Thanks to Michael Green of the eco-Israeli blog, Green Prophet for this guest post and his take on the debate over genetically modified foods in Israel.
A headline in the Israeli press last week went a little like this: “Scientists, activists debate if genetically modified foods are panacea or plague.”
Sounds great, but where exactly is the ‘debate’? The article in question reads more like a press release for the GM lobby: ”Distribution of new, genetically engineered crops can help solve world hunger, but the question is where they are used,” said Hebrew University professor Ayal Kimhi. Absent from the 551-word article is the voice of GM-sceptics.
In fact, according to the trusted scientists, it is those who dare to question the merits of a risky and untested technology who are standing in the way of ‘progress’:
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x-posted from All Voices.
Scene from inside a fancy restaurant circa 2015:
Man: (scanning the menu) - What are you thinking of getting dear?
Woman: Hmmm…pasta looks good, but I think I’d actually prefer a steak.
Man: Do you know where the meat comes from?
Woman: Of course! I always inquire about the source of the meat I eat. It’s from vat 13 at Acme Labs!
This scene may sound like fodder for a science fiction novel, but according to Wired, test tube meat may end up on consumers’ plates in the not-too-distant future.
Grown in bioreactors, the in vitro meat would be created to mimic the texture and flavor or real meat, from to ground chuck to filet mignon. As of now, scientists say that they have a ways to go before reaching the desired results - but they’re making progress. Wired reported: “Researchers can currently grow small amounts of meat in the lab, and have even been able to get heart cells to beat in Petri dishes. Growing muscle cells on an industrial scale is the next step.”
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Here are three newsy bites for your Friday reading enjoyment. The first is about the ongoing meat recall crisis, the second about the (also ongoing) Agriprocessors saga, and the third about the disappearance of Tam Tam crackers. (Okay, maybe I used the word “enjoyment” a bit too soon…but certainly food for thought.)
Rotten Meat. The Meat & Poultry Business Journal reported that, “The U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering a proposal to not identify retailers where meat cited in recalls was sold except in cases of potential serious health risks to consumers.” Already, the report says, stores are required to remove recalled meat from shelves, but not obligated to alert customers about the recall. Read the full story here.
AgriProcessors fined $180,000 - The Forward reported that the controversial kosher meat company, AgriProcessors was fined over $180,000 by the state of Iowa’s Division of Labor for, “failure to provide workers with proper safety training, insufficient programs to manage blood-born pathogens and a failure to label toxic chemicals.” AgriProcessors denies many of the citations. Get the story here.
Where’s the Matzah? The New York Times City Blog reported the sad truth this week: Because of a technological glitch, Tam Tams Crackers (the beloved unleavened snack cracker) will be all but extinct this Passover season. (hat tip to Jewschool) In equally distressing news, Streit’s Matzo factory is closing down - shut out by rising rents on the Lower East Side of Manhattan where the family-owned business has churned out Matzah for the last century. Like many New York residents who can’t take the rent hike, Streit’s is moving to New Jersey. Read the Streit’s story here.
The JTA reported this week about the growing push amongst Chinese food companies to get kosher certification. The companies, it seems, are eager to tap into the (also growing) $11.5 billion US kosher industry. Moreover, they seek the additional “stamp of approval” kosher certification provides, which they hope will calm consumer fears about Chinese imports after a string of recent recalls.
For the most part, the relationship between Chinese food companies and the kosher industry seems mutually beneficial. But I found it interesting to note the growing power the OU and other certifiers have over these companies. Author Alison Klayman reports:
Not everything runs smoothly in the kosher business in China.
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National Geographic is known for its compelling articles on the wonders of the ancient and modern world - and also its photographs of bare chested women (the ones that brought a blush to the cheeks of more than one generation of kids.).
Now, National Geographic can also be known as a resource for green living - they’ve launched a new magazine, Green Guide, which they claim is for everyday folks, not “enviromanics.” (ummm…thanks, that makes me feel great about myself).
