My three articles about a Zoom event that aims to restore and transform the ancient New Year for Animals as part of a campaign to increase awareness that shifts to plant-based diets are essential to efforts to avert a climate catastrophe and will be honoring me

Longtime Vegan To Be Honored For 50 Years of Activism

Richard H. Schwartz, PhD, is to be honored for his 50 years of activism promoting vegetarianism and veganism, animal rights, and environmental sustainability by Jewish Veg and Jewish Initiative for Animals, two organizations dedicated to helping make Jewish institutions and individuals more plant-based . He taught at the College of Staten Island from 1970 until 1999.  While there he created a unique course, Mathematics and the Environment, in order to motivate liberal arts/non-science students in their study of mathematics in a course they needed to take as a graduation requirement. He wrote several editions of a textbook, Mathematics and Global Survival for the course.   

    Schwartz was president of Jewish Vegetarians of North America for many years and is now president emeritus of the organization, which has changed its name to Jewish Veg. He is the author of many books, including “Judaism and Vegetarianism” (three editions), “Judaism and Global Survival” (three editions, including the recently published 20th-anniversary edition), “Vegan Revolution: Saving Our World, Revitalizing Judaism,” “Who Stole My Religion: Revitalizing Judaism and Applying Jewish Values To Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet,” and ”Restoring and Transforming the Ancient Jewish New Year For Animals: An Idea Whose Time Has Come.” He also has over 300 related articles at Jewish-Vegan.org. He frequently gives talks and has been interviewed many times about the issues in the book. 

Schywartz argues that (1) veganism is the diet most consistent with Jewish teachings on protecting our health, treating animals with compassion, protecting  the environment, conserving natural resources, reducing hunger,  and pursuing peace, (2) that shifts to veganism are essential to efforts to avert a climate catastrophe, for reasons indicated later,  and (3) there its no reason for people not to be vegans today because there are many plant-based substitutes with appearances, textures,  and tastes very similar to meat and other animal product

Schwartz will be honored at a Zoom event sponsored by the two animal rights/vegan organizations that aim to restore the ancient Jewish New Year for Animals.  It will take place on 1:30 PM EDT on September 4, Rosh Chodesh Elul (Aleph b’Elul) this year, the date that the ancient holiday occurred. The initial purpose of the holiday was to tithe animals for sacrifices in the Jerusalem Temple. The sponsoring organizations aim, working with other organizations, to transform it through annual celebrations into a day devoted to increasing awareness of Jewish teachings on compassion for animals and how far current realities for animals are from these teachings.

After a brief ceremony honoring Schwartz and a short response by him, the event will feature a lecture by Professor Beth Berkowitz, Ph.D., on “Making Animals a Part of the Jewish Family.”  Professor Berkowitz, a scholar of Jewish Studies at Barnard College, will explore the profound relationship between Judaism and the welfare of animals, emphasizing how Jewish traditions can guide us in making animals an integral part of our community.

One of the reasons the sponsoring organizations are promoting the restoration and transformation of the ancient holiday is their hope that it will help reduce the consumption of meat and other animal products, which is essential to efforts to avert a climate catastrophe. Animal-based agriculture is the leading cause of climate change for two essential reasons. First, cows and other ruminants emit methane, a greenhouse gas over 80 times as potent per unit weight as CO2 in heating the atmosphere, and second, 43 percent of the world’s ice-free land is currently being used for grazing and growing feed crops for animals. Shifts to plant-based diets would enable reforestation of much of that land. The additional trees would sequester much atmospheric CO2, reducing it from its current very dangerous level to a safer one,  potentially leaving a habitable, healthier, environmentally sustainable world for future generations.

The sponsoring organizations believe their initiative is especially important today because of the increasing evidence that the world is rapidly approaching a climate catastrophe. Every decade since the 1970s has been hotter than the previous decade and all 24 years in this century are among the hottest 25 years since temperature records have been kept around 1880. 2023 was the hottest year worldwide and 2024 is on track to be even hotter. Since June 2023, thirteen consecutive months have broken temperature records for the month.  The higher temperatures have resulted in rapid melting of glaciers and polar ice caps,  resulting in rapidly rising seas and a significant increase in the frequency and severity of heat waves, wildfires, storms and floods.

Hence, the future of our precious but imperiled planet may depend on the success of this initiative.

Rabbi Jonathan Bernhard, Executive Director of the Jewish Initiative for Animals, said, “We are thrilled to launch the Aleph blue series and bring together our community to discuss and celebrate the intersection of Jewish values and animal well-being. Professor Schwartz is so worthy of recognition for his courage and commitment, and Professor Berkowitz’s insights will be invaluable as we continue to deepen our understanding and commitment to these important issues.” 

