MAJOR VEGETARIAN SOCIETY HONORS LONG-TIME ADVOCATE OF JEWISH VEGETARIANISM- RICHARD H. SCHWARTZ

Longtime Jewish vegetarian and environmental activist Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D., has been inducted into the Hall of Fame of the North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS). The event at the NAVS 31st annual Summerfest on July 3 at the University of Pittsburgh marked the recognition by North America’s largest secular vegetarian organization of an activist who has worked since 1978 to advocate ethical vegetarianism in the Jewish community and other communities.
"This wonderful honor will inspire me to work even harder toward a vegetarian world," said Dr. Schwartz, author of Judaism and Vegetarianism, Judaism and Global Survival, and Mathematics and Global Survival and Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at the College of Staten Island. Dr. Schwartz also spoke at this year's Summerfest on "Judaism and Vegetarianism" and "Ten Approaches to Obtain a Vegetarian-Conscious U.S. by 2010."

Founded in 1974, The North American Vegetarian Society (www.navs-online.org) is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to promoting the vegetarian way of life. Previous Hall of Fame inductees include Mahatma Gandhi; Scott and Helen Nearing, pioneer American vegetarian activists and homesteaders; Howard Lyman, a fourth generation cattle rancher and feedlot operator who became a leading vegetarian activist and was sued by the Cattlemen’s Association after he made statements on the Oprah Winfrey show that led her to state that she would never eat another hamburger; Alex Hershaft, Ph.D., founder and director of Farm Animal reform Group (FARM); Jay and Freya Dinshah, founders of the American Vegan Society (AVS); Charles Stahler and Debra Wasserman, founders and directors of the Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG).

"Animal-based diets and modern intensive animal agriculture violate basic religious mandates to preserve our health, treat animals with compassion, protect the environment, conserve natural resources, help hungry people, and pursue peace and nonviolence," said Dr. Schwartz, adding that "animal-based diets and the production and consumption of animal products are having devastating effects on human health and the world’s ecosystems."

Dr. Schwartz, the 71-year-old father of 3 children and grandfather of 9 grandchildren, all of whom live in Israel, is a resident of Staten Island, New York. He is the author of over 130 articles on Judaism and vegetarianism which can be read on the website of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America at www.jewishveg.com/schwartz. He is a frequent speaker in the United States and Israel and has published articles in numerous magazines and newspapers.

Dr. Schwartz is President of the Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) and Coordinator of the Society of Ethical and Religious Vegetarians (SERV).

"The world is threatened today as perhaps never before," said Dr. Schwartz, "and a switch toward vegetarianism is a societal imperative, essential to help shift the world to a more sustainable path, and a religious imperative, necessary to show the relevance of ancient traditions to modern crises."