I’ve posted on this already in a couple other forums, but this is of special relevance to readers of JCarrot:Birthright’s post-trip program, Birthright NEXT, is not only reimbursing trip alumni $25 per head to hold a Shabbat dinner, but now they’re offering alumni organizers $20 Amazon.com gift certificates for each Shabbat dinner they recruit. Including up to $1,000, the email boasts.
What? Since when was Shabbat a pyramid scheme? When was multi-level marketing a way to excite people about cooking a meal with friends? Must we harness self-interest in consumerism in order to get kids to be Jewish? Have we fallen to a new level of desperation? There is something deeply smelly about this tactic. Once again, the organized Jewish community has decided to answer the droopy quality of Jewish life offerings with a marketing campaign and financial largess.
This year of the food crisis, we’ve heard a lot about world hunger in the newspaper and the blogosphere. As countries and as individuals with generally more and better access to more and better food, most of us probably feel imperative to help spread the wealth. The U.S.A., where I come from, is the largest food donor in the world, but this year, on World Food Day at the United Nations, the U.S.A. issued the world’s biggest mea culpa to the international community.
Former-President Clinton did the talking, telling the UN that he “blew it” on food. Not only did he blow it, the IMF blew it, the World Bank blew it, and the UN blew it. In the end though, that’s a lot of air, and not a lot of policy.
Oh friends, I feel a rant coming on. Animal rights organization, PETA, has gone and done it again. And by “it” I mean advocate for animal welfare, while simultaneously being entirely offensive to women.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals recently mailed a letter to Ben & Jerry’s, suggesting that they replace the cow’s milk dairy in their ice cream products with human breast milk. They got the idea from a Swiss restaurant owner who plans to replace 75% of the cows milk at his restaurant with milk from nursing mothers.
According to a letter sent by PETA’s Executive Vice President, Tracy Reiman: “Using cow’s milk for your ice cream is a hazard to your customer’s health…[insert some cruel facts about the conventional milk industry here]…Won’t you give cows and their babies a break and our health a boost by switching from cow’s milk to breast milk in Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.”
PETA absolutely and frighteningly misses the point.
This morning, while rumbling along the Q train to work, I nearly spit a mouthful of hot tea onto the man standing in front of me, as I surreptitiously read his copy of The New York Times. The cause of my near projectile mishap: a full page, color advertisement for corn syrup.
The ad, which was funded by the Corn Refiners Association (natch) featured a photo of a bagel spread with a dollop of bubble-gum pink cream cheese (decidedly unappetizing), and asked, “Could it be another schmear campaign?” Below the picture it pandered:
“Lately, high fructose corn syrup has had its name dragged through the media. Truth is, it’s nutritionally the same as table sugar. Has the same number of calories too. Even registered dietitians agree that you can keep enjoying the foods and beverages you love, just do it in moderation.”
The ad directed readers to a website called Sweet Surprise – which turned out to be a vapid collection of pages that tried to disguise pseudo-scientific stats and statements like,”high fructose corn syrup enhances fruit and spice flavors” as useful information. It seems that – just like the politicians the ad evokes – corn syrup manufacturers are trying to clean up their sullied public image.
People often are confused by my explanation of my Jewish practice. They ask, “How kosher are you?” or “What’s your Shabbat practice?” and my answer is always something along these lines:
“Whatever the Old Man Upstairs and I decide that day.”
For whatever reason, that’s always chuckle-worthy to them. Which is unusual, because in Christian circles, talk of personal relationships and conversations with God is very common. Whereas as close as Judaism seems to get, the Bratslav tradition of hitbodedut, is extremely radical, even now: “To talk to God in your own tongue, without pre-prepared words, like you would a friend? How weeeeird.”
Agriprocessors just keeps getting better and better. Following on the heels of the recent Forward article about conditions for Brooklyn workers, the Times reports that Agri is asking the Supreme Court to deny workers in their Brooklyn distribution center the right to unionize because they are “not documented workers and not allowed to work.” According to the Times, Agriprocessors claimed “to have just discovered that…the workers were illegal immigrants,” just a few days after the 2005 union vote.(1) An image comes immediately to my mind: Captain Renault in Casablanca declaring, “I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!”
I don’t get to geshrei on my own website, so I’m going to let it out here. There’s a level of public lying which is not easily excused. A level which is so lowly and bald-faced that there really can’t be any normal or average t’shuvah process (repentance) for it. I think Agriprocessors may have reached that level a while ago.
A friend sent along a post from Gizmodo. In the post, I read about two new offerings in the Itunes App Store. For the uninitiated or the stranded on desert islands: the Itunes App Store is a place where you can buy software for your IPhone or Ipod Touch. There are awesome offerings and some really impressive ones in the realms of world religions. I have a Quran, Bible, Catholic Calendar, and other religiously oriented pieces. All the programs I have mentioned are free.
