The politics of food: kashrut, food choices and social justice (tikkun olam)

Abstract

Engagement in social justice (tikkun olam) has in recent decades become an important focus across all major Jewish denominations. This article explores how notions of tikkun olam inform the food choices of an increasing number of contemporary Jews and how these can be understood as innovative forms of consumptive practices that shape Jewish identity beyond the traditional dietary laws (kashrut). Examining halakhic responses to animal cruelty in the production of meat, vegetarianism and new initiatives that promote certification for ‘ethical kashrut’, I argue that, despite internal criticism, these practices can give Jewish consumers responsibility for the ethical production of food but also some control in a highly industrialised process that has led to alienation between the production and consumption of food.