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An Invitation to a Plant Based Meal
Contributed by Ezra Weissman

  • TOP HAGGADAHS FOR 2023

“An Invitation to a Plant-Based Meal” 
Adam Gorod, Jewish Veg. D.C.

Our food choices during the Exodus were so much simpler. We could subsist on manna alone. Free of animal products, manna was a bread from heaven with a taste like coriander seed. Today the options—even during Passover—are more varied. Any number of Kosher-for-Passover items sit in the curated displays of many supermarkets at the arrival of spring. These options, however, make one fact unavoidable: we are now, at all seasons, responsible for our dietary choices. Even as we reflect on our redemption from slavery, we must consider whether we have taken all of the steps we can possibly take in this day and age to liberate ourselves from the lure of destructive eating habits.

Every day, we decide what foods to consume. We decide whether to eat plant-based foods that have significant benefits for the wellbeing of our health, the planet, other people, and animals. We choose whether to promote environmental sustainability by saving rain forests, protecting wildlife habitats and marine ecosystems, alleviating water shortages and pollution, and reducing antibiotic, growth hormone, and chemical use. We choose whether to minimize world hunger and the dangers confronted by slaughterhouse workers. We choose whether to prevent the abuse, exploitation, and killing of land and sea animals. Passover is a time to appreciate the choices that freedom allows us to make. Each of us should, therefore, welcome this annual opportunity to ensure that our current food choices are in accord with the values we want to embrace.
haggadah Section: Shulchan Oreich

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