-oriented, but this is a relatively new phenomenon. When we read stories about Hasidic masters "raising holy sparks" by eating meat, it is important to keep in mind that the meat was almost ALWAYS being eaten on the Sabbath or a holy day, in an atmosphere of worship, song, storytelling and community. This is in sharp contrast to wolfing down a corned beef sandwich on the subway or
nibbling on sausage slices while sitting in gridlock traffic. (I am currently working on a longer article to address this issue of "holy sparks" more fully.)
[I expect to include that article in a JVNA newsletter once it is completed.]
You can read my full review of this book on Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0394586174/yonassangershoms
posted at: http://discussions.pbs.org/viewtopic.pbs?t=27759
I went to a meeting recently of representatives from local religious communities who want to fight hunger locally and throughout the world.
I want to see our religious communities--and all of us who strive to be moral beings--consider the moral arguments about what we eat. If we come together to address the problem of hunger, it seems fair to raise the point that a much more efficient use of natural resources will mean fewer hungry people. The limited amount of natural resources--earth's surface, aquifer water and petroleum--available for planting, watering and fertilizing crop can feed more people when we eat the grains and other plants directly rather than process them through the bodies of animals such as cows, pigs, various kinds of birds, etc.
If we want to feed more people and we are coming up against limits on natural resources involved in food production, then we must be interested in finding the more efficient sources of nutrition.
In the large group that I saw that night, no one said that they knew a moral argument related to what we eat. I think this question of whether we use our precious life-sustaining resources efficiently, (so fewer or no people are hungry, and wildlife and biodiversity are not needlessly distroyed), is a moral question. We should choose a more environmentally friendly diet-style over a less environmentally friendly diet-style. Our times demand it. We need to respond intelligently and morally to the reality of our situation.
Another moral argument related to what we eat would be that we treat beings as things when we mechanize animal agriculture and intensify confinement systems: more crowding, more abuse, more fetid, miserable conditions, more pollution. Treating a being as a thing is tantamount to slavery. It is wrong.
Do we want a culture of tolerance and non-violence? We can bring ourselves closer to achieving this goal by developing a deeper respect for one another's person and psyche. To say that we must recognize others as individuals who are not objects but who are subjects of their own lives would be to state the obvious.
We sometimes come to know members of other species as individuals. We see their unique personalities. We feel a concern for their interests and well-being. But at the same time, we prefer not to consider the fact that creatures held captive on our behalf in conditions that we do not want to know about are themselves unique individuals, subjects of their own lives--not objects to be used by us as means to our ends.
Where is the sense of outrage?
John Champagne
A truly democratic society:
http://discussions.pbs.org/viewtopic.pbs?t=27299
=========================
8. Lecture About Bird Flu Scheduled
Forwarded message:
MONTHLY DINNER/LECTURE SERIES
Join Healthy Planet for fun, friends and a completely plant-based finger foods
Hear Dr. Michael Greger speak about
"The scary truth about bird flu"
Saturday, October 29th, 2005
Sweet Hollow Hall in Melville
in West Hills County Park
Doors Open: 6:15 p.m. Lecture: 7:30 p.m.
Attend any or all portions of the event!
=> Bring healthful finger foods to share all night
=> Bring the whole family for fun, dancing, prizes
ALL DETAILS AT:
http://www.healthy-planet.org/Series/index.asp
HealthyPlanet is an all new, fast growing, mostly volunteer group whose mission is to promote food choices and lifestyles that respect our bodies and our shared environment.They educate people about the deep connection among all life on Earth, and the powerful effect our everyday choices can have on creating a cleaner, healthier and more compassionate world.
=========================
9. World Go-Vegan Days Announced
World Go-Vegan Days Mission Statement
The purpose of IDA's [IDA stands for “In Defense of Animals.”] World Go Vegan Days is to spread information and educate people about the vegan lifestyle, which is a compassionate way of eating and living. Veganism is a healthy choice that shows love and respect for animals, the environment and your own life. As a vehicle to promote veganism each year through outreach events and the media, we hope that World Go Vegan Days will help make the word "vegan" a household term that is universally recognized as meaning love and compassion for all living beings.
"World Go Vegan Days" is also about celebrating what it means to be vegan. Veganism enables people to live in balance with all of Earth's creatures and promote freedom for animals from exploitation as part of their everyday lives. Modern animal agriculture is cruel and violent toward the chickens, cows, pigs and other creatures used to make meat, milk and eggs. During World Go Vegan Days, we encourage people to become conscious of what - and who - they are eating, the effect it has on the world, and that a non-violent alternative exists.
For the health of people, the environment, and farmed animals, veganism is the best choice. World Go Vegan Days embodies this idea. As an international campaign, it encourages people around the world to experience the benefits and joys of a more compassionate way of life.
Find out more:
http://www.idausa.org/worldgovegandays.html
Celebrating the power and compassion of veganism.
October 30th - November 1st
Help celebrate World Go Vegan Days:
* Share a delicious vegan meal with family and friends by hosting a vegan potluck dinner or restaurant outing. Visit www.happycow.net for reviews of vegetarian restaurants in Tennessee and around the country.
* Enter cooking competitions using vegan recipes. Label them "vegan" so people know that your delicious dishes don't contain any animal ingredients.
* Teachers: talk with your class about veganism and the importance of respect for animals.
* Students: write a paper on veganism, hand out vegan literature at a college campus or help get vegan meals into your school's cafeteria. Visit www.idausa.org/campaigns/choice to learn how.
* Ask your local newspaper to feature a story about the benefits of a vegan diet or the cruelties of factory farming, or write a letter to the editor on the subject.
For more great ideas visit Action Center
=========================
** Fair Use Notice**
This document may contain copyrighted material, use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owners. I believe that this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from thecopyright owner.
October 20, 2005
10/20/05 JVNA Online Newsletter
Shalom everyone,
This update/Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) Online Newsletter has the following items:
1. Seeking Feedback re the JVNA and the Newsletter
2. Promoting Vegetarianism More Effectively
3. Our Message Is Spreading/Several Examples
4. Israeli Activists Protest Against Israeli McDonald’s
5. Excellent Editorial on Treatment of Animals in Israel
6. I Am a Candidate on the Green Zionist Alliance (GZA)
(www.greenzionism.org) Slate of Candidates for the Upcoming World Zionist Congress Elections/Please Vote
8. Rabbinical Student Seeking Animal Issues Projects
9. Israeli African Hebrews’ Vegan Diets keeping Them Healthy
10. New York Restaurant Serving Kosher Game
11. Considering Ecological Factors Re Our Food and Other Commodities
13. Article in Jerusalem Report Re Resistance to Horse Racing
in Israel
14. Vegetarian Female Seeking Vegetarian Male
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 kashrut, Shabbat observances, or any other Jewish observance, but may be presented for informational purposes. Please use e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, and web sites to get further information about any event that you are interested in.
As always, your comments and suggestions are very welcome.
Thanks,
Richard
==========================
1. Seeking feedback re the JVNA and the Newsletter
Based on a suggestion from JVNA advisor and one of our volunteer legal advisors Mel Kimmel, I would like to seek feedback on the JVNA, this newsletter, and related matters. Every JVNA newsletter indicates that comments and suggestions are welcome. But, here are some specific questions:
* What do you think of the JVNA newsletter? Do you have any suggestions for improvements? What would you like to see more of? What would you like to see less of? Are you finding the newsletter versions at the JVNA web site (jewishVeg.com) valuable? Any other comments re the newsletter?
* Have you changed your habits in any way due to material in JVNA newsletters?
* Do you have suggestions re JVNA activities? Are there projects that you would like us to be involved in?
* How often do you check the JVNA web site? Do you have suggestions for improvements?
* Is there any area in which you would like to help JVNA? Do you have any special skills or contacts that might help us?
* Would you like to speak to groups about “Judaism and Vegetarianism?” We can provide you with valuable background information that cam help you effectively do this.
==========================
2. Promoting Vegetarianism More Effectively
While we have a very strong case, have truth, justice, and morality on our side, and a shift toward vegetarianism is increasingly becoming a religious imperative and a societal imperative, progress is very slow. Hence, I have written the article below and versions of it in letter and article form. Please feel free to share the article with others, and please let me know if you have any comments and/or suggestions re the article. Thanks.
TEN WAYS TO CREATE A VEGETARIAN WORLD
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.
In spite of the increasing need for a shift toward vegetarianism to counteract the present epidemic of diseases and the many environmental threats caused by the production and consumption of animal products, progress has been relatively slow. it is time for a consideration of new strategies to promote vegetarianism more effectively. The ten ideas suggested below are designed to start a dialogue that will lead to positive changes. It is my hope that this article will elicit additional suggestions and effective initiatives.
1) Set a Goal and a Time Table Toward a Vegetarian Conscious World
We should not be satisfied with the relatively slow progress currently being made toward vegetarianism, especially in the face of all the recent disturbing reports of environmental catastrophes ahead. One possibility is to declare a goal, such as “A Vegetarian-conscious world by 2010.” This could inspire our efforts by providing something to work toward. Note the term “vegetarian conscious.” We can’t hope that every person will be a vegetarian by 2010, or any other time, and we should not argue that each person must be a vegetarian. However, we can work, with a heightened sense of urgency, to see that everyone is at least aware of the many reasons for becoming a vegetarian, with the hope that many will act based on that knowledge.
