JEWISH TEACHINGS ON HEALTH

v'nishmartem meod l'nafshotechem ("Be extremely

protective of your lives.") (Deuteronomy 4:15).

You may not in any way weaken your health or

shorten your life. Only if the body is healthy is it an
efficient instrument for the spirit's
activity....Therefore you should avoid everything
which might possibly injure your health.... And the
law asks you to be even more circumspect in
avoiding danger to life and limb than in the
avoidance of other transgressions. (Rabbi Samson
Raphael Hirsch, Horeb, Chapter 62, Section 428)

Limiting our presumption against our own body,

God's word calls to us: "Do not commit suicide!"
"Do not injure yourself!" "Do not ruin yourself!"
"Do not endanger yourself!" "Do not weaken
yourself!" "Preserve yourself!" (Ibid, Section 427)

Since maintaining a healthy and sound body is

among the ways of God - for one cannot
understand or have any knowledge of the Creator
if one is ill - therefore one must avoid that which
harms the body and accustom oneself to that
which is helpful and helps the body become
stronger. (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah,Hilchot Deot
4:1)

Following the many precedents prescribed in the

Code of Jewish Law, we would have little difficulty
in arriving at the conclusion that, if indeed eating
meat is injurious to one's health, it is not only
permissible, but possibly even mandatory that we
reduce our ingestion of an unhealthful product to
the minimal level. (Rabbi Alfred Cohen,
"Vegetarianism From a Jewish Perspective",
Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society, Fall,
1981, p. 61)

As it is halachically prohibited to harm oneself and

as healthy, nutritious vegetarian alternatives are
easily available, meat consumption has become
halachically unjustifiable. Rabbi David Rosen
(Rabbis and Vegetarianism, Micah, 1995, p.54)

HEALTH REALITIES AND ANIMAL-BASED DIETS

1. Epidemiological studies indicate that

populations of countries where meat consumption
is high (such as the United States, Canada, Israel,
and Australia) have much higher mortality rates
from heart disease, several types of cancer, and
strokes, compared to countries where meat
consumption is low.

2. In its 1997 position paper on vegetarianism, the

American Dietetic Association stated: "Scientific
data suggest positive relationships between a
vegetarian diet and reduced risk for several
chronic degenerative diseases and conditions,
including obesity, coronary artery disease,
hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and several types
of cancer."

3. In several recent scientific studies published in

the most prestigious medical journals (including
the Journal of the American Medical Association),
Dean Ornish, M. D. showed that severe heart
problems normally treated by drugs and surgery
can be reversed through a very low-fat vegetarian
diet, exercise, and stress reduction. Some experts
believe that up to 95% of heart attacks could be
prevented by such lifestyle changes.

4. European Jewish women living in Israel are

three times more likely to get breast cancer than
Sephardic Jews, apparently due to dietary
practices. Japanese-America women who consume
typical American animal- based diets are four
times more likely to develop breast cancer than
their counterparts in Japan.

5. An article in the peer-reviewed journal

"Preventive Medicine" (24, 646-655 (1995))
revealed that annual medical costs in the U. S.
associated with diseases resulting from animal-
centered diets are comparable to those associated
with cigarette smoking.

6. Cornell University Professor Dr. T. Colin

Campbell, whose study of eating habits of 6,500
people in various areas in China that was
described by Jane Brody, New York Times`
nutrition editor, as the "grand prix of
epidemiology," stated that even "small intakes of
animal products are associated with significant
increases in chronic degenerative diseases."

7. Recent research has linked osteoporosis to high

animal-protein diets. It has been found that high
levels of animal protein in the diet cause large
amounts of calcium to be removed from bones and
excreted.

8. A variety of health problems, including colon

cancer, adult-onset diabetes, hemorrhoids,
constipation and diverticulosis, have been linked to
diets low in fiber. Only plant foods contain fiber;
there is no fiber in any animal product.

9. According to a U. S. Surgeon General's Report,

68% of all diseases in the United States are diet-
related.

10. Extensive use of antibiotics in animal feed

(more that half of all antibiotics produced in the U.
S.) is fueling the development of antibiotic-
resistant germs that have the potential to
devastate human health.

