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Eco-Kosher Movement Aims To Heed Tradition, Conscience

by · July 7th, 2007
Animal Care, Eco-Kashrut, Notable Press

A great article in the Washington Post today about eco-kashrut — including Tuv Ha’Aretz’s Devora Kimmelman-Block, Nigel Savage and a shout out about The Jew and the Carrot!

First she had to find an organic cattle farm near Washington. Then a shochet, a person trained in kosher slaughtering, who was willing to do a freelance job. Then a kosher butcher to carve the beef into various cuts and other families from her synagogue to share it.

All told, it took Devora Kimelman-Block of Silver Spring 10 months to obtain 450 pounds of meat that is local, grass-fed, organic and strictly kosher. Which is a lot of effort — and a lot of meat — for someone who keeps a kosher vegetarian household.

Read the article

The article also suggests that the Tsedek Hekscher, under development by the Conservative movement to certify that food is not only kosher but meets criteria for worker health and safety, could be attractive to non-Jews as well as those Jews interested in keeping kosher. Or l’goyim (light to the nations), anyone?

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8 Responses to “Eco-Kosher Movement Aims To Heed Tradition, Conscience”

  1. Mary Martin, Ph.D. Says:
    July 8th, 2007 at 7:38 am

    The best way to combat global warming, unfair treatment of workers in animal agriculture, and inhumane treatment of animals is to do what many Jews are already doing: eliminating animal products from their diets. There is no such thing as a humanely-produced egg. The idea that people can eat animal products and not feel like they are harming the environment, workers, animals or themselves, is an illusion. And the more people become convinced that that illusion is reality, the more the planet, the workers, the animals, and the people themselves, will suffer.

  2. Susan Mangan Says:
    July 8th, 2007 at 8:44 am

    I’m not Jewish, but I’ve bookmarked your website – the Tsedek Hekscher cert will definately help me to find foods raised ethically and healthfully. I sometimes buy Kosher meats when available in my supermarket because it’s supposed to be more humane, so it’s very interesting to find more info on this.

  3. Anna Says:
    July 8th, 2007 at 4:02 pm

    Mary, thanks for your comments. I’ve been living on a farm this summer that integrates animal husbandry and vegetable production. The animals are part of our family — we feed them our compost, we take care of them, we sing to them, and yes — we eat their eggs and drink their milk. Domesticated animals have evolved with humans (much as we have with them) — we help each other out, and I very firmly believe that it is possible to raise animals for eggs, milk or meat in a humane way, that is good for the planet, animals and people included.

    Susan — so glad for your interest! I think the best way — always — of making sure your meat is raised ethically and healthfully is getting as close to the source as possible — buying meat from the person who raised it or slaughtered it at a farmer’s market, for example, where you can get a sense of the people involved in the process, their ethics, how they care for their animals. Baring that, hechshers and organic certification labels can certainly help — but kosher doesn’t (yet! alas!) necessarily mean ethical.

  4. Rick Says:
    July 8th, 2007 at 9:40 pm

    I am a vegetarian but I agree with Anna that farm animals can be raised humanely for our benefit. No need to denigrate omnivores as long as they are deeply thankful and knowingly aware that sacrifices have been made for their sustenance. And that means, avoiding corporate owned entities, be it fast food places, farms, etc . . ., which does not place any value on sacrifices!

  5. yoshie Says:
    July 9th, 2007 at 12:36 am

    Check out the book on the bottom right corner of the “recommended books” list – it’s Peter Berley’s new cookbook, the Flexitarian Table. His whole premise is that vegetarians and omnivore’s too often denigrate each other to the point where it’s difficult to share a table. His recipes are mostly plant-based, but are designed to have “swappable proteins” (e.g. seitan or lamb, chicken, or tofu etc.). The concept and ingredients of the recipes are the same for each meal, only the source of protein is different, so everyone feels welcomed and cared for at the table, regardless of whether or not they eat meat. So simplem and so right on. I highly reccommend getting yourself a copy. :)

  6. Mary Martin, Ph.D. Says:
    July 9th, 2007 at 7:26 am

    I understand your desire to reduce suffering, of course. However, being a vegan (and most of my friends are nonvegan and we all get along swimmingly at a dinner table) is about humans not having the right to use nonhuman animals for our own benefit, when it’s not necessary. Ours is an ethic that says killing without necessity is morally unjustifiable. And it seems unfair to befriend and treat animals kindly when the true motive is to kill them. Though you may believe you can raise them humanely, they are being put on this earth merely as a resource for your consumption. And humane slaughter is an oxymoron, so their lives cannot possibly end well. For those who love the taste of flesh, I wish there were a way to produce it humanely so they could satisfy their palates. But there isn’t. The food I eat is delectable and satisfying if for no other reason than no one has died for it.

  7. Matthew Says:
    July 23rd, 2007 at 3:45 pm

    If the animal is not eating organically grown grass, and is not allowed to roam, and is injected with growth hormone and antiobiotics, then you are not doing service to the world but instead causing obesity, and chemical imbalances in humans. All of your pursuits are a waste if the animals are not raised correctly and purely.

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