Judaism regards the preservation of health as an extremely important religious commandment. The talmud teaches that Jews should be more particular about matters of health and life than ritual matters. In contrast to these teachings, flesh-centered diets have been strongly linked to heart attacks, strokes, various types of cancer, and other diseases. As a result medical costs have been skyrocketing in recent years, contributing substantially to governmental budget deficits. Helping the hungry is fundamental in Judaism.
Farmers are to leave the gleanings of the harvest and the corners of the fields for the poor.
Contrary to these basic Jewish teachings, meat-based diets involve the feeding of over 70 percent of the grain grown in the U.S. to animals destined for slaughter while an estimated 20 million people die annually due to hunger and its effects. Judaism teaches that the earth is the Lord's and that people are to be partners and co-workers with God in protecting the environment. The talmudic sages indicated great concern about reducing pollution. In contrast, meat-centered diets involve extensive soil depletion and erosion, air and water pollution related to the widespread production and use of pesticides, fertilizer, and other chemicals, and the destruction of tropical rain forests and other habitats. Contrary to this Jewish teaching of bal tashchit , flesh-centered diets require up to 20 times more land, ten times more energy and water, and far more pesticides, fertilizer, and other resources, than vegetarian diets.