2) Make People Aware That a Shift Toward Vegetarianism is Beneficial for People as Well as Animals
Many people resist vegetarian arguments, asserting that they can’t be concerned about animals when people face so many problems. We should stress that a shift to vegetarianism would be very beneficial to people as well as animals. Among the arguments we should use are:
• Animal-based diets increase risk factors for many life-threatening diseases, including heart disease, several types of cancer, and stroke.
• Animal-based agriculture contributes significantly to many environmental threats to humanity.
• The feeding of 70 percent of the grain produced in the United States (and almost 40 percent of the grain produced worldwide) to farmed animals contributes to an estimated 20 million of the world’s people dying annually from hunger and its effects.
3) Make People Aware That a Shift Toward Vegetarianism is a Societal Imperative Today
Humanity is arguably threatened as perhaps never before from global warming, widening water shortages, rapid species extinction, destruction of tropical rain forests and other valuable habitats, and many other problems. We should make people aware that all of these threats and many more are significantly worsened by the following: we are raising 50 billion farmed animals for slaughter annually worldwide; almost 40 percent of the world’s grain is used to fatten farmed animals; it takes 14 times as much water, ten times as much energy, and over 20 times as much land for an animal-based diet than it does for a vegan diet; animal-based agriculture contributes significantly to emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases; and much more. We should also stress that diseases caused by the consumption of animal product results in soaring medical expenditures which are contributing to record budget deficits and the perceived need to cut basic social services.
4) Inform People That a Shift Toward Vegetarianism is a Religious Imperative Today
Most people profess to be religious today and many claim to base their lives on moral values related to their religions. We should respectfully discuss with such people how animal-based diets and agriculture contradict basic religious mandates to preserve our health, treat animals compassionately, preserve the environment, conserve natural resources, help hungry people, and seek and pursue peace. We should stress such biblical teachings as “God’s mercies are over all of his creatures” (Psalms 145:9), “the righteous person considers the lives of his or her animals” (Proverbs 12:10), that animals as well as people are to be permitted to rest on the Sabbath day (part of the Ten Commandments), and similar teachings from other holy books and teachers.
5) Relate Vegetarianism to Current News Items
Vegetarianism touches on almost all phases of life – health, nutrition, animals, the environment, energy, water and other resources, economics, politics, family life, and many more – and we should make people aware of connections. When there are news reports re global warming and its effects, we should point out that animal-based diets contribute significantly to emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases. When there are articles re taxes, budget deficits, and other economic issues, we should indicate that health costs are soaring in efforts to cure the many diseases that have been conclusively connected to animal-centered diets. When there are articles about water shortages and droughts, we should help make people aware that animal-based agriculture requires far more water and other resources than plant-based agriculture. Many additional examples can be given.
6) Start a Letter Writing Campaign
As a follow-up to the discussion in item #5, there should be a major campaign to get letters to editors on connections between various issues and vegetarianism. If only a small percentage of the people concerned about vegetarianism and related issues wrote a letter just once a month, it could have a major impact. A web site should be set up that gives talking points daily for letters based on current issues as well as sample letters.
As a related approach, since many people listen daily to talk radio shows, there should also be a concerted effort to get people to call such shows with vegetarian messages. While radio talk show hosts are generally very well informed on a wide variety of issues, I have found that many have major misconceptions re health, nutrition, and other vegetarian-related issues.
7) Make a Shift to Vegetarianism a Priority for the Animal Rights Movement
The vast majority of cases of animal abuses occur on factory farms. Yet, many, perhaps most, animal rights activists are working on other issues, such as circuses, rodeos, fur, pets, and animal experimentation. These are all important issues and it is essential to end all cases of animal abuse. But, animal-based diets and agriculture threaten most individuals’ personal health and the well being of humanity. If most animal rights advocates worked on promoting vegetarianism and veganism, even for a limited time, in addition to their other animal rights efforts, it could have a very powerful impact.
8) Challenge the Medical Establishment
Every person is concerned about his or her health and the health of loved ones. There is very strong evidence that incidents of heart disease, various types of cancer, strokes, and other chronic degenerative diseases can be sharply reduced by a shift to vegetarian and vegan diets, along with other positive lifestyle changes. Yet, the medical establishment, including most nutritionists, are ignoring this information, and are not making patients and the general public aware that many diseases can be prevented, and sometimes reversed, through dietary changes. It might even be called medical malpractice. I recently visited a cousin in a rehabilitation center, and was astounded at reading the daily menus, which had animal products at every meal. It is essential that we challenge medical practitioners and respectfully urge them to help educate people about healthy diets.
As indicated in point #10, others, such as educators, politicians, religious leaders, and reporters, should also be challenged to increase awareness of the health and many other benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets.
9) Form Alliances With Other Groups
Since vegetarianism has connections with many societal issues, we should try to build strong alliances with many other groups that are working for positive changes. For example, we should seek alliances with environmental groups, and inform them that the raising of 50 billion animals for slaughter annually, primarily on “factory farms,” contributes to many environmental threats; we should seek alliances with groups concerned about hunger, poverty, water and energy shortages, global warming, and related issues, and inform them about how the production of animal products contributes to many environmental threats and is extremely wasteful of resources.
10) Challenge the Media, Politicians, Educators, and Other Members of the Establishment
Since, as indicated above humanity is threatened as perhaps never before, and a switch toward vegetarianism is a societal imperative, and there are vegetarian connections to many current issues, we should try to meet with influential members of society and urge them to take a stand re vegetarianism, or at least to put the issues on their agendas. We should urge educators to see that children learn about proper nutrition and are provided with tasty, nutritious options at every meal. We should exhort reporters and editors to make people aware of the many negative effects of animal-based diets and the many benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets.
-------------------------
This is just an outline of some steps that I think would be helpful in moving toward a vegetarian world. I am sure that the many dedicated people in the vegetarian and related movements can add to my points and come up with additional suggestions. The important thing is that we become increasingly involved, for our sakes, for the animals, and for our precious, but imperiled, planet.
=========================
3. Our Message Is Spreading/Several Examples
a. In a message dated 10/10/05 12:20:34 AM, tgibson@______ writes:
Dear Richard
I read your ten steps [article] today* and thought you would like to know that I will be sharing them with my home economics students(70, 15 year old girls-three classes) this week when we study a vegan diet.
Theresa Gibson
*published in New Vegetarian and Natural Health, Spring 2005
Follow-up message:
Had the first in the three series of lessons on vegetarian food today and the girls were very interested in your ten steps. Made guacamole and sweet potato soup for them to sample-served with three different types of bread-millet. rye and organic whole meal. Everything was delicious. We even took pictures.
Theresa
---------------------------------------------
Follow-up message re the classes that Theresa taught:
Vegetarian Cooking
I teach At Mercedes College- a girls Catholic high school in Perth, Western Australia.My main teaching areas are religious education and economics but I am also known at the college for my strong views in supportof vegetarianism and my love of cooking.
So, each year the Home Economics department invites me to take a class in the Year 10 course to cover the basics of the vegetarian diet and to prepare and share some vegetarian food.This year there were three year ten classes.The girls in the class are 14 or 15 years old and have been studying Food and Nutrition for between one and three years
In my class I cover the reasons why people might consider the vegetarian diet for themselves. This year to helpexplain such a choice I referred to Richard Schwartz’ Ten Steps toward a Vegetarian World (which had been published in the Spring 2005 edition of “New Vegetarian and Natural Health”).This proved to be very useful in outlining not only the direct health benefits but also the easily understood links to almost all phases of life!.
Richard’s idea of a ‘vegetarian conscious world by 2010’ seems very possible to those of us living in a country like Australia with such a wonderful environment and vast productive agricultural areas.
The girls enjoyed trying two vegan dishes-guacamole and sweet potato/pumpkin soup.
I served these with bread made from different grains.
I really appreciate the opportunity these classes give me to explain the real choice that a vegetarian diet can be for a young person wanting to do something positive in the world today which not only help themselves but also, the planet.
---------------------------------------------
b. jennymoxham@_______ writes:
Dear Richard,
Just wanted to say what a good article of yours that was in the new vegetarian and Natural Health.(10 STEPS TOWARDS A VEGETARIAN WORLD)
Have passed it on to a few others. keep up the excellent work!
Best wishes,
Jenny Moxham
MONBULK
AUSTRALIA
========================
4. Israeli Activists Protest Against Israeli McDonald’s
Thanks to JVNA newsletter reader Miriam Gross for the following:
Israelis marks anti-McDonald's day
Protesters rally across nation to mark international anti-McDonald's day; activists claim fast food chain harms environment, exploits workers and tortures animals
Orna Yefet
Activists throughout Israel demonstrated Sunday afternoon to mark international anti-McDonald's day, by staging protests, resentations and other activities across the country.
This annual demonstration, which has taken place for the past 20 years, aims to protest the fast food chain's destruction of the environment, exploitation of workers, and the torture and killing of animals, activists say.
The activists say the protests will focus on the destructive influence of consumer culture and corporate control over our lives.
The organization for the liberation of animals in Israel (ALI) and the coalition against McDonald's have partnered together to form a unified front to fight the for the common cause.
Activities against the corporation already began Friday in Tel Aviv, where activists resorted to street theater to protest.
They also presented a gallery of photos showing cruelty to animals, harm to the environment, and issues pertaining to workers' rights.
Free T-shirts and vegan food were also handed out and stands were constructed to supply information and pamphlets.
Later, protesters led a rally past the fast food branches in the center of Tel Aviv. Police attempted to disperse the crowds once they reached Dizengoff Square but were met with resistance.
