Commit to vegetarianism

Letters

Editor: As President of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) and author of Judaism and Vegetarianism, I am very pleased that the acting Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen, is a lifelong vegetarian. Cohen, who also serves as the chief rabbi of Haifa, is the brother-in-law of the late Rabbi Shlomo Goren, who also was a vegetarian Ashkenazi chief rabbi of Israel.

This is significant because the mass production and widespread consumption of meat harms us, our communities and our planet, and conflicts with Judaism in at least five 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.

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 threats.

4) While Judaism mandates bal tash'chit, 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 food, land, water, energy and other resources.

5) While Judaism stresses that we are to assist the poor and share our bread with hungry people, more than 70 per cent of the grain grown in the United States is fed to animals destined for slaughter (it takes eight to 12 pounds of grain to produce one pound of edible beef), while an estimated 20 million people worldwide die because of hunger and its effects each year.

In view of these powerful Jewish mandates to preserve human health, care about the welfare of animals, protect the environment, conserve resources and help feed hungry people, and the extremely negative effects animal-centred diets have in each of these areas, I believe that committed Jews should sharply reduce or eliminate their consumption of animal products.

One could say dayenu (enough) after any of the arguments above, because each constitutes by itself a serious conflict between Jewish values and current practice which should impel Jews to seriously consider a plant-based diet. Combined, they make an even more compelling case for the Jewish community to address these issues.

Dr. Richard H. Schwartz
Staten Island, N.Y.

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