Brought to you buy the incredibly sarcastic joys of someecards.com. More of their Thanksgiving-related foolery here.

X-posted from Jewschool, Josh Frankel covers the growing Uri L’tzedek social justice beit midrash in Washington Heights. This week, the beit midrash covered food issues, including Agriprocessors:

Avi Lyon, director of the Jewish Labor Committee, told stories from his visit to Rubashkin’s meat’s AgriProcessors plant, in Iowa, and poor working conditions there, from intimidating workers not to speak to outsiders, to charging workers for their smocks and not paying them for the time required to get into and out of their safety equipment, to the high injury toll. Mike Schultz led a group brainstorm of any and all problems of workers’ rights or being an ethical kosher consumer that were really bothering the people in the room, and people had a lot to say, with a lot of fervor. Steven Exler outlined the cycle of community organizing, presented more facts on Agriprocessors, and asked people what they would be willing to do about it. Shmuly closed out the night by offering multiple opportunities for “homework,” ways to start acting on what we had talked about. 10 people signed up to table for workers’ rights at this weekend’s convention of kosher food producers, KosherFest. Others are planning to start working on pressuring local food providers to carry other meat options. Several people wanted to work on generating more of a halachic discourse on tzedek questions among the poskim.

The batei midrash will continue every 3 or 4 weeks, open and accessible to all, and now Uri L’Tzedek is starting to move into providing support and partnership for those who are ready to take the lead and get it done in the community. Started by three YCT students, Aaron Finkelstein, Mike Schultz, and Shmuly Yanklowitz along with the generous support of a Herbert Lieberman Award. For more information, contact Aaron Finkelstein.

I’m going to out myself again as a newbie in the culinary and foodie world, but that’s my place on this here blog, so here we go. This morning I slept through all my alarms, both electronic and internal, due to the deep, deep sleep one gets when the body is fighting off a cold. Awaking late, I rushed out of bed, hit the subway, and ducked into the deli closest to work — only to find that breakfast was over, and only lunch food was about.

Thus this morning’s quandry: what do you eat for breakfast when you’re sick in New York City? Read more »

Hat tip to Jewschooler and NY Ride alumnus Josh Frankel:

After the tremendous success of its first beit medrash, Uri L’tzedek, the organization dedicated to engaging the Orthodox community in social justice, is back for more. “Ethical Kashrut, Workers’ Rights, the Kosher Meat Industry” is the title for this week’s program, and the word on the street is that Rubashkin’s should take cover. Monday night, 7:30 - 9:00 PM, at the Mount Sinai Jewish Center, 135 Bennet Ave, in NYC.

For more information, check out Uri L’tzedek’s new facebook group.

On UJC’s podcasts web page, Nigel moderates a panel discussion about the new jewish food movement featuring Simon Feil, Leah Koenig, Linda Lantos, and Lisa Kleinman. Download it here!

Related to an earlier post regarding bottled water, evangelical-type eco-warriors are known to say that all sorts of things are bad for us — frequently because our awareness about what is safe and unsafe lie on the many unexamined habits and practices that we don’t examine closely. Scientific study to prove one way or the other frequently is barely keeping up — or ineffectively communicated to the public. But of all the horrors, just as bottled water is bad for Ha’Olam, now our beloved Nalgene bottles are bad too?? How??

A little bit of internet research is useful, categorized here in brief.

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By the numbers, from Time Magazine:

• 1.1 billion - people around the world that the U.N. estimates that lack safe drinking water, a number that could reach 5 billion by 2025
• 8.25 billion - gallons of bottled water Americans drank in 2006, a 9.5% increase from the year before.
• $10.8 billion - water sales last year — all for something you can get virtually free.
• 4,000 - tons of CO2 generated each year — the equivalent of the emissions of 700 cars — by importing bottled water from Fiji, France and Italy, three of the biggest suppliers to the U.S.
• Less than 25% - percent of water bottles recycled, leaving 2 billion lbs. a year to clog landfills.

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Links from all over the web and Jewish blogosphere:

• There’s a food fight over at Jewcy.com: Isa Chandra Moskowitz, queen bee of ethical veganism and author of Vegan With A Vengeance, versus Charles Eisenstein, pioneering theorist of environmentally motivated meat-eating.
• Thou Shalt Snack offers kosher, GMO-free and (moderately) healthy snacks for the holy palatte. Portions of proceeds go to Mazon: Jewish Response to Hunger, the Grameen Foundation USA, and the JCC Association. And hey, with a name like that, who can argue otherwise?
• The Canadian Jewish News covers the Tzedek Hchsher and its cheif champion, Rabbi Allen Morris.