'Disastrous policies'
Protests against McDonald's will continue Sunday throughout the country. The activists say they are demonstrating against the chain to protest its "disastrous policies."
Among other charges, the protesters claim McDonald's harms the public's health by selling unhealthy food and targets a young audience with its advertising campaigns. The chain also sell toys produced in Chinese sweatshops that employ children, the activists say.
They claim McDonald's harms animals, caging them in difficult conditions and slaughtering billions a year. The corporation is also accused of harming the environment by destroying the rainforests and producing waste, and causing starvation by using fertile land in poor countries for growing crops to feed animals used for fast food.
McDonald's in Israel declined comment on the protest.
The international anti-McDonald's day started in the 1980s when London Greenpeace launched a campaign against McDonald's under the heading "What's wrong with McDonald's?"
McDonald's sued the activists in a trial that went on for 10 years.
=========================
5. Excellent Editorial on Treatment of Animals in Israel
[I previously sent this editorial to advisors and that has already generated a few letters to editors. But, please write to letters@haaretz.co.il, to keep the momentum going.]
Rights for helpless animals
By Haaretz Editorial
Public campaigns to defend animals often lead to improvement, but the real changes occur when the government and the courts mobilize in their defense. Israel is still not one of the more advanced states in its treatment of animals, but the courts and the government have recently made several decisions that prove that the importance of this matter is beginning to be understood.
Last week, the Nazareth District Court rejected an appeal by a man convicted of abusing a cat by putting it into a sealed plastic bag. The man appealed his conviction, but the court ruled that he injured "a helpless animal that cannot defend itself and cannot sue for redress of its pain and injury." The significance of the court's ruling was its rejection of the argument that the abusive behavior was justified in order to deal with a plague of cats in the vicinity of the abuser's
residence.
Three weeks ago, the government decided not to support a bill that would enable geese to continue to be force-fed. Force-feeding causes great pain and artificially enlarges the goose's liver, all for the purpose of supplying the delicacy known as foie gras. Prior to the government's decision, the High Court of Justice, in response to petitions by animal welfare organizations, had ruled that force-feeding geese violates the law against abusing animals.
The government's decision is particularly significant because it affects the livelihoods of hundreds of people who were engaged, either directly or indirectly, in the goose-fattening industry. The government's decision thus effectively declares that the goal of preserving a source of employment cannot legitimize animal abuse. And on this note, the ongoing activity of the policemen who have been working with the Environment Ministry over the past several years to enforce the law against animal abuse deserves commendation. Their activity has led to the filing of several indictments.
Nevertheless, many shadows remain in the overall picture of the situation of animals in this country, and abuse is still widespread. This is particularly true with regard to farm animals such as chickens and cows, as humans have grown accustomed to viewing these animals as food products and have forgotten that they, too, are entitled to protection.
On the eve of Yom Kippur, people could once again be seen observing the custom of kapparot - a custom that has been criticized in rabbinical rulings for hundreds of years already and involves abusing terrified chickens with no nutritional or health justification. Veal calves are also still raised in Israel under terrible conditions, which include preventing them from drinking water in order to force them to drink a special liquid that causes them to gain weight.
One of the key problems is faulty enforcement, including the courts' tendency not to impose sentences that would deter offenders. Even when they are convicted, animal abusers are generally sentenced to fines that have no deterrent value or to suspended prison sentences. The government did indeed decide that the force-feeding of geese should not continue, but in practice, it does. From the point of view of the geese, there is thus far no comfort in the fact that both High Court justices and cabinet ministers have demonstrated compassion for their distress.
-------------------------
Roberta Kalechofsky’s letter in response:
Your editorial on the subject of Israel's slow but apparent advance to defend animals is very much appreciated. It is one of the ironies of history that Judaism, which has had for centuries, a clear and unequivocal defense of animals and has as one of its mandates, "tsa'ar ba'alei chayim" (you may not cause harm to living creatures), should have such a poor record in the modern world. The article in the Encyclopedia Judaica, vol 1, under "A", animal cruelty, outlines our human responsibility to non-human creatures, and makes clear that animals have a place in the Divine economy.
Where did this learning go and how did this value disappear from Jewish life?
Roberta Kalechofsky, Ph.D.
President, Jews for Animal Rights
=========================
6. I Am a Candidate on The Green Zionist Alliance (GZA) (www.greenzionism.org) Slate of Candidates forthe Upcoming World Zionist Congress Elections/Please Vote
GREEN ZIONIST ALLIANCE PROUDLY INTRODUCES SLATE OF CANDIDATES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW YORK, October 17, 2005 – The Green Zionist Alliance (GZA) (www.greenzionism.org) proudly introduces its Slate of candidates for the upcoming World Zionist Congress elections.
“We are inspired by the breadth and depth of our Slate,” said Rabbi Michael M. Cohen, co-founder of the Green Zionist Alliance. “Collectively, this roster demonstrates that concern for the environment truly transcends religious and political orientation.”
The GZA Slate is composed of 38 people in 17 States, from California to New Hampshire and Wisconsin to Arizona. The group includes activists, professionals, rabbis, scientists, students and leaders who represent and reflect the growing community of Jewish environmentalists with deep concern about the country, the people and the land of Israel, all passionately committed to creating a peaceful, pluralistic, and sustainable society.
Devoted to Israel’s ecological future, the Alliance works closely with a broad coalition of environmental organizations and leaders in the United States and Israel to ensure a high quality of life for all Israelis.
The Green Zionist Alliance offers a place for all Jews, regardless of political or religious affiliation, who care about humanity’s responsibility to preserve Creation and the special responsibility of the Jewish people to preserve the many ecological treasures of the land of Israel.
A complete listing of the Green Zionist Alliance Slate members may be found at www.greenzionism.org/greenz/slate.html
The election will be held from mid-November 2005 through February 28,2006. The Green Zionist Alliance is aiming to be the third largest delegation from the United States for the 2006 World Zionist Congress.
For additional information, contact:
Hal Klopper
Executive Director
Green Zionist Alliance
(646) 644-7891
hdk@greenzionism.org
www.greenzionism.org
Green Zionist Alliance :: The Slate
The candidates on our Slate include activists, professionals, rabbis, scientists, students and leaders who represent our extensive Green Zionist Alliance membership: the growing community of Jewish environmentalists with deep concern about the country, the people and the land of Israel, all passionately committed to creating a peaceful, pluralistic, and sustainable society.
We Proudly Present our Slate of Candidates
Rabbi Michael M. Cohen
Manchester Center, VT
Prof. Susannah Heschel
Hanover, NH
Aliza Kline
Newton, MA
Noam Dolgin
New York, NY
Ariana Silverman
Peekskill, NY
Rebecca Weaver
St. Louis, MO
Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb
Washington, DC
Dr. Richard H. Schwartz
New York, NY
Stefanie Zelkind
New York, NY
SNIP
Vote for The Green Zionist Alliance:
Show Your Concern for Israel's Environment!
Copyright 2005 by The Green Zionist Alliance
=========================
8. Rabbinical Student Seeking Animal Issues Projects
seahawk44 writes:
Hi Richard,
We met last year at the COEJL conference.I'm a rabbinical student at Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, very interested in various aspects of Judaism and animals, including, but not limited to animal-related spirituality, rituals and pastoral care surrounding the human-animal relationship, and Jewish ethics and attitudes towards animals.I have read a number of articles and written a good amount over the past few years.Now I'm trying to design a year-long independent study course at RRC based on Judaism and animals.It will involve combining some scholarship with practical rabbinics. Can you recommend any books or projects that might enrich this opportunity?
My response:Sounds great, Josh, and I wish you much success with this important project. Please feel free to use any of the material at the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) web site (JewishVeg.com), including my over 100 articles at JewishVeg.com/schwartz. If you do not have my book "Judaism and Vegetarianism," please send me your mailing address, and I will be happy to send you a complimentary copy, along with some related material including a "Judaism and Vegetarianism" CD.
Re other resources, I suggest you check the Micah Publications web site www.micahbooks.com, as they have several books that would be very valuabl for your project. A very important comprehensive book on Jewish teachings on animals is "The Vision of Eden: Animal Welfare and vegetarianism in Jewish Law and Mysticism." It is available through Amazon.com and barnesandNoble.com.
Re projects, perhaps a student could send a questionnaire (and perhaps also personally contact) rabbis re applications of Jewish teachings on animals. I would be happy to consult with any student re possibilities. You might also want to contact Roberta Kalechofsky (founder and director of Jews for Animal Rights and Micah Publications; micah@micahbooks.com) and Nina Natelson (founder and director of Concern for Helping Animals in Israel (CHAI): chai_us@cox.net).
Best of luck with this important project, and please let me know if I can help in any other way.
Gmar chatimah tovah,
Richard
=========================
9. Israeli African Hebrews’ Vegan Diets keeping Them Healthy
Healthy lives bear fruit for African Hebrews
By Kwaku Sakyi-Addo
BBC, Israel
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4287688.stm
Sar Bakooriah is 68, and a sprinter. He runs 100 metres in under 12 seconds, while his big grey Afro-style hair sweeps against the Negev Desert wind.
At 68, Sar remains a good athlete Mr Bakooriah is one of 3,000 African Hebrew Israelites living at Dimona, at the foot of the Judean Hills in southern Israel, where miraculous health stories abound.
Men in their seventies lift weights in the gym and grandmothers, like Aturah Havenah, 60, run 8km every morning.
