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Counting the ways

by · April 11th, 2007
Blogroll, Eco-Kashrut, Vegetarian


This year, Counting the Omer is posting a new reason to be vegetarian every one of the 49 days of the omer. So far, they’ve got animal cruelty, vegetarians smell better, slaughterhouse workers work in deplorable conditions, it’s easier to keep kosher, and a number of others (we’re on day 8).

I admire the new twist on the old tradition (in similar fashion, a good friend of mine used the Omer one year to do one more pushup every day). But these lists of “10 reasons to be green” or “365 things you can do to save the planet”…are they really helpful? Are they really telling us something new? Is lack of information really the problem, and are ‘the people who don’t know’ really the ones who will read these lists? I’m not entirely convinced – though regardless, the site is worth checking out, even if just to remind yourself of stuff you already know.

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One Response to “Counting the ways”

  1. Michael Croland Says:
    April 12th, 2007 at 6:46 am

    Thanks so much for featuring Counting the Omer! Your questions might have been rhetorical, but please allow me to take a stab at them anyway.

    The information I’m posting isn’t unique or new, and I’ll be the first to admit that. Tons of books, Web sites, and everything else focus on these issues, and finding 49 reasons really isn’t that hard thanks to those resources. Where I hope the blog is helpful is in bringing attention to these issues and getting people to think about them who otherwise wouldn’t see those other resources. And I think it’s a fun way to count the omer. :)

    As for the audience, I think people who have already heard some of the arguments to go vegetarian might be moved to change their eating habits if they see there are more reasons than they are aware of. And thanks to your blog and one or two others, hopefully more people will go there, take a peak, and reflect on these issues.

    Toda rabah!

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