As reported by KosherToday and Ynet, the city council of Netanya, Israel, has banned the sale of pork, despite the likelihood that the law will be overturned by the High Court of Justice as against Israel’s equivelent of the Bill of Rights. Allegedly, 70 stores support 2,000 families with non-kosher products including pig products.

Fifty-percent of the city council are religious or traditional, although only 3 of 25 council members opposed the bill. Reports Ynet, “Up until now, the residents remained silent on the subject, but the opening of a new pork-selling supermarket in the city center [see photo] sparked protests by haredim, who chained themselves to the supermarket’s doors on Sunday.” [emphasis added]

Meanwhile, Netanya Mayor Miriam Fierberg is urging the Knesset to pass a bill to prohibit the sale of pork products in Israel.

(X-posted to Jewschool.)

by Michael Croland, Heeb’n'Vegan

Last week, video footage from an undercover investigation of Local Pride, a kosher slaughterhouse in Nebraska, was released by PETA. The footage shows that cows had their ears mutilated to remove ID tags and their throats ripped into with a hook—all while they were still conscious. Veterinarian Dr. Holly Cheever commented, “This method of slaughter as depicted on this tape is brutal and should be amended to provide a humane end for these animals.”

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The credit for this philosophical question goes to David, who rightly asked “If we don’t eat meat during the Nine Days, ” the nine-day period between Rosh Chodesh Av and Tisha B’Av commemorating the fall of Jerusalem, “then what do vegetarians not eat? Do they become vegans?” And then, what do vegans eat? Do they fast?

And I’m writing this post while eating my chicken sandwhich (the kosher restaurateur of which was still serving meat today, interestingly enough) because this question gets to the point of food fasting, which is varied and multi-dimensional. Partly we’re told it is share in the suffering personally, in a small way, with that of our ancestors. For Yom Kippur, we’re told we should be focusing on spiritual matters to the exclusion of our physical needs. There are many more interpretations and each for their own reasons.

But what should or could vegetarians do to commemorate this period? Or here’s my big question — why do we have to mourn through our food in the first place? Isn’t juggling my food repertoire just going to distract me from the message of the holiday?

This Friday, DC’s rockin’ progressive havurah is taking on Jewish food issues!

Tikkun Leil Shabbat is a songful, soulful, Friday evening services featuring a teaching about a social justice issue and followed by a potluck vegetarian dinner. This Friday July 13, the “dvar tikkun” will be introduced by Hazon’s very own Laura Bellows and feature:

Aliza Wasserman (also one of our fabulous “The Jew & the Carrot” bloggers!), from Community Food Security Coalition, will talk about a progressive Jewish take on national food policy and the pending Farm Bill.

Melissa Byrne will talk about the benefits of eating locally grown food, and provide information about the DC-area farmers’ markets (and maybe a sweet taste-test of local berries!)

Services begin at 6:45 at the Religious Action Center at 2027 Massachusetts Ave NW (21st & P) near the Dupont Circle metro, North exit. Services will be accompanied by instruments; please bring a vegetarian entree or salad to share, and a percussion instrument if you’d like.

More information about how they’ve “greened” their potlucks, and other details about this metro-fabulous havurah, at www.tikkunleilshabbat.org.

(Thanks to Jo for this tip.)

Check out this video news from The Washington Post about Congregation Tifereth Israel’s offering kosher, organic meat in the DC area. Devora Kimmelman-Block is a mom and sustainable agriculture fan who is also Hazon’s Tuv Ha’Aretz Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) site coordinator for the congregation as well. Check out her interview on Hazon’s web page here!

Israel’s first Master Chef program opens at Hebrew U! Now perhaps we’ll have an answer to the Jewish culinary conundrum which has evaded us ever since the founding of the Jewish State!

I, like many of us I’m sure, have often been frustrated, confused and heart-broken by the discrepancy between American and Israeli culinary specialties, despite their both hailing from the same gene pool, particularly on the bagel-falafel front. Many a New York, Chicago and LA bagelry produce soft, fluffly and blessed with that slightly crispy crust in a perfect “O” in which the hole is really an afterthought. And many a Tel Aviv and Jerusalem falafel stand can likewise fry with ease bodiful, caramel-colored husks of green-tinted chickpea interiors that, even for this meat-eater, could stand in for a burger patty any day.

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