JEWISH GROUP WELCOMES SHIFT TO VEGETARIANISM DUE TO
KOSHER MEAT SHORTAGE
For Immediate Release:
November 13, 2008
Contact:
Richard H. Schwartz,
President of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America
(JVNA)
President@JewishVeg.com Phone: (718) 761-5876
Jewish
Vegetarians of North America issued the following statement today:
Although we
deeply regret the effects on workers and the local communities, we welcome
reports that the recent shortages of kosher meat due to the closings of the Agriprocessors' largest glatt
kosher slaughterhouse in Postville,
Iowa and other slaughterhouses
have caused many Jews to switch toward vegetarian diets. (Please see the
article at the end of this message.) We hope that the recent attention to
conditions at the Postville facility will result in a major reassessment of how
the current production and consumption of meat and other animal products violate
basic Jewish teachings and harm people, animals and the entire planet.
We strongly
support efforts by many groups to improve conditions at slaughterhouses. But,
even if these conditions become far better, we believe that it is still urgent
that Jews shift away from animal-based diets, because they involve many
inconsistencies with Jewish law and values:
* Producing and
consuming meat and other animal products represent serious violations of basic
Jewish mandates to preserve our health, treat animals with compassion, protect
the environment, conserve natural resources, help hungry people and eek and
pursue peace.
* The raising of
60 billion animals worldwide annually for meat, eggs and milk is contributing
to global warming, widening water shortages, rapid species extinction and many
more environmental problems that threaten humanity and all of creation.
* We can reduce
the current epidemic of diseases afflicting Jews and others through a switch
toward plant-based diets.
* In view of the
many current threats to humanity, it is scandalous that the world is not only
trying to feed 6.7 billion people, but also 60 billion farmed animals; that 70
percent of the grain produced in the United States and 40 percent produced
worldwide are fed to animals raised for slaughter; that the standard American
diet (SAD) requires up to 14 times as much water as a vegan diet.
*
A 2006 UN FAO report indicated that animal-based agriculture emits more
greenhouse gases (18 percent in CO2 equivalents) than all the world's cars and
other means of transportation combined (13.5 percent), and that the number of
farmed animals is projected to double in 50 years. If that increase occurs, the
rise in greenhouse gases would negate the effects of many positive changes and
make slowing global warming very difficult, if not impossible..
* This is
extremely important for Jews today because Israel is especially threatened by
global warming. A report by the Israel Union for Environmental Defense in 2007
indicates that global warming could cause: (1) a rise in average temperature of
3 to 11 degrees Fahrenheit; (2) a significant increase in the Mediterranean Sea
level, which would threaten the narrow coastal strip of land where 60% of
Israel's population lives and where major infrastructure, such as ports and
power plants, would be seriously damaged; and (3) a decrease in rainfall of
20-30%, which would disrupt agricultural production and worsen the chronic
water scarcity problem in Israel and the region.
We urge that tikkun olam-the healing and
repair of the world -- be a central issue in synagogues, Jewish schools and
other Jewish institutions. Judaism has marvelous teachings on environmental
conservation and sustainability, and it is essential that they be applied to
respond to today's many current environmental threats.
Further
information about these issues can be found at our JVNA web site JewishVeg.com.
We will provide complimentary copies of our new, highly-acclaimed documentary A
SACRED DUTY: APPLYING JEWISH VALUES TO HELP HEAL THE WORLD and related
materials to rabbis and others who will contact us and indicate how they might
use them to involve their congregations, schools or other groups on the issues.
The entire documentary can be seen at ASacredDuty.com, and there is much
background material about the film at that web site.
***************************************
SUPPLEMENTARY SUPPORTING
MATERIAL
Support for our
argument that the mass production and widespread consumption of meat conflict
with Judaism in at least six important areas:
1. While Judaism
mandates that people should be very careful about preserving their health and
their lives, numerous scientific studies have linked animal-based diets
directly to heart disease, stroke, many forms of cancer, and other chronic
degenerative diseases.
2. While Judaism
forbids tsa'ar ba'alei
chayim, inflicting unnecessary pain on animals,
most farm animals -- including those raised for kosher consumers -- are raised
on "factory farms" where they live in cramped, confined spaces, and
are often drugged, mutilated, and denied fresh air, sunlight, exercise, and any
enjoyment of life, before they are slaughtered and eaten.
3. While Judaism teaches
that "the earth is the Lord’s" (Psalm 24:1) and that we are to be
God's partners and co-workers in preserving the world, modern intensive
livestock agriculture contributes substantially to soil erosion and depletion,
air and water pollution, overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, the
destruction of tropical rain forests and other habitats, global warming, and
other environmental damage.
4 While Judaism
mandates bal tashchit,
that we are not to waste or unnecessarily destroy anything of value, and that
we are not to use more than is needed to accomplish a purpose, animal
agriculture requires the wasteful use of grain, land, water, energy, and other
resources.
5. While Judaism
stresses that we are to assist the poor and share our bread with hungry people,
over 70% of the grain grown in the United States is fed to animals destined for
slaughter, while an estimated 20 million people worldwide=0 Adie because of
hunger and its effects each year.
6. While Judaism
stresses that we must seek and pursue peace and that violence results from
unjust conditions, animal-centered diets, by wasting valuable resources, help
to perpetuate the widespread hunger and poverty that eventually lead to
instability and war.
In view of these
important Jewish mandates to preserve human health, attend to the welfare of
animals, protect the environment, conserve resources, help feed hungry people,
and pursue peace, and since animal-centered diets violate and contradict each
of these responsibilities, JVNA believes that committed Jews (and others) should
sharply reduce or eliminate their consumption of animal products.
“One could say
"dayenu" (it would be enough) after
any of the arguments above,” stated JVNA president Richard Schwartz, “ because
each one constit tes by
itself a serious conflict between Jewish values and current practice that
should impel Jews to seriously consider a plant-based diet. Combined, they make
an urgently compelling case for the Jewish community to address these issues.”
-------------------------------------------------------
Richard
H. Schwartz, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, College
of Staten Island
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