Freeganism and Judaism ( and my ambivalence about linking the two)
A guy on our email list offered to be an expert media consultant on freeganism and Christian theology. Another person was dubious of getting tied into religion, and particularly concerned that having a Christian expert in the absence of other religious perspectives would come across as an endorsement of Chrstianity.
I share the concerns about relgion. I generally describe myself as an "I-Don't-Careist" or something along those lines. As in "I don't really care if Zeus or Odin or Jesus or whoever are deities ruling over the world. I don't particularly beleive in any of their existence, and if I did, it wouldn't really change anything. I'm motivated by a committment to ending injustice and creating a better world for everyone, and if that is or is not what Ganesh, Ra, or whoever wants me to do--well, honestly, I don't particularly care."
That's not to say there aren't some very positive ideas in some relgions: I think The Golden Rule is great. But then you have charming passages like this little monstrosity:
"Leviticus 20:13:
"If a man lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination and they shall surely be put to death."
The dilemma being, if you accept that a document represents the word of God, your sort of stuck aren't you? If you want the baby, you need the bathwater she pissed in, too. So by making religious arguments, you on some level validate the traditions those arguments reflect.
Yet, some people seem unwilling to consider any argument that isn't based in the doctrine of their religious tradition, and we probably aren't going to convince them to abandon those traditions anytime soon. Thus the motivation to find and emphasize the best aspects of those traditions to support the arguments we are trying to make.
On this basis, I decided to try to put something together to see if we could recruit a Jewish scholar to endorse freeganism. When I was a teenager, I was rather serious about Judaism at one point, and did a lot of reading on Jewish theological perspectives on vegetarianism, environmentalism, animal rights, etc. Drawing on that background and a bit of internet research, I came up with this:
Freegans believe in preventing and recovering waste, especially wasted food. This seems consistent with: "Whoever breaks vessels or tears garments, or destroys a building, or clogs up a fountain, or destroys food violates the prohibition of bal tash'chit." (Kiddushin 32a). and "This, then, is the first law (Deuteronomy 20:19, 20) . . .: Regard things as God's property and use them with a sense of responsibility for wise human purposes. Destroy nothing! Waste nothing!" (Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Horeb, Chapter 56, Section 401)
Freegans strive to avoid giving money to corporations that commit murder, like Coca-Cola which is linked to the murder of union organizers in Colombia, or oil corporations like Shell that support the killing of indigenous people. This seems to me consistent with the principle of Pikuach Nefesh.
Freegans seek to avoid giving money to corporations that cause pain, suffering, and death to animals, which would seem consistent with Ts'ar Baalei Chayim.
Freegans seek to prevent environmental harm by diverting goods from incinerators and toxin-leaching landfills. At the same time, they provide people with practical alternatives to consuming in ways that finance environmentally destructive corporate practices. This is consistent with the principle of Tikkun Olam.
I share the concerns about relgion. I generally describe myself as an "I-Don't-Careist" or something along those lines. As in "I don't really care if Zeus or Odin or Jesus or whoever are deities ruling over the world. I don't particularly beleive in any of their existence, and if I did, it wouldn't really change anything. I'm motivated by a committment to ending injustice and creating a better world for everyone, and if that is or is not what Ganesh, Ra, or whoever wants me to do--well, honestly, I don't particularly care."
That's not to say there aren't some very positive ideas in some relgions: I think The Golden Rule is great. But then you have charming passages like this little monstrosity:
"Leviticus 20:13:
"If a man lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination and they shall surely be put to death."
The dilemma being, if you accept that a document represents the word of God, your sort of stuck aren't you? If you want the baby, you need the bathwater she pissed in, too. So by making religious arguments, you on some level validate the traditions those arguments reflect.
Yet, some people seem unwilling to consider any argument that isn't based in the doctrine of their religious tradition, and we probably aren't going to convince them to abandon those traditions anytime soon. Thus the motivation to find and emphasize the best aspects of those traditions to support the arguments we are trying to make.
On this basis, I decided to try to put something together to see if we could recruit a Jewish scholar to endorse freeganism. When I was a teenager, I was rather serious about Judaism at one point, and did a lot of reading on Jewish theological perspectives on vegetarianism, environmentalism, animal rights, etc. Drawing on that background and a bit of internet research, I came up with this:
Freegans believe in preventing and recovering waste, especially wasted food. This seems consistent with: "Whoever breaks vessels or tears garments, or destroys a building, or clogs up a fountain, or destroys food violates the prohibition of bal tash'chit." (Kiddushin 32a). and "This, then, is the first law (Deuteronomy 20:19, 20) . . .: Regard things as God's property and use them with a sense of responsibility for wise human purposes. Destroy nothing! Waste nothing!" (Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, Horeb, Chapter 56, Section 401)
Freegans strive to avoid giving money to corporations that commit murder, like Coca-Cola which is linked to the murder of union organizers in Colombia, or oil corporations like Shell that support the killing of indigenous people. This seems to me consistent with the principle of Pikuach Nefesh.
Freegans seek to avoid giving money to corporations that cause pain, suffering, and death to animals, which would seem consistent with Ts'ar Baalei Chayim.
Freegans seek to prevent environmental harm by diverting goods from incinerators and toxin-leaching landfills. At the same time, they provide people with practical alternatives to consuming in ways that finance environmentally destructive corporate practices. This is consistent with the principle of Tikkun Olam.