KOL Foods

Bringing your Values to the Market and Table.

2011-06-22T16:00:00.002-04:00

Natasha Rosenstock, friend to foodies, just wrote a terrific article for the Washington Jewish Week about bringing your values to the market and table. She profiled "Jews and their commitments to Jewish food values, including concern for workers’ rights, humane treatment of animals, caring for the land and supporting local businesses.It features KOL Foods (among others)."

Read the whole article.

My first trip to the farm by Intern Joe

2011-06-22T14:39:00.002-04:00

About two hours after making it out of the traffic-ridden streets of DC, I noticed the roads were no longer painted with oil slicks, but peppered with horse droppings. Then I saw the first of many horse-drawn buggies, and a great number of Amish families, strolling through the streets in style (leaving little carbon footprint). At this point I knew we must be close to our destination – or just very far from where I have called home for the past 23 years. We pulled into a driveway that was longer than the street I now live on, and were immediately greeted by piercing, yet enthusiastic sounding barks. They were coming from David’s puppies aka “guard dogs.” We had made it to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. David, our poultry farmer, lives in an old house on thirteen acres of rolling hills where, along with chickens, he also grows cabbage, peppers, strawberries and other seasonal produce.

David walked Robert and I to a fenced off stretch of long green grass. The space was the size of two football fields and was home to a few dairy cows and 6 chicken shelters, although "shelter" might be a gross understatement. These humble chicken abodes were like small condos: high ceilings and beautiful 360 degree views. They serve to protect the chickens from mean foxes, hawks, rain, and the harsh rays from midday sun. In order to give the chickens a fresh grass diet, David moves the abodes down the field on a daily basis. This routine gives the used up land time to rejuvenate by using the natural chicken fertilizer. The process was quite interesting and David seemed to know the system very well. After helping David rotate his contraptions, he showed us around and sent us on the road with the gift of freshly picked strawberries.

We drove up the road to Roman’s, our turkey farmer. This farm had a great feel: kids playing volleyball next to the duck pond, dairy cows hanging out, and best of all – a boutique gelato factory! The only missing piece was the turkeys. Unfortunately, his turkey hatchlings were on schedule to arrive the next day.

We hadn’t planned on visiting Jake’s farm for another hour. With time to kill, we grabbed a beer at Gap, PA’s finest – the Happy Rooster Saloon. After making a few friends and a gentlemanly game of pool with Robert, we were off to Jake’s, the master beef farmer. His children had just returned from a fishing excursion and were shy but very welcoming. Robert and I took the short hike to the pasture where the cows were happily chowing down the tall green grass.

Although I have never seen an industrial style cattle farm, I was in the midst of reading Micheal Pollan’s “Omnivores Dilemna” during the car ride and Jake’s was the complete opposite of what I pictured a feed-lot to be. The animals had ample room to roam free and eat whichever type of grass they fancied. Like Robert and I, these cows were relaxed and at peace while on this small farm in southeastern Pennsylvania. After giving a farewell to my favorite dog Nikki (though to me, he looked more like a Puck; and to Robert he was Stump), Robert and I jumped in the strawberry scented car headed north for the freezer.

The KOL Foods freezer resides just a few hours north east of the Lancaster farms; it’s a huge warehouse hidden by trees and the surrounding hills. Donna led us to our inventory where Robert and I broke open several boxes of differing cuts in order to put together a Grill Sampler perfect for the summertime BBQ. Once the boxes were packed, the only thought on our minds was which Pandora station to jam out to on the way home. It was a great experience… smelly, but great.

Chicken, hold the arsenic: Pfizer, the FDA, and the end of roxarsone

2011-06-13T12:19:00.003-04:00

Soon, Americans may be eating a little less arsenic.

On June 8th, Pfizer Inc. announced that it will stop making and selling roxarsone, an arsenic-containing additive in chicken feed, phasing out the compound by July 9th.

Since 1944, arsenic-containing additives have been used in chicken feed for “for increased rate of weight gain, improved feed efficiency, and improved pigmentation” and “as an aid in the prevention of coccidiosis [a parasitic infestation]". Some of the arsenic that the chickens eat accumulates in their muscles, and when people eat the chicken, they also eat the arsenic.

Recently, evidence has been building that roxarsone and other arsenic-containing additives are not as innocuous as was once thought. The poultry industry has long maintained that use of roxarsone is safe for humans because roxarson contains an organic arsenic compound (meaning that it is chemically bound to carbon), rather than the carcinogenic inorganic form of arsenic; however, the arsenic in roxarsone can convert to this more dangerous inorganic form both inside chickens and inside people. Though there is no direct evidence linking the arsenic specifically from poultry to human disease, research has shown that exposure to arsenic in humans causes cancer and may contribute to other health problems including high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and impaired intellectual function.

