I just got home from seeing Jonathan Safran Foer speak at B’nai Jeshurun in Manhattan. Foer spoke for a short while and read from his new book, Eating Animals, but a large portion of the event was devoted to Q&A.
Foer noted from the onset that the synagogue was a fitting venue to have a discussion about the ethical issues related to eating animals. He said that religion strives to lessen violence and suffering in the world and that it affects our relationship with the Earth and nature. He said that while he does not consider himself particularly observant, the Judaism passed down to him from his parents and grandparents “informed” Eating Animals.
He read a sample of the book’s opening chapter, which also appeared in The New York Times Magazine last fall. The concluding line “If nothing matters, there’s nothing to save” was a great “thesis” to shape the conversation that followed.
My boyfriend is really into good podcasts and came home the other night insisting that I watch this. And he was right, Dan Barber gives a charming and very insightful talk about sustainable fishing. Check it out:
Cross-posted on From the Ground—the blog of American Jewish World Service (AJWS)
Never heard of it? Me neither. But for farmers in Assam, India, it’s become a life-saving—and crop-saving—phenomenon. Developed by crossing and refining local rice strains, flood-resistant rice varieties have undergone five years of testing and are intended to boost yields and ensure harvests despite worsening flood problems in the region. Pretty cool, right? According to estimates by the Assam agriculture department, over 5,000 farmers are now using flood-resistant rice, even though commercial-scale production of the seed has not yet started. Check out this article on AlertNet to learn more.
Meet Rachel Tali Kaplan, a young Jewish woman who is farming organically on 2 acres in Georgia. Warm, funny and intelligent, Rachel explores the challenges of farming, her passion for feeding people, and the importance of sustainable agriculture in today’s world. Christine Anthony and Owen Masterson shared this short film with us:
Huge mazal tov to Rabbi Eliav Bock, author of this guest post and Director of Ramah Outdoor Adventure, on the birth of his son last week!
Today is the first of periodic blog posts about food at Ramah Outdoor Adventure. Because the food we eat at camp will play such an integral part in supporting the overall mission of the camp, I thought it appropriate to focus some of the blog posts leading up to camp on the use of food.
For those who missed the announcement the other day, The First Lady, Michelle Obama, launched the “Let’s Move” campaign. She has correctly singled out childhood obesity as a major epidemic facing America. Her campaign aims to get kids off the couch, away from video games, and eating more wholesome food. For anyone who has been aware of the growing food movement in America these past few years, nothing that she said yesterday is too surprising. It is an indisputable fact that as a society, our children today are less healthy than they were a generation ago. Anywhere from 25%-30% of American children are overweight. As Mrs. Obama pointed out, today’s children are the first generation whose life expectancy is shorter than that of their parents.
Every year in our household, the same question comes up: splurge and join a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), or buy local items week to week from the farmers’ markets and farm stands. And every year, we wait…until it’s too late. The same excuses come up each time: it costs a lot of money up front, we might be traveling for a week or two, we have to drive at least twenty minutes to pick up the share, I like the choice of vegetables at the markets.
The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to hear a first-time case about the risks of genetically engineered crops. Named Monsanto v. Geertson Seed Farms, No. 09-475, the case before the high court will be yet another step in an ongoing battle waged by the Center for Food Safety to protect consumers and the environment from potentially harmful effects of genetically engineered (GE) crops.
Cross-posted on From the Ground—the blog of American Jewish World Service (AJWS)
Imagine being chronically hungry, and then, after finally receiving a long-awaited plate of food, eating just one bean. According to The New York Times, this is precisely what happened to Maxi Extralien, a starving Haitian boy who received food from a Haitian civic group in the aftermath of Haiti’s devastating earthquake. In the face of extreme food insecurity, thousands of other children like Maxi face the same dire situation: rationing one bean at a time to make food last as long as it possibly can.
From our friends at the Jewish Farm School, an environmental education organization whose mission is to practice and promote sustainable agriculture and to support food systems rooted in justice and Jewish traditions.
Eden Village Camp (EVC) and the Jewish Farm School (JFS) are thrilled to announce the creation of the Eden Village Farm, a 2-acre educational farm that will be a central component of Eden Village Camp. EVC is a new Jewish summer camp with a focus on environmentalism, social justice and spirituality. The farm will be a laboratory for creative and meaningful educational experiences, connecting Jewish agricultural laws to contemporary environmental and food justice issues. The farm will also host programs and volunteer events in the spring and fall.
We are currently looking to fill the following positions.
KOL Foods, LLC puts kosher meat and ethics on the same plate so consumers can feel good about the meat they eat. KOL Foods sources and sells grass-fed, non-industrial, healthy lamb and beef and pastured poultry directly to individuals. Since its foundation in 2007, the interest in KOL Foods’ products has grown rapidly, and, consequently, they are now available in the East Coast and the Midwest primarily through our website. As demand is increasing KOL Foods is seeking to expand in the Eastern United States and, in the near future, nationwide.
KOL Foods is unique as it operates differently from industrial kosher meat businesses. As a values-based business, our mission is to produce food that is in harmony with nature, neighbors and tradition – all the way from farm to fork. For further information on KOL Foods, please go to: www.kolfoods.com .
Fresh out of ‘The Vegetable Monologues: Jewish Women Farmers’ it is clear that Jewish women have no hesitation in leading this Jewish Food Movement. This session featured a panel of four Jewish women farmers. Abbe Turner, who yesterday led a session on Do-It-Yourself: Making Mozzarella Cheese, discussed her experiences as a Cheese Farmer in Ohio. Anna Hanau and Elizabeth Giancola of the ADAMAH Farm talked about their transformative experiences which led them out of the office and into the field. And finally, Conference chair, Emily Freed shared her experiences on Jacob’s Farm, which just finished its biggest harvest season yet!
Sitting in sessions all day long, it’s sometimes easy to forget that Asilomar is located right on the Pacific Ocean. However, there was no way to forget that when the entire community walked down the boardwalk to the beach so that we could all say the blessing upon seeing the ocean for the first time. The text goes:
Barukh Ata Adonai Eloheinu Melekh haOlam Sheh-Asah Et HaYam HaGadol
Which translates to Blessed are you our God, King o the Universe, who made the Great (or Big) Ocean.
Cross-posted on From the Ground—the blog of American Jewish World Service (AJWS).
“Kitchen gardens in Kenya” is not a phrase we hear often, but for many people, that phrase is the key to survival. In a country of nearly 35 million people, malnutrition and hunger are staggering problems, particularly for Kenyan children, orphans and people living with HIV/AIDS. In the rural, western regions of Kenya, sustaining basic nutrition is a chronic struggle in the face of food insecurity. Too weak to walk long distances or stand in lines waiting for food aid, those who live in rural areas and subsist on less than a dollar a day do not have access to the basics needed to live healthy, dignified lives.
I’m stuffed. Not from my Thanksgiving dinner with friends and family in the US – although everything on the table was delicious – but from five days of intellectual, spiritual, and gastronomical nourishment while participating in Hazon and Heschel’s first Israel Sustainable Food Tour. From November 15th though 19th, twenty-seven foodies and I explored Israel from the perspective of sustainable food. We met with farmers, chefs, community gardeners, a permaculture expert, a food scientist, volunteers at an innovative soup kitchen, the founder of a food co-op, an expert on food insecurity in Israel, and many other passionate people who shared their experiences working on sustainable food issues throughout the country.
