Sacred Foods
Can eco-religious certification bridge the gap between food and faith?

The first thing to recognize about food is that it is the very basis of life. Food is alive: it is not just pieces of carbohydrate, protein, and nutrient, it is a being, a sacred being. Not only is food sacred, not only is it living, but it is the Creator itself…In the words of the sacred texts of India, “The giver of food is the giver of life,” and indeed of everything else.—Vandana Shiva, Director of Bija Vidyapeeth, the International College for Sustainable Living, in Dehra Dun, India.

credit: Faith in Place

The rules are clearly defined, and it’s difficult to argue with an explicit dictum. The law of kashrut, however, was developed over 2,000 years ago—long before grocery stores, long before ethnic restaurants, and long before processed foods.

Eating kosher meals in the 21st century raises more questions than answers. More than 700 kosher certification agencies exist, and each one has a different standard. One kosher certifier labeled Jell-O as kosher, raising the eyebrow of many a rabbi. To date, none address environmental considerations in eating.

“If something is farmed with pesticides and herbicides, has packaging with a shelf life of 2,000 years, and exploits farmers, is that kosher?” asks Debra Kolodny, the Executive Director of ALEPH, or Alliance for Jewish Renewal.

According to several mitzvahs, perhaps not. The mitzvah of “shmirat haguf,” or “safeguard the body,” dictates that health should not be compromised. If a person is exposed to pesticides, that may violate the mitzvah. Another, “bal taschit,” warns against waste. Others counsel against the suffering of animals, warning that they must be treated and slaughtered humanely.

That information is not included within any religious certification label—Jewish, Christian, Muslim, or otherwise. Twenty-five years ago, Rabbi Zalman Schacter-Shalomi developed “eco-kosher” to redefine kashrut in broader terms, encompassing traditional Jewish values and modern concerns about the environment and mass production.

Jews weren’t the only people thinking about this intersection of faith, food, and ethics. Faith in Place, a Chicago-based nonprofit, learned that many Muslims were struggling to balance the limitations of traditional halal certification with the social precepts of Shari’a law.

Kosher food was purchased by both religious and secular consumers, many who (wrongly) believed the kosher certification implied stronger environmental, health, and social standards.

“Rather than opting for a secular certification, many are trying to fill these needs with kosher or halal foods,” says Arlin Wasserman, the Project Director for the Sacred Foods Project. [Without an eco-religious standard], there may be a gap between consumer preference and the product they actually get.”

The Sacred Food Project was born from these concerns. Sponsored by ALEPH, the interfaith Sacred Food Project catalyzes the power of faith communities to improve the social and environmental conditions of America’s food system.

“We’ve always worked at the intersection of faith and food,” says Kolodny. “We thought it was time to expand that conversation and include Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, tribal religions.”

“Religion has been giving dietary advice since the world began,” adds Wasserman. “People look to churches as sources of advice; they’re one of the most powerful influences in our country.”

That influence doesn’t stop at the supermarket. Sales of both mainstream and ethnic kosher products total over $100 billion, and non-Jews are responsible for $30-$40 billion of it. The faith-based foods market is also growing by $10 billion each year—the size of the entire organic industry.

“The buying power is huge,” says Kolodny. “Many people who identify as observant are already purchasing food in accordance with their religious beliefs. Then there’s the institutional buying power of religious hospitals, universities, congregations, schools. This market would allow people to live their religious values in the way food is grown and distributed.”

Working with partners including the National Catholic Rural Life Conference, Faith in Place, and Food Alliance, the Sacred Food Projects will convene a Sacred Foods Conference on June 7-8, 2006 in Garrison, New York. Bringing together leaders from religious institutions, the food industry, the nonprofit sector, and academia, the conference will draw from Christian, Islamic, and Jewish teachings about food and hunger, providing a forum to discuss the relationship between these teachings and contemporary social and environmental concerns.

“This is a great opportunity to work with food manufacturers that are interested in closing the gap [between food and religion] in a way that is informed and respectful of faith traditions,” says Wasserman.

After the conference, ALEPH will compile a paper outlining the theological reasons for religious organizations to create new certification standards. Working with project partners from religious and secular food processing and certification agencies, the Sacred Food Project will develop new eco-friendly religious certification standards.

The upshot? Nobody will need to wonder whether their kosher or halal food was harvested or slaughtered in accordance with environmental stewardship and social justice principles.

“This is historic and has the potential to totally change agriculture in the United States,” says Kolodny. “From fundamentalists to the radical left, we can all appreciate a need for an earth that is healthy. It’s an opportunity to create dialogue, and I see boundaries breaking down in very positive ways.”