The final straw for roxarsone came with an FDA study, published yesterday, that found that levels of the dangerous inorganic form of arsenic were consistently higher in chickens treated with roxarsone than in untreated chickens, meaning that use of roxarsone unnecessarily increases human exposure to a known carcinogen. After the FDA released its findings, Pfizer immediately released its plans to end sales of the additive.

While Pfizer’s action won’t immediately remove arsenic from the food system (first there’s the phase-out period, after which poultry producers will still be able to use what stocks they have, and then there are several other, less widely used arsenic-containing feed additives to contend with), it is a crucial and commendable step that has taken one unnecessary form of carcinogen exposure out of our lives.

Whenever industry takes its own initiative to stop a profitable practice, even a potentially dangerous one, skepticism generally follows. Pfizer continued to sell roxarsone for years in the face of mounting evidence of its carcinogenic potential. In March, the failure of a Maryland initiative to ban roxarsone use in the state seemed to signal that arsenic-containing additives were here to stay. Crucial to Pfizer’s decision, then, is the fact that, given its evidence that inorganic arsenic is present in chickens treated with roxarsone, the FDA has the power to ban roxarsone as a carcinogen. Rather than face a ban, Pfizer pulled the product and in doing so took an unnecessary risk off the dinner table.

Unfortunately, the removal of roxarsone from chicken feed only scratches the surface of what could and should be done to improve the ethical, environmental, and health-related implications of industrial meat production. Industrial meat comes from factory farms where animals live in inhumane conditions, where waste is released into toxic “lagoons,” and where the use of chemical and pharmaceutical additives is the norm. My own questioning of industrial meat practices has led me to intern with KOL Foods, a company that provides kosher meat produced in an ethical, health-protective, and environmentally-friendly way. Alternatives to industrial poultry production, like those provided by KOL Foods, light a path as we take small steps to improve the food system that puts meat on our plates.

While changing this industrial meat system sometimes seems impossible, small steps like those that the FDA and Pfizer took last week offer hope that meat production practices can improve. I can only hope that this small victory will be the first of many.

*Amy Radding is an intern at KOL Foods. She prefers her arsenic-free, kosher, pasture-raised chicken spatchcocked and pan-roasted with lemon and rosemary.*

Reference/link format: [LINK TEXT](HTTP://LINK.COM) EX: KOLFoods

Eat meat that doesn’t endanger the environment

2011-05-03T13:26:00.001-04:00

April 22nd was Earth Day when we think about protecting the environment by recycling, by driving less, by planting a tree. But rarely do we think about the industrially raised kosher meat we eat. Because factory farms raise huge numbers of animals for meat, they generate huge amounts of waste. Factory farm waste dumps, euphemistically called “lagoons,” endanger the environment by leaking into water and soil and by emitting toxic gases. Even worse, the chemicals and pharmaceuticals added to these animals’ feed are still present in their waste, and these additives are spread throughout the environment when waste is used or disposed of as compost, incinerated waste, and even feed for other animals.

At KOL Foods, all of our meat comes from animals raised artisanally, on small-scale sustainable farms. The chemical- and pharmaceutical-free waste from these animals goes back into a natural cycle of fertilization, enriching the land so that it can continue to support the animals. Choose sustainably raised kosher meat from KOL Foods. It’s better for the environment, it’s better for your Jewish values, and it’s better for your taste buds.

Chicken with a side of arsenic: a poultry industry additive’s threat to human health

2011-04-29T13:25:00.000-04:00

By Amy Radding

In March, a bill in the Maryland legislature that would have banned the use of arsenic in chicken feed was killed . Since the introduction of the bill in February, a public controversy arose over this little-known but widespread poultry industry practice. The months of debate, culminating in the death of the bill, force us to closely question what goes into the food that we eat and what we can do to make our food system better.

Why is there arsenic in chicken feed?

In 1944, the Food and Drug Administration approved roxarsone, an arsenic-containing organic compound, for use in chicken feed. This metallic element, a powerful poison, is used “for increased rate of weight gain, improved feed efficiency, and improved pigmentation” and “as an aid in the prevention of coccidiosis a parasitic infestation". These broadly worded designations that allow for widespread use. Indeed, the routine practice of industrial poultry producers is to dose chicken feed with roxarsone and other pharmaceuticals in order to get as much meat as possible as quickly as possible from each bird.

Who uses roxarsone and why?

Many American poultry producers, in Maryland and across the country, use roxarsone and have done so for decades. It has become common practice to use roxarsone and other chemical and pharmaceutical additives in order to cheaply and quickly produce commodity chicken, since these additives promote maximum growth in minimum time and with minimum inputs. Given this history, many producers rely on the fast growth sped by feed additives in order to maintain their profit margin in the face of all the other producers of identical supermarket chicken using the same chemicals. Thus, the practice persists.

What happens to the arsenic?

Much of the roxarsone fed to chickens passes into chicken waste, which is then spread to the environment in the form of fertilizer, compost, cattle feed, and incinerated waste. The arsenic in this waste can then contaminate water, air, and soil.

