JEWISH
GROUP URGES THAT AGRIPROCESSORS VIOLATIONS BE SEEN AS WAKE-UP CALL TO HOW
ANIMAL-BASED DIETS VIOLATE JEWISH TEACHINGS, HARM JEWS AND THE ENVIRONMENT
For Immediate Release:
August
8, 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:
The
disturbing reports of alleged appalling conditions for animals and workers at
the Postville, Iowa slaughterhouse should be a wake-up call to the Jewish
community and to consumers of Agriprocessors' meat
products to the urgent need for 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 the
slaughterhouse. 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 to Jewish law and values:
*
Producing and consuming meat and other animal products represent strong
violations of basic Jewish mandates to preserve our health, treat animals with
compassion, protect the environment, conserve natural resources, help hungry
people and avoid a chillul Hashem
(desecration of God’s Name).
*
The raising of 60 billion animals worldwide 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 over 50 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. Therefore, what we eat is
more important than what we drive and consciousness about both are ethical
imperatives.
*
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.
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0A
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 die 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 constitutes 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