Richard Schwartz:
“I am proud to live in Israel, the eternal home of the Jewish people and arguably the vegan capital of the world, with a relatively high and very rapidly growing percentage of vegans and a leading role in developing plant-based substitutes for meat and other animal products. This is as it should be because the consumption of meat and other animal products and the ways in which they are produced today seriously violate at least six fundamental Jewish teachings:
1. health
2. compassion to animals
3. environmental stability
4. conservation of resources
5. helping the hungry
6. pursuing peace
If you are not ready to become a vegan now, you can take some intermediate positive dietary steps, hopefully on your path to veganism. These include initially going vegetarian, eating meat only on Shabbat and holidays or only when eating out, eating smaller portions, and being vegan at least for part of the week. You will set an example that will perhaps convince others to do the same, thus helping to create a more compassionate, just, healthy, and environmentally sustainable world, one very consistent with basic Jewish teachings.”
The writer is professor emeritus at the College of Staten Island and author of
* Vegan Revolution: Saving Our World
* Revitalising Judaism
* Judaism and Vegetarianism
* Judaism and Global Survival
* Mathematics and Global Survival
* Who Stole My Religion? Revitalizing Judaism and Applying Jewish Values to Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet
* as well as more than 250 articles at Jewish Veg
He also serves as president emeritus of Jewish Veg, formerly Jewish Vegetarians of North America (www.JewishVeg.org), and president, Society Of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians (SERV).
You can read more or listen to the article here.