JEWISH TEACHINGS ON HEALTH

v'nishmartem meod l'nafshotechem ("Be extremely

protective of your lives.") (Deuteronomy 4:15).

You may not in any way weaken your health or

shorten your life. Only if the body is healthy is it an
efficient instrument for the spirit's
activity....Therefore you should avoid everything
which might possibly injure your health.... And the
law asks you to be even more circumspect in
avoiding danger to life and limb than in the
avoidance of other transgressions. (Rabbi Samson
Raphael Hirsch, Horeb, Chapter 62, Section 428)

Limiting our presumption against our own body,

God's word calls to us: "Do not commit suicide!"
"Do not injure yourself!" "Do not ruin yourself!"
"Do not endanger yourself!" "Do not weaken
yourself!" "Preserve yourself!" (Ibid, Section 427)

Since maintaining a healthy and sound body is

among the ways of God - for one cannot
understand or have any knowledge of the Creator
if one is ill - therefore one must avoid that which
harms the body and accustom oneself to that
which is helpful and helps the body become
stronger. (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah,Hilchot Deot
4:1)

Following the many precedents prescribed in the

Code of Jewish Law, we would have little difficulty
in arriving at the conclusion that, if indeed eating
meat is injurious to one's health, it is not only
permissible, but possibly even mandatory that we
reduce our ingestion of an unhealthful product to
the minimal level. (Rabbi Alfred Cohen,
"Vegetarianism From a Jewish Perspective",
Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society, Fall,
1981, p. 61)

As it is halachically prohibited to harm oneself and

as healthy, nutritious vegetarian alternatives are
easily available, meat consumption has become
halachically unjustifiable. Rabbi David Rosen
(Rabbis and Vegetarianism, Micah, 1995, p.54)

HEALTH REALITIES AND ANIMAL-BASED DIETS

1. Epidemiological studies indicate that

populations of countries where meat consumption
is high (such as the United States, Canada, Israel,
and Australia) have much higher mortality rates
from heart disease, several types of cancer, and
strokes, compared to countries where meat
consumption is low.

2. In its 1997 position paper on vegetarianism, the

American Dietetic Association stated: "Scientific
data suggest positive relationships between a
vegetarian diet and reduced risk for several
chronic degenerative diseases and conditions,
including obesity, coronary artery disease,
hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and several types
of cancer."

3. In several recent scientific studies published in

the most prestigious medical journals (including
the Journal of the American Medical Association),
Dean Ornish, M. D. showed that severe heart
problems normally treated by drugs and surgery
can be reversed through a very low-fat vegetarian
diet, exercise, and stress reduction. Some experts
believe that up to 95% of heart attacks could be
prevented by such lifestyle changes.

4. European Jewish women living in Israel are

three times more likely to get breast cancer than
Sephardic Jews, apparently due to dietary
practices. Japanese-America women who consume
typical American animal- based diets are four
times more likely to develop breast cancer than
their counterparts in Japan.

5. An article in the peer-reviewed journal

"Preventive Medicine" (24, 646-655 (1995))
revealed that annual medical costs in the U. S.
associated with diseases resulting from animal-
centered diets are comparable to those associated
with cigarette smoking.

6. Cornell University Professor Dr. T. Colin

Campbell, whose study of eating habits of 6,500
people in various areas in China that was
described by Jane Brody, New York Times`
nutrition editor, as the "grand prix of
epidemiology," stated that even "small intakes of
animal products are associated with significant
increases in chronic degenerative diseases."

7. Recent research has linked osteoporosis to high

animal-protein diets. It has been found that high
levels of animal protein in the diet cause large
amounts of calcium to be removed from bones and
excreted.

8. A variety of health problems, including colon

cancer, adult-onset diabetes, hemorrhoids,
constipation and diverticulosis, have been linked to
diets low in fiber. Only plant foods contain fiber;
there is no fiber in any animal product.
 9. According to a U. S. Surgeon General's Report,
68% of all diseases in the United States are diet-
related.

10. Extensive use of antibiotics in animal feed

(more that half of all antibiotics produced in the U.
S.) is fueling the development of antibiotic-
resistant germs that have the potential to
devastate human health.

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