We should shift to vegan

As president emeritus of Jewish Veg (formerly Jewish Vegetarians of North America) and author of three editions of the book Judaism and Vegetarianism, I was pleased to see your February 14 article “Vegan diet reduces diabetes risk in heavy adults.” This is just the latest example of the widespread research that has shown that well-balanced, nutritious vegan diets, with minor supplementation in some cases, can sharply reduce the risks of, and in some cases reverse, many life-threatening diseases.

Since there are now more Torah scholars and Jewish learning in Israel than ever before, I wonder, respectfully, why the strong inconsistencies between animal-based diets and fundamental Jewish mandates to preserve human health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, conserve natural resources and help hungry people are being ignored.

Shifting toward animal-free diets is especially important today: While climate experts fear that we may soon reach an irreversible, disastrous tipping point, animal-based agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, more so than all the means of transportation combined, according to the 2006 UN Food and Agriculture report “Livestock’s Long Shadow.”

So to improve the health of Israelis and our imperiled planet, it is essential that we play our historically mandated role to be a “light unto the nations” and shift toward vegan diets.

RICHARD H. SCHWARTZ

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