They’ve also created a series of online quizzes that test one’s knowledge on things like saving gas and plastic recycling, and allow one to find out which “eco-celebrity” they most resemble. Two of the quizzes are food related: Food Safety and Get to Know Your Inner Organic Foodie, so if you’re in the mood for a little wholesome, nerdy fun (beats reading another story about the recall - or staring warily at your hamburger), take a few minutes to test your food savvy.
(hat tip to Slashfood)
Today, the San Francisco Chronicle ran an above-the-fold, front page article about our newest source of mystery meat - cloned cows.
In the article “Consumers May Not Be Able to Avoid Cloned Food,” the Chronicle reported that the Orthodox Union has publicly stated that food items derived from cloned animals are kosher. Rabbi Menachem Genack of the O.U. stated that cloned animals would be kosher as long as they belong to a single kosher species, such as cattle, sheep, and goats.
Given the highly uncertain health effects of eating cloned meat, and the biological manipulation necessary to create cloned animals, I call on rabbis from across the denominations to speak out on this issue.
How can an animal production technology, which is proven to be cruel to the animals it creates, be kosher?
Animals can be cloned from the tissue of a dead animal. Would that cloned animal be kosher?
The principle of Kelayim requires the separation of species - what does it say about the replication of species?
What about the fundamental notion of eating food in its natural state, as God brought it to us. Does the biological tinkering with the DNA of life disturb our respect and awe for the divine manifestation of the natural world - in the food we eat?
I think the O.U.’s statement is wrong - I’d like to hear what others think, particularly our Jewish legal scholars.
With Love for Hashem, and Love for its divine manifestation in Food.
Z
By the way, for more information, check out my previous post, “Is Milk or Meat from a Cloned Animal Kosher?“
Hey Friends,
Sorry to be the bearer of scary news on Valentines Day, but if you thought GMOs in your tofu was a bummer, guess what Monsanto is bringing you next - yep, GE sugar for your Valentine!
About half of sugar produced in the U.S. comes from sugar beets (the other half is cane sugar). In the next few weeks, sugar beet farmers throughout the U.S. will be considering what type of sugar beets to plant, and food companies will have to decide what types of sugar they will accept.
And this year, there is something new for farmers and the sugar cooperatives to choose from — Monsanto’s Roundup Ready sugar beet, genetically engineered to survive direct application of the weed killer, Roundup.
In addition to the specter of eating GE sugar, the sugar that comes from these novel plants will also have much heavier loads of pesticides on them. At the request of Monsanto, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency increased the allowable amount of glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup that kills plants) residues on sugar beetroots by a whopping 5000% at the time USDA permitted the growing us GE sugar beets. The inevitable result is more glyphosate pesticide in our sugar.
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According to PETA, their Kentucky Fried Cruelty advertisement - which focuses on the fast food industry’s blind eye towards animal cruelty - was denied commercial air time on Super Bowl Sunday.
On the one hand, PETA should have equal right to advertising. On the other, the ad does not exactly fit into the Super Bowl’s family-friendly image. What do you think - should the ad have been allowed to play?
(Warning: PETA’s ad depicts graphic violence, so watch with caution.)
The Jew & The Carrot blogger, Jeff Yoskowitz, has been on hiatus from the blog for a little while - but he has a darn good excuse. He is currently living on a kibbutz in Israel. On the one hand, like many kibbutzim, internet access is spotty so posting frequently is a challenge. But Jeff’s situation is a little different. Jeff is currently researching the (painfully ironic) pork industry in Israel. His kibbutz happens to house an industrial pork feed-lot, which means he’s spending most of his time hanging out with animals he’d never personally eat.