The African Hebrews who settled in Dimona 37 years ago, maintain a strict organic vegetarian diet that excludes dairy products and includes plenty of exercise.
Men sport Afros and women don't put chemicals in their hair. "If you feed your children cow's milk, you shouldn't be surprised when they become obese just like the cow. The milk of a cow is meant for calves to weigh three tonnes when they grow up," says Prince Asiel Ben Israel, 65, himself lean and fit as a boy despite his age.
Mr Israel was one of 400 African-Americans who left the United States in 1967, rejecting what they saw as a life of decadence and death. Under the leadership of Ben Ammi, then only 30, they stopped over in Liberia for two-and-a-half years.
There are too many funerals in Africa. There are never en ough hospitals. We have to stop and ask why
There, they lived off the land in the interior forests, "to reconnect with nature," according to Edem Adzogenu, a Ghanaian doctor in his 30s and one of scores of Africans from the continent who have recently joined the community.
Nearly 300 members of the community returned to the United States during that transition.
Those who were left settled in Dimona with Israeli citizenship. The Israeli authorities accepted their claim for citizenship as they traced their ancestry to indigenous black people who fled from the Romans in Israel in 70 AD, and migrated to East, Central and West Africa. The strict vegetarian diet of the African Hebrews has borne fruit.
Since they settled in Dimona, no more than five of their members have died; and among those born in Israel, not one has died of natural causes.
Infant, child and maternal mortality are zero, a fact confirmed by health authorities in Dimona.
"If the cow is eating greens, and the cow is healthy enough for us to eat its flesh, then why don't we go directly to what the cow is eating?" Ahmadiel Ben-Yehuda, curator of the community's historical museum asks rhetorically.
"There are too many funerals in Africa. There are never enough hospitals. We have to stop and ask why," says Ben Ammi. "It's because we've turned our backs on the simpler but richer gifts from God - all those fruits and vegetables that grow effortlessly around us.
"Africans are eating polished white rice from America instead of locally grown brown rice because we've been fooled into thinking that anything white is good and everything brown is inferior, that's the problem," says Ben Ammi.
The community also has a strong Afro-centric bent, which outwardly manifests itself in their long colourful gowns, sixties-style Afros and chemical-free braids. They maintain a communal structure where all children are everyone's responsibility and teenagers stop to say "Shalom" to passing grown-ups.
The African Hebrews have sent some of their members to Africa to work with communities in hopes of encouraging lifestyle changes. In Benin, they have established an organic farm and an agriculture and nutrition school.
In Ghana there is a soya products factory, a vegetarian food outlet and a local-rice mill.
In South Africa, they have a nutrition project for people living with HIV.
But with massive imports of cheap processed foods to the continent, and US-style fast food joints spreading in urban Africa, it could be an uphill task to convince people that a fresh orange from their backyard is healthier than what's inside the colourfully-labelled can on the shelf.
=========================
10. New York Restaurant Serving Kosher Game
The New York Times printed an article about "game" dishes at kosher restaurants. This provides a good opportunity to discuss factory farming and vegetarianism. http://www.goveg.com/feat/agriprocessors/ or region@nytimes.com.
If you do write, please limit your letter to 150 words or less.
For writers' guidelines, see http://www.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/letters/.
Be sure to include the title and date of the piece, and your name, address, and phone numbers for verification.
October 19, 2005
Stalking Kosher Game (Hold the Giraffe)
By KARA NEWMAN
IN the strictly kosher kitchen at Levana on the Upper West Side, Bill Spitz, the chef, ladles a deep-hued sauce of veal stock, cassis purée and juniper berries over slices of venison, each slice faintly pink at the middle. Stalks of vibrant green broccolini are tented above the venison, and the dish is whisked out to the dining room.
This is kosher? Yes, but check your delicatessen expectations at the door. This is kosher game.
While unusual game meats and birds can be difficult to obtain under the best of circumstances, for kosher restaurants like Levana, procuring kosher game is an outright challenge, requiring an almost grass-roots approach to acquiring one meat at a time. Sol and Avrum Kirschenbaum, brothers who own the restaurant with a third brother, Maurice, and his wife, Levana, plotted the menu for an Oct. 31 all-game and wine-pairing dinner, revealing the lengths to which they have gone to fill the table.
"We're going on a quail kill soon to get the quail," said Avrum Kirschenbaum, counting on his fingers as he went through the checklist. "We have a guy in Israel who said he can get us cured goose breast, that's new. And we will have glatt kosher foie gras, which is flash frozen and imported from Israel."
The game tasting menu is also expected to include bison ribs and venison sausage made in-house by Mr. Spitz. However, Sol Kirschenbaum added that any of these dishes might fall through, as most exotic items depend upon what can be procured and in what quantities.
Why is kosher game so difficult to obtain? The lengthy list of provisions for the slaughter and ritual preparation of kosher meat deters many farmers from seeking out kosher certification for their animals. A shochet, a trained kosher slaughterer, must be hired. Only parts of many animals can be sold as kosher. The carcasses are inspected several times for imperfections that would disqualify them. The meat is deveined, salted and soaked in cold water several times to draw out any remaining blood.
Then there is the hefty price tag, often double that of similar nonkosher meats.
According to the Orthodox Union, one of the primary agencies that certifies kosher products in the United States, only 10 species of mammals are kosher, including a few game animals, among them antelope, bison, deer, giraffe (yes, giraffe) and ibex.
SNIP
=========================
11. Considering Ecological Factors Re Our Food and Other Commodities
[Thanks to JVNA advisor dan Brook for forwarding this article to me]
Eco-kosher
More than milchik and fleishik
by alexandra j. wall
staff writer
j., September 30, 2005
Your average mashgiach (kosher overseer) makes sure a dollop of sour cream gets nowhere near a plate of brisket. But Chaya Gusfield and Rabbi Debora Kohn are not your average mashgichot.
Rather than keeping the milchik away from the fleishik, these women are more concerned with separating cans from bottles and keeping paper-plate usage to a bare minimum.
The two Bay Area women, plus Howie Schneider of Santa Cruz, were recently certified according to the principles of "eco-kashrut."
"You think bigger than just straight kashrut," said Gusfield. "You take the principles of kashrut and include ecological concerns."
Gusfield, an Oakland resident who is in the Aleph rabbinical program of the Renewal movement, is a rabbinical assistant at Congregation Beth Chaim in Danville. Earlier this year, she and Kohn of Berkeley, also a Renewal rabbi, went through a certification process with Rabbi Dennis Beck-Berman, a Renewal rabbi based in Virginia.
Though the eco-kosher movement has been around for several decades, this was the first time the Jewish Renewal movement offered certification in the practice. Beck-Berman developed the curriculum, after Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi suggested such a course be taught.
The term eco-kashrut was coined in the 1970s by Shachter-Shalomi, universally known as Reb Zalman, the founder of Jewish Renewal. Beck-Berman offered another certification course as part of the Kallah, the biennial gathering of the Jewish Renewal movement this summer. Eco-kashrut practices are based not only on taking care of the environment, but shmirat hagoof (taking care of the body). Eating a vegetarian diet is one way to lessen one's impact on the planet, and buying organic and pesticide-free produce and avoiding genetically-modified food are further examples of following an eco-kashrut lifestyle. Ensuring that farm workers are compensated with fair wages and purchasing fair trade products is another. Furthermore, buying foods in bulk, to reduce packaging that is often not recyclable, is also a key principle.
"Eighty percent of the teachings are on issues of consumables, the foods and beverages that we eat and drink and how you choose what is more eco-kosher," said Beck-Berman. "We also discuss how you 'kosher' a home as opposed to a facility, meaning finding vendors and suppliers you feel comfortable with. We could spend more time with the topic of slaughtering animals, but a vegetarian diet is much more eco-kosher, so kosher slaughter is not our main focus." And unlike traditional mashgichim, who are trained in the ritual slaughter of animals, no killing is required.
Guided by these principles, Gusfield, who is also a lay leader at Kehilla Community Synagogue, helped prepare the kitchen at Kehilla's new Piedmont facility. Keeping kosher in the traditional sense is often not environmentally sound, she pointed out.
"A lot of kosher food is triple-wrapped," she said. "And by keeping kosher, you end up using more paper plates."
Kohn, who serves as spiritual leader at the Reutlinger Community for Jewish Living in Danville, said she practices the principles of eco-kashrut more at home than in her professional life, since the residents of Reutlinger are mostly entrenched carnivores.
But they are open to the idea of eco-kashrut, "in terms of taking care of our planet and the community," Kohn said.
Before Kohn got there, the center didn't recycle anything. "My role here is strictly educational," she said. "The older generation is not used to recycling plastic and cans and paper. We're doing one thing at a time, but we'll get there."
Copyright J, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California
=========================
13. Article in Jerusalem Report Re Resistance to Horse Racing
in Israel
GO TO http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/398531952 TO SIGN THE PETITION AGAINST HORSE RACING CRUELTIES - for more information, go to www.chai-online.org
[Please consider writing a letter to the editor at jrep@jreport.co.il]
Animal-rights groups vs. horse-racing plan
The Agriculture Ministry continues to back a plan to bring horse racing to Israel, despite an animal-right's group's appeal to the Supreme Court against the plan and criticism by MKs opposed to legalized gambling.