The arsenic that doesn’t make its way into the environment accumulates in chickens’ muscles. When people eat these chickens, they consume arsenic. The poultry industry maintains that use of roxarsone is safe for humans because the arsenic in roxarsone is in a different chemical form from the type shown to cause cancer; however, it can convert to this more dangerous form both inside chickens and inside people. Though there is no direct evidence linking the arsenic specifically from poultry to human disease, research has shown that exposure to arsenic in humans causes cancer and may contribute to other health problems including high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and impaired intellectual function.

What is the problem?

Given that arsenic is a known carcinogen and can be dangerous even at low levels, all possible steps should be taken to limit exposure. The use of arsenic in poultry production unnecessarily risks human health. Not every American poultry producer uses arsenic, and the practice is banned in the European Union, demonstrating that, even though some producers depend on it, roxarsone is not necessary to raise chickens. Unfortunately, there is currently no way to tell from the label of supermarket chicken, be it conventional, kosher, “all-natural,” or “free range,” whether or not roxarsone was added to the chicken’s feed. Only poultry that is specified as raised on additive-free feed or is certified organic can be counted on to be arsenic-free.

Where do we go from here?

The death of the Maryland ban, despite its support by environmental groups and concerned individuals, is a sobering call to question the ensconced meat industry and its power in government. Indeed, the environmental committee in which the bill had originated killed the bill before it could reach a vote, saying that more studies about were needed despite clear evidence showing the dangers of arsenic-containing additives. In the words of a Maryland lawmaker, “[banning arsenic-containing additives] is an issue that makes sense to ten out of ten people,”, and yet, common sense was not enough to ban an irresponsible practice over the protests of a powerful poultry industry and the constraints of our current food system.

By raising awareness about this issue, popular opinion against roxarsone use could lead more states to propose bans and put crucial support behind those initiatives. Public opinion could also pressure poultry companies to stop using a compound that has dubious benefits and well-known costs.

Additionally, policy interventions could be undertaken to help wean the poultry industry off its dependence on roxarsone and similar chemicals. Taxes or subsidies could be introduced to favor producers that do not use these additives and compensate for the additional costs incurred. Labeling law could also be changed in order to force producers to tell customers more about the chemicals they do or don’t use by writing it on their labels, allowing buyers to choose which practices they want to support and allowing producers to charge a little more for a markedly different, feed-additive-free product.

Pushing for change

Unfortunately, the roxarsone issue just scratches the surface of ethical, environmental, and health-related problems associated with industrially raised meat. Industrially produced chickens today come from factory farms where chemical and pharmaceutical food additives, including roxarsone, are the norm. Taking a closer look at practices involved in the production of industrial meat raises the question of whether we can be doing more to reach for higher standards that align with both common values and common sense.

My own questioning of industrial meat practices has led me to intern with KOL Foods, a company that provides kosher meat produced in an ethical, health-protective, and environmentally-friendly way. KOL Foods works with poultry farmers that raise chickens in pastures, eating grass, bugs, and additive-free feed, producing poultry that is healthier, environmentally friendlier, and tastier than the industrial standard. By bringing producers and customers closer together, KOL Foods promotes transparency and good practices in farming. Alternatives to industrial poultry production, like those provided by KOL Foods, begin to break industry’s hold on our food system and offer opportunities for future change.

Our food choices have power to shape a more ethical and healthier world. We can write off the Maryland bill’s failure as evidence of the food industry’s unshakable hold on our diets, or we can take it as a challenge to reclaim power over our own foods. By carefully considering what practices we support on our dinner tables and by raising awareness about practices we choose not to accept, we can change our food system for the better.

*Amy Radding is an intern at KOL Foods and a senior at Yale University, where she is studying as much as she can about sustainable food. She prefers her arsenic-free, kosher, pasture-raised chicken spatchcocked and pan-roasted with lemon and rosemary.*

Sustainable Turkey

2010-11-18T13:24:00.000-05:00

Here is a nice JCarrot blog about sustainable kosher turkeys for Thanksgiving with a shout out to KOL Foods...

For those who keep kosher, every meal is an opportunity to connect the physical earth with the mystical God. If there is one time a year that all Americans get a taste of this experience, it is the ritualized meal of Thanksgiving. Enter a growing awareness about the savagery of the modern meat industry, an uncomfortable exposure of assumptions about kosher meat, and most of all, a horror of Tofurky, and kosher consumers everywhere are seeking out new options for the holiday.

As recently as a couple of years ago, the availability of kosher turkey bearing the label “organic” or “pasture-raised” or even “natural” was pretty much zero. Now, it’s a land of plenty out there, relatively speaking. While this type of turkey isn’t something that you can find on the shelves of your kosher grocer, you can order them from companies like KOL Foods. With shipping, these companies will send you an 11-12 lb. turkey for $80-100. This is a lot of money, but perhaps not too exorbitant for a special meal that you can truly be grateful for and comfortable eating.
Read more: http://blogs.forward.com/the-jew-and-the-carrot/133194/#ixzz15exEj81U.

