Food Justice Subscribe
A selection of initiatives, blogs, resources and communities on Jewcology which focus on food justice.
Blogs
The Holiness of Eating
- March 23, 2011
- 1 comment
This weeks Torah parsha, Shemini, begins on the eighth day of the ceremony to ordain the priests and consecrate the Tabernacle. Moses instructed Aaron to assemble several types of animals and a meal offering as sacrifices (called korbanot in Hebrew) to God, saying: “Today the Lord will appear to you." (Leviticus 9:1–4.). At one point, Moses becomes angry at Aaron and his sons for failing to eat the sin offering at the proscribed time and place. The parsha concludes with a listing of which animals are considered clean and therefore permissible ...
Jewish views on Food Security
- February 23, 2011
- 2 comments
-
Jews often talk about FOOD, and we often talk about SECURITY, but we don't often talk about FOOD SECURITY. Lately I've been reading many disturbing and important articles connecting recent riots throughout the Middle East and elswhere with increases in food prices and food shortages. The predictions are not good at all. Global food prices are at all time highs, and are not expected to go down any time soon. The riots are really just the tip of the iceberg, because rising food prices also means literally millions of people going hungry and malnurished. These ...
Bad few weeks on the Anti-GMO front, but its always darkest before the dawn.
- February 9, 2011
- 1 comment
-
Its been a bad couple weeks on the anti-GMO front. Last week the USDA approved the planting of GM Alfalfa without restrictions, and they are now poised to approve GM Sugar Beets as well. These approvals come as part of the efforts of the Obama administration to remove "burdensome" regulations, and are a sad betrayal of consumer's rights and environmental health concerns. Alfalfa, America's fourth largest crop, is planted on over 23 Million acres. What this approval means is that while currently 93% of alfalfa is grown without the use of pesticides, ...
Question of the Week #3 – Jakir Manela
- December 14, 2010
- 8 comments
Jakir Manela of Kayam Farm asks Jewcology's Question of the Week.
The Language of Sustainability as Second Nature
- December 12, 2010
- 1 comment
As I continue to write about my experience in teaching a formal Judaism and the Environment course at a Jewish high school, I aim to share with you some of my personal and professional lessons along the way. This week I am wrapping up the first semester of my 11th grade Judaism and the Environment course. Each semester I have a new crop of students and I try to experiment with new ways of teaching the texts and contemporary examples to highlight the major concepts. For the sake of context, I covered three units this semester: Land Use, Water and Food. In ...
Why Genetically Modified Foods Should Not Be Considered Kosher.
- December 1, 2010
- 5 comments
-
New technological innovations have always created a need for the Jewish community to respond from a religious, ethical and cultural perspective. For instance, the discovery of electricity forced Jewish authorities (rabbis) of the past to assess its use on Shabbat. Hence, we have hot plates and crock pots running but no switches flicking. The time has come for Jews and Judaism to take a serious look at perhaps the most fundamental innovation of our time, the genetic manipulation of life. Genetic Engineering (GE), and the Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO&rs...