Eco-Kashrut, also called theEco-Kosher movement, is a movement to extend theKashrut system, orJewish dietary laws, to address modern environmental, social, and ethical issues, and promotesustainability.[1]
This movement began in the 1970s among AmericanReconstructionist Jews, and eco-kashrut or eco-kosher approaches enjoyed a resurgence in the 1990s with the work of Reconstructionist rabbi, author, and activistArthur Waskow. A third wave of the eco-kashrut or eco-kosher movement began in the mid-2000s, spurred on in part by a series of kosher production facility scandals.[2]
Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, a founder of theJewish Renewal Movement, is credited with coining and developingeco-kashrut in the late 1970s.[3] He articulated eco-kashrut as an evolving set of practices that extend beyond traditionalkashrut by taking the human and environmental costs of food production and consumption into account when deciding what to eat or not eat.[3][4][5]
More recently the movement has been championed by other Kosher-keeping Jews who strive to eat only food that has been ethically and sustainably produced, and ideally, locally sourced.[6] Eco-Kashrut also finds expression in the sharing of sustainableshabbat meals.[7]
Eco-Kashrut is connected withMagen Tzedek ("Shield of Justice"), an additional certification for food advocated by theRabbinical Assembly and others within theConservative movement that aims to address health, safety, and other labor issues in food production.[6] Amid opposition from theOrthodox movement, no products have been certified to carry the seal as of August 2017.[8][9]
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