In an effort to re-connect the Boulder Jewish Community to the source of its food, Milk and Honey Farm at the Boulder JCC is hosting a discussion of poultry raising and kosher slaughter, led by Yadidya Greenberg, a Boulder native and Animal Welfare Specialist for the Jewish Initiative for Animals (JIFA). Greenberg will teach about what makes meat kosher, how chickens live and die in today’s industrial food system, and discuss ways in which we can make our modern day animal industry more humane. A special emphasis will be placed on poultry genetics. Click here for more information if you would like to attend this riveting learning opportunity on Sunday morning, October 2nd.

In a recent article in The Forward, “The Moral Future of Kosher Meat,” Yadidya Greenberg and his colleague Aaron Gross write about the importance of their work connecting people to their sources of meat:

Jews are likely to continue to disagree about the ethics of eating meat, whether the question is the acceptability of various factory farm practices or the question of whether we should eat animals at all. But our more particular hope at JIFA is that the interest in getting closer to animal slaughter today expresses a desire to reclaim and renew Jewish traditions: the tradition of transforming eating into sanctification, the practice of weaving values into our daily lives, the ethical mandate to avoid causing unnecessary suffering to animals, known in Hebrew as tzaar baalei chaim, and many others.

The two go on to address other moral concerns of eating meat, kosher slaughter, and why their demonstrations of Shechita (ritual slaughter) at Jewish institutions are so important. The article is well worth the read for anyone who cares about where their food comes from, especially if you eat animal products. And, of course, if you’re interested in discussing some of these issues in a hands-on way, please join us at Milk and Honey Farm on October 2nd.