The Kosher-vore’s Dilemma: Kosherfest 2010 by Daniel Infeld

2010-11-05T13:19:00.000-04:00

If you shop in almost any grocery store in the US, chances are you have bought a product that is certified Kosher. According to Sue Fishkoff’s new “Kosher Nation” “one third to one half of the food for sale in the typical American supermarket is kosher.” This is big business, “$200 billion of the country’s estimated $500 billion in annual food sales is kosher certified.” Kosher food is often perceived to be more pure or cleaner than treyf, yet it seems that there are many parallels between the Kosher and mainstream food industries.

Kosherfest, which is taking place this week in New Jersey, is an annual gathering, highlighting this big business. It is the time a year where Kosher food producers gather to tout their wares to industry professionals, supermarket buyers, chefs, and other food service providers.

In his keynote presentation, Menachem Lubinksy, founder and president of LUBICOM Marketing and Consulting, and co-producer of Kosherfest, claimed that the industry is moving towards offering healthier products. Apparently schmaltz is out, and olive oil is in. Yet, spending a day at Kosherfest made me wonder, is the kosher industry actually trying to produce healthy and sustainable products, or are they just greenwashing (promoting a product as environmentally friendly, when it actually isn’t)? Click here to read more.

Intern Matt's trip to the lamb butcher

2010-07-06T22:04:00.001-04:00

Last Tuesday morning my boss, Robert and I went to visit our lamb butcher in Newark, NJ. KOL Foods has to send its meat to be butchered in NJ because there is no USDA certified kosher butchers between Baltimore and Newark. Since KOL Foods’ products cross state lines, they need to be USDA certified. We were there because KOL Foods is start selling lamb by the cut for the first time and we wanted to learn by watching the process, while making sure the butcher understood what we wanted done. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this butcher after our visit to our chicken processing plant which was completely different than what I expected. Rolling up to the front door of the butcher shop was interesting. It’s in the back streets of Newark almost in a back alley. There wasn’t much of a store front but rather one small door on the corner of the street with little to no signs. Had I been by myself I would have just gone right past it without even thinking. Although all this made it seem like this shop would be somewhat small on the contrary it was very spacious. Walking in Robert and I were greeted by everyone in the office. All the workers were very friendly and professional and it was nice to actually converse with them throughout our stay there as we worked through our order. The head butcher, Irving, was an extremely nice guy. He was very knowledgeable about the business, worked through our order absolutely flawlessly cutting and packaging our lamb exactly as we wanted, and the best part was he was cracking jokes all along the way. Everyone up in Newark at the shop was friendly and you can tell that they enjoy what they do. Our trip up there was a very pleasant experience and I have to say the lamb we have looks amazing. Both Irving and Robert think so, so I’m sure our customers will be very pleased with it.

Intern Jon's Book Review: Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

2010-06-30T10:00:00.001-04:00

While the average American lives blissfully without a worry of where the meat on his or her plate came from, Jonathan Safran Foer introduces the reader to a harsh reality in his book Eating Animals. The nostalgic vision of family-farmed raised meat is nearly a dead illusion, as 99% of all meat production is now carried out by the often horrific factory-farming. Likely recognizing that most Americans prefer to avoid acknowledging this truth, Foer engages the reader into his argument, supplying personal anecdotes of raising his son, fond memories of his grandmother’s cooking, in addition to the experiences of others such as small cattle ranchers who are threatened by corporate agribusinesses. He explains himself as someone who has dispassionately shuffled between vegetarianism and eating meat, and loved to eat meat when it was convenient. However, through the research he dedicated to writing Eating Animals, he has now fully committed his dietary habits to purely vegetarianism as the easiest way to avoid supporting factory farming. But his book is not only an argument for vegetarianism but also “an argument for another, wiser animal agriculture and a more honorable omnivory.”

In other words, Foer is a vegetarian who supports the old fashion style of grass-fed farming. He contrasts the methods of struggling small family-farmers with the images inside chicken, cow, and hog factory-farms. For instance, Foer provides mind-numbing statistics such as the 145 marine life species that are killed as bycatch and then thrown back into the sea, for the specific fishing of just tuna; or that all male genetically engineered egg-laying chickens (known as layers), consisting of 250 million a year, are completely destroyed. He also points out that the kosher meat industry also relies on industrialized factory-farming, and that such cruelty is not limited to treif meat.

