Eco-Kashrut, also called the Eco-Kosher movement, is a movement to extend the
Kashrut
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
system, or
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
dietary laws, to address modern environmental, social, and ethical issues, and promote
sustainability
Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...
.
This movement began in the 1970s among American
Reconstructionist Jews, and eco-kashrut or eco-kosher approaches enjoyed a resurgence in the 1990s with the work of
Reconstructionist rabbi, author, and activist
Arthur Waskow
Arthur Ocean Waskow (born Arthur I. Waskow; 1933) is an American author, political activist, and rabbi associated with the Jewish Renewal movement.
Education and early career
Waskow was born in Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland. He receiv ...
. A third wave of the eco-kashrut or eco-kosher movement began in the mid-2000s, spurred on in part by a series of kosher production facility scandals.
History
Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, a founder of the
Jewish Renewal Movement
Jewish Renewal () is a recent movement in Judaism which endeavors to reinvigorate modern Judaism with Kabbalistic, Hasidic, and musical practices. Specifically, it seeks to reintroduce the "ancient Judaic traditions of mysticism and meditation, ...
, is credited with coining and developing ''eco-kashrut'' in the late 1970s.
He articulated eco-kashrut as an evolving set of practices that extend beyond traditional
kashrut
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
by taking the human and environmental costs of food production and consumption into account when deciding what to eat or not eat.
Contemporary movement
More recently the movement has been championed by other Kosher-keeping Jews who strive to eat only food that has been ethically and sustainably produced, and ideally, locally sourced.
["Eco-Kosher", Schott's Vocab, New York Times, May 14, 2009.](_blank)
/ref> Eco-Kashrut also finds expression in the sharing of sustainable shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
meals."'Eco-kosher' Jews have an appetite for ethical eating", ''LA Times'', May 8, 2009.
/ref>
Eco-Kashrut is connected with Magen Tzedek Magen Tzedek, originally known as Hekhsher Tzedek, ( he, מגן צדק English translation ''Shield of Justice'' or ''Justice Certification'', with variant English spellings) is a complementary certification for kosher food produced in the United ...
("Shield of Justice"), an additional certification for food advocated by the Rabbinical Assembly
The Rabbinical Assembly (RA) is the international association of Conservative rabbis. The RA was founded in 1901 to shape the ideology, programs, and practices of the Conservative movement. It publishes prayerbooks and books of Jewish interest, an ...
and others within the Conservative movement that aims to address health, safety, and other labor issues in food production.
See also
* Kashrut
(also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, yi, כּשר), fro ...
* Judaism and environmentalism
Judaism intersects with environmentalism on many levels. The natural world plays a central role in Jewish law, literature, and liturgical and other practices. Within the arena of Jewish thought, beliefs vary widely about the human relation to the e ...
* Jewish vegetarianism
Jewish vegetarianism is a commitment to vegetarianism that is connected to Judaism, Jewish ethics or Jewish identity. Jewish vegetarians often cite Jewish principles regarding Jewish ethics#Treatment of animals, animal welfare, Jewish ethics#Env ...
* Ecotheology
Ecotheology is a form of constructive theology that focuses on the interrelationships of religion and nature, particularly in the light of environmental concerns. Ecotheology generally starts from the premise that a relationship exists between ...
* Hazon
Hazon ( he, חָזוֹן ) is an American nonprofit organization based in New York City that seeks to "create new vision" in the Jewish community through outdoor and environmental education. It was founded in 2000 by its British-born CEO Nigel S ...
References
Further reading
* Arthur Waskow and Rebecca T. Alpert, "Toward an Ethical Kashrut," ''Reconstructionist'' (March–April, 1987), pp. 9–13.
* Arthur Waskow, ''Down-to-Earth Judaism: Food, Money, Sex, and the Rest of Life'' (New York: William Morrow and Company, 1995).
External links
Forward.com - Eco Kashrut: Can Food Justice Be As Simple As A Label?
Environment and religion
Kashrut
{{sustainability-stub