Hakol Chai, an Israeli animal-rights organization with a sister group in Virginia (CHAI, the Concern for Helping Animals in Israel) petitioned the Supreme Court on September 18, claiming that the government, which approved the racing plan in 2004, had failed to take into account the cruelty endemic in the sport. The initiative, which is being pushed by Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz, would see two race tracks in Israel - the first in the North, in the Gilboa region, and a second in the Negev. Katz has said that the tracks will provide employment and serve as tourist attractions. Other MKs, notably Zevulun Orlev of the National Religious Party, have slammed the plan, claiming that additional legalization of gambling (beyond the current Mifal Hapayis lottery and the Sportoro soccer pools) will harm poor Israelis. A bill enabling the construction of the race tracks is now being prepared for approval by the Knesset, which must pass a law allowing work to begin.
The Agriculture Ministry rejects Hakol Chai's claims of animal cruelty."Horse racing in Israel isn't organized, and opening it to gambling is expected to raise the level of medical care and treatment of the horses, and so the appearance of this sport in Israel is welcome," says Dafna Yeristo - can't read this - a Ministry spokesperson. "Obviously, unprofessional care causes the horses much suffering. In addition, the sport will provide employment for many out-of-work Israelis and will contribute to regional development."
Tali Lavie, spokesperson for Hakol Chai, insists that the sport's cruelty is severe and well documented. Drugging and steroid use - 70% of race-horses are given performance-enhancing substances. Stomach, lung, and heart damage is widespread, as are bone fractures. Once the horses are no longer profitable, they are often killed. "Racehorses live, on average, six years, while a horse's normal life span is around 25," Lavie says. "Israel can find ways of developing tourism that don't involve causing such cruelty to animals."
Matti Friedman
=========================
14. Vegetarian Female Seeking Vegetarian Male
Forwarded message from Aviva
I am a 54 year old Jewish, vegetarian woman (convert, 5.7, slim, and healthy) Shomer Shabbat, and I would like to meet a Jewish, vegetarian man for companionship and or marriage. I am an outgoing, sensitive, intuitive person and love the outdoors,walking and talking with a friend, camping, swimming in a lake or cycling in nature. I love cultural events, reading (mostly non-fiction) singing in a choir, and listening to music in a quiet setting. I amhonest, direct, sincere, kind, with a sense of humor and joy of life (but not perfect which motivates me to be introspective at times to work on my life in order to grow forward spiritually). I obtained a M.A from the local university.I try to walk lightly on this earth and abhor cruelty to any living being. Although I live on Canada's west coast, I will relocate for the right person.
I am looking for a middle aged (up to 65) Jewish, vegetarian man (5.7 or over) who is Shomer Shabbat, healthy, strong, loving, successful, university educated, masculine, peaceful,honest and faithful. Someone who is willing to find friendship, love and happiness with me, who is fun to be with, and who is looking for a bashert [intended] to grow into the sunset years with. Please e-mailarro@mail.vcn.bc.ca
=========================
** Fair Use Notice**
This document may contain copyrighted material, use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owners.I believe that this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
This update/Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) Online Newsletter has the following items:
1. Seeking Feedback re the JVNA and the Newsletter
2. Promoting Vegetarianism More Effectively
3. Our Message Is Spreading/Several Examples
4. Israeli Activists Protest Against Israeli McDonald’s
5. Excellent Editorial on Treatment of Animals in Israel
6. I Am a Candidate on the Green Zionist Alliance (GZA)
(www.greenzionism.org) Slate of Candidates for the Upcoming World Zionist Congress Elections/Please Vote
8. Rabbinical Student Seeking Animal Issues Projects
9. Israeli African Hebrews’ Vegan Diets keeping Them Healthy
10. New York Restaurant Serving Kosher Game
11. Considering Ecological Factors Re Our Food and Other Commodities
13. Article in Jerusalem Report Re Resistance to Horse Racing
in Israel
14. Vegetarian Female Seeking Vegetarian Male
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 kashrut, Shabbat observances, or any other Jewish observance, but may be presented for informational purposes. Please use e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, and web sites to get further information about any event that you are interested in.
As always, your comments and suggestions are very welcome.
Thanks,
Richard
==========================
1. Seeking feedback re the JVNA and the Newsletter
Based on a suggestion from JVNA advisor and one of our volunteer legal advisors Mel Kimmel, I would like to seek feedback on the JVNA, this newsletter, and related matters. Every JVNA newsletter indicates that comments and suggestions are welcome. But, here are some specific questions:
* What do you think of the JVNA newsletter? Do you have any suggestions for improvements? What would you like to see more of? What would you like to see less of? Are you finding the newsletter versions at the JVNA web site (jewishVeg.com) valuable? Any other comments re the newsletter?
* Have you changed your habits in any way due to material in JVNA newsletters?
* Do you have suggestions re JVNA activities? Are there projects that you would like us to be involved in?
* How often do you check the JVNA web site? Do you have suggestions for improvements?
* Is there any area in which you would like to help JVNA? Do you have any special skills or contacts that might help us?
* Would you like to speak to groups about “Judaism and Vegetarianism?” We can provide you with valuable background information that cam help you effectively do this.
==========================
2. Promoting Vegetarianism More Effectively
While we have a very strong case, have truth, justice, and morality on our side, and a shift toward vegetarianism is increasingly becoming a religious imperative and a societal imperative, progress is very slow. Hence, I have written the article below and versions of it in letter and article form. Please feel free to share the article with others, and please let me know if you have any comments and/or suggestions re the article. Thanks.
TEN WAYS TO CREATE A VEGETARIAN WORLD
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.
In spite of the increasing need for a shift toward vegetarianism to counteract the present epidemic of diseases and the many environmental threats caused by the production and consumption of animal products, progress has been relatively slow. it is time for a consideration of new strategies to promote vegetarianism more effectively. The ten ideas suggested below are designed to start a dialogue that will lead to positive changes. It is my hope that this article will elicit additional suggestions and effective initiatives.
1) Set a Goal and a Time Table Toward a Vegetarian Conscious World
We should not be satisfied with the relatively slow progress currently being made toward vegetarianism, especially in the face of all the recent disturbing reports of environmental catastrophes ahead. One possibility is to declare a goal, such as “A Vegetarian-conscious world by 2010.” This could inspire our efforts by providing something to work toward. Note the term “vegetarian conscious.” We can’t hope that every person will be a vegetarian by 2010, or any other time, and we should not argue that each person must be a vegetarian. However, we can work, with a heightened sense of urgency, to see that everyone is at least aware of the many reasons for becoming a vegetarian, with the hope that many will act based on that knowledge.
2) Make People Aware That a Shift Toward Vegetarianism is Beneficial for People as Well as Animals
Many people resist vegetarian arguments, asserting that they can’t be concerned about animals when people face so many problems. We should stress that a shift to vegetarianism would be very beneficial to people as well as animals. Among the arguments we should use are:
• Animal-based diets increase risk factors for many life-threatening diseases, including heart disease, several types of cancer, and stroke.
• Animal-based agriculture contributes significantly to many environmental threats to humanity.
• The feeding of 70 percent of the grain produced in the United States (and almost 40 percent of the grain produced worldwide) to farmed animals contributes to an estimated 20 million of the world’s people dying annually from hunger and its effects.
3) Make People Aware That a Shift Toward Vegetarianism is a Societal Imperative Today
Humanity is arguably threatened as perhaps never before from global warming, widening water shortages, rapid species extinction, destruction of tropical rain forests and other valuable habitats, and many other problems. We should make people aware that all of these threats and many more are significantly worsened by the following: we are raising 50 billion farmed animals for slaughter annually worldwide; almost 40 percent of the world’s grain is used to fatten farmed animals; it takes 14 times as much water, ten times as much energy, and over 20 times as much land for an animal-based diet than it does for a vegan diet; animal-based agriculture contributes significantly to emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases; and much more. We should also stress that diseases caused by the consumption of animal product results in soaring medical expenditures which are contributing to record budget deficits and the perceived need to cut basic social services.
4) Inform People That a Shift Toward Vegetarianism is a Religious Imperative Today
Most people profess to be religious today and many claim to base their lives on moral values related to their religions. We should respectfully discuss with such people how animal-based diets and agriculture contradict basic religious mandates to preserve our health, treat animals compassionately, preserve the environment, conserve natural resources, help hungry people, and seek and pursue peace. We should stress such biblical teachings as “God’s mercies are over all of his creatures” (Psalms 145:9), “the righteous person considers the lives of his or her animals” (Proverbs 12:10), that animals as well as people are to be permitted to rest on the Sabbath day (part of the Ten Commandments), and similar teachings from other holy books and teachers.
5) Relate Vegetarianism to Current News Items
Vegetarianism touches on almost all phases of life – health, nutrition, animals, the environment, energy, water and other resources, economics, politics, family life, and many more – and we should make people aware of connections. When there are news reports re global warming and its effects, we should point out that animal-based diets contribute significantly to emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases. When there are articles re taxes, budget deficits, and other economic issues, we should indicate that health costs are soaring in efforts to cure the many diseases that have been conclusively connected to animal-centered diets. When there are articles about water shortages and droughts, we should help make people aware that animal-based agriculture requires far more water and other resources than plant-based agriculture. Many additional examples can be given.
6) Start a Letter Writing Campaign
As a follow-up to the discussion in item #5, there should be a major campaign to get letters to editors on connections between various issues and vegetarianism. If only a small percentage of the people concerned about vegetarianism and related issues wrote a letter just once a month, it could have a major impact. A web site should be set up that gives talking points daily for letters based on current issues as well as sample letters.
