The Agriprocessors slaughterhouse, owned by the Rubashkin family, in Postville, Iowa.

The Forward has been at the leading edge of reporting on a now national story about kosher meat and the conditions in which it is produced. Much of what has appeared in the pages of The New York Times and Wall Street Journal on this topic began with a May 2006 exposé by the Forward’s Nathaniel Popper on the working conditions at the country’s largest kosher slaughterhouse, run by Agriprocessors.

Before this, Agriprocessors had been the target of an undercover investigation by the animal rights group PETA. Issues relating to the treatment of animals were explored further in a Forward investigation that looked at the method of slaughter practiced in South America known as shackle-and-hoist.

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But it is questions about the treatment of workers that have rocked the industry. First, Conservative rabbis responded to the Forward’s reporting by visiting Agriprocessors and initiating a new program, known as Hekhsher Tzedek, that intends to monitor labor conditions at kosher production facilities. After that development, Agriprocessors was the subject of a massive immigration raid that drew national media attention.

Since the raid, the Forward has continued its groundbreaking reporting. An article in the Forward about the immigration and labor issues at Agriprocessors’s Brooklyn warehouse led to editorials in The Boston Globe and the Los Angeles Times. Most recently, the Forward took the story in a new direction by looking at working conditions at Agriprocessors’s long-time rival, Alle Processing, and the broader kosher industry. For a look at how this story developed, here are links to the Forward’s coverage of the kosher meat industry over the past several years.

2008

12/24/08 — Kosher Industry’s Woes Reach a Poor Village in Guatemala

12/11/08 — How the Rubashkins Changed the Way Jews Eat in America

12/11/08 — Debate Highlights the Politics of Kosher Food, From Left, Right and Center

11/26/08 — Workers at Alle Kosher Meat Plant Reject Union in Contested Vote

11/20/08 — Kosher Updates: A New Arrest and More

11/20/08 — Turkey Trouble: Turmoil in Kosher Industry Affects Thanksgiving Meal

11/13/08 — After Jail, Agriprocessors Workers Face a Difficult Journey

11/10/08 — Fresh Out of Prison With No Means of Support, Slaughterhouse Workers Tell Their Stories

11/7/08 — Nobel Laureate Rigoberta Menchu To Visit Postville

11/6/08 — Shelves Empty as Three Plants Stop Beef Production

11/6/08 — Agriprocessors’ Bankruptcy Leaves Iowa Town Flailing

11/5/08 — Agriprocessors Files for Bankruptcy

11/3/08 — Third Kosher Slaughterhouse Halts Production, Heightening Worries About Meat Shortage

11/3/08 — Slaughterhouse’s Woes Leave Plant’s Diverse Workforce Idle

11/2/08 — Gruesome Scenes From the Poultry Line Are a Sign of Agriprocessors’ Troubles

10/31/08 — Bank Initiates Foreclosure on Kosher Meat Producer

10/30/08 — Kosher Plant Struggles as Owner Faces Arrest and Fines

10/29/08 — Agriprocessors Hit With $10 Million in Fines

10/2/08 — Orthodox Rabbis To Set Voluntary Guidelines for Kosher Businesses

9/25/08 — Averting Kosher Crisis, Meat Giant Hires Long-time Attorney to be New CEO

9/24/08 — Congressmen Take on Agriprocessors in Public Letter

9/11/08 — Conservative Movement Finds Unity in Promoting New Hekhsher Guidelines

9/10/08 — Kosher Industry Looks To Future in Wake of Agriprocessors Charges

9/4/08 — Workers Speak Out at Nation’s New Leading Kosher Producer

9/4/08 — As Industry Faces Criticism, a Look at How the Kosher Sausage Gets Made

8/27/08 — Editorial: Not Free To Desist

8/14/08 — In Rubashkins’ Backyard, Another Tale of Labor Strife

8/14/08 — Kosher Fight Turns Rabbis on Each Other

8/7/08 — Editorial: Judging Character — And Kashrut

8/7/08 — Store Owners Shift Gears as Meat Prices Rise

8/6/08— Slaughterhouse Accused of Child Labor Violations

8/5/08 — Orthodox Leaders Tour Agriprocessors, Give Plant Clean Bill of Health

7/31/08 — Ethical Guidelines for Kosher Food Released

7/10/08 — Flacks for Agriprocessors Admit Online Impersonation of Meat Company’s Critics

6/26/09 — Kosher Meat Giant Kicks Off P.R. Blitz

6/19/08 — In Heated Meeting, Orthodox Activists Spar With Kosher Meat Company

6/5/08 — News From Postville May Be Treyf, but Kosher Consumers Keep Buying

6/5/08 — Kosher Industry Lacks Contingency Plan

5/29/08 — Kosher Plant Workers Find Refuge in Local Church

5/29/08 — Editorial: The Raid in Postville

5/12/08 — Immigration Authorities Arrest Hundreds in Raid on Nation’s Largest Kosher Meat Plant

4/30/08 — Activists Who Exposed Meat Industry Reveal Their Own (Kosher) Identity

3/24/08 — Iowa Fines AgriProcessors for Labor Violations

2/21/08 — Chief Rabbis Repeat Promise To End Slaughter Method

2/13/08 — Widespread Slaughter Method Scrutinized for Alleged Cruelty

1/9/08 — Kashrut Certifiers Fight Over Slaughterhouse Turf

1/9/08 — Kosher Meat Company Loses Legal Fight to Union

2007

11/21/07 — Major Union Protests Kosher Slaughterhouse

11/21/07 — Kosher Activists Strive To Slaughter With a Conscience

8/29/07 — Orthodox Call on Sinners To Give Chickens a Fairer Shake

8/9/07 — Food Safety Records Add to Woes of Nation’s Largest Kosher Slaughterhouse

7/11/07 — Video Renews Beefs About Slaughterhouse’s Practices

5/18/07 — Kosher Slaughterhouse Hit With Lawsuits

5/18/07 — Rabbis Move Ahead With New Certification Plan

2/9/07 — Orthodox Slam Effort To Monitor Conditions at Kosher Factories

2006

12/22/06 — Rabbis Pledge To Monitor Kosher Plant Conditions

12/18/06 — Conservative Rabbis Pledge Groundbreaking System for Monitoring Working Conditions at Kosher Plants

9/9/06 — Pot Bust, Meat Scam Hit Kosher Companies

8/18/06 — Workers at Kosher Plant Urged To Steer Clear of Union ‘Devils’

7/21/06 — Lack of Meat Choices Not Kosher, Say Conservative Shuls in St. Paul

7/7/06 — Animal-rights Expert Endorses Kosher Plant

6/23/06 — Immigration Fight Splits Locals in Iowa Town

5/26/06 — Editorial: Slaughterhouse Rules

5/26/06 — In Iowa Meat Plant, Kosher ‘Jungle’ Breeds Fear, Injury, Short Pay

2004

12/03/04 — Animal-rights Activists Take Aim at Glatt Kosher Meat Plant

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