In his Shabbat morning sermon to 3500+ members of Reform congregations at the  URJ’s 70th Biennial Convention in Toronto, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, president of the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), launched the Green Table, Just Table - Shulhan Yarok, Schulhan Tzedek initiative calling for a commitment to ethical, ecological eating including consuming 20% less red meat, encouraging more communal eating and a discourse on a Reform kashrut–a Reform approach to Jewish dietary practice. It was a moment I eagerly welcomed after first sitting down with Rabbi Yoffie over six months ago to share with him the growing resources and diverse ways to connect to what Hazon has coined the new Jewish food movement, and to discuss the interplay between contemporary issues and ancient traditions–how our food choices impact not only our health, but the health of our planet.

The press has mostly picked up on the meat issue. There are 900 URJ congregations in North America. A significant reduction of meat intake by members of the Reform movement, as well as eating more local, organically grown food, will not only help these congregants live healthier, it will lessen the movement’s collective carbon footprint.

The Saturday morning Biennial sermon is where Rabbi Yoffie sets the movement’s priorities for the next two years and puts forward initiatives for Reform leaders to bring back to their congregations. While some URJ congregations had already begun to grapple with sustainable and ethical food issues, have communal meals, plant gardens, and participate in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs, this effort like Biennial initiatives of the past, will create a more unified force.

Here are the highlights of the new Green Table, Just Table initiative:

• The URJ has partnered with Hazon to create a three-part educational course for congregations.  The course combines lessons from Hazon’s Food for Thought sourcebook on Jews, Food and Contemporary Life with new material developed by the URJ
• A guide for congregations developing new food policies
• “How to” information on creating a Congregational Garden, and on working with local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs
• A section on environmental and health reasons to eat less red meat (found in the new material developed by the URJ as part of Food for Thought)
• A model program for youth groups exploring these issues
• Information about the variety of Jewish food blessings

The website even includes some of Rabbi Yoffie’s favorite meat-free recipes!

At Passover time we say,”All who are hungry, come and eat”–always good advice and even better if you can eat ethically.  So, pull up a chair and have a seat at the URJ’s Green Table, Just Table!