Whither Kosher Activism?

November 24, 2008   |   Marielle Messing

Ethical Kashrut Gains Foothold at UMinn

Edan Schwartz wants you to think about what you're putting into your mouth. The University of Minnesota senior is an activist in the Hekhsher Tzedek movement, which proposes the creation of a new seal for kosher food that will indicate that the food has been produced in accordance with Jewish ethics. He is also the first member of the movement to focus explicitly on mobilizing college students, using his campus's Hillel as a springboard for Hekhsher Tzedek programming.

Between vegetarians, animal rights activists, and organic food obsessives, ethical eating is a hot topic on campuses across the country. "It's one of the biggest things I hear about on campus as far as social justice goes," says Schwartz. And yet, despite an overall surge in food activism, there is a noticeable absence of student activism relating to kosher ethics, even at a time when trust in the ethical standards of the kosher meat industry is at an all-time low.
Many are familiar with the story of Agriprocessors, the large kosher meatpacking concern that was the target of the largest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid in US history last May. In the months following the raid, Agriprocessors executives were charged with child labor violations and eventually arrested for abetting identity theft. The company was accused of mistreating workers and animals at the facility.

Although no halakhic violations have been reported with regard to the glatt kosher status of Agriprocessors meat, many Jews, especially within the Conservative movement, have begun to argue that ethical treatment of the workers should be required in order for meat to be certified as kosher.

That's where Hekhsher Tzedek comes in. A joint effort by the Rabbinical Assembly and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Hekhsher Tzedek is the brainchild of Rabbi Morris Allen, a congregational rabbi at Beth Jacob Congregation in Mendota Heights, Minn.

"I've been promoting the observance of kashrut ever since I became a pulpit rabbi," Allen said. He founded Hekhsher Tzedek in 2006 after reading an early expose in The Forward about worker mistreatment at Agriprocessors. "It was at that point that I said it wasn't enough to keep ritually kosher. We have an obligation to address the ethical aspects."
Enter Edan Schwartz, once a bar mitzvah student of Allen's, who got involved in the Hekhsher Tzedek effort in March 2008 at a meeting of Jewish Community Action, a Minnesota-based Jewish social justice group that has been collaborating with Hekhsher Tzedek. Schwartz started helping out with JCA's coordinating efforts, and this fall he began volunteering as an intern.

Schwartz hopes that food processors will support Hekhsher Tzedek as the movement expands. In the meantime, he is focused on getting people thinking and talking about where their kosher food comes from. In the spring 2008 semester, Rabbi Allen came to speak at the University of Minnesota, and since then the school's Hillel has committed itself to buying ethically sound kosher meat. Earlier this semester, Schwartz delivered a D'var Torah on Hekhsher Tzedek, and he plans to do more throughout the year.

During a Hillel meeting early this fall, Schwartz says that he received a mixed response to programming ideas that involved Hekhsher Tzedek. "There were some Orthodox students who were worried about badmouthing Agriprocessors ...People want to say, 'let's just not talk about it' or 'let's just ignore it.'"

The concerns of those students echo the sentiments from some in the Orthodox community, who believe that regulation of employee treatment should be left to the government. As Orthodox Union Kosher Division C.E.O. Rabbi Menachem Genack put it in a New York Times letter to the editor, "We believe that the various social and ethical issues such as workers' rights and safety, protection of the environment and animal welfare are significant and ultimately rooted in biblical and Jewish tradition. We also believe, however, that the definition, assessment and enforcement of these standards are best placed in the hands of the governmental agencies that have the expertise, resources and regulatory authority to deal with them appropriately."

Schwartz takes issue with this perspective. "I think Jews need to stand up and say something publicly," Schwartz said. "Part of [what is important] for me is saying that Judaism isn't like this. Agriprocessors is such a public issue. It has tarnished the face of Judaism and we need to confront that." He hopes that Hekhsher Tzedek will not only help Jews determine which corporations meet their ethical standards, but will also signal to the country that American Jews care about equal rights and social justice.

"I want people to become actively involved as much as they can," Schwartz said. "I've heard from a lot of students who don't have a lot of time, but if you've thought about it and you support it, just putting your name out there as a Hekhsher Tzedek supporter is powerful."