Ethical kashrut takes the idea of “kosher” and runs with it: It suggests that for foods to be truly kosher or “fit to eat”, (the literal translation of the Hebrew word kosher), they needs to be produced in a way that is fair to farm workers, to the land, and to the plants and animals we consume. According to traditional kashrut laws, all fresh, unprocessed, uncut produce is kosher. But when you bite into a tomato picked by modern-day slaves, how kosher is it?

Article, lesson plan and source sheet included.

GRADES: 7-10, 50 minutes

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What do you think makes something truly kosher, or fit to eat? Does it have to do with ingredients or ethics?

LESSON AT A GLANCE:  In the past few years, a new awareness of the realities of the industrial food system we live in, and the harms to the earth and to workers because of those realities, has led many Jews to practice what is known as “ethical kashrut”.

OBJECTIVES

·         Students will study texts related to kashrut, and will understand the concept of ethical kashrut.

·         Students will see food choices as a way to live out their personal and communal values.

·         Students will put forth guidelines for a personal ethical kashrut certification