People in the USA are increasingly demanding humane, ethically-based, locally-grown and raised, healthy food. This means taking care of the soil, water, plants, animals and people that provide us our food. We are stewards of the land and animals, and we humbly acknowledge that we are not free to do whatever we want. For those of us who keep kosher and want to live in spiritual eco-consciousness, m
aking the most spiritually productive decisions about how our food is grown, processed and delivered can sometimes be fraught with problems. Raising animals for their meat has gone from family farm to intense mechanized factory production. While we are able to produce more meat and the price on the surface is cheap, the costs are actually alarmingly high. The cost is not just in our wallets. By treating animals as widgets, and treating Jewish law as a matter of narrowly-defined compliance for kosher certification, we are compromising our health and humanity. We believe that no one intended to purposely mistreat anyone or any animals by adopting modern methods of food production. They were seeking a way to provide year-round supply and lowered financial costs. We now know that factory farming and mass production have led to numerous ethical, health and environmental problems. Our mission is to provide a better way. We are committed to educate our community as to the complexities of the kosher meat business, the problems we find and what we think we should do to remedy them. This includes examining how to best deal with the enormous waste and resulting high cost of producing kosher meat, and the logistics of producing kosher meat that currently make it difficult to provide a steady supply of the best meat at competitive prices. We want you, our consumer, to be part of a community of educated consumers voting with their food choices for a healthier, more spiritually sound, ethical world. We also want you be able to eat the most delicious meat around. EcoGlatt is dedicated to the following principles:
1. We will only sell meat from animals raised on mother’s milk and forage their entire lives. They eat what they are genetically created to eat. They are not forced to grow faster than they would naturally; they are not pumped with antibiotics, steroids or other artificial substances.
2. We will make sure that our animals are slaughtered humanely and with reverence in accordance with Jewish law. We will only do shechitah using the upright methods endorsed by Dr. Temple Grandin.
3. We will raise and buy animals within our geographic region. This will minimize or eliminate live animal transport.
4. We will find methods of distribution that are the most economical, ecologically and financially.
5. We will treat the people who are part of the EcoGlatt community, from farmers to our customers with respect. On the ground, this means that we pay people fairly, and provide processes and facilities where they work safely and proudly.
6. We will seek to constantly improve the well-being of animals, people and the earth. We walk our talk of ethical Eco-Judaism.
7. We uphold the values of transparency, integrity and love. For our earth, for our animals, for our people and most of all, our G!d. To your health and well-being,
Rabbi Elisheva, Rabbi Robert and Chaplain Nalini