As a related approach, since many people listen daily to talk radio shows, there should also be a concerted effort to get people to call such shows with vegetarian messages. While radio talk show hosts are generally very well informed on a wide variety of issues, I have found that many have major misconceptions re health, nutrition, and other vegetarian-related issues.
7) Make a Shift to Vegetarianism a Priority for the Animal Rights Movement
The vast majority of cases of animal abuses occur on factory farms. Yet, many, perhaps most, animal rights activists are working on other issues, such as circuses, rodeos, fur, pets, and animal experimentation. These are all important issues and it is essential to end all cases of animal abuse. But, animal-based diets and agriculture threaten most individuals’ personal health and the well being of humanity. If most animal rights advocates worked on promoting vegetarianism and veganism, even for a limited time, in addition to their other animal rights efforts, it could have a very powerful impact.
8) Challenge the Medical Establishment
Every person is concerned about his or her health and the health of loved ones. There is very strong evidence that incidents of heart disease, various types of cancer, strokes, and other chronic degenerative diseases can be sharply reduced by a shift to vegetarian and vegan diets, along with other positive lifestyle changes. Yet, the medical establishment, including most nutritionists, are ignoring this information, and are not making patients and the general public aware that many diseases can be prevented, and sometimes reversed, through dietary changes. It might even be called medical malpractice. I recently visited a cousin in a rehabilitation center, and was astounded at reading the daily menus, which had animal products at every meal. It is essential that we challenge medical practitioners and respectfully urge them to help educate people about healthy diets.
As indicated in point #10, others, such as educators, politicians, religious leaders, and reporters, should also be challenged to increase awareness of the health and many other benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets.
9) Form Alliances With Other Groups
Since vegetarianism has connections with many societal issues, we should try to build strong alliances with many other groups that are working for positive changes. For example, we should seek alliances with environmental groups, and inform them that the raising of 50 billion animals for slaughter annually, primarily on “factory farms,” contributes to many environmental threats; we should seek alliances with groups concerned about hunger, poverty, water and energy shortages, global warming, and related issues, and inform them about how the production of animal products contributes to many environmental threats and is extremely wasteful of resources.
10) Challenge the Media, Politicians, Educators, and Other Members of the Establishment
Since, as indicated above humanity is threatened as perhaps never before, and a switch toward vegetarianism is a societal imperative, and there are vegetarian connections to many current issues, we should try to meet with influential members of society and urge them to take a stand re vegetarianism, or at least to put the issues on their agendas. We should urge educators to see that children learn about proper nutrition and are provided with tasty, nutritious options at every meal. We should exhort reporters and editors to make people aware of the many negative effects of animal-based diets and the many benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets.
-------------------------
This is just an outline of some steps that I think would be helpful in moving toward a vegetarian world. I am sure that the many dedicated people in the vegetarian and related movements can add to my points and come up with additional suggestions. The important thing is that we become increasingly involved, for our sakes, for the animals, and for our precious, but imperiled, planet.
=========================
3. Our Message Is Spreading/Several Examples
a. In a message dated 10/10/05 12:20:34 AM, tgibson@______ writes:
Dear Richard
I read your ten steps [article] today* and thought you would like to know that I will be sharing them with my home economics students(70, 15 year old girls-three classes) this week when we study a vegan diet.
Theresa Gibson
*published in New Vegetarian and Natural Health, Spring 2005
Follow-up message:
Had the first in the three series of lessons on vegetarian food today and the girls were very interested in your ten steps. Made guacamole and sweet potato soup for them to sample-served with three different types of bread-millet. rye and organic whole meal. Everything was delicious. We even took pictures.
Theresa
---------------------------------------------
Follow-up message re the classes that Theresa taught:
Vegetarian Cooking
I teach At Mercedes College- a girls Catholic high school in Perth, Western Australia.My main teaching areas are religious education and economics but I am also known at the college for my strong views in supportof vegetarianism and my love of cooking.
So, each year the Home Economics department invites me to take a class in the Year 10 course to cover the basics of the vegetarian diet and to prepare and share some vegetarian food.This year there were three year ten classes.The girls in the class are 14 or 15 years old and have been studying Food and Nutrition for between one and three years
In my class I cover the reasons why people might consider the vegetarian diet for themselves. This year to helpexplain such a choice I referred to Richard Schwartz’ Ten Steps toward a Vegetarian World (which had been published in the Spring 2005 edition of “New Vegetarian and Natural Health”).This proved to be very useful in outlining not only the direct health benefits but also the easily understood links to almost all phases of life!.
Richard’s idea of a ‘vegetarian conscious world by 2010’ seems very possible to those of us living in a country like Australia with such a wonderful environment and vast productive agricultural areas.
The girls enjoyed trying two vegan dishes-guacamole and sweet potato/pumpkin soup.
I served these with bread made from different grains.
I really appreciate the opportunity these classes give me to explain the real choice that a vegetarian diet can be for a young person wanting to do something positive in the world today which not only help themselves but also, the planet.
---------------------------------------------
b. jennymoxham@_______ writes:
Dear Richard,
Just wanted to say what a good article of yours that was in the new vegetarian and Natural Health.(10 STEPS TOWARDS A VEGETARIAN WORLD)
Have passed it on to a few others. keep up the excellent work!
Best wishes,
Jenny Moxham
MONBULK
AUSTRALIA
========================
4. Israeli Activists Protest Against Israeli McDonald’s
Thanks to JVNA newsletter reader Miriam Gross for the following:
Israelis marks anti-McDonald's day
Protesters rally across nation to mark international anti-McDonald's day; activists claim fast food chain harms environment, exploits workers and tortures animals
Orna Yefet
Activists throughout Israel demonstrated Sunday afternoon to mark international anti-McDonald's day, by staging protests, resentations and other activities across the country.
This annual demonstration, which has taken place for the past 20 years, aims to protest the fast food chain's destruction of the environment, exploitation of workers, and the torture and killing of animals, activists say.
The activists say the protests will focus on the destructive influence of consumer culture and corporate control over our lives.
The organization for the liberation of animals in Israel (ALI) and the coalition against McDonald's have partnered together to form a unified front to fight the for the common cause.
Activities against the corporation already began Friday in Tel Aviv, where activists resorted to street theater to protest.
They also presented a gallery of photos showing cruelty to animals, harm to the environment, and issues pertaining to workers' rights.
Free T-shirts and vegan food were also handed out and stands were constructed to supply information and pamphlets.
Later, protesters led a rally past the fast food branches in the center of Tel Aviv. Police attempted to disperse the crowds once they reached Dizengoff Square but were met with resistance.
'Disastrous policies'
Protests against McDonald's will continue Sunday throughout the country. The activists say they are demonstrating against the chain to protest its "disastrous policies."
Among other charges, the protesters claim McDonald's harms the public's health by selling unhealthy food and targets a young audience with its advertising campaigns. The chain also sell toys produced in Chinese sweatshops that employ children, the activists say.
They claim McDonald's harms animals, caging them in difficult conditions and slaughtering billions a year. The corporation is also accused of harming the environment by destroying the rainforests and producing waste, and causing starvation by using fertile land in poor countries for growing crops to feed animals used for fast food.
McDonald's in Israel declined comment on the protest.
The international anti-McDonald's day started in the 1980s when London Greenpeace launched a campaign against McDonald's under the heading "What's wrong with McDonald's?"
McDonald's sued the activists in a trial that went on for 10 years.
=========================
5. Excellent Editorial on Treatment of Animals in Israel
[I previously sent this editorial to advisors and that has already generated a few letters to editors. But, please write to letters@haaretz.co.il, to keep the momentum going.]
Rights for helpless animals
By Haaretz Editorial
Public campaigns to defend animals often lead to improvement, but the real changes occur when the government and the courts mobilize in their defense. Israel is still not one of the more advanced states in its treatment of animals, but the courts and the government have recently made several decisions that prove that the importance of this matter is beginning to be understood.
Last week, the Nazareth District Court rejected an appeal by a man convicted of abusing a cat by putting it into a sealed plastic bag. The man appealed his conviction, but the court ruled that he injured "a helpless animal that cannot defend itself and cannot sue for redress of its pain and injury." The significance of the court's ruling was its rejection of the argument that the abusive behavior was justified in order to deal with a plague of cats in the vicinity of the abuser's
residence.
Three weeks ago, the government decided not to support a bill that would enable geese to continue to be force-fed. Force-feeding causes great pain and artificially enlarges the goose's liver, all for the purpose of supplying the delicacy known as foie gras. Prior to the government's decision, the High Court of Justice, in response to petitions by animal welfare organizations, had ruled that force-feeding geese violates the law against abusing animals.
The government's decision is particularly significant because it affects the livelihoods of hundreds of people who were engaged, either directly or indirectly, in the goose-fattening industry. The government's decision thus effectively declares that the goal of preserving a source of employment cannot legitimize animal abuse. And on this note, the ongoing activity of the policemen who have been working with the Environment Ministry over the past several years to enforce the law against animal abuse deserves commendation. Their activity has led to the filing of several indictments.
Nevertheless, many shadows remain in the overall picture of the situation of animals in this country, and abuse is still widespread. This is particularly true with regard to farm animals such as chickens and cows, as humans have grown accustomed to viewing these animals as food products and have forgotten that they, too, are entitled to protection.
