Eco-Kashrut, also called the Eco-Kosher movement, is a movement to extend the
Kashrut
(also or , ) is a set of Food and drink prohibitions, dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to halakha, Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed ko ...
system, or
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
dietary laws, to address modern environmental, social, and ethical issues, and promote
sustainability
Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...
.
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. 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, 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 Food and drink prohibitions, dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to halakha, Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed ko ...
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 ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...
meals."'Eco-kosher' Jews have an appetite for ethical eating", ''LA Times'', May 8, 2009.
/ref>
Eco-Kashrut is connected with Magen Tzedek ("Shield of Justice"), an additional certification for food advocated by the Rabbinical Assembly and others within the Conservative movement that aims to address health, safety, and other labor issues in food production.
See also
* Judaism and environmentalism
* 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 animal welfare, environmental ethics, moral character, and health as ...
* Ecotheology
* Hazon
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?
Judaism and environmentalism
Kashrut
Reconstructionist Judaism
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