Enter “IBlessing” and “ParveOMeter” Each program is cute enough and functions without glitches.
IBlessing gives you guidance in reciting the blessing over food products as well as Shema Yisrael, Modeh Ani, hand washing and a shortened version of Birkat Hamazon (Grace After Meals). The tool is useful for those who are new to the
experiences of regular blessings recitation or for encouraging children, students or really anyone who wants to learn.
Apparently Beijing has ordered the 112 approved restaurants for the Olympics to stop serving dog with “the sensitivity of foreign visitors in mind.”
Vegetarian satire aside, I extremely disagree with this decision. Dog, as unappetizing it might be to us sheltered Americans, is a part of the cuisine of a large part of the world (the extent of which I can’t say).
But what if Israel hosted the Olympics — would we put aside gefilte fish? (Hell, even lots of Jews think that one’s nasty.) Or ban schnitzel? Hummus? Olives? No way. That’s what we eat. We don’t have to apologize to anyone for kashrut, nor latkes.
Judging from some recent food journalism, using spurious logic to rationalize the choice not to eat ethically is as easy as slathering a mound of Jif Creamy onto a slice of Wonder Bread.
For example, Portland, Oregon is a great city for green living. Maybe that’s why the Oregonian, our newspaper, recently started a weekly green living column — although with dubious results. The inaugural piece was about how to not feel guilty when you *don’t* buy organic. The gist of the article was that as long as you avoid the “Dirty Dozen” – the twelve foods most contaminated with pesticides — you’re a-okay. As columnist Shelby Wood giddily reported:
With the Dirty Dozen in mind, I paid the $1 premium for organic spinach (No. 11 on the Environmental Working Group’s list) at the grocery last week. But I saved $1 on conventional broccoli (No. 35) and 20 cents a pound on bananas (No. 37). After all, I’ve been eating those for 34 years. And I’m not dead yet.
Great job, Shelby. Perhaps you’d like to celebrate by investing that $1.20 you saved on some low-tar cigarettes.
Last Thursday, The New York Times published a front-page article about Community-Supported Agriculture. Not an article about CSAs filling up too fast this year, about chefs who will cook your CSA vegetables for you, or some other new angle – just an introductory, 101, “welcome to CSA” article.
Is it just me, or is the foodie world going a little treif crazy recently? Don’t get me wrong, I’m decidedly not the most kosher keeping consumer on the planet. (Aside from being a vegetarian and therefore avoiding a lot of the major “no-nos,” I’m generally content to eat most unhekhshered products and eat out at non-kosher restaurants.)
But somehow, I feel like everywhere I turn lately, non-kosher foods are screaming at me – particularly bacon, as pork-anything has become trendy, and more recently lobster. Witness a few recent examples below.
I found this in my inbox today – a little note from Kosher Today (the kosher industry’s spokes-organization) that indicates exactly how little they care about anything except whether “its good for the Jews.” Be forewarned, gentle readers – if you have a sensitive stomach or any sort of soul, the following passage will leave you feeling queasy.
Kosher Community Looks Beyond Agriprocessors Raid
“New York…For most retailers around the country, the recent raid at the Postville Agriprocessors plant is about supply and price, but otherwise they do not see any repercussions for the industry as a whole. For the most part, retailers say the supply has been virtually uninterrupted and prices have stayed the same. Agri products are featured in many ads in advance of the holiday of Shavuos (June 9-10) and most retailers say that they have not seen any change in consumer habits as a result of the federal raid in Postville. There is no evidence of any boycott of Agri products whatsoever, they say.
Mendy Bauman of Glatt Mart in Flatbush told Jewish journalists that virtually none of his customers even bothered to ask which of his meats were from Agri. Sources in Postville say that Agri has been adding laborers and stepping up production with every passing day.
The Conservative Movement, which has publicly announced its support of Rabbi Morris Allen’s Hekshsher Tzedek initiative, seems hesitant to call for a full boycott on Agriprocessors after last week’s raid.
The JTA reported on Wednesday that: Calls this week by activist rabbis for a limited boycott have been muted out of concern that a boycott could be actionable and might discourage Jews from keeping kosher because kosher meat would be harder to access. Like KRG on Jewschool, I personally find that stance to be pathetic and frustrating. What sort of mixed up priorities must we have to turn an embarrassed eye from a very real and very serious affront on human rights because it might lead to someone to eat non-kosher meat. Ach…
But then yesterday, The Conservative Movement came out with a different statement that, while shrouded in somewhat vague language, seems to be calling for something like a boycott:
