Vegetarianism: A Guide for the Perplexed


Book Description

Critically examines philosophical, ethical and religious arguments for and against vegetarianism.




Jewish Veganism and Vegetarianism


Book Description

In recent decades, as more Jews have adopted plant-based lifestyles, Jewish vegan and vegetarian movements have become increasingly prominent. This book explores the intellectual, religious, and historical roots of veganism and vegetarianism among Jews and presents compelling new directions in Jewish thought, ethics, and foodways. The contributors, including scholars, rabbis, and activists, explore how Judaism has inspired Jews to eschew animal products and how such choices, even when not directly inspired by Judaism, have enriched and helped define Jewishness. Individually, and as a collection, the chapters in this book provide an opportunity to meditate on what may make veganism and vegetarianism particularly Jewish, as well as the potential distinctiveness of Jewish veganism and vegetarianism. The authors also examine the connections between Jewish veganism and vegetarianism and other movements, while calling attention to divisions among Jewish vegans and vegetarians, to the specific challenges of fusing Jewishness and a plant-based lifestyle, and to the resistance Jewish vegans and vegetarians can face from parts of the Jewish community. The book's various perspectives represent the cultural, theological, and ideological diversity among Jews invested in such conversations and introduce prominent debates within their movements.




Judaism and Vegetarianism


Book Description

From God's first injunction, "Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed, to you it shall be for food." (Gen. 1:29) The Hebrew Bible offers countless examples of how God intends a compassionate and caring attitude toward animals, our health, and the health of the planet. This attitude, as Richard Schwartz shows in his pioneering work now fully revised, has been a constant theme throughout Judaism to the present day. Indeed, Judaism's particular concern for tikkun olam, a healing of the world, has never been more urgent today--given the current state of world hunger, environmental degradation, and the horror of factory farms. Dr. Schwartz shows not only how Judaism is particularly well suited to solving these problems, but how doing so can revitalize one's Jewish faith.




Ethics in Practice


Book Description

The bestselling and field-defining textbook which has introduced generations of students to the field of practical ethics, now in a new fully-revised fifth edition For more than twenty years, Ethics in Practice has paved the way for students to confront the difficult ethical questions they will, must, or do already face. Accessible to introductory students yet sufficiently rigorous for those pursuing advanced study, this celebrated collection encourages and guides readers to explore ethical dimensions of important, controversial topics such as euthanasia, environmental action, economic injustice, discrimination, incarceration, abortion, and torture. In combining new and revised modern texts with works of classic scholarship, Ethics in Practice equips readers to consider wide-ranging ideas in practical ethics and to understand the historical basis for contemporary developments in ethical theory. Revisions and updates to the new edition of Ethics in Practice focus on covering pressing global issues and adding depth to key sections. Many sections have been expanded to offer more thorough coverage of topics in ethical theory. Edited by Hugh LaFollette, highly regarded for his contributions in the field of practical ethics, this important volume: Explores the connections between ethical theory and divisive contemporary debates Includes general and section introductions which map the conceptual terrain, making it easy for students to understand and discuss the theoretical and practical dimensions of the issues Offers up-to-date incisive discussion global, local, and personal ethical issues Provides original essays, new perspectives, and revisions of key critical texts Enables instructors to discuss specific practical issues, broader groupings of topics, and common themes that connect major areas in ethics Already a market-leading text for introductory and applied ethics courses, the latest edition of Ethics in Practice: An Anthology continues to bean essential resource for instructors and students in philosophy departments around the world.




Religious Vegetarianism


Book Description

Stretching back more than two thousand years and spanning diverse traditions, religious vegetarianism has an ancient and rich history. In this book, Kerry S. Walters and Lisa Portmess gather writings that reflect devotional as well as more analytical responses to age-old questions of animal suffering, dietary practice, and human responsibility. These include writings from ancient Orphic and Pythagorean authors, writings that span centuries of Indian and Buddhist thought, and writings from the Judaic, Christian, and Islamic traditions. Interesting both to those well-versed in the literature of vegetarianism as well as to others encountering it for the first time, are tensions within traditions over the use of animals for food—whether such use is consonant with fundamental values of the faith, whether religious law or tradition requires vegetarian practice, and what place animals are thought to hold in the order of nature.




