Jewish law is clear about the slaughter of animals we eat. But what does it say about how those animals live?
That’s a question posed by the eco-kosher movement, which seeks to expand the ethical boundaries of kashrut, or Jewish dietary laws, by factoring in animal cruelty and workers’ rights. We think that is a very good thing.
As our story this week points out, the Conservative movement took bold action by promoting a new initiative: Hekhsher Tzedek, or justice certification. It puts a seal of approval only on meat processors that treat animals humanely. Moreover, the certification would be granted only if workers at a given kosher meat-processing plant enjoy a living wage and safe conditions.
Several local Conservative rabbis have come aboard and plan to spread the word among their congregants. The Reform movement has announced its support as well.
This topic made headlines in May when federal immigration authorities raided the nation’s largest kosher meat plant, Iowa-based Agriprocessors.
It may be that Agriprocessors conducted its animal slaughter according to Jewish law, but the evidence against the plant suggests that in every other way this facility violated the most basic tenets of Judaism.
We don’t need to harp on Agriprocessors — they’ll have to answer to our justice system. However, the Jewish community must come together to make sure nothing like this happens again.
That’s why the Hekhsher Tzedek initiative shows so much promise.
Some may object that altering how we determine what is or is not kosher smacks of human tinkering with the commandments.
We would argue that by expanding the definition of kashrut to include these factors, we live up to the true meaning of our creed. The Torah and Talmud make it explicitly clear that animal cruelty and mistreatment of workers violate Jewish law. It only makes sense to make those concerns part of the overall kosher certification process.
It is possible that adding a layer of bureaucracy might temporarily raise kosher meat prices, which are already higher than those of nonkosher meat. But thanks to economies of scale, prices should stabilize once the Hekhsher Tzedek seal becomes common. We saw this occur with organic foods, which became more affordable as they became more popular.
Besides, as Jews we must always consider what is right. Hekhsher Tzedek certification is the right thing to do.