Vegetarian Star

Jewish reggae star Matisyahu went vegan after reading Jonathan Safran Foer‘s Eating Animals. Did this mean he found a whole new set of restrictions to follow that made keeping kosher more difficult? Actually, it was the exact opposite, especially considering he longer has to worry about eating kosher meat.

“My diet consists of quinoa, miso, almond milk, kashi cereal, flax seed oil, oatmeal, veggies, fruit, juice, veggie burgers, etc. I guess the thing I was really into on the last tour was quinoa with flax seed oil and tamari,” Matisyahu said.

Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D. at JewishVeg discussed the various benefits of being a vegan Jew, as it reduces the effort of eating kosher.

“A vegian need not be concerned with using separate dishes and other utensils for meat and dairy foods, waiting 3 or 6 hours after eating meat before being permitted to eat dairy products, storing 4 sets of dishes, pots, and silverware (2 sets for regular use and 2 for Passover use), and many other factors that the non-vegan who wishes to observe kashrut strictly must consider. In addition, a vegan is in no danger of eating blood, which is prohibited, or the flesh of a non-kosher animal.”

Dr. Schwartz says there are several examples in the Torah where switching to a vegetarian or vegan diet allowed Jews to keep kosher when it was otherwise difficult. Daniel kept kosher by eating vegan when held captive by Nebuchadnezzar. Jewish priests ate figs and nuts while on trial in Rome. And the Torah looks favorable on fruits and vegetables, while flesh foods are often “associated with lust (lack of control over one’s appetite for meat).”

Photo: PR Photos

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