Kosher and Organic? Can two great movements be joined?
By Thomas Hyatt
Two great movements have dominated the discussion of what constitutes healthy and ethical food. Both the Organic Food Movement and the Kosher Practices of traditional Jews have their roots in concern over the ethical treatment of animals. Their origins and rationale, however, are radically different.
The Kosher Laws, known as the Laws of Kashrut, go back to the Bible. The body, as a part of creation, is Holy and what one consumes needs to be an act of Holiness. There are several biblical mandates that dictate the kind of meat and the manner in which it is to be consumed.
In Genesis 9:3, The Creator tells Noah “Every moving thing that lives shall be food like the green herbage, I have given you everything.”, implying that animals had been formally forbidden. However, this is followed by an immediate caviat: “But flesh with its soul, its blood, you shall not eat.” This passage, along with its reiteration in Leviticus 17:14, led to the interpretation that all blood must be drained from the animal before it can be fit for consumption. Along with the permitted and forbidden animals listed in Deuteronomy 14, these passages gave The Rabbis a working blueprint for the Laws of Kashrus, defining what is Kosher.
The organic movement also considers the ethical implications of what we consume. The organic movement considers both the health of the body and the “health” of the environment. In general, it is concerned about issues such as the sustainability of the land and the use of fertilizers and pesticides in produce and what livestock is fed and how it is treated before it goes to slaughter.
As elaborate as the Kosher Laws are, they only address compassion in the slaughtering process, but remain silent on how the animals need to be raised, Consequently, controversial products, such as veal and frois gras, in which great pain is inflicted on the animals in the raising process, can be considered kosher.
Kosher food has long been popular among interested non-Jews and organic food has a strong Jewish following as well. The question naturally arises of how the two movements might be merged. The answer seems easy enough: slaughter organically raised animals in a kosher manner. And while this merging is already happening largely on the Eastern Seaboard, challages emerge in areas such as Western Minnesota, being so far-flung from traditional Jewish communities. Local organic producers, such as Moonstone Farms, have in fact been approached about kosher meat. The cost, at the present time, is prohibative because of two main factors. One, a ritual slaughterer, known as a slochet, would have to be brought out to the animals, which would invlove his fee in addition to travel and lodging expenses and, two, the processing equiptment itself would have to be koshered. This proceedure involves dismantling the blades, heating them with a blowtorch, and burying them in soil for several days. This procerss insures no remnant of any other animal remains to contaminate (spiritually) the incoming Koshered meat. However, with a steady rising interest and curiousity, particularly among diverse populations like UMM, demand may yet create a viable market in West Central Minnesota.