For additional information, please contact: Jonathan Bernhard at jonathan@jifanimals.org.

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Animal Rights/Vegan Organizations Seek to Restore and Transform the Jewish New Year for Animals

Jewish Veg and Jewish Initiative for Animals, two organizations dedicated to helping make Jewish institutions and individuals more plant-based,  are planning an event dedicated to restoring the ancient Jewish New Year for Animals. It will take place on 1:30 PM EDT on September 4, Rosh Chodesh Elul (Aleph b’Elul) this year, the date that the ancient holiday occurred. The initial purpose of the holiday was to tithe animals for sacrifices in the Jerusalem Temple. The sponsoring organizations aim, working with other organizations, to transform it through annual celebrations into a day devoted to increasing awareness of Jewish teachings on compassion for animals and how far current realities for animals are from these teachings.

The event will feature a lecture by Professor Beth Berkowitz, Ph.D., on “Making Animals a Part of the Jewish Family.”  Professor Berkowitz, a scholar of Jewish Studies at Barnard College, will explore the profound relationship between Judaism and animal welfare, emphasizing how Jewish traditions can guide us in making animals an integral part of our community.

As part of the event,  Richard H. Schwartz, PhD, is to be honored for his 50 years of activism promoting vegetarianism and veganism, animal rights, and environmental sustainability.  He was president of Jewish Vegetarians of North America for many years and is now president emeritus of the organization, which has changed its name to Jewish Veg. He is the author of many books, including “Judaism and Vegetarianism” (three editions), “Judaism and Global Survival” (three editions, including the recently published 20th-anniversary edition), “Vegan Revolution: Saving Our World, Revitalizing Judaism,” “Who Stole My Religion: Revitalizing Judaism and Applying Jewish Values To Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet,” and ”Restoring and Transforming the Ancient Jewish New Year For Animals: An Idea Whose Time Has Come.” He also has over 300 related articles at Jewish-Vegan.org. He frequently gives talks and has been interviewed many times about the issues in the book. While teaching mathematics at the College of Staten Island,  he created a unique course, Mathematics and the Environment, in order to motivate liberal arts/non-science students in their study of mathematics in a course they needed to take as a graduation requirement. He wrote several editions of a textbook, Mathematics and Global Survival.for the course.   

Schwartz argues that (1) veganism is the diet most consistent with Jewish teachings on protecting our health, treating animals with compassion, protecting  the environment, conserving natural resources, reducing hunger,  and pursuing peace, (2) shifts to veganism are essential to efforts to avert a climate catastrophe, for reasons discussed later,  and (3) there is no reason for people not to be vegans today because there are many plant-based substitutes with appearances, textures,  and tastes very similar to meat and other animal product

One of the reasons the sponsoring organizations are promoting the restoration and transformation of the ancient holiday is their hope that it will help reduce the consumption of meat and other animal products, which is essential to efforts to avert a climate catastrophe. Animal-based agriculture is the leading cause of climate change for two important reasons. First, cows and other ruminants emit methane, a greenhouse gas over 80 times as potent per unit weight as CO2 in heating the atmosphere, and second, 43 percent of the world’s ice-free land is currently being used for grazing and growing feed crops for animals. Shifts to plant-based diets would enable reforestation of much of that land. The additional trees would sequester much atmospheric CO2, reducing it from its current very dangerous level to a safer one,, potentially leaving a habitable, healthier, environmentally sustainable world for future generations.

The sponsoring organizations believe their initiative is especially important today because of the increasing evidence that the world is rapidly approaching a climate catastrophe. Every decade since the 1970s has been hotter than the previous decade and all 24 years in this century are among the hottest 25 years since temperature records have been kept around 1880. 2023 was the hottest year worldwide and 2024 is on track to be even hotter. Since June 2023, thirteen consecutive months have all broken temperature records for the month.  The higher temperatures have resulted in the rapid melting of glaciers and polar ice caps,   resulting in rapidly rising seas and a  significant increase in the frequency and severity of heat waves, wildfires, storms, and floods.

Hence, the future of our precious but imperiled planet may depend on the success of this initiative.

Rabbi Jonathan Bernhard, Executive Director of the Jewish Initiative for Animals, said, “We are thrilled to launch the Aleph blue series and bring together our community to discuss and celebrate the intersection of Jewish values and animal well-being. Professor Schwartz is so worthy of recognition for his courage and commitment, and Professor Berkowitz’s insights will be invaluable as we continue to deepen our understanding and commitment to these important issues.” 

