Jewish Group Urges Consideration of
Global Warming, Energy and Diet on Birkat HaChamah
March 30, 2009
For Immediate Release
Contact Person: Richard H. Schwartz,
President, Jewish Vegetarians of
President@JewishVeg.com
718-761-5876 Cell: (917) 576-0344
Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) issued the
following statement today:
Birkat HaChamah, an event
that commemorates the time that the sun will be in the same position relative
to the earth that it was at the time of creation, is an ideal time for Jews to
consider the state of our imperiled planet and how to shift it to a
sustainable path. This commemoration occurs every 28 years and this year it
will occur on the morning of April 8.
“When God created the world, He was able to say, 'It is tov
meod (very good)' “ (Genesis
1:31), stated JVNA president Richard Schwartz. “Everything was in harmony as
God had planned; the waters were clean and the air was pure. But what must God
think about the world today, when it is so threatened by global warming, rapid
species extinction, destruction of tropical rain forests and many other
environmental problems?”
It is time to apply Judaism's powerful environmental teachings to reducing
global warming and other environmental threats. Since Birkat HaChamah focuses on the
sun, this is a good time to consider using solar energy and other renewable
forms of energy, in order to reduce global warming and our dependence on fossil
fuels.
When thanking God for the many blessings of Creation on Birkat
HaChamah, we might also consider returning to the
vegan, strictly plant-based dietary regimen that God provided for humans when
the world was created (Genesis 1:29), because animal-based agriculture is
having devastating effects on the environment. Raising 60 billion farmed
animals worldwide for slaughter annually causes soil erosion and depletion, the
loss of biological diversity, the destruction of tropical rain forests and
other valuable habitats and other environmental problems and requires far more
land, water and energy than plant-based agriculture. Most importantly, with the
world apparently rapidly approaching an unprecedented catastrophe from global
warming, a 2006 UN report indicated that the production of meat and other
animal-foods emits more greenhouse gases (in CO2 equivalents) than all of the
world's cars, planes, ships and all other means of transportation combined (18
percent vs. 13.5 percent).
We are to be responsible stewards, co-workers with God, in protecting the
environment. Hence, with our world so threatened today, Birkat
HaChamah would be a great time to start applying
Jewish values to help respond to the environmental threats to
Further information about JVNA and its campaigns to get vegetarianism and
environmental activism onto the Jewish agenda, as well as much background
material on Jewish teachings on the environment and vegetarianism can be found
at the JVNA web site (www.JewishVeg.com). JVNA is very interested in respectful
dialogues and debates on dietary connections to global climate change and other
current environmental global threats and on questions such as “Should Jews Be
Vegetarians?” The group believes that the Jewish community should make tikkun olam, the repair, healing
and proper transformation of the world a central focus in Jewish life today. It
will send a complimentary DVD with its acclaimed documentary “A Sacred Duty:
Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal the World” to rabbis and other Jewish
leaders who request one at mail@JewishVeg.com.
The entire movie can also be seen at ASacredDuty.com.
=========================
Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus,
Author of "Judaism and Vegetarianism," "Judaism and Global
Survival," and "Mathematics and Global Survival," and over 130
articles at www.JewishVeg.com/schwartz
President of Jewish Vegetarians
of North America (JVNA) www.JewishVeg.com
and
Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians (SERV) www.serv-online.org
Associate Producer of A SACRED
DUTY (asacredduty.com)
Director of Veg Climate Alliance (www.vegclimatealliance.org)
president@JewishVeg.com