JOI
Koach Kallah
Jewish Youth Groups Respond to Tainted Meat Print
Written by Sara Kay   
Friday, 26 September 2008

BBYO, USY Members Take Action on Agriprocessors Scandal

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The sign reads,
In the aftermath of the May 2008 federal raid on the Agriprocessors kosher slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa, many consumers of kosher meat have been taking another look at how kosher meat is produced. The troubling treatment of both workers and animals at the Agriprocessors plant, as described in press accounts following the raid, has led many to question whether kosher slaughterhouses are held to sufficient ethical standards.

Members of some Jewish youth groups found themselves dealing with these issues as they lived and ate together at conferences and encampments this summer.

At an international convention for members of BBYO, a non-denominational Jewish youth group, teens asked the organizers not to serve meat produced by Agriprocessors. The decision came after the members heard directly from a teenage worker from Agriprocessors, a 15-year-old born in Guatemala.

Abby Strunk, a spokesperson for BBYO, says the members realized that “there are teens whose lives are being impacted by this.”

The members were also influenced by a meeting with Rabbi Morris Allen, a leading advocate for Hekhsher Tzedek, the growing movement to redefine kashrut in order to ensure that kosher meat is produced in accordance with Jewish ethics. Allen encouraged the BBYO teens to take action on the issue. “They reviewed the information, reviewed the press materials, and asked the camp providers not to serve [Agriprocessors] meat based upon facts about the raid, especially the illegal workers being juvenile,” said Strunk. Erica Schwager, a counselor at the convention, said it was remarkable to see a group of high school-age students so passionate about a cause. “I can only hope that they bring that passion back to their chapters and regions and have now learned how to take a stand against something they believe to be unjust,” she said.

At Camp Ramah in the Poconos, members of United Synagogue Youth, a youth group affiliated with the Conservative movement, have also been showing increasing concern about the ethical standards under which their meat is produced, according to Rabbi Todd Zeff, the director of the camp. “These kids want to live to the highest level of kashrut, and they are excited about it,” says Zeff. “They want to know if the camp can assure that meat is Hekhsher Tzedek. They want meat of a glatt kosher standard as well as an ethical standard.”

As more information about the state of kosher meat production is revealed, students are responding by becoming aware of the issue and changing their habits. “This is a really important issue to them,” said Zeff.

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.
 
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