Vegetarianism and Veganism


Book Description

This detailed and comprehensive overview of meat-free diets introduces readers to their long history in human cultures and analyzes some of the important questions and issues surrounding their practice in today's world. Vegetarianism and Veganism: A Reference Handbook provides a history and background of vegetarianism and veganism from prehistorical times to the present day, along with detailed discussions of the practice in each historical period since that time. The ancillary chapters provide additional information on important individuals and organizations in the field, relevant data and documents on the topic, an annotated bibliography, a chronology of important events, and a glossary of terms likely to be encountered in the field. Of special interest is the Perspectives chapter, in which stakeholders in the topic write about some specific aspect of its importance in their own lives. Intended for high school, college, an general readers, the volume covers the field of vegetarianism and veganism in cultures from around the world. Some specific topics include ancient views of vegetarianism, religious stands on the practice, the growth of vegetarian and vegan institutions, and current controversies over the practice of meat-free diets. It also includes a host of resources that readers can use to continue their own research in the field.




Vegetarianism and the Jewish Tradition


Book Description

Weaves together the author's observations on Vegetarianism from the Bible and backed by scientific citations.




Vegetables Rock!


Book Description

Offering great advice to the more than two million newly vegetarian teenagers is this reliable source for nutritional information, vegetarian values, recipes and cooking tips.




To Eat or Not To Eat Meat


Book Description

Increasingly, people are shifting to vegetarian, plant-based, or vegan diets. This shift is having profound effects on our social interactions, and this is the focus of this book. Becoming a vegetarian or vegan involves more than just changing your diet. It can change how you socially and emotionally connect with family, friends and the broader community, shape your outlook on life, and open up new worlds and contacts. It can also lead to uncomfortable situations, if dietary choices involving a rejection of meat are read by others as an ethical and moral judgement on mainstream dietary choices. This book adopts an innovative narrative approach, and draws on stories across the globe to consider how the food choices we make in our everyday lives can lead to complex, and sometimes life changing, social consequences. The narratives cover a range of topics, including the moral reasons behind some individuals’ decision to change their diets, the religious or ecological considerations, and the potential health and social ramifications. To date, the social consequences of selecting a plant-based diet have been sorely overlooked in favour of texts that have documented the benefits of such diets, and usually focus on health, animal welfare and/or environmental issues, with the aim of persuading readers to give up meat, and change to a ‘healthy’ and/or ‘sustainable’ diet. Cultural studies texts considering vegetarianism or veganism have typically targeted academic audiences with analyses of how identity is constructed through food and dietary choices. In contrast, this book offers a unique window onto how our social lives are implicated in our food choices, and is critical in understanding the importance of diet as embedded in complex social processes.




Kinship and Killing


Book Description

Through close readings of Jewish, Christian, Islamic, and Buddhist texts, Katherine Wills Perlo proves that our relationship with animals shapes religious doctrine, particularly through the tension between animal exploitation and the bonds of kinship. She pinpoints four different strategies for coping with this conflict. The first is aggression, in which a divinely conferred superiority or karma justifies animal usage. The second is evasion, which emphasizes benevolent aspects of the human-animal relationship within the exploitative structure, such as the image of Jesus as a "good shepherd." The third is defense, which acknowledges the problematic nature of killing, leading many religions to adopt a propitiation mechanism, such as apologizing for sacrifice. And the fourth is effective-defensive, which recognizes animal abuse as inherently unethical. As humans feel more empathy toward animals, Perlo finds that adherents revise their interpretations of religious texts. Preexisting ontologies, such as Christianity's changing God or Buddhism's principle of impermanence, along with advances in farming practices and technology, also encourage changes in treatment. As cultures begin to appreciate the different types of perception and consciousness experienced by nonhumans, definitions of reality become complicated and humans lean more toward unitary accounts of shared existence. These evolving attitudes exert a crucial influence on religious thought, Perlo argues, moving humans ever closer to a nonspeciesist world.