{"id":340670,"date":"2010-02-19T12:27:27","date_gmt":"2010-02-19T17:27:27","guid":{"rendered":"tag:blogs.rj.org,2010:\/rac\/\/2.2478"},"modified":"2010-02-19T12:33:52","modified_gmt":"2010-02-19T17:33:52","slug":"nfty-tackles-overconsumption-ethical-eating","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/340670","title":{"rendered":"NFTY Tackles Overconsumption & Ethical Eating"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"MollyG.JPG\"<\/span><\/p>\n

Molly Goldberg is the
\nincoming Social Action Vice President of the North American Federation of
\nTemple Youth (NFTY). She is currently the Social Action Vice President of
\nNFTY’s Missouri Valley Region.<\/i><\/p>\n

Nearly 120 NFTYites from across the country gathered last
\nweekend at Veida, our annual meeting for regional and North American board
\nmembers. We met at Greene Family Camp in Bruceville, Texas to elect a new North
\nAmerican board, pass resolutions, and select study and action themes for
\n2010-2011. We were proud to select “Anavah: Humility – What do we really need? NFTY Addresses
\nOverconsumption<\/a>” as our Action theme for the year to come.<\/p>\n

At each URJ Biennial convention, President Rabbi Eric Yoffie
\nlaunches new Biennial Initiatives<\/a>,
\nissuing challenges to our Movement to rethink Jewish perspectives and take
\naction on thought-provoking subjects, from embracing Shabbat to initiating Muslim-Jewish
\ndialogue. During his Shabbat morning sermon at the 2009 URJ Biennial in
\nToronto, Rabbi Yoffie presented the following statistics:<\/p>\n

The meat industry today generates nearly one-fifth of the man-made greenhouse gas
\nemissions that are accelerating climate change throughout the world. According
\nto a U.N. report, animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gas
\nthan all transportation sources combined. And the preparation of beef meals
\nrequires about fifteen times the amount of fossil fuel energy than meat.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, Rabbi Yoffie challenged our
\nMovement – including NFTY – to consider what we eat and how it affects our
\nenvironment.  <\/span>The NFTY 2010-2011 Action
\nTheme, “Anavah<\/i>: Humility – What do we
\nreally need? NFTY Addresses Overconsumption,” adopted last weekend, will encourage
\nNFTYites to rise to Rabbi Yoffie’s challenge. Our resolution on consumption challenges
\nNFTYites to rethink their eating habits with an eye to the environmental impact
\nof our food choices.<\/p>\n

But we won’t stop
\nthere. Beyond conscious eating, our new action theme encourages NFTYites to
\nexamine their per capita consumption and consider amending their consumption of
\nfuel, minerals, and other resources to preserve our Earth.<\/p>\n

To implement “Anavah<\/i>: Humility,” we will incorporate the concept of overconsumption
\non all levels of NFTY, from communal to individual. NFTY will partner with the
\nReligious Action Center and the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life to
\nadvocate for comprehensive legislation to address climate change and encourage
\nthe transition to a cleaner, more efficient energy economy. NFTYites and others
\ncan start by writing to Congress using
\nthe RAC’s action alert<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Our 19 NFTY Regions will study how unsustainable fishing practices and insufficient waste management blight
\nthe developing world’s infrastructure through educational and experiential
\nprogramming. Next, with our respective syangogues and youth groups, we will
\nalign with Shulchan Yarok, Shulchan Tzedek<\/em> (Green Table, Just Table)<\/a>, a newly launched URJ initiative that encourages congregations
\nto implement food policy and programs that promote healthy, sustainable, and
\nethical eating, such as Community Supported Agriculture and synagogue garden projects.
\nFinally, on an individual level, we will encourage NFTYites to give up bottled water, reduce energy use by
\nwashing their laundry in cold water, switch to energy-efficient CFL light bulbs,
\nand reduce fuel consumption by carpooling, biking, walking, and taking public
\ntransit. <\/p>\n

Combined, these projects on all
\nlevels of NFTY, as well as alliances with the RAC and URJ, will give Reform
\nJewish teens insight into how each of our daily actions affects the environment,
\nand how we can make informed choices to have a more positive impact.<\/p>\n

Century, we realize that Midrash Ecclesiastes
\nRabbah 7:13 rings true: “See my works, how fine and excellent they are! All
\nthat I created, I created for you. Reflect on this, and do not corrupt or
\ndesolate my world; for if you do, there will be no one to repair it after you.”
\nWith our 2010-2011 Action Theme, NFTY plans to live up to this teaching, doing
\nour best to repair our broken world and ensure that generations to come will
\nenjoy the environment that is so crucial to all our lives.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Molly Goldberg is the incoming Social Action Vice President of the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY). She is currently the Social Action Vice President of NFTY’s Missouri Valley Region. Nearly 120 NFTYites from across the country gathered last weekend at Veida, our annual meeting for regional and North American board members. We met […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4316,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-340670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4316"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=340670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340670\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=340670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=340670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=340670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}