Translated by members of Anonymous, Israel’s
largest animal rights group.
Prof. Schwartz, a New York mathematician and a returned
Orthodox Jew has written a book entitled Judaism
and Vegetarianism.
Eating meat contradicts the spirit of Judaism, claims
Prof. Richard Schwartz, a spokesperson for the International
Jewish Vegetarian Society, who recently visited Israel.
Prof. Schwartz is a New York mathematician and a returned
Orthodox Jew who has written a book entitled Judaism
and Vegetarianism. He also is one of the leading activists
for vegetarianism from a Jewish perspective.
He himself turned vegetarian in 1978 for ecological
reasons, after recognizing that the solution to the
world’s hunger problem requires a transition
to vegetarian nutrition. Shortly afterwards he found
support for the rejection of meat eating in many Jewish
sources.
He cites six major Jewish reasons for vegetarianism:
1. The creator of the world first commanded humans
to eat only from that which grows (Genesis I, 29)
and this interpretation is agreed to by the major
Torah commentators as well.
2. Permission to eat meat was granted to Noah and
his descendents after the flood on a temporary basis
only due to human frailty. The Bible connects meat
eating with uncontrollable appetite (Deuteronomy 12:
20). In the days of the Messiah, all creatures will
be vegan (based on "the wolf shall dwell with
the lamb… the lion will eat straw like the ox
…", Isaiah, 11:6-9).
3. The commandment not to cause grief to living creatures
comes from the Torah (de’oriatah) and is therefore
of greater significance than the ensuing commandments
given by the Rabbis (de’rabanan). The permission
granted in the Bible to eat meat does not include
abusing animals before they are slaughtered. Since
modern animal farming severely abuses animals, meat
eating constitutes, in his opinion, a transgression
against the prohibition concerning animal abuse.
4. Care of the spirit and the concurrent care of
one’s physical health that is a component of
it, is an important Jewish commandment. Research testifies
that consumption of meat and meat products increases
the likelihood of cancer, heart disease, and other
chronic degenerative diseases.
5. The prohibition against destroying the environment
("thou shall not destroy," bal tashchit)
is a commandment from the Torah (de’Oriahtah).
It is based on Deuteronomy 20:19-20 which prohibits
the destruction of fruit-bearing trees during wartime,
and extensions of the sages. Livestock agriculture
causes, he claims, pollution and destruction of the
environment. It requires large agricultural plots,
and huge amounts of water, energy, and other resources.
6. Aiding the hungry is another important mandate
in Judaism. Farmers are required to leave the corners
of the fields and the gleanings of their harvests
for the hungry. However, 70% of the grain produced
in the West is consumed by animals raised by the food
industry. Part of the resources that are channeled
to the meat industry could be utilized to feed the
hungry in third world countries.
