Jewish institutions–like Hillels, synagogues, and summer camps–often serve as hubs of community life. Within these spaces, we practice and celebrate our shared values and traditions. Central to these communal experiences is the food we share, which nourishes both body and soul.

An organizational food policy serves as a guide that outlines how food is sourced, prepared, and served within institutions. Some Jewish organizations already have established food practices, such as preferred kashrut standards or accommodations for dietary requests on an as-needed basis. Formalizing best practices into an organizational food policy can improve kitchen and food operations while expressing a community’s values.

Why Develop an Organizational Food Policy?

Developing an organizational food policy is an opportunity to embody Jewish values through the lens of communal dietary choices. It reflects a community’s commitment to sustainability, justice, compassion, and inclusivity. By creating an official food policy we turn these values into long-term commitments to be implemented across all of an organization’s activities.

Moreover, plant-forward food policies ensure that everyone feels welcome and valued within our communal spaces. By reducing or eliminating ingredients with common allergens–like milk and eggs–from menus, we can create inherently more inclusive dining experiences. Accommodating diverse dietary preferences and needs promotes a sense of belonging for all members of the community.

DefaultVeg: A Plant-Based Nudge Strategy

DefaultVeg, also called “greener by default” or “plant-based by default,” is a simple yet powerful nudge strategy that promotes plant-forward eating. Essentially, it involves making plant-based options the default choice in communal settings.

Making plant-based food the default can help reshape what people in our communities think of as a “normal” meal. Whether at a conference or a Shabbat dinner, this approach recognizes that individuals are influenced by the choices presented to them and that their choices have a huge impact.

By serving plant-based meals by default, your organization offers the chance for community members to easily make more humane and sustainable food choices. With a DefaultVeg food policy, everyone can choose the meal that’s right for them.

Bring Jewish Values to the Table 

For centuries, the question of what’s kosher, or “fit” for Jewish communities has guided our daily actions, religious identities, and moral values. Today, industrialized animal agricultural practices like factory farming, are the norm for 99% of animals in our food system. Kosher-certified animal products are no exception. Along with the lives of farmed animals, intensive farming practices have dire consequences for our world.

Reducing the animal products our community serves and choosing higher-welfare meat, when possible, embodies the Jewish value of tza’ar ba’alei chayim–preventing unnecessary suffering to living creatures. By embracing sustainable practices such as sourcing local ingredients, prioritizing plant-based foods, and minimizing food waste, organizations exemplify the Jewish values of bal tashchit–avoiding wasteful destruction–and sh’mirat ha’adamah–protecting the Earth.

From animal welfare to environmental justice to public health, there are many Jewish values-based reasons to commit to alternatives to industrial animal agriculture. Through plant-forward organizational food policies, we turn these commitments into action.

Take Action for Your Community

Jewish tradition offers a rich tapestry of values and teachings that emphasize ethical eating. Developing an organizational food policy rooted in this tradition allows institutions to authentically embody their core beliefs through their food practices.

JIFA works with Jewish institutions to build a more humane and sustainable future, starting with the food we buy and serve to our communities. We offer resources, education, and a free consultation to help your community establish a values-based food policy. Together, we will create a more humane, sustainable, and compassionate future for all beings.

Contact JIFA to schedule your free consultation.

When our team talks about helping communities align their food practices with their Jewish values, we often skirt past the second part of that mission: strengthening Jewish American communities in the process.

Food plays an integral symbolic and visceral role in strengthening our communities. When we source our meals from places and practices that are consonant with our Jewish values (however they are prioritized from community to community), the members of our communities are also cared for more deeply. And perhaps the fabric of our communal connection is strengthened in knowing that the larger living community–farmed animals, farm and food workers, rural communities, wildlife, and ecosystems–are given the opportunity to flourish. Perhaps we as Jewish eaters gain strength when we bring intention and attention to the chain of transmission that brings food to our plates and to one another.

