Healthy soil and sustainable growing

[EJ <emj@uvic.ca>]

Kosher Meat Plant Raided, Owners Charged

Following the great immigration raid at the kosher Agriprocessors plant in the Iowa town of Postville on May 8, 2008, practically the whole criminal law book has been used to make charges stick to all who were guilty.

About the only laws not being violated in and around the Agriprocessors plant, which hit peak employment of around 1,000 before the raid led to its bankruptcy, were the nation's food safety laws and regulations.  That much was kosher.

Everything else was a nightmare.

In the raid, 389 mostly Guatemalan workers were arrested for being in the country illegally.  It sparked outrage among immigration groups, who objected to the use of 900 armed federal agents to raid a workplace at a cost estimated at over $5 million.

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/02/a-kosher-nightmare-at-iowa-meatplant/

On 08/02/11 8:16 AM, Liz wrote:

I heard an interesting interview on Sunday, with the author of "Kosher Nation," Sue Fishkoff. Her remarks about why more and more Americans seek out kosher-certified food were eye-opening and encouraging. Apparently many people believe kosher food is more "pure" (which doesn't necessarily mean it's better for you--Honey Nut Cheerios are kosher, for pete's sake). She spoke of factories in China that are overseen by kosher inspectors, and the work necessary to clean a US factory after non-kosher food was processed, in order to make it acceptable for a run of kosher food.

I don't think buying kosher food is any guarantee of food safety, because it doesn't protect you against GMO foods or added chemicals. And it doesn't provide any incentive for buying local. But I was encouraged to hear that Americans in general are giving any weight to the notion of "pure." Maybe we are grinding slowly but inevitably toward a better understanding of nutrition and food safety. I want to think so, anyway.

Liz

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