Foer focuses not only on the cruelty in the treatment of the factory-farmed animals, but also the health risks this system poses to us. For instance, the feces covered confinement is a breeding ground for infectious viruses and bacteria. Different strains of flu viruses can genetically mix and create drug-resistant hybrids that can and have led to large-scale pandemics. Foer explains how the USDA and other Governmental regulating agencies are very much controlled by the corporate interests themselves. For instance, chickens are placed in a water tank bath, after being slaughtered, where fecal-polluted water is absorbed by the meat of the chicken. This process can be avoided but agribusiness CEOs know that they can sell the heavier water laden meat at a greater price. Foer also warns the reader of misleading food labels. For instance, USDA certified “free-range” or “cage-free” poultry or eggs merely means that these chickens came from a factory farm that had a small screen-door that rarely opens, yet these thousands of barn-stuffed chickens are still debeaked, drugged, and cruelly slaughtered. Foer jokes, “I could keep a flock of hens under my sink and call them free-range.”

While analyzing both arguments for and against eating meat, Foer considers the family traditions and the comfort that meat gives to carnivores. As a result, Foer truly does succeed in providing a convincing argument for all readers to change how their meat reaches their dinner tables. In doing so, he provides the suspense of a thriller novel with his nighttime break-in into a poultry plant, while certainly not lacking wit and humor that makes reading such a serious topic very easy to swallow. Overall, Eating Animals is an informative and pleasing read, relevant to meat-eaters and vegetarians/vegans alike.

Intern Matt's trip to the chicken producer

2010-06-27T20:00:00.004-04:00

Paying a visit to the producer that processes and packages KOL Foods’ pastured chickens wasn’t what I expected at all. You walk in the front door and you’re greeted by a receptionist. Waxed tile floors, offices, desks, and the smell could only be described as clean. Heading in I was worried that the smell would be overpowering, or that perhaps the processing wing of the slaughter house would be dark and dirty. On the contrary it was extremely manageable. The workers were very nice and understanding, eager to help ensure our order was complete and correct. The process was very efficient. Workers took shected and kashered whole chickens and made the desired cuts and packaging needed to complete each individual product.

Our processing plant is one of the few kosher poultry processing plants in the country. For our customers, ensuring the poultry from KOL Foods is held to the highest standards of kosher is extremely important. I’m happy to say that as we watched the KOL Foods order being completed from start to finish I saw many Rabbis observing. Every single bag was clamped with a clasp that labels the product as kosher. These bags were then placed in bulk boxes, each of which is sealed extremely tight with plastic bands, bound together with a zip tie labeling each individual box as kosher. All this makes it impossible for their product to be tampered with from the production floor to the super market, or in our case when we ship you your KOL Foods order.

Intern Jon: KOL Foods Opens a Farmers Market Stand

2010-06-23T10:00:00.004-04:00

The sun had only been up for a couple of hours on our drive to the freezer to pick up our stockpile of frozen meats. Running on excited energy and no sleep, I helped Robert quickly load the car with dry-ice and five coolers containing chicken, beef, and lamb. Slamming the trunk door shut, we were on our way to set up our stall at the Sunday morning Bethesda Farmers’ Market. Since KOL Foods is the only non-industrial kosher meat producer in the US, and since Farmers’ Markets only sell non-industrial products, our presence at the Farmers’ Market was completely unique. market was completely unique. Also, being there was very new to us. Today’s consumers (kosher or not) go to Farmers’ Markets to know where their meat comes from and to meet its producers. That is precisely what KOL Foods offers!

Upon arriving at the market, we began unloading the car. The other sellers at the market were overly welcoming. We received some help assembling our tent from the fruit farmers next to us, while other local farmers walked over and introduced themselves. We were made to feel at home as one local farmer assured me, “we may be competing against each other, but we’re all in this together, so if you need anything, don’t hesitate to come by.” Such hospitality didn’t end there. As a welcoming gift, one fellow vendor spoiled me with a delicious homemade apple pie, while another gave me a fresh batch of strawberries.

We had finished setting up and were ready for the day. I soon found working with frozen food rather refreshing as the temperatures climbed into the high 80s and 90s. The weather became an afterthought, as we were greeted by regular KOL Foods customers who were so excited to finally buy Kol Foods meat in person, and not have to worry about the downsides of online shipping. On multiple occasions we were flattered with, “we came to the Farmers’ Market, just to see you guys.” That was a treasure to hear. Half the experience was just connecting with the customers, talking to them about the farms from where we buy our animals, and meeting new people. The entire morning seemed to have gone by rather quickly. I can’t wait to go to the next Farmers’ Market. Hopefully this time I’ll get more sleep the night before.

Intern Matt's Book Review: The Omnivore's Dilemma

2010-06-20T20:06:00.003-04:00

The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan is a look into food as we know it. He explores where the food we eat comes from and attempts to answer the age old question of what exactly should we eat? I particularly liked that the author doesn’t criticize what choices people make. The book is written in a way to inform the reader of what exactly goes into producing the food we consume. Pollan leaves it up to the reader to choose what is best for them. There are three main sections to The Omnivore’s Dilemma: Industrial, Pastoral, and Personal. Pollan illustrates each section with a meal or two - fast food eaten in a car (industrial); industrial organic TV dinners and beyond organic chicken and vegetables eaten with family (Pastoral); and a final meal that was hunted and gathered with friends (Personal).