Our ability to support and strengthen communities multiplies exponentially when we collaborate with a broader village of members. This is why we are thrilled to formally partner with the Rabbinical Assembly and the Conservative Jewish Movement on a groundbreaking cohort program to support up to 7 denomination-affiliated organizations in adopting sustainable kosher food policies. We expect each participating institution to achieve, at a minimum, a 20% reduction in the volume of animal products served.

Why is this cohort program unique?

Many Jewish communities care about the impact of the food they choose to serve and are seeking ways to improve the sustainability of their food choices. While some organizations recognize the crucial role that food sourcing and serving plays in our quest for climate health, harm reduction to people and other animals, and even broader food security, sustainable food practices are not yet the norm in our communities, nor are they widely understood as an necessary step toward achieving minimal greenhouse gas emissions, water, and land use with which Jewish institutions are increasingly concerned.

This program provides a way for institutions to achieve these goals with the practical and educational support from JIFA’s team and the leadership support of the Conservative Movement. While the pilot program will run for one year, each community will come away with a lasting and implementable sustainable food policy.

What is the potential impact of sustainable food policies?

JIFA helps communities adjust food programs where the most positive change is possible. We work creatively on changing their “choice architecture” to help incorporate more sustainable, plant-rich foods instead of  foods that come from harmful industrial practices. To implement these changes we help communities design menus, events, and even dining halls to make the sustainable choice the easy choice.

Changing the meals we serve to community members has a much greater potential to decrease our collective greenhouse gas emissions than other sustainability initiatives, like upgrading our light bulbs or installing low-flow toilets. Making our meals plant-based by default drastically decreases our contribution to climate change and drought, cutting our meals’ greenhouse gas emissions by half and water footprint by up to two-thirds.

If this were scaled to the broader population, we could see unprecedented preservation of our natural resources and consequently a more livable planet: research has shown that without our current levels of meat and dairy consumption, we could reduce global farmland use by more than 75% and still feed all people–an opportunity that our Jewish values of preserving life beckon us to consider.

Why is The Rabbinical Assembly leading this charge?

The Conservative Movement has passionately addressed the ethical implications of our food choices and production practices for decades. RA clergy have advocated for values-aligned practices that extend to every level in the food production chain, including advocating for kosher practices in animal agriculture that better reflect Jewish values.

Just last year, the RA passed a resolution stating that “shifts to our institutional food practices, such as reducing factory-farmed animal product consumption, would help us to better achieve our values.” The resolution also tasked the Social Justice Commission with creating a subcommittee that would “revisit [the RA’s] work in the area of ethical food consumption.” Rav Natan Freller, head of the aforementioned Ethically Sourced Food Subcommittee, is enthusiastic about achieving these goals with JIFA’s support:

“The Rabbinical Assembly has been looking for a partner, with knowledge and resources, to help us educate our communities about the important ethical challenges posed by industrial farming and the potential for plant-forward foods to better align our food choices with our values. This unique partnership between JIFA and the RA is exactly what we needed to get started on this long-term cultural change process, raising awareness about how we make better choices regarding the food we serve and eat. I’m very excited to see this pilot project in action soon and hopeful to see all the good it will disseminate in our communities.”

We are so pleased that the RA has chosen JIFA as a primary partner for this work.

Eating together is an opportunity for connection, fellowship, and significant conversations. We are excited to support this upcoming cohort in strengthening their connection to food, to Jewish life, and to one another as we work on aligning communal food practices with Jewish values.

People commonly believe that kosher production is different from the rest of conventional industrial farming, and that animals raised and slaughtered for the kosher market are treated better than those destined for non-kosher markets. In reality, virtually all kosher products, including all those sold in grocery stores, come from factory farms with abysmal conditions. How do we know?

First, it’s important to understand that kosher certifications lack purview over how animals are bred, treated, and handled prior to slaughter. Second, kosher certification is a modern invention, created to respond to technological advancement in food production. Third, traditional kosher law existed in a different context with fundamentally different agricultural practices–kosher production today is part and parcel of the United States’ mainstream animal farming model, or CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations).

