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Jewish Engaged Projects
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| Seeking to connect
the Jewish idea of tikkun olam (repair
of the world) with consumer practices, the Eco
Kosher Network
promotes socially and environmentally responsible
lifestyle choices. Sponsored by the Santa Cruz
Hillel Foundation, a Jewish nonprofit organization,
the Eco Kosher Network works with other Jewish
and secular organizations to foster an ethic of
responsible consumerism. This ethic is based on
Jewish kosher laws, which sanctify the practice
of eating, and Jewish mitzvot (commandments) about
maintaining the body through healthful eating (shmirat
haguf); preventing waste (bal tashchit);
and the humane treatment of animals (tzaar
baalei chayyim).
The Network also draws on Jewish labor practices
to promote fair trade, just working conditions,
and sustainable local economies. Through the development
of its education and product labeling projects,
the Network hopes to increase both supply and demand
for products that are kosher, organic, fairly traded,
GMO-free, and ecologically benign. Although still
in the formative stage, the Eco Kosher Network
seeks to reach out to Jewish schools, camps, Community
Centers, campus organizations, and synagogues through
presentations, workshops, and a variety of publications
on organic agriculture, genetic engineering, consumption,
and waste. The Network is also working with kosher,
organic, Fair Trade, GMO-free, and eco-label certification
agencies to define Eco Kashrut standards and create
an Eco Kosher certification logo for products that
meet its standards. Although it bases its ethic
of responsible consumerism on Jewish kosher laws
and mitzvot, the Eco Kosher Network promotes values
that appeal to a wide variety of people, including
Muslims, Seventh Day Adventists, vegetarians, and
health-conscious individuals. |
| Judaism |
| United States of America |
| 2000–Present |
The Eco Kosher Network
was started by Ramona Rubin, currently West Coast
Director, in the spring of 2000 as a project of
Santa Cruz Hillel. While the idea for the Eco Kosher
Network originated in the Jewish Renewal Movement,
the project focuses on the observance of halacha and aims to reach an observant audience. Although
it is currently working on some joint projects
with Santa Cruz COEJL, the Eco Kosher Network is
still in the formative stage. In addition to establishing
its programs and organizational structure, the
Eco Kosher Network is presently creating an on-line
database for people to submit, search, and comment
upon consumer products that are kosher as well
as environmentally and socially sound. The Network
also intends to develop nutrition and health education
programs based on Jewish religious and cultural
values for students in Jewish schools.
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| "The Eco Kosher
Network promotes responsible consumerism by working
to incorporate Jewish teachings about the human
responsibility to honor and protect the physical
world into daily life decisions and practices.
It seeks to align consumer practices with spiritual
values order to create a more balanced and sustainable
global ecosystem." |
Coalition on the Environment
and Jewish Life (COEJL), Santa Cruz
EcoJew.com
The Green Restaurant Association
The
United Farm Workers
The Organic Consumers
Association |
| None Listed |
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Eco Kosher Network
Ramona M. Rubin, West
Coast Director
Ph: 831.566.0926
Email: ramona@ecojew.com |
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This site is hosted courtesy of the
Harvard
University Center for the Environment
Copyright © 2004 Forum
on Religion and Ecology.
All rights reserved.
Last Updated:
12/14/05
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