Thursday 14.00 Speakers

Roberta Kalechofsky PhD, USA Website: www.micahbooks.com Biography: Roberta Kalechofsky is the author of seven works of fiction, a monograph on George Orwell, poetry and two collections of essays. Her work has been published in quarterlies, reviews and anthologies.  She has received literary fellowships and publishing grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Massachusetts Council on the Arts. Several of her works have been translated into Italian and published in Italy.  She has been active in the animal rights and vegetarian movements for over twenty-five years and coordinates her publishing (Micah Publications since 1975) with her animal rights activities. Lecture title: The Vegetarian Tradition in the Jewish Religion Abstract: The talk will substantiate two comments, one by Louis Berman, "Vegetarianism is more of a return to the Jewish tradition than a break with it," and one by Rabbi Arthur Green: "There is a pro-vegetarian bias in the Torah."  Both of these comments may come as a surprise, but there is no commandment in the Torah to eat meat, and no commandment to practise sacrifice despite lengthy passages about sacrifices. We have to distinguish a ’commandment’ from a traditional interpretation. To this end I will trace statements in Torah and other Jewish writings which indicate that vegetarianism was considered the preferred diet and that meat eating, while tolerated, had a negative connotation, and that there was - and is - strong Rabbinical support for this interpretation. Date: Thursday 31 July 2008; Time: 14:00; Room: Neumarkt; Language: English
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Rochlitz, Germany Biography: A research chemist in the chemical industry and teacher of organic chemistry at the university of Mannheim, he campaigned professionally and politically for the environment, sustainable agriculture and nutrition. As a member of the German parliament, he served on commissions of inquiry on sustainablilty. Lecture title: Vegan Diet and Sustainability Abstract: For health and animal protection reasons, a vegetarian diet is a very important step in the right direction to preserve our planet for succeeding generations. However, much suffering, killing and environmental degradation are also involved in milk and egg production, increasing global warming and the extinction of species.  People who follow a vegan diet can enjoy exceptionally good health and have no need to forgo culinary pleasures. My dream is sustainable animal husbandry with only a tiny percentage of today's animal exploitation. Date: Thursday 31 July 2008; Time: 14:00; Room: Altmarkt; Language: German
Dr. Sonja Lewandowski, Deutschland Biographie: Ernährungswissenschaftlerin (Studium in Südafrika), Promotion in Chemie Titel des Vortrags: Vegane Ernährung im Kindergarten und in der Schule: Warum, was und wie? Inhalt: Datum: 31. Juli 2008; Zeit: 14:00; Raum: Altmarkt; Sprache: deutsch
Thomas Müller-Schöll, Germany Website: www.schuetzer-der-erde.de Biography: Thomas Müller-Schöll, founder, project leader and deputy chair of the charity Schützer der Erde e.V. (Protectors of the Earth) studied education with various additional qualifications and experimental projects for nature and the environment over a period of decades.  All his projects achieved recognition of one kind or another (environmental prizes, manuals of best practice, UN world decade project status). He has been vegetarian for 22 years and vegan for 9 years for ethical reasons. Lecture title: A Vegetarian Children's Project for a Healthy and Non-violent World Abstract: The aim of Schützer der Erde e.V.(Protectors of the Earth) is a peaceful world for humans, animals and nature. The lecture will show how children from 8 to 13 years of age are not just sensitized towards nature and animals through adventurous and exciting projects but how they learn to deal with topics such as energy and climate protection; nutrition and farming; consumerism and lifestyle; ethics, aesthetics and the development of values;  global justice. They come to realise the many advantages of an ecological vegetarian diet and discover through cooking lessons over an open fire that such a diet is a delicious choice. Date: Thursday 31 July 2008; Time: 14:00; Room: Bähr; Language: German/English
Zuzana Skvarilova BSc, Czech Republic Website: www.csvv.cz Biography: I am a 26 year old Czech female who has been vegetarian since the age of 4. I have a BSc (Hons) Nutrition from Kingston University, London. My preferred areas of study and research are the benefits of vegetarian diets and nutritional ecology. I am currently leading a project on the environmental influences of diet choice for the Czech Society for Nutrition and Vegetarianism Title of the lecture: Vegetarianism as the Foundation for the Sustainable Development of Human Existence Abstract: This presentation focuses on the current unsustainability of human development due to increasing world demand for meat. It first defines the sustainable development of society, then examines some of the negative causes of increasing meat production in contrast with the positive effects of a vegetarian diet on the planet. The presentation also highlights possible solutions through vegetarianism. Lastly, it gives an explanation based on scientific literature as to why vegetarianism is a very real pragmatic solution to achieve human sustainable development. Date: Thursday 31 July 2008; Time: 14:00; Room: Brühl; Language: English

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