On the eve of Yom Kippur, people could once again be seen observing the custom of kapparot - a custom that has been criticized in rabbinical rulings for hundreds of years already and involves abusing terrified chickens with no nutritional or health justification. Veal calves are also still raised in Israel under terrible conditions, which include preventing them from drinking water in order to force them to drink a special liquid that causes them to gain weight.
One of the key problems is faulty enforcement, including the courts' tendency not to impose sentences that would deter offenders. Even when they are convicted, animal abusers are generally sentenced to fines that have no deterrent value or to suspended prison sentences. The government did indeed decide that the force-feeding of geese should not continue, but in practice, it does. From the point of view of the geese, there is thus far no comfort in the fact that both High Court justices and cabinet ministers have demonstrated compassion for their distress.
-------------------------
Roberta Kalechofsky’s letter in response:
Your editorial on the subject of Israel's slow but apparent advance to defend animals is very much appreciated. It is one of the ironies of history that Judaism, which has had for centuries, a clear and unequivocal defense of animals and has as one of its mandates, "tsa'ar ba'alei chayim" (you may not cause harm to living creatures), should have such a poor record in the modern world. The article in the Encyclopedia Judaica, vol 1, under "A", animal cruelty, outlines our human responsibility to non-human creatures, and makes clear that animals have a place in the Divine economy.
Where did this learning go and how did this value disappear from Jewish life?
Roberta Kalechofsky, Ph.D.
President, Jews for Animal Rights
=========================
6. I Am a Candidate on The Green Zionist Alliance (GZA) (www.greenzionism.org) Slate of Candidates forthe Upcoming World Zionist Congress Elections/Please Vote
GREEN ZIONIST ALLIANCE PROUDLY INTRODUCES SLATE OF CANDIDATES
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW YORK, October 17, 2005 – The Green Zionist Alliance (GZA) (www.greenzionism.org) proudly introduces its Slate of candidates for the upcoming World Zionist Congress elections.
“We are inspired by the breadth and depth of our Slate,” said Rabbi Michael M. Cohen, co-founder of the Green Zionist Alliance. “Collectively, this roster demonstrates that concern for the environment truly transcends religious and political orientation.”
The GZA Slate is composed of 38 people in 17 States, from California to New Hampshire and Wisconsin to Arizona. The group includes activists, professionals, rabbis, scientists, students and leaders who represent and reflect the growing community of Jewish environmentalists with deep concern about the country, the people and the land of Israel, all passionately committed to creating a peaceful, pluralistic, and sustainable society.
Devoted to Israel’s ecological future, the Alliance works closely with a broad coalition of environmental organizations and leaders in the United States and Israel to ensure a high quality of life for all Israelis.
The Green Zionist Alliance offers a place for all Jews, regardless of political or religious affiliation, who care about humanity’s responsibility to preserve Creation and the special responsibility of the Jewish people to preserve the many ecological treasures of the land of Israel.
A complete listing of the Green Zionist Alliance Slate members may be found at www.greenzionism.org/greenz/slate.html
The election will be held from mid-November 2005 through February 28,2006. The Green Zionist Alliance is aiming to be the third largest delegation from the United States for the 2006 World Zionist Congress.
For additional information, contact:
Hal Klopper
Executive Director
Green Zionist Alliance
(646) 644-7891
hdk@greenzionism.org
www.greenzionism.org
Green Zionist Alliance :: The Slate
The candidates on our Slate include activists, professionals, rabbis, scientists, students and leaders who represent our extensive Green Zionist Alliance membership: the growing community of Jewish environmentalists with deep concern about the country, the people and the land of Israel, all passionately committed to creating a peaceful, pluralistic, and sustainable society.
We Proudly Present our Slate of Candidates
Rabbi Michael M. Cohen
Manchester Center, VT
Prof. Susannah Heschel
Hanover, NH
Aliza Kline
Newton, MA
Noam Dolgin
New York, NY
Ariana Silverman
Peekskill, NY
Rebecca Weaver
St. Louis, MO
Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb
Washington, DC
Dr. Richard H. Schwartz
New York, NY
Stefanie Zelkind
New York, NY
SNIP
Vote for The Green Zionist Alliance:
Show Your Concern for Israel's Environment!
Copyright 2005 by The Green Zionist Alliance
=========================
8. Rabbinical Student Seeking Animal Issues Projects
seahawk44 writes:
Hi Richard,
We met last year at the COEJL conference.I'm a rabbinical student at Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, very interested in various aspects of Judaism and animals, including, but not limited to animal-related spirituality, rituals and pastoral care surrounding the human-animal relationship, and Jewish ethics and attitudes towards animals.I have read a number of articles and written a good amount over the past few years.Now I'm trying to design a year-long independent study course at RRC based on Judaism and animals.It will involve combining some scholarship with practical rabbinics. Can you recommend any books or projects that might enrich this opportunity?
My response:Sounds great, Josh, and I wish you much success with this important project. Please feel free to use any of the material at the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) web site (JewishVeg.com), including my over 100 articles at JewishVeg.com/schwartz. If you do not have my book "Judaism and Vegetarianism," please send me your mailing address, and I will be happy to send you a complimentary copy, along with some related material including a "Judaism and Vegetarianism" CD.
Re other resources, I suggest you check the Micah Publications web site www.micahbooks.com, as they have several books that would be very valuabl for your project. A very important comprehensive book on Jewish teachings on animals is "The Vision of Eden: Animal Welfare and vegetarianism in Jewish Law and Mysticism." It is available through Amazon.com and barnesandNoble.com.
Re projects, perhaps a student could send a questionnaire (and perhaps also personally contact) rabbis re applications of Jewish teachings on animals. I would be happy to consult with any student re possibilities. You might also want to contact Roberta Kalechofsky (founder and director of Jews for Animal Rights and Micah Publications; micah@micahbooks.com) and Nina Natelson (founder and director of Concern for Helping Animals in Israel (CHAI): chai_us@cox.net).
Best of luck with this important project, and please let me know if I can help in any other way.
Gmar chatimah tovah,
Richard
=========================
9. Israeli African Hebrews’ Vegan Diets keeping Them Healthy
Healthy lives bear fruit for African Hebrews
By Kwaku Sakyi-Addo
BBC, Israel
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4287688.stm
Sar Bakooriah is 68, and a sprinter. He runs 100 metres in under 12 seconds, while his big grey Afro-style hair sweeps against the Negev Desert wind.
At 68, Sar remains a good athlete Mr Bakooriah is one of 3,000 African Hebrew Israelites living at Dimona, at the foot of the Judean Hills in southern Israel, where miraculous health stories abound.
Men in their seventies lift weights in the gym and grandmothers, like Aturah Havenah, 60, run 8km every morning.
The African Hebrews who settled in Dimona 37 years ago, maintain a strict organic vegetarian diet that excludes dairy products and includes plenty of exercise.
Men sport Afros and women don't put chemicals in their hair. "If you feed your children cow's milk, you shouldn't be surprised when they become obese just like the cow. The milk of a cow is meant for calves to weigh three tonnes when they grow up," says Prince Asiel Ben Israel, 65, himself lean and fit as a boy despite his age.
Mr Israel was one of 400 African-Americans who left the United States in 1967, rejecting what they saw as a life of decadence and death. Under the leadership of Ben Ammi, then only 30, they stopped over in Liberia for two-and-a-half years.
There are too many funerals in Africa. There are never en ough hospitals. We have to stop and ask why
There, they lived off the land in the interior forests, "to reconnect with nature," according to Edem Adzogenu, a Ghanaian doctor in his 30s and one of scores of Africans from the continent who have recently joined the community.
Nearly 300 members of the community returned to the United States during that transition.
Those who were left settled in Dimona with Israeli citizenship. The Israeli authorities accepted their claim for citizenship as they traced their ancestry to indigenous black people who fled from the Romans in Israel in 70 AD, and migrated to East, Central and West Africa. The strict vegetarian diet of the African Hebrews has borne fruit.
Since they settled in Dimona, no more than five of their members have died; and among those born in Israel, not one has died of natural causes.
Infant, child and maternal mortality are zero, a fact confirmed by health authorities in Dimona.
"If the cow is eating greens, and the cow is healthy enough for us to eat its flesh, then why don't we go directly to what the cow is eating?" Ahmadiel Ben-Yehuda, curator of the community's historical museum asks rhetorically.
"There are too many funerals in Africa. There are never enough hospitals. We have to stop and ask why," says Ben Ammi. "It's because we've turned our backs on the simpler but richer gifts from God - all those fruits and vegetables that grow effortlessly around us.
"Africans are eating polished white rice from America instead of locally grown brown rice because we've been fooled into thinking that anything white is good and everything brown is inferior, that's the problem," says Ben Ammi.
The community also has a strong Afro-centric bent, which outwardly manifests itself in their long colourful gowns, sixties-style Afros and chemical-free braids. They maintain a communal structure where all children are everyone's responsibility and teenagers stop to say "Shalom" to passing grown-ups.
The African Hebrews have sent some of their members to Africa to work with communities in hopes of encouraging lifestyle changes. In Benin, they have established an organic farm and an agriculture and nutrition school.
In Ghana there is a soya products factory, a vegetarian food outlet and a local-rice mill.
In South Africa, they have a nutrition project for people living with HIV.
But with massive imports of cheap processed foods to the continent, and US-style fast food joints spreading in urban Africa, it could be an uphill task to convince people that a fresh orange from their backyard is healthier than what's inside the colourfully-labelled can on the shelf.
