Latest News https://www.jaina.org/news/default.asp Sun, 17 May 2026 08:09:57 GMT Fri, 11 Sep 2015 17:17:49 GMT Copyright © 2015 JAINA-JainLink VEGAN DAY CELEBRATION https://www.jaina.org/news/news.asp?id=276495 https://www.jaina.org/news/news.asp?id=276495
 VEGAN DAY CELEBRATION

World Compassion Vegan Day Celebrated on Nov 1 in Jain Sanghs across North America On November 1st, Jain Centers across US held events focused on Compassion, Veganism, and Jiv Daya sponsored by the Ahimsak Eco-Vegan committee. The goal of this day was to spread awareness of a more compassionate, plant-based lifestyle within the Jain community and extended community at large. The event focused on topics such as animal welfare, health, environment, lifestyle, and a vegan + Jain lunch to achieve this goal.

]]> Fri, 11 Sep 2015 18:17:49 GMT Texas University Opens Vegan Dining Hall https://www.jaina.org/news/news.asp?id=78141 https://www.jaina.org/news/news.asp?id=78141 The University of North Texas in Denton has opened an all-vegan full-service campus cafeteria that may be the first in the nation and is proving immensely popular. Lines snake out the door. University officials are finding many of the students who eat there are not vegans but simply want to eat healthy meals.

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]]> Wed, 30 Nov 2011 02:07:14 GMT From omnivore to vegan: Dietary education of Bill Clinton an Interview with Dr. Sanjay Gupta on CNN https://www.jaina.org/news/news.asp?id=71466 https://www.jaina.org/news/news.asp?id=71466 Tune in as Dr. Sanjay Gupta explores the signs, tests and lifestyle changes that could make cardiac problems a thing of the past on "The Last Heart Attack," Saturday, August 27, 8 and 11 p.m. ET on CNN.

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]]> Tue, 23 Aug 2011 20:23:28 GMT Forks Over Knives https://www.jaina.org/news/news.asp?id=66589 https://www.jaina.org/news/news.asp?id=66589 This documentary movie/film (PG) opened nationwide in USA, Canada, and China during the month of May/June 2011.

It examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed food. The major storyline in the film traces the personal journeys of a pair of pioneering yet under-appreciated researchers, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn.

T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D. a nutritional scientist of Cornell University

Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr., M.D , a top surgeon and head of the Breast Cancer Task Force at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic.

To learn more, read the following articles.

Article 1

Article 2

]]> Thu, 9 Jun 2011 20:07:59 GMT Jainism and Veganism: Ahimsa in the Modern World - By Dilip V. Shah https://www.jaina.org/news/news.asp?id=63088 https://www.jaina.org/news/news.asp?id=63088 Jainism and Veganism: Ahimsa in the Modern World


Veganism is embraced by some, misunderstood by some, and resisted by others in the Jain Community. The primary tenet of Jainism is Ahimsa, or non-violence. Bhagwan Mahavir’s message in the Acharanga Sutra is clear:  "all breathing, existing, living, sentient creatures should not be slain, nor treated with violence, nor abused, nor tormented, nor driven away.” The central philosophy of Jainism and veganism are not only similar but also complimentary and in pursuit of an Ahimsak life, Jains should respect and embrace veganism.

According to The Vegan Society of the U.K., "a vegan is someone who tries to live without exploiting animals, for the benefit of animals, people and the planet. Vegans eat a plant-based diet, with nothing coming from animals—no meat, milk, eggs or honey, for example. A vegan lifestyle also avoids leather, wool, silk, pearl and other animal products.” Donald Watson of The Vegan Society, who combined the beginning and end of the word "vegetarian,” symbolizing that veganism is the logical conclusion of the vegetarian journey to avoid animal suffering and death, coined the word "vegan” in 1944.

