VeggieJews

LET’S TALK FISH.

I frequently meet Jewish semi-vegetarians who have given up meat and poultry but still eat fish.  They are often very upset by the cruel treatment of animals in the food industries.  They would never think of hurting an animal and they would be outraged by anyone who would.  But they still eat fish. Why the discrepancy?

Outside of the Jewish community it must surely look hypocritical. But, I think such conduct is understandable, if regrettable, when one considers that it is rooted in Jewish culture.  As fish are considered pareve and can be eaten with either meat or dairy meals, many Jews think of fish as compatible with a veggie lifestyle.  They are mistaken, in my opinion, but understandably so.

In fact, eating fish is not compatible with Jewish vegetarianism.  All Jewish vegetarianism is based upon the concept of tsa'ar ba'alei chayim, a
mandate not to cause pain to any animal.  There is no question that fish feel pain when brought out of the water and left to suffocate to death.  Their struggles are clear signs of distress and suffering that we could not so easily ignore if, like mammals, fish were capable of making audible sounds, like cries.  Fish have nervous systems that, although relatively simple compared to ours,
nonetheless serve the same basic purposes including providing pain.

Judaism also teaches that we are to preserve our physical health and not do anything that would shorten our lives. But eating fish is anything but healthy.  Flesh from fish caught in the sea these days commonly contains known carcinogens like PCBs and DDT.  As bigger fish eat smaller fish, concentrations of these and other toxins from the smaller fish accumulate in the flesh of the larger fish and can reach quite high levels.   When people eat those larger fish, like tuna and salmon, they significantly increase the risk of disease.

Farmed fish are no better.  Fish in crowded pens, just like livestock in crowded pens, are prone to illness and parasites. Farmed fish are customarily doused with fungicides, parasite medicines, antibiotics, and dyes to render their flesh an appetizing color. All of these substances are not only unhealthy to humans but also to the environment as they leak out into waters surrounding the fish farms.

Judaism reveres our earthly environment and encourages us to respect it. But these days commercial fishing trawlers are floating factories with fine-gauge nets so large that they literally capture for destruction everything that comes in their path, whether edible or not. Oceans are being over-fished to the extent that some species are being fished into extinction.

Thus, Jewish vegetarianism, like any other vegetarianism, is not consistent with eating fish. Fish are certainly pareve like broccoli and
garbanzos but, unlike vegetables, fruits, grains and beans, fish can feel pain, which makes them more like meat than pareve foods, from an ethical perspective.

So, if you're still eating fish, but you've given up meat and poultry for reasons of compassion, health or environmental consciousness, what are you
waiting for?

By Pete Cohon, founder

VeggieJews