Most Animals Used in the Kosher Industry Live on CAFOs

Calculations from the USDA suggest that more than 99 percent of animals raised for food in the United States are raised on factory farms.((Percentage of confinement farms was calculated by the Sentience Institute.)) Broiler chickens, or birds raised specifically for meat production rather than egg-laying, account for over 90% of the land animals raised for food in the US.((The United States is the world’s leading chicken producer.)) Like the rest of the country, Jewish and kosher-keeping households that consume meat are mostly eating chickens—in quantities more than one hundred times what Americans ate per capita a century ago.((Striffler, Chicken: The Dangerous Transformation of America’s Favorite Food))

These are not your grandparents’ chickens; instead of breeding animals for resiliency outdoors, healthy immune systems, and strong bones and muscles, the trademark of factory-farmed chickens today is their highly manipulated genetics which cause them to grow unnaturally fast and so large that they struggle to support their own weight. There are no meaningful genetic differences between poultry raised for kosher and non-kosher markets. With the help of drugs, corporate-owned operations keep most birds alive long enough to reach market weight at 6-8 weeks–twice as fast as in the 1950s.

Kosher operations rely on industrial confinement systems that keep hundreds of thousands of birds indoors in filthy, crowded conditions—this is the only way companies can churn out the volume of meat they purvey on a regular basis. A steady supply of kosher chicken is made possible by companies like KJ Poultry, which slaughters 40,000 birds a day, Agri Star (formerly Agriprocessors), which slaughters 50,000 birds a day, and Empire Kosher, which slaughters 65,000 birds a day. And while the scale and speed at which workers process animals has real human health((For example, Iowa OSHA recently fined Agri Star for safety violations found after a February 2021 explosion injured two employees. Related hazards were cited in a reported worker injury just days before. )) and animal welfare costs, processing plants only represent a fraction of the production process. The jarring pace and scale of production begins with day-to-day operations at breeding houses and confined feeding facilities, over which kosher slaughter authorities have no direct supervision.

While kosher certification regulates slaughter, ultimately, it’s not how animals die that qualifies their lives as “factory farmed” but rather the conditions they lived in. The federal government defines a factory farm or CAFO based on the number of animal “units” living in a confined space for more than 45 days out of the year. Stocking density varies by species, but the cramped quarters of all CAFOs severely restricts animals’ freedom. While only 1,000 heads of cattle qualify as a CAFO, broiler chicken operations begin at 125,000—the human population of Hartford, Connecticut—and grow however large animal agriculture can manage, creeping ever closer to the one million mark. As dystopian as a poultry metropolis feels, the number of animals raised in densely populated cages, lots, and pens is only one troubling aspect of industrial animal agriculture.

Many American consumers, both Jewish and non-Jewish, purchase kosher animal products because they erroneously believe the label guarantees better animal treatment. According to the results of two national surveys released by Farm Forward, both the general population and Jewish Americans believe a kosher certification means products such as chicken, beef, dairy, eggs, and fish come from animals who were treated better over the course of their lives than non-kosher. Additionally, Jewish Americans are more likely to hold false beliefs about kosher-certified animal products than the general population of Americans.

The data confirms what JIFA has inferred from previous research that shows people think kosher food is inherently better: consumers, both Jewish and non-Jewish, extend this belief to the way farmed animals are bred and raised, despite the fact virtually all kosher and non-kosher meat, poultry, dairy, and eggs come from animal raised on factory farms. This phenomenon is called kosher humanewashing.

The two identical surveys asked people about their purchasing behaviors and understanding of kosher labels on animal products. Below is a summary of the key findings, including comparative findings of the two populations (1,500 adults in the general population and 500 Jewish adults).