Vegans recognize that as an ethical matter, milk, even "organic” or "humane” milk is inherently a product of violence. Some people believe that milk production in India is still humane but the truth is otherwise. If you are not sure about this, you should visit a dairy farm or read about it in Pravin K. Shah’s My Visit to a Dairy Farm, which is archived in the Jain collection at Harvard University and can be found at http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~pluralsm/affiliates/jainism/ahimsa/dairy.htm

The meat and milk industries are inextricably linked; they are two sides of the same violent coin. Cost of beef is subsidized by the sale of milk and leather. All livestock in a dairy farm are predestined for the slaughter house: new born male calves for veal within six months of birth and the remaining female cows by the age of five years when milk production starts to decrease. The natural life span of a cow is more than 20 years. Dairy cows are often fed ground up fish and bone, routinely injected with hormones, repeatedly impregnated for continuous milk production and separated from their calves very shortly after birth.  There can be no doubt that the production of dairy, however "humane” we may try to make it, will always involve violence to five-sensed creatures (Panchandriyas). Moreover, milk production is a tremendous burden on the environment; it takes a great deal of grain, water and energy to produce dairy products, and there are many harmful consequences of waste and pollution that result.

Some Jains point to scriptures, which indicates that Tirthankaras consumed some milk products. It must be remembered, however, at that time there was no intensive or "factory” farming. Moreover, at that time, there were no massive distribution systems or storage systems for grains and other agricultural products. So taking small amounts of locally produced fresh dairy products may have represented the minimum amount of Himsa necessary given conditions then. Cows were treated as revered members of the family and ox were used in farming.  The animals were not killed even when they stopped producing milk or stopped working in the fields.  We cannot be certain of all the conditions of those days but we know for sure that things are very different now.  According to Jain theory, milk and milk products are considered Vigayee or Maha-Vigavee and are prohibited during Aymbil. Therefore, eliminating (or minimizing) the use of milk or milk products is not a strange or alien concept to Jains.

There are now convenient and tasty substitutes for milk, ice cream, yogurt, butter and ghee, as well as alternatives to leather, silk, wool, pearls, etc.  American Dietetic Association has a position paper that explains how vegan diets help manage and reduce chronic degenerative disease like heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, obesity and others. Although vegan ideals are becoming more common among Jain youth, the older, more tradition-minded generation resists it. We have to examine our himsa footprint in everything we consume. Vegan theory is closest to Jain ideals and a step ahead of just being vegetarian. Veganism is a natural expression and expansion of our highest ideals of Ahimsa. There is no other religion or philosophy that comes closer to the jain philosophy of non-violence as ethical veganism does. When we understand the true basis of their belief as Jiv Daya, we must develop respect for their commitment and embrace vegans as our soul mates.




--
Dilip V. Shah
Past President, JAINA
1902 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia PA 19103
(215) 561 0581]]> Fri, 15 Apr 2011 13:20:03 GMT Jains take action for Healthy Vegetarian School Meals” act https://www.jaina.org/news/news.asp?id=40054 https://www.jaina.org/news/news.asp?id=40054 As you know, most children have no meal options in school other than the usual meaty dishes which is bad for their health. On April 21st, become a citizen lobbyist and ask your representative in Washington to support H.R. 4870, the Healthy School Meals Act.

The JAINA in partnership with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine who has been working hard on Capitol Hill to get healthy vegetarian options everyday in every school lunch line around the country.

Please join Elizabeth Kucinich, Director of Public Affairs, and Ruby LathonNutrition Policy Manager for PCRM for a Conference Call/Webinar to learn how to get involved and lobby your Member of Congress. Hear more about the Healthy School Meals Act, why it is so important for the health of America’s children, and how you can ask your Member of Congress to support it by contacting him or her directly on April 21st.

We will need you to call or send an e-mail to your Congressmen on April 21st. We need to act now to ensure that Congress enacts provisions in the Child Nutrition Act reauthorization to help schools provide healthy vegetarian options in lunch rooms.

Please join us for this special conference call and web presentation on either Monday April 12th at 9:00pm EST or Wednesday April 14th at Noon EST or April 19th at 9:00 pm EST, and become a Citizen Lobbyist! We can make a difference for children’s health.

Note - If for some reason you can not join, we will provide step by step written instruction to everyone in near future.