Where exactly does our food comes from? For at least the 90% of food that has been industrialized over the years the answer is quite simple: corn. Unless it is 100% grassfed, the meat that we eat is corn raised; most of our drinks are sweetened with corn; as well as most of our fast food. Beef and lamb were not intended to be raised on corn, yet since we have an over abundance of corn, due to government subsidies and policy, it is much cheaper to have corn raised animals in feed lots. This leads to health issues for the animals, leading to a dependence on antibiotics in agribusiness. By simply raising our animals on grass we can avoid the unethical treatment of animals, creating nasty antibiotic resistant microbes, negative environmental impacts, and poor health for the omnivores who are eating the animals.

A society that is so heavily reliant on corn causes many problems. Americans consume more corn than any other country and also have an alarming obesity rate. Many experts believe this is no coincidence. In a Chicken McNugget from McDonald’s there are 38 ingredients, 13 of which are derived from corn. The burgers have added corn sweetener in them, and the cattle itself was raised on corn to reduce costs. Forty-five out of sixty of McDonald’s products contain corn derivatives. Environmentally, it’s important to know that corn uses more fertilizer than any other crop. At the end of World War 2 the U.S. government had a surplus of ammonium nitrate, previously used in explosives and nerve gas. Now those same nitrates are used as fertilizer and are poisoning the ground water.

Pollan also talks about the industrialization of organic food. Unfortunately, although the organic movement has gained a lot of steam, the producers have begun to adopt a lot of methods used in industrial agribusiness, losing sight of the organic food movement’s anti-industrial roots. I have to say however; with as much popularity as organic food has, it is quite hard to remain non-industrial. Pollan also visits local farms where the crops are harvested and grown non-industrially. These farms are slowly diminishing and it’s getting harder and harder to find food that isn’t industrially produced.

Lastly, the final chapter of Pollan’s book is about personally harvesting food for yourself. He attempts to prepare a meal using ingredients that only he has hunted, gathered, or grown. With some help, he hunts for feral pigs, searches for wild mushrooms and abalone, makes a salad from his garden, bakes bread completely and entirely from scratch, and even cooks desert. Obviously this route is completely impractical in today’s world, but reading about his adventure opened my eyes to exactly what it would take to cook a meal without any industry at all. It’s quite astonishing how much we rely on the industrial food system.

All in all The Omnivore’s Dilemma is a wonderful book that I would highly recommend. The information I gave in this review only touches the surface of how far Pollan goes to expose what exactly we as humans consume. It’s a fascinating read that should be considered required material for anyone interested in what exactly is on their plate.

Intern Jon: A Trip to Our Poultry Farm

2010-06-17T11:07:00.001-04:00

On Tuesday afternoon, Devora and Robert took Matt (the other intern) and I (Jon Cohen) on a field trip up to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to visit the Amish farms where KOL Foods buys its chickens. Both farms were so lovely; embodying a lifestyle that was so simple and so serene. The first farmer, Farmer Amos, showed us his free range chickens. The chicks are kept inside an enclosed area, known as a brooder, to be kept warm and safe while they are babies. Once they are a few weeks old, they move to an open field under the protection of a donkey, to roam free as they please. On the second farm, we met Farmer David, who showed us his chickens and produce. The chickens are kept in large, moveable, fenced-in pens that lay out on the pasture, so that the chickens can eat grass and grain. The fenced-in area protects the chickens from being attacked by predators such as a foxes or hawks. There is plenty of room for the chickens to roam around, and they appear to enjoy themselves, especially compared to the Tyson and Purdue chickens found in PETA videos.

What struck me was that despite the fact Farmer Amos and Farmer David and I grew up with very different backgrounds and cultures, the three of us share something common, something that is very important to both of us. We all care very deeply about how our food is raised and processed. Farmer Amos expressed his disgust for the stories he heard of factory farmed chickens from a Purdue plant. Similarly, Farmer David mentioned how he couldn’t imagine using the same tactics as the larger agribusinesses. When it came to growing his produce, David described how he conserves water through the use of drip irrigation because his water supply is limited to the water he pumps from the nearby creek. Also, he said he wouldn’t trust factory- farmed meat, “you don’t know what’s in it.” David, Amos, and I share a love for the environment even though their connection to the environment is very different from mine. Their methods of agriculture are necessary for the success and health of their respective farms - whereas for me, there is a disconnect between myself and the impact I place upon the environment from my own lifestyle. It’s clear that Farmer Amos and Farmer David love their animals and love their farm. I wish I could say the same for many of the agribusinesses in America.

