This past summer, Rabbi Natan Slifkin published a new book, called Man and Beast. (Rabbi Slifkin is known as the “Zoo Rabbi” for his many works on Torah, science, and the animal kingdom, some of which are considered very controversial in the ultra-Orthodox community). I haven’t read the book, but I have looked through some of his previous works and they seemed interesting, and this book has been on my list since I heard about it.

While researching the book, this blog post from earlier in the summer caught my eye

“While noting that animal cruelty does not make the meat produced from that cruelty treife, Rabbi Slifkin notes today’s factory farming methods are clear violations of tzaar baalei hayyim law.”

The concept of tzaar baalei hayyim (literally “harm to living creatures”) is found in various biblical passages, for instance, you cannot yolk an ox and a donkey together to plow, since the ox will overpower the donkey (Deut. 22:10). Given that “eco-kashrut” does not seem to be talked about in mainstream Orthodox circles, I found this post very interesting, and have decided that I really need to read this book.

Upon further investigation, I found this article which quotes Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, a leading Orthodox halakhic authority, who wrote the following in 1982:

“[in regard to the situation in which] every calf is in its own pen, which is so narrow that it does not have space even to take a few steps, and the calves are not fed the appropriate food for them, and have never tasted their mother’s milk, but they are fattened with very fatty liquids…this is certainly forbidden on the basis of tzaar baalei hayim. Even though it is permissible [to cause pain to animals] in order to satisfy human needs, by slaughtering animals for food, or by employing animals to plow, to carry burdens or other such things, it is not permissible otherwise to cause them suffering, even when one stands to profit from such practices (Igg’rot Moshe, Even haEzer 4:92).”

I really cannot believe that this was written 14 (!) years ago by one of the revered Rabbis of the Orthodox community. Now, he is not saying that lamb is not kosher because of it (since by its strictest definition kosher meat just needs to be slaughtered and cleaned properly), but I feel that he is saying that it is akin to a mitzvah haba’a be’avera, a mitzvah which comes from a sin (like using a stolen Lulav on Sukkot). Whatever the exact halakhic (legal) definition, it appears that R’ Moshe is against eating veal.

I feel that animal rights, environmentalism and the like have taken a back seat in Orthodox circles, but given the current surge of interest in organic food and environmentalism, maybe its time for that to change.