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Local, free-range, organic (kosher!) meat

by Leah Koenig · June 25th, 2007
CSA/Tuv Ha'Aretz, Community Agriculture, Kosher, Latkes to Lattes Conference, Meat, Organic

cow.jpgAs a CSA coordinator and food blogger, I have the privilege of hearing the rumblings of what’s sprouting in the world of sustainable agriculture and eating.  And the question on everyone’s mind these days seems to be: Is it possible to consume meat and poultry in a way that is responsible for the earth and our bodies?  And, is there a way to do it that supports farmers, without completely breaking the bank?

AND (for kosher-keeping consumers), is it possible to find ethical meat that is also kosher?

As a result of the rising interest in meat from “happy cows,” a crop of organic family farmers across the country have started offerring sustainably raised and ethically slaughtered meat as part of their Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) communities or through special meat coops.  This morning, NPR featured a story about these sustainable meat coops and the enthusiastic response they’ve received from members.

And this week, the Tuv Ha’Aretz CSA in Washington DC launched a program that will offer not only ethically raised, but also kosher meat to their members.

Washington DC’s Tuv Ha’Aretz coordinator, Devora Kimelman-Block, started talking about offering sustainable kosher meat at her synagogue’s Tuv Ha’Aretz at Hazon’s Food Conference last December.  After surveying her community to see if there was interest, and jumping through logistical hurdles to pair a willing shochet with their partner farm, the Tuv Ha’Aretz in DC is now offerring chicken and turkey, as well as beef and lamb from an additional nearby farm. 

So, questions answered?  Not entirely.  From a purely environmental standpoint, all meat, regardless of how it is raised or slaughtered, comes with a significant sidedish: carbon dioxide (from growing the food that, instead of feeding humans, feeds the animals that feed humans) and methane (from, um, cow burps – seriously, 15-20% of the methane that goes into the atmosphere comes from cow digestion!).  Both of these greehouse gasses are significant contributors to global climate change.

That said, as a vegetarian for the past seven years, I have come to grips with the fact that the vegetarian diet isn’t for everyone - and that’s OK.  But for those people who choose to be meat eaters, cutting down on the amount of meat consumption while seeking out ethical and sustainable pathways to source meat is crucial. 

Congratulations Tuv Ha’Aretz DC for your efforts to redefine how your Jewish community thinks about and purchases food - I have a feeling it won’t be long before synagogues across the country follow suit. 

* Find out more about the ethical, kosher meat through the Tuv Ha’Aretz in Washington DC here.

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7 Responses to “Local, free-range, organic (kosher!) meat”

  1. Avi Says:
    June 25th, 2007 at 6:37 pm

    From a purely environmental standpoint, all meat, regardless of how it is raised or slaughtered, comes with a significant sidedish: carbon dioxide (from growing the food that, instead of feeding humans, feeds the animals that feed humans)

    Last time I checked plants consume carbon dioxide and produce oxygen. You might be able to argue about the amount of CO2 consumed of grazing land vs. forests(I don’t have the data to even begin to speculate), but plants consume CO2 regardless of whether they are used for feeding humans or animals.

  2. Leah Koenig Says:
    June 25th, 2007 at 8:51 pm

    Avi – thanks for your comment…you’re absolutely right that I did not clearly explain myself.

    What I meant by C02 emission was not from the plants themselves (which do indeed consume C02), but from the oil burned to ship the grain/corn many miles to the cows and chickens – which then gets eaten so that the cows and chickens can themselves be shipped (now in meat form) an additional many miles to our plates. It would be nice if we could assume that that most cows are grazed and eating foods from the ranches they’re “raised” on, but the process is so disjointed that the feed is often grown and then processed far away from where the cow is.

    Thanks for helping me clarify.

  3. Ilana-Davita Says:
    June 26th, 2007 at 2:21 am

    This is quite good news. I’m getting more and more uncomfortable witht the idea of eating meat that is kosher but not ethically raised. Unfortunately I live in France so I believe it will be some time before this type of products is available there.

  4. jabbett Says:
    June 27th, 2007 at 9:35 am

    A top priority for any organically-minded CSA dabbling in the world of meat should be locating grass-fed animals. Raising a grass-fed cow with energy culled directly from the sun is truly inspiring in its simplicity, and entirely free.

