The film "Food Inc" reveals surprising—and often shocking truths—about what we eat, how it's produced, and where we might makes changes in the future. The film portrays some of the dangers associated with massive factory produced food and tells much about the true source of our conventional food The film also shows how we have become disconnected from the producers of our food.
This specific event allowed the participants to explore what Judaism has to say about ethical treatment of animals in food preparation. We also explored the topic of Echo Kashrut. As Jews we are aware of general Kashrut rules but I wanted to delve deeper and look at what people’s thoughts were on how “Kosher” ties in with food security and environmental sustainability.
The event, which I helped organize, targeted young adults between ages 25-45 as they are the future of our Jewish community. Previously, I have helped organize some events for J-PEG, a branch organization of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg that designs programming for this age range. This was the first time our synagogue targeted individuals in this age range and we saw many new faces to the synagogue at this event. People who attended included members of the Organic Food Council of Manitoba as well as organizers of the Jewish Federation’s program Echo Shift. (a call to arms for environmentally friendly approaches in the Jewish Community) Members of the synagogue as well as non –members from tthe general community ( both Jewish and non-Jewish) participated in this event.
After the film was screened, all of the participants were involved in a lively discussion. Rabbi Soria gave us a brief overview of the history of kashrut and framed it within a reform Judaism perspective. People were curious what Judaism had to say about eating organic and local foods. Since the film was set in the United States, people wanted to know how it applied to the situation here in Canada.
The discussion involved a candid and open sharing of opinions. Some people pointed out that traditional kosher preparation of foods may not always be good for the animals or the earth. It quickly became apparent that there were a large range of opinions on what Echo-Kashrut meant for each individual. For some, Echo-Kashrut meant values (involving ethics) of the treatment of the animals and those processing the food. For some Echo-Kashrut represented taking care of the earth; for others it meant following some of the traditional dietary laws of not eating certain animals and combinations of foods.
Some people expressed their feelings of helplessness when going up against large corporations to ensure food security. Others thought that little changes could add up and that as conscious consumers we had a lot of power by making our voices heard by purchasing what we thought was the best for the planet.
There are actions that individuals can take to be more conscious consumers.
People can make choices in the selection of what they eat and where they purchased their food.. You can vote with your dollars. Don’t forget to read food labels to see what you are eating. Ask at your supermarket where the food you buy comes from and make requests for local and/or organic foods. You may also consider contacting your MP to make your voice heard.
At the event, we discussed shopping at local markets and making choices to buy food that has not travelled long distances to minimize the impact on the earth and depletion of the nutrient value of the food. For those that expressed concern about the high cost of organic food some suggested purchasing only some organic food types that are much less contaminated then non organic foods (such as certain fruits and vegetables).
At Temple Shalom we are looking at doing regular multifaceted events such as movie screenings, discussions and dinners. My hope is that we can incorporate themes that include environmental issues that could be applicable to Jewish concerns. We may also look at partnering with J-Peg, which is part the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, to do a communal Shabbat dinner with this younger segment of our community. My goal would be to minimize the impact of this dinner on the environment and serve as much local and organic food as is possible. I would also like to involve the younger segment of our community in more synagogue events at Temple Shalom..
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