For additional information, please contact: Jonathan Bernhard at jonathan@jifanimals.org.

——————————————————

Animal Rights/Vegan Organizations Promote Plant-Based Diets To  Help Avert Climate Catastrophe

Jewish Veg and Jewish Initiative for Animals, two organizations dedicated to helping make Jewish institutions and individuals more plant-based,  are planning an event dedicated to restoring the ancient Jewish New Year for Animals as a way to address climate threats. It will take place on 1:30 PM EDT on September 4, Rosh Chodesh Elul (Aleph b’Elul) this year, the date that the ancient holiday occurred. The initial purpose of the holiday was to tithe animals for sacrifices in the Jerusalem Temple. The sponsoring organizations aim, working with other organizations, to transform it through annual celebrations,  into a day devoted to increasing awareness of Jewish teachings on compassion for animals and how far current realities for animals are from these teachings.

The sponsoring organizations are promoting the restoration and transformation of the ancient holiday with the hope that it will help reduce the consumption of meat and other animal products, which is essential to efforts to avert a climate catastrophe. Animal-based agriculture is the leading cause of climate change for two important reasons. First, cows and other ruminants emit methane, a greenhouse gas over 80 times as potent per unit weight as CO2 in heating the atmosphere, and second, 43 percent of the world’s ice-free land is currently being used for grazing and growing feed crops for animals. Shifts to plant-based diets would enable reforestation of much of that land. The additional trees would sequester much atmospheric CO2, reducing it from its current very dangerous level to a safer one,, potentially leaving a habitable, healthier, environmentally sustainable world for future generations.

The sponsoring organizations believe their initiative is especially important today because of the increasing evidence that the world is rapidly approaching a climate catastrophe. Every decade since the 1970s has been hotter than the previous decade and all 24 years in this century are among the hottest 25 years since temperature records have been kept around 1880. 2023 was the hottest year worldwide and 2024 is on track to be even hotter. Since June 2023, thirteen consecutive months have all broken temperature records for the month.  The higher temperatures have resulted in rapid melting of glaciers and polar ice caps,   resulting in rapidly rising seas and a  significant increase in the frequency and severity of heat waves, wildfires, storms and floods.

Hence, the future of our precious but imperiled planet may depend on the success of this initiative.

The event will feature a lecture by Professor Beth Berkowitz, Ph.D., on “Making Animals a Part of the Jewish Family.”  Professor Berkowitz, a scholar of Jewish Studies at Barnard College, will explore the profound relationship between Judaism and animal welfare, emphasizing how Jewish traditions can guide us in making animals an integral part of our community.

As part of the event,  Richard H. Schwartz, PhD, is to be honored for his 50 years of activism promoting vegetarianism and veganism, animal rights, and environmental sustainability.  He was president of Jewish Vegetarians of North America for many years and is now president emeritus of the organization, which has changed its name to Jewish Veg. He is the author of many books, including “Judaism and Vegetarianism” (three editions), “Judaism and Global Survival” (three editions, including the recently published 20th-anniversary edition), “Vegan Revolution: Saving Our World, Revitalizing Judaism,” “Who Stole My Religion: Revitalizing Judaism and Applying Jewish Values To Help Heal Our Imperiled Planet,” and ”Restoring and Transforming the Ancient Jewish New Year For Animals: An Idea Whose Time Has Come.” He also has over 300 related articles at Jewish-Vegan.org. He frequently gives talks and has been interviewed many times about the issues in the book. While teaching mathematics at the College of Staten Island,  he created a unique course, Mathematics and the Environment, in order to motivate liberal arts/non-science students in their study of mathematics in a course they needed to take as a graduation requirement. He wrote several editions of a textbook, Mathematics and Global Survival.for the course.   

Schwartz argues that (1) veganism is the diet most consistent with Jewish teachings on protecting our health, treating animals with compassion, protecting  the environment, conserving natural resources, reducing hunger,  and pursuing peace, (2) shifts to veganism are essential to efforts to avert a climate catastrophe, for reasons indicated above,  and (3) there is no reason for people not to be vegans today because there are many plant-based substitutes with appearances, textures,  and tastes very similar to meat and other animal product

Rabbi Jonathan Bernhard, Executive Director of the Jewish Initiative for Animals, said, “We are thrilled to launch the Aleph blue series and bring together our community to discuss and celebrate the intersection of Jewish values and animal well-being. Professor Schwartz is so worthy of recognition for his courage and commitment, and Professor Berkowitz’s insights will be invaluable as we continue to deepen our understanding and commitment to these important issues.” 

For additional information, please contact: Jonathan Bernhard at jonathan@jifanimals.org.

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