Judaism, Hunger and Vegetarianism

By Richard Schwartz

World hunger statistics are staggering: Over 1 billion people, nearly a fifth of the world's population, are chronically undernourished. Between 700 and 800 million people lack sufficient income to obtain the basic necessities of life. It has been estimated that twenty million people die annually due to hunger and its effects, including diseases brought on by lowered resistance due to malnutrition.

Children are particularly victimized by malnutrition. Three out of four who die due to hunger are children. In poor countries, over 40 percent of all deaths occur among children under five years old. Almost 6 percent of the world's children die before their first birthday. At least 100,000 children annually go blind due to vitamin A deficiency in their diet. Malnourishment also brings listlessness and reduced capacity for learning and activities, which perpetuates the legacy of poverty.

A Meaningful Life:

Animal Advocacy, Human Nature, & A Better World

Matt Ball, Co-founder, Vegan Outreach

From VeganOutreach.com 

Effective advocates — those who are truly successful in fostering change — are thoughtful psychologists. They understand that each of us is born with a certain intrinsic nature. We are then raised to adopt certain beliefs, and taught to hold specific prejudices. Over time, we discover new “truths” and abandon others; we mix and match, supplement and refine, continually altering our collection of attitudes, principles, and values.

Belles-Lettres

The Poetry and Fiction Pages of ShalomVeg

Edition#2 - April 29, 2008

A special spotlight...

THE SUBLIME GARDENS OF POET LYNN SAUL

It is a pleasure to spotlight the work of poet Lynn Saul, whose compassionate and deeply thoughtful world view inspire and move the reader.   Savor her poetry, and then read on to glean insights from her life and experience in the interview that follows.

Animals, Slavery and the Holocaust 

By Charles Patterson

Where does all the war, racism, terrorism, violence, and cruelty that's so endemic to human civilization come from? Why do humans exploit and massacre each other so regularly? Why is our species so violence-prone? To answer these questions we would do well to think about our exploitation and slaughter of animals and its effect on human civilization. Could it be that we oppress and kill each other so readily because our abuse and slaughter of animals has desensitized us to the suffering and death of others?

Working to Create a More

Veg Friendly Neighborhood? 

OK, so it really means "House and Garden", but we can dream can't we? (Photo of a street sign from the Bayit Vegan neighborhood of Jerusalem)

Kitniyot-A Vegetarian Perspective 

By BVeg 

As we plan our menus for the upcoming Passover holiday, most of us have a good sense of what we will be eating.  There are of course the traditional foods: maror, haroset, matzo ball soup (possibly made vegetarian) and plenty of crispy matzo.  But there are also the dishes unique to our families: grandma’s mock kishke, dad’s sweet mandle bread, your famous locally grown, organic, hametz-free, vegan nut burgers.  These “family” foods are part of the customs we look forward to most and miss when not at home, along with the stories, the singing and the community.  And for some of us, part of our holiday tradition is not to eat beans, rice and corn—kitniyot--during the holiday.  Most likely this is not out of a strict adherence to Jewish law, but instead is part of the powerful pull that tradition and custom has on our lives.