Following are details of how to join teleconference and/or Web-ex for viewing the slides:

Monday, April 12th: 9:00 PM EST
Call-in: 1-866-432-9903 (People from 408 area code: Please call 525-6800 and 919 area code: Please call 392-3330)
Meeting Number: 204 938 044
Meeting Password: healthy
WebEx link: Go to https://ciscosales.webex.com/ciscosales/j.php?S=204938044

Wednessday, April 14th: 12:00 noon EST
Call-in: 1-866-432-9903 (People from 408 area code: Please call 525-6800 and 919 area code: Please call 392-3330)
Meeting Number: 202 381 192
Meeting Password: healthy
WebEx link: Go to https://ciscosales.webex.com/ciscosales/j.php?S=202381192

Monday, April 19th: 9:00 PM EST
Call-in: 1-866-432-9903 (People from 408 area code: Please call 525-6800 and 919 area code: Please call 392-3330)
Meeting Number: 203 025 250
Meeting Password: healthy
WebEx link: Go to https://ciscosales.webex.com/ciscosales/j.php?S=203025250

]]> Tue, 13 Apr 2010 18:18:41 GMT California: If It's Monday, It's Veggies https://www.jaina.org/news/news.asp?id=39779 https://www.jaina.org/news/news.asp?id=39779 San Francisco's Board of Supervisors passed a nonbinding resolution declaring every Monday as "meat-free." To read more, click on the link below:

National Briefing | West: California: If It's Monday, It's Veggies

]]> Thu, 8 Apr 2010 18:21:08 GMT Flesh Of Your Flesh https://www.jaina.org/news/news.asp?id=34892 https://www.jaina.org/news/news.asp?id=34892 Should you eat meat? To read the article written by Elizabeth Kolbert published in the New York Times please click the link below.
 
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2009/11/09/091109crbo_books_kolbert
 
 
]]> Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:27:40 GMT New Book: Eating Animals by Safran Foer https://www.jaina.org/news/news.asp?id=32839 https://www.jaina.org/news/news.asp?id=32839 New Book:  Eating Animals  by Safran Foer

Eating Animals, acclaimed novelist Jonathan Safran Foer's first nonfiction book,  is making waves across the country.  It is extremely exciting to have the question of whether we should be eating animals thrust into the national conversation, along with Foer's vivid discussion of animal treatment and environmental destruction.

There is an excellent book review on this:

http://nymag.com/arts/books/reviews/61735/

http://www.boston.com/ae/books/articles/2009/11/10/jonathan_safran_foer_reads_from_eating_animals_wednesday_in_brookline/

Huffington Post carried a week of daily reviews of Eating Animals, all well worth reading, but if you have time for only one, Andrew Weil's may be my pick:

"The Most Important Conversation in Our Lifetimes Might Just Begin with Jonathan Safran Foer's Latest Book."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/02/whats-next-for-jonathan-s_n_342266.html

This review by HSUS CEO Wayne Pacelle links to major media attention to Eating Animals:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wayne-pacelle/eating-animals-a-book-to_b_351324.html

Review of the book in The New Yorker.
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2009/11/09/091109crbo_books_kolbert
 
With perfect timing, Foer's book compounds the impact of World Watch Magazine's Nov/Dec 2009 cover story reporting that animals raised for food account for at least half of all human-caused greenhouse gases (GHGs)
Full item: http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6297

Add to this the release of HSUS's undercover investigation of the handling and slaughter of infant veal calves, the by-product of the dairy industry, at a Vermont plant.  It reveals unimaginable cruelties by both the plant co-owner and a USDA inspector and resulted in the closing of the plant. Read more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/03/vermont-slaughterhouse-cl_n_343934.html

Video here:
http://www.humanesociety.org/news/news/2009/10/veal_investigation_103009.html

]]> Thu, 12 Nov 2009 02:37:07 GMT Apple CEO, Steve Jobs' Takes Vegetarianism to an Extreme https://www.jaina.org/news/news.asp?id=17073 https://www.jaina.org/news/news.asp?id=17073 Read about it at:  http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/24/steve-jobs-diet-tech-personal-cx_bc_0724jobs.html?partner=email
]]> Wed, 30 Jul 2008 01:22:17 GMT