Food

Honey, Milk, and Ethical Kashrut

By Judith Belasco October 4, 2011

For centuries, the system of kashrut helped us to decide whether food was “fit” for us to eat, but contemporary food issues are raising a whole new set of questions about what food we should and shouldn’t eat, which kashrut may or may not be able to answer.

Last May, Siach: An Environment & Social Justice Conversation brought together social justice leaders from across the United States, Israel, and Europe, including those who are developing the idea of Kashrut, to consider such factors as where food come from, who’s serving it, and how are those people treated.

In this video from Leadel, leaders from Hazon, Uri L’Tzedek, and Jewish Farm School explore the overlapping parameters of kashrut and food ethics and ask: Can our ancient traditions guide us in our contemporary questions, or do we need something else?

Judith Belasco is the Director of Food Programs at Hazon, where she guides all of Hazon’s Food Programs and the expansion of our food work.

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