January 17 • 2019 17
jn

move cattle and livestock around to 
allow the soil to regenerate and regrow 
the perennial grasses and greenery the 
animals need to flourish,
” Kimelman-
Bloch said. It’
s an exciting time to be 
doing this, she notes. “Regenerative 
agriculture techniques yield a higher 
grade of beef, meaning it’
s more tender, 
not as dry. And you don’
t have to add 
Worchestershire! Chefs love it.
”

ETHICAL TREATMENT 
So, how do Jews wrestle with the wide-
spread purchase of kosher meat not 
certified as higher welfare? And why is 
the way an animal is killed the defining 
principle as to whether meat is kosher 
or not, and not how the animal was 
treated during its lifetime? Where 
does the concept of cruelty to animals, 
or tzaar baalei chayim, a core value in 
Judaism, come into play? 
Rabbi Aaron Starr of Congregation 
Shaarey Zedek in Southfield explains 
that while the laws of 
kashrut are ancient as 
prescribed by the Torah 
and elaborated upon by 
the rabbis, “in modern 
times, both because of 
our desire to uplift the 
Jewish value of tzaar 
baalei chayim and some 
people’
s effort to seek 
a ‘
reason’
 for kashrut separate from 
preventing intermarriage, notions of 
ethical kashrut have taken form.
” 
He adds that “what Hazon defines 
as animal ‘
welfare’
 is exactly the way 
our ancestors would have treated their 
animals prior to the industrialization 
of food production.
” 
Demands for ethical kashrut, he 
notes, seek a return to treating animals 
with dignity as God’
s creatures and to 
ensure the cleanliness of [the] meat. 
“The traditional laws of kashrut 
presume our animals are treated in this 
way and, therefore, do not stipulate 
specifically such practices. In the name 
of health and of tzaar baalei chayim, 
the time has come for rabbis con-
cerned with kashrut to further expand 
the system’
s laws to perpetuate animal 
dignity and cleanliness while, at the 
same time, affirming the business real-
ities of the kosher meat industry.
”
Hack said, “We recognize that the 
increased costs for organizations to 
go kosher, let alone higher welfare, 
can really be prohibitive. So, if we are 
able to cover the overages through 
this grant and educate them on higher 

welfare, then the hope is that they will 
eventually pick it up on their own.
”
At Hillel, for example, the average 
monthly budget for meat is about 
$1,700; to buy higher welfare meat, the 
cost climbs closer to $3,000 monthly. 
The Hazon grant covers the extra cost 
each month. 

OTHERS STEPPING UP
Another Hazon Seal site taking 
advantage of the Hazon grant is 
Congregation Shir Tikvah in Troy. 
Executive Director Lorelei Berg says 
her organization is getting ready to 
place its first order for higher welfare 
eggs and chicken. 
“This is something that totally aligns 
with our congregation’
s philosophy,
” 
she said. “We are warm and welcoming 
— and we are open and aware of all 
the decisions we make and how they 
affect the world.
” 
Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue, 
Jewish Ferndale and Congregation 
Shaarey Zedek are also Hazon Seal 
sites taking advantage of the Hazon 
grant monies to purchase higher 
welfare eggs. “Shaarey Zedek serves a 
weekly Shabbat lunch with egg salad 
and kugel, feeding a minimum of 200-
400 congregants every Shabbos,
” said 
Jeri Fishman, congregation president.
“If, as the saying goes, we are what 
we eat,
” Starr said, “then what we 
eat ought to be healthy and ethical; 
it ought to be in keeping with God’
s 
expectations of a life well lived.
” ■

 
For details about Hazon, its seal of sustain-
ability credential or higher welfare purchas-
ing, email Brittany Feldman at Brittany.
feldman@hazon.org. For a graphic com-
paring grain-fed and grass-fed meat, go to 
bit.ly/2FhqVV7. Higher welfare eggs 
(Alfresco Eggs by Vital Farms) can be pur-
chased at Target and select grocery stores.

Rabbi Aaron 
Starr

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