KOL Foods on NPR's Marketplace

2010-03-31T22:41:00.001-04:00

The story is "about two young business-owners — one Muslim and one Jewish (Devora Kimelman-Block of KOL Foods) — who are raising the ethical standards of halal and kosher food."

Click here to hear the story.

Please if you can, write a quick comment and share the story, its important that we give positive feedback when uplifting news items are run. Many people were really touched to see a Jew and Muslim working together.

Cleanliness and Godliness

2010-02-10T15:57:00.001-05:00

Here is a great article from Slate which answers the question: "Are kosher and halal meats better for your health or for the planet than regular meat?" I have read many many articles on this subject (I speak on it a lot) and this is the first that doesn't really get anything wrong. It is a complex subject with a lot of baggage and assumptions, but author Nina Shen Rastogi has done her research. It is definitely worth the read.

Health Care Reform - What you can do

2010-02-01T15:56:00.000-05:00

I know that this is a bit off topic, but it is so important that it deserves some blog space.

We have about a 50/50 chance of getting comprehensive national health reform, according to friends who are working this issue on the Hill.

Critically important right now is for Democratic Senators and representatives to hear from as many constituents as possible demanding major, comprehensive health reform that covers 30 million uninsured, along the lines already passed by the Senate and the House. Please call, and please pass on this message to as many people as possible. It doesn't matter where they fall on the political spectrum, from progressive to paleolithic. They need to hear from you.

Email is not the way to go right now. Phone calls are taken much more seriously. Here's what's at stake. If Congress passes the Senate bill, with or without modifications, the following will take place:

-30 million or more uninsured will obtain health coverage, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Medicaid will see by far its largest expansion since its creation in 1965. And low-wage, uninsured workers who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but too little to afford insurance will receive subsidies to help them buy coverage.

Insurance companies will be barred from discriminating on the basis of health condition or gender. Preexisting conditions will no longer be excluded from coverage.
The so-called "donut hole" in Medicare coverage of prescription drugs will be cut by slightly more than 50%. Many seniors will no longer be forced to choose between medicine and food.
If Congress does not pass some version of the Senate bill, they are likely to enact something small and symbolic. Tens of millions of low-income Americans without coverage would remain denied the basic access to health care that insurance provides.

The Senate bill is far from perfect. The same is true of the House bill. Each of us could imagine a health reform proposal that we would strongly prefer to any option on the table right now. But what is balanced on the knife's edge in Congress is legislation that would have an enormous and positive impact on tens of millions of people. If it does not pass, it will be a long time before this opportunity comes again, and in the meantime, tremendous suffering will take place, suffering that we can now prevent by taking strong action.

This week will decide the issue. Please do whatever you can to reach out to your Senators and members of Congress and encourage everyone you know to do likewise.

Good luck to us all!

States ban practices that support CAFOs

2010-01-27T14:20:00.003-05:00

From the Union of Concerned Scientists...

Several states recently banned specific practices that are common in CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations), taking small steps to level the playing field for more sustainable farms. California outlawed the amputation of dairy cows' tails, and Michigan passed a law phasing out restrictive crates for veal calves and pregnant sows, and tiny "battery" cages for egg-laying chickens, used to pack many animals together in a small space. Arizona, California, Florida, Maine, Colorado, and Oregon had previously acted to ban crates and battery cages, which, along with tail docking, are unnecessary practices that serve only to make large, polluting CAFOs viable. Meanwhile, examples abound of farmers successfully working with nature rather than against it to produce animal products without the problems associated with CAFOs. Listen to this recent National Public Radio story about one Ohio dairyman's efforts to transform the industry and produce fresher, more flavorful milk from cows on pasture.

Cargill in trouble again

2010-01-20T14:20:00.000-05:00

Fresno-based Beef Packers, Inc (owned by Cargill) had a huge recall this summer due to tainted meat and amazingly, it is still selling to the governmental school lunch program! For the second time in a year, the company recalled thousands of pounds of ground beef that were contaminated by antibiotic-resistant Salmonella bacteria. It recalled 826,000 pounds of beef last summer after people in 11 states grew ill and now is recalling 23,000 pounds linked to a new outbreak. The Salmonella contaminating the beef was resistant to multiple antibiotics, including cephalosporins, which are very valuable in human medicine.Read more about the recall from USA Today.

Work for KOL Foods! Sales and Operations Manager

2010-01-12T22:49:00.000-05:00

KOL Foods, LLC puts kosher meat and ethics on the same plate so consumers can feel good about the meat they eat. KOL Foods sources and sells grass-fed, non-industrial, healthy lamb and beef and pastured poultry directly to individuals. Since its foundation in 2007, the interest in KOL Foods’ products has grown rapidly, and, consequently, they are now available in the East Coast and the Midwest primarily through our website. As demand is increasing KOL Foods is seeking to expand in the Eastern United States and, in the near future, nationwide.