=========================
10. New York Restaurant Serving Kosher Game
The New York Times printed an article about "game" dishes at kosher restaurants. This provides a good opportunity to discuss factory farming and vegetarianism. http://www.goveg.com/feat/agriprocessors/ or region@nytimes.com.
If you do write, please limit your letter to 150 words or less.
For writers' guidelines, see http://www.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/letters/.
Be sure to include the title and date of the piece, and your name, address, and phone numbers for verification.
October 19, 2005
Stalking Kosher Game (Hold the Giraffe)
By KARA NEWMAN
IN the strictly kosher kitchen at Levana on the Upper West Side, Bill Spitz, the chef, ladles a deep-hued sauce of veal stock, cassis purée and juniper berries over slices of venison, each slice faintly pink at the middle. Stalks of vibrant green broccolini are tented above the venison, and the dish is whisked out to the dining room.
This is kosher? Yes, but check your delicatessen expectations at the door. This is kosher game.
While unusual game meats and birds can be difficult to obtain under the best of circumstances, for kosher restaurants like Levana, procuring kosher game is an outright challenge, requiring an almost grass-roots approach to acquiring one meat at a time. Sol and Avrum Kirschenbaum, brothers who own the restaurant with a third brother, Maurice, and his wife, Levana, plotted the menu for an Oct. 31 all-game and wine-pairing dinner, revealing the lengths to which they have gone to fill the table.
"We're going on a quail kill soon to get the quail," said Avrum Kirschenbaum, counting on his fingers as he went through the checklist. "We have a guy in Israel who said he can get us cured goose breast, that's new. And we will have glatt kosher foie gras, which is flash frozen and imported from Israel."
The game tasting menu is also expected to include bison ribs and venison sausage made in-house by Mr. Spitz. However, Sol Kirschenbaum added that any of these dishes might fall through, as most exotic items depend upon what can be procured and in what quantities.
Why is kosher game so difficult to obtain? The lengthy list of provisions for the slaughter and ritual preparation of kosher meat deters many farmers from seeking out kosher certification for their animals. A shochet, a trained kosher slaughterer, must be hired. Only parts of many animals can be sold as kosher. The carcasses are inspected several times for imperfections that would disqualify them. The meat is deveined, salted and soaked in cold water several times to draw out any remaining blood.
Then there is the hefty price tag, often double that of similar nonkosher meats.
According to the Orthodox Union, one of the primary agencies that certifies kosher products in the United States, only 10 species of mammals are kosher, including a few game animals, among them antelope, bison, deer, giraffe (yes, giraffe) and ibex.
SNIP
=========================
11. Considering Ecological Factors Re Our Food and Other Commodities
[Thanks to JVNA advisor dan Brook for forwarding this article to me]
Eco-kosher
More than milchik and fleishik
by alexandra j. wall
staff writer
j., September 30, 2005
Your average mashgiach (kosher overseer) makes sure a dollop of sour cream gets nowhere near a plate of brisket. But Chaya Gusfield and Rabbi Debora Kohn are not your average mashgichot.
Rather than keeping the milchik away from the fleishik, these women are more concerned with separating cans from bottles and keeping paper-plate usage to a bare minimum.
The two Bay Area women, plus Howie Schneider of Santa Cruz, were recently certified according to the principles of "eco-kashrut."
"You think bigger than just straight kashrut," said Gusfield. "You take the principles of kashrut and include ecological concerns."
Gusfield, an Oakland resident who is in the Aleph rabbinical program of the Renewal movement, is a rabbinical assistant at Congregation Beth Chaim in Danville. Earlier this year, she and Kohn of Berkeley, also a Renewal rabbi, went through a certification process with Rabbi Dennis Beck-Berman, a Renewal rabbi based in Virginia.
Though the eco-kosher movement has been around for several decades, this was the first time the Jewish Renewal movement offered certification in the practice. Beck-Berman developed the curriculum, after Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi suggested such a course be taught.
The term eco-kashrut was coined in the 1970s by Shachter-Shalomi, universally known as Reb Zalman, the founder of Jewish Renewal. Beck-Berman offered another certification course as part of the Kallah, the biennial gathering of the Jewish Renewal movement this summer. Eco-kashrut practices are based not only on taking care of the environment, but shmirat hagoof (taking care of the body). Eating a vegetarian diet is one way to lessen one's impact on the planet, and buying organic and pesticide-free produce and avoiding genetically-modified food are further examples of following an eco-kashrut lifestyle. Ensuring that farm workers are compensated with fair wages and purchasing fair trade products is another. Furthermore, buying foods in bulk, to reduce packaging that is often not recyclable, is also a key principle.
"Eighty percent of the teachings are on issues of consumables, the foods and beverages that we eat and drink and how you choose what is more eco-kosher," said Beck-Berman. "We also discuss how you 'kosher' a home as opposed to a facility, meaning finding vendors and suppliers you feel comfortable with. We could spend more time with the topic of slaughtering animals, but a vegetarian diet is much more eco-kosher, so kosher slaughter is not our main focus." And unlike traditional mashgichim, who are trained in the ritual slaughter of animals, no killing is required.
Guided by these principles, Gusfield, who is also a lay leader at Kehilla Community Synagogue, helped prepare the kitchen at Kehilla's new Piedmont facility. Keeping kosher in the traditional sense is often not environmentally sound, she pointed out.
"A lot of kosher food is triple-wrapped," she said. "And by keeping kosher, you end up using more paper plates."
Kohn, who serves as spiritual leader at the Reutlinger Community for Jewish Living in Danville, said she practices the principles of eco-kashrut more at home than in her professional life, since the residents of Reutlinger are mostly entrenched carnivores.
But they are open to the idea of eco-kashrut, "in terms of taking care of our planet and the community," Kohn said.
Before Kohn got there, the center didn't recycle anything. "My role here is strictly educational," she said. "The older generation is not used to recycling plastic and cans and paper. We're doing one thing at a time, but we'll get there."
Copyright J, the Jewish news weekly of Northern California
=========================
13. Article in Jerusalem Report Re Resistance to Horse Racing
in Israel
GO TO http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/398531952 TO SIGN THE PETITION AGAINST HORSE RACING CRUELTIES - for more information, go to www.chai-online.org
[Please consider writing a letter to the editor at jrep@jreport.co.il]
Animal-rights groups vs. horse-racing plan
The Agriculture Ministry continues to back a plan to bring horse racing to Israel, despite an animal-right's group's appeal to the Supreme Court against the plan and criticism by MKs opposed to legalized gambling.
Hakol Chai, an Israeli animal-rights organization with a sister group in Virginia (CHAI, the Concern for Helping Animals in Israel) petitioned the Supreme Court on September 18, claiming that the government, which approved the racing plan in 2004, had failed to take into account the cruelty endemic in the sport. The initiative, which is being pushed by Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz, would see two race tracks in Israel - the first in the North, in the Gilboa region, and a second in the Negev. Katz has said that the tracks will provide employment and serve as tourist attractions. Other MKs, notably Zevulun Orlev of the National Religious Party, have slammed the plan, claiming that additional legalization of gambling (beyond the current Mifal Hapayis lottery and the Sportoro soccer pools) will harm poor Israelis. A bill enabling the construction of the race tracks is now being prepared for approval by the Knesset, which must pass a law allowing work to begin.
The Agriculture Ministry rejects Hakol Chai's claims of animal cruelty."Horse racing in Israel isn't organized, and opening it to gambling is expected to raise the level of medical care and treatment of the horses, and so the appearance of this sport in Israel is welcome," says Dafna Yeristo - can't read this - a Ministry spokesperson. "Obviously, unprofessional care causes the horses much suffering. In addition, the sport will provide employment for many out-of-work Israelis and will contribute to regional development."
Tali Lavie, spokesperson for Hakol Chai, insists that the sport's cruelty is severe and well documented. Drugging and steroid use - 70% of race-horses are given performance-enhancing substances. Stomach, lung, and heart damage is widespread, as are bone fractures. Once the horses are no longer profitable, they are often killed. "Racehorses live, on average, six years, while a horse's normal life span is around 25," Lavie says. "Israel can find ways of developing tourism that don't involve causing such cruelty to animals."
Matti Friedman
=========================
14. Vegetarian Female Seeking Vegetarian Male
Forwarded message from Aviva
I am a 54 year old Jewish, vegetarian woman (convert, 5.7, slim, and healthy) Shomer Shabbat, and I would like to meet a Jewish, vegetarian man for companionship and or marriage. I am an outgoing, sensitive, intuitive person and love the outdoors,walking and talking with a friend, camping, swimming in a lake or cycling in nature. I love cultural events, reading (mostly non-fiction) singing in a choir, and listening to music in a quiet setting. I amhonest, direct, sincere, kind, with a sense of humor and joy of life (but not perfect which motivates me to be introspective at times to work on my life in order to grow forward spiritually). I obtained a M.A from the local university.I try to walk lightly on this earth and abhor cruelty to any living being. Although I live on Canada's west coast, I will relocate for the right person.
I am looking for a middle aged (up to 65) Jewish, vegetarian man (5.7 or over) who is Shomer Shabbat, healthy, strong, loving, successful, university educated, masculine, peaceful,honest and faithful. Someone who is willing to find friendship, love and happiness with me, who is fun to be with, and who is looking for a bashert [intended] to grow into the sunset years with. Please e-mailarro@mail.vcn.bc.ca
=========================
** Fair Use Notice**
This document may contain copyrighted material, use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owners.I believe that this not-for-profit, educational use on the Web constitutes a fair use of the copyrighted material (as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law). If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