    The impact from methane, too, can be reversed by securely storing cow manure and collecting the methane as it ferments. The farm ends up with a natural, local, and ecologically-friendly energy source. As for burps, I’d imagine that a cow on a grass-only diet rather than grain (for which a cow is not naturally equipped to consume) may not burp as much.

  5. Leah Koenig Says:
    June 27th, 2007 at 5:28 pm

    Ilana-Davita – great to have your voice on here! I’m glad to hear there are people interestd in this issue in France as well. You should definitely check out if Slow Food’s branch in France has any connections you might tap into…you’re right that the kosher bit will be tough, but it’s worth a shot.

    Agreed Jabbett. Farmers like Joel Salatin (featured in The Omnivore’s Dilemma) have found ways to turn waste from raising cows into fuel for the rest of the farm. If only this practice was the standard…

  6. Michael Green Says:
    June 28th, 2007 at 11:36 am

    Transporting animal feed is not the only source of greenhouse gases. They are grown intensively with nitrogen fertilisers (produced from natural gas) which emit nitrous oxide (a GHG >300 times more powerful than CO2) both when they are manufactured and when they are applied on farms. Animal feeds like maize and soya are also large components of the GM industry.

    Meat has always posed a moral conundrum for me. As someone who was raised veggie (including a 5-year stint as a vegan), I am now content eating organic meat in moderation. Extensive grassland farming delivers significant environmental benefits by maintaining habitats (and livelihoods) that would otherwise not exist (you can’t grow lentils on Welsh hillsides). (To make ethical eating even more difficult, I believe US organic standards (unlike in Europe) allow cows to be permanently housed and fed predominantly on concentrates instead of grass – oy vey!)

  7. Don Kerstetter Says:
    July 15th, 2007 at 1:43 pm

    My name is Don kerstetter the founder of Trappe Landing Farm and Native Sanctuary which has a mission to restore LaTrappe Creek a small stream tributary to the Choptank River and my home. The Choptank River is the longest and largest river flowing into the Chesapeake Bay from Marylands Eastern Shore. We originally thought that the summer cloudiness of the water came from sediment but after taking TSS and VSS readings we found that Algae blooms are the major cause. The algae are stimulated by nutrient pollution then die and not only cloud the water distroying under water grass habitat but in dying they consume and deplete oxygen causing oxygen dead zones and toxic tides. This coupled with loss of grass habitat put fish and other species under stress resulting in loss of immune system response. Last fall Dr Andrew Kane of UMS announced that virtually every species in the C. Bay had Mycobacteriosis including Medhaden the last of the major algae strainers. This means that must current species are dead fish swimming.Many of the Stripped Bass have ugly leasions. These are not supposed to be used for food. I personally do not eat any fish from Bay waters. In the Choptank 75% of the nitrate the major nutrient comes from leaching of nitrogen fertilizer into aquifers thence into surface water. There is a 30 year nitrate backlog in our major aquifer. Corn feed production used by Perdue, Tyson, and others to grow confinement chicken is the major source of nitrate. In the Chesapeake Bay watershed. we also have large confinement chicken operations in Virginia and in Pennsylvania. I am told by chicken growers that most of the chicken grown in the Choptank watershed is processed in Salesbury Maryland 50 miles south and is then shipped on over the road trucks to markets in NY and Philadelphia. Jim Harkness(IATP) in his recent editorial in the local paper” Fixing our broken food system” states that some are shipped to China for processing and back. Last year I picked up and delivered range chickens and grass fed meat from Joel Salatin(mentioned in Omnivores dilemma) who delivers to Annapolis. While the beef is 100% grass fed the chicken is the same cornish cross chicken which was bread to eat corn. I found that most range chickens are these corn eaters. While the corn is organic it has the same or possibly worse nitrogen leaching propensity as corn fertilized with chemical fertilizer.There is no question that eating slugs and grubs on range makes it leaner and healthier and that it eats less corn but far from a solution from a water quality perspective. Most range turkeys on the other hand will eat 50% grass. It is my hope that readers knowing the devastating effect of confinement chicken on the nations water quality will at least cut consumption in half. There is technology in use by corn farmers in SW Kansas that would curtail the nitrate leaching problem. More later.

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