Key findings:

• Nearly half of Jewish Americans falsely believe that animals in kosher production are better treated than non-kosher: 48% of Jewish adults nationwide said a kosher label on an animal product such as beef, chicken, fish, dairy products, or eggs means that over the course of an animal’s life, it was better treated than an animal raised for non-kosher products. In reality, nearly all animals used in kosher farming are bred and raised on factory farms.
• In some cases, Jewish consumers are more likely than the general population to believe untruths about kosher certification: In contrast to 48% of Jewish adults, identical research conducted of 1,500 US adults showed 34%, roughly two-thirds as many, said a kosher label meant an animal had been better treated. 53% of Jewish respondents agreed that a kosher label on an animal product guarantees that the animal “did not suffer much in its life,” and in the general population, 39% agreed with the same statement. Similarly, 48% of Jewish adults agreed that a kosher label guarantees an animal “was treated humanely during its life,” compared to 40% of all adults. Kosher certification does not ensure any of these claims.
• Many Americans have faulty notions about what kosher means for specific aspects of farmed animal welfare: For example, many shoppers think a kosher label on an animal product means the animal used was not treated with antibiotics except for therapeutic purposes (41% Jewish pop.; 44% general pop.), had healthy genetics (38% Jewish pop.; 40% general pop.), was not confined for much of its life, and lived its entire life on an outdoor pasture (36% Jewish pop.; 37% general pop). Jewish and general population respondents displayed similar beliefs about these topics, except that considerably fewer Jewish adults (26%) believe a kosher certification means animals lived their entire lives on pasture than the general population (34%). Kosher certification has no relationship to antibiotic use, healthy genetics, confinement, or access to pasture.
• 74% of Americans purchase kosher out of concern for food safety: Of the general population that buys kosher products, the majority of shoppers cite food safety as a key concern (previous research has shown that 34% of Americans believe kosher food is safer). A kosher certification in actuality does nothing to safeguard public health from the effects of common factory farming practices such as overuse of antibiotics. Antibiotics are often used in conventionally raised poultry, beef, and farmed fish to prevent rather than treat illness, and can give rise to antibiotic resistant bacteria. A 2013 study found that kosher chicken had the highest rate of antibiotic resistant E. coli, compared with organic and conventional chicken. Some people’s food safety concerns may pertain to allergens—kosher certification ensures, for example, no cross-contamination with non-kosher allergens such as shellfish, and also ensures no cross-contamination with dairy when a product is labeled Pareve or contains meat such as chicken or beef—while other people may associate a lower risk for food-borne illnesses from consuming kosher products. The health risks associated with the unregulated use of antibiotics and their virus-producing potential in intensively farmed animals is receiving increasing attention, particularly given their role in pandemic outbreaks in humans.
• There may be widespread misconceptions about what a kosher label means beyond animal welfare: In addition to animal welfare and food safety, consumers were asked how often they buy kosher products out of a concern for other values such as environmental protection, workers’ rights, and public health. More than half of all adult shoppers for kosher food are concerned about at least one of these three issues, with 66% saying they buy kosher animal products out of concern for the environment (compared with 58% in Jewish pop.), 65% out of concern for public health (59% Jewish pop.), and 54% out of concern for workers’ rights (48% Jewish pop.). Given shoppers’ high level of concern for practices around labor, environment, and health, it is possible that many Americans are confused or misinformed about what a kosher label guarantees, as a kosher certification does not dictate standards for these areas.

Kosher certifications in and of themselves wield significant humanewashing and healthwashing power among both Jewish and non-Jewish adults, whether or not companies intend to deceive consumers. Just as a high percentage of Americans trust kosher to mean that a product is of superior quality, many Jewish and non-Jewish Americans associate kosher certification with better overall treatment of farmed animals compared to non-kosher. Previous survey work demonstrates the majority of Americans are committed to broad anti-cruelty principles. Kosher-certified animal products, like ones that bear other humanewashing labels and claims, often fall short of consumer expectations such as regular access to outdoor pasture. Significantly, the Jewish community—which is best positioned to influence kosher production and educate consumers about the realities of the industry—is even more likely to hold false beliefs around whether a kosher certification ensures better animal treatment and prevents suffering during an animal’s life.

Over 200 Jewish clergy are already responding to the issue of kosher humanewashing by calling on Jewish institutions to adopt more sustainable and ethical food policies. View the full list of signatories and here.