In a recent article entitled “Kosher Food Becoming Chosen Food of the Unchosen People”, kosher food is now being marketed by kosher food companies (this article focused on Manischewitz in particular) to the mass public, the 98% of the world’s population which is not Jewish. The reasoning behind this is that given the current drive in our society towards eating purer, cleaner food, many consumers are looking for kosher foods and something positive, even though they don’t keep kosher.”

Interestingly, the non-Jewish kosher consumer segment is actually growing larger than the Jewish counterpart. To keep this sector growing, Manischewitz has redesigned its packaging with a more modern look with less emphasis on Jewish characteristics. Their marketing experts think that just like the rest of our society enjoys various ethnic and cultural foods, so too should they enjoy ethnically kosher foods.

Another fascinating fact: Kosher foods are now a $10 billion-a-year industry covering 86,000 kosher-certified products, and according to a survey released at the recent Kosherfest trade show, only 21 percent of the 10.5 million Americans who buy kosher do it for purely religious reasons.

The writer did mention that there is the concern that kashrut laws don’t necessarily lead one into a healthier lifestyle, and mentioned that “kosher versions” of treif (non-kosher) food may be unhealthier than their treif counterparts (for example: using non-dairy creamers and hydrogenated fats to make products parve instead of dairy or meat). Yet, despite the fact that the kosher symbol doesn’t carry any health or diet seal of approval, many non-Jews are still buying these items.

Regardless of the fact that many kosher food companies have in recent years created healthier food items, the above mentioned point is really interesting to consider. If these products aren’t generally better for our health, why then are they being purchased by the general public? Some of the purchasers are vegetarians who don’t have to worry if there are any meat additives in these products. But another possible explanation is that people like the idea of a rabbi supervising and blessing the food, for its spiritual significance, even though they don’t realize the real role of having a mashgiach supervising the food production. (Or, they simply enjoy our ethnic dishes despite its fatty content, which isn’t too hard to understand.)

This trend towards responsible eating also works backwards in its obligation upon kosher food producers: if all these goyyim are eating our food, then we have an obligation to be more than “just” kosher, to be more widely organic, local, and sustainably produced. To make the world healthier and sustainable as Jews often begins with working on our own people—but in many situations, it means working through us onto the people of the world.