The little bit of time Jeff’s not researching pigs, he’s logging in his experience at his personal blog The Wet Sprocket. And while we understand his need to prioritize his web time, his stories are just too interesting not to share. To find out more about Jeff’s extraordinary daily experiences check out his blog, and read a few key (and quite graphic) excerpts below:
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Hey friends,
Back again with my lawyer hat on - watching Monsanto in its state by state quest to prevent consumers from knowing what is really in our milk. We beat this back at the Federal FDA, we beat them back at the Federal Trade Commission, we beat them back in Pennsylvania…
Now they are going for Indiana.
A bill introduced in the Indiana House of Representatives by Bill Friend, a rep from the tiny town of Macy, Indiana, would make his state the first to prevent consumers from knowing how their milk was produced.
HB. 1300, which could be voted on any day, is couched as legislation to protect consumers from mislabeling. But it would prevent dairy labels that contain a “compositional or production-related claim that is supported solely by sworn statements, affidavits, or testimonials.” In other words, anything related to the moral or ethical dimensions of the product would be off-limits.
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There was a disturbing story in the Times today about the alarmingly high level of mercury in both store-bought and restaurant-served sushi-grade tuna. How is it possible that no government agency tests for mercury in our country’s seafood, when even the FDA and EPA have issued warning advisories about the consumption of certain fish that are known to contain unsafe levels of this industrial pollutant?
While it might be fun for my three-year-old son to color in this page from his “Jewish Activity Book (!):
…maybe I should just substitute a page with Joe Camel smoking a cigarette, which would be no more toxic?
The good news for fish-eating Jews everywhere is that there are sustainable seafood choices out there, including smaller fish found lower on the food chain (but just as high up on the kiddush buffet line), which are not only safer in terms of mercury levels, but very high in healthy omega-3 fatty acids. So dig into those herring, sardines and anchovies, everyone!
Apparently China is now trying to tap the lucrative kosher market. A story on Bloomberg.com (thanks, Dad, for the tip) leads off like this:
Chinese exporters, facing a U.S. backlash over tainted food products, are turning to an unlikely group of inspectors to help clean up their act: Jewish rabbis.
While the whole story is rather humorous, I can only ask this question after reading the lead: What other kind of rabbis are there?
Find the full story here.
Many people complain that it’s difficult to find a synagogue to join in New York City. There are just so many options, that none of them feel exactly right - you might call it The Shul-Goers Dilemma. These days, however, I’m feeling pretty good at Temple Bet Pollan.
Michael Pollan gets his fair share of love on this blog, and his new book In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto
has already joined its predecessor, The Omnivore’s Dilemma
as a New York Times Best Seller. Pollan is in the middle of his second whirlwind book tour in two years (I guess he sleeps on the plane) – and I hear the same account every where he goes. Huge venue, sold out show, knockout performance.
Like any effective leader - Martin Luther King included - he’s charismatic and big on the big ideas that change the way we think - or in this case how we eat. But as I devoured (pun intented) Pollan’s new book on my subway commute, I wondered what, if anything, does his worldview offer to the Jewish community? And, perhaps more interestingly, what wisdom does the tribe have to offer back to him?
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As a staff attorney for the Center for Food Safety, I was appalled that the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved cloned animals for use in our food today. I have to ask, “who does our federal government protect? How can they allow this into the food system without facts showing it is safe and without any labeling or public disclosure requirements?” As a Jew, it makes me ask other questions: “Will this be allowed in kosher milk? Kosher meat? What do our rabbis think? What about the eco-kosher movement?”
FDA Approves Cloned Animals for Our Food
Today’s FDA decision was a long-awaited regulatory assessment of cloned animals, proclaiming that food from cloned animals are just as safe as food from naturally raised animals. (See FDA on Cloning) And while the FDA did not address whether cloned milk and meat is kosher, they did decide today that it is safe for Americans to eat.
The FDA made this decision in the worst way possible. FDA based its decision on an incomplete and flawed review that relies on studies supplied by cloning companies that want to force this cloning technology on American consumers. Biotechnology companies such as ViaGen provided FDA with the “science” in this case. There are no peer reviewed studies showing that this stuff is safe for us to eat.
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