KOL Foods is unique as it operates differently from industrial kosher meat businesses. As a values-based business, our mission is to produce food that is in harmony with nature, neighbors and tradition – all the way from farm to fork. For further information on KOL Foods, please go to: www.kolfoods.com .

KOL Foods is seeking a dynamic, results-oriented Sales and Operations Manager who will be responsible for leading sales, customer service and fulfillment as well as supply chain management. This exciting opportunity requires a generalist with experience in hands-on business development in the food industry. The Sales and Operations Manager will report to the CEO/Founder.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Deliver sales of our premium products by confidently, enthusiastically and passionately educating current and prospective clients about the exceptional value of our beef, lamb and poultry products.
• Manage the day-to-day operations including movement of goods into and out of production facilities as well as shipping operations.
• Drive sales through exceptional customer service from initial contact through repeat orders.
• Develop a database of qualified leads through referrals, B2B direct sales, direct mail, email, networking, and participation in educational events.
• In partnership with the CEO/Founder, play a key role in the development of KOL Foods’ long-term growth strategy, including strengthening our infrastructure and product excellence.
• Monitor production facilities and agencies to ensure that they efficiently and consistently provide needed services while staying within budgetary limits.
• Partner with the CEO/Founder and Bookkeeper to develop and implement a system to conduct data-based, continual analysis, evaluation and reporting of strategic information (revenue, product mix, margins, inventory, freight cost, cost of production facilities, and supply).
• Partner with the CEO/Founder to develop product marketing strategies including advertising campaigns.
• Lead the implementation of the marketing strategy and sales promotions based on knowledge of KOL Foods’ competitive advantage, market and product characteristics, and cost and markup factors.
• Partner with the CEO/Founder to manage pricing models, balancing exceptional quality, costs, and customer satisfaction.
• Supervise interns when needed.

KEY REQUIREMENTS:

• Bachelor’s Degree
• 3-5 years of sales and operations experience.
• Food industry experience preferred. Experience with kosher food products a plus.
• A strong track record of successful new business development.
• Outstanding interpersonal and influencing skills.
• Customer focused, responsive, timely and accurate in follow-through.
• Excellent in project management.
• Analytical, fast learning with excellent judgment.
• Knowledge of social media platforms.
• Well organized, flexible, hands-on and results-oriented.
• Knowledgeable of the sustainable food movement.
• High integrity.
• Outstanding ability to prioritize and handle multiple projects simultaneously.
• Understanding of kashrut.
• Outstanding proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite with special emphasis on Word and Excel.
• Residing in the Washington/Baltimore area is preferred. NYC residents will be considered.
• Willingness to travel - estimated 10-20%.

There are many great benefits to a career at KOL Foods. As a start-up company with proven growth, a strong brand and high potential, KOL Foods offers a competitive salary and benefits, including an annual bonus. Join the team of our excellent, values based, growth company. Feel good about your work and become part of our success.

Qualified candidates are encouraged to apply by submitting a cover letter, including salary requirements, and resume to: info@kolfoods.com. KOL Foods requires background checks, computer literacy tests, and writing samples for this position.

KOL Foods is an equal opportunity employer.

A cow's life doesn't matter, only its death?

2010-01-06T22:51:00.000-05:00

Jennie Yabroff of Newsweek just wrote an article called "No More Sacred Cows" about vegetarians who are now eating grass-fed meat without guilt.

Yabroff, however, seems to think that the manner in which a cow lives doesn’t matter. How could a cow living in a feedlot, standing or laying in sewage all day, and eating a feed that makes it sick be the same as a grass-fed cow living its life doing what cows have always done? A cow that is treated as a cog in a machine vs. a cow that is living a cow’s life. The manner in which an animal lives does not become irrelevant because it is finally slaughtered. I sell kosher, grass-fed beef, lamb and poultry because animal’s lives (as well as the environment and my health – also much better grass-fed) are huge, important factors in our ethics. Let’s not belittle a cow’s life and focus only on its death. www.kolfoods.com.

Hazon Food Conference

2009-12-15T11:58:00.000-05:00

I would be amiss if I did not put a plug out for the Hazon Food Conference coming up Dec. 24-27 in California. It is a great conference in a great location - right on the ocean. Like all of Hazon's events, the Food Conference builds a strong, joyous Jewish community in a weekend. It is also packed with educational opportunities (I am speaking, for one) across a range of topic areas. I like to go to the experiential cooking instructors, the political advocates and the farmers. I also go to network and meet people from the West Coast which has a much stronger sustainable food culture than we do. If you are interested, sign up quick!

NPR, Yahoo! and the Washington Post

2009-12-10T12:00:00.004-05:00

Boy, the message about the issues with industrial farming are finally making and making and making prime-time. On Wed 12/9, not one, not two, but three major sources of information had segments on the issues.

NPR had a segment on industrial dairy farms in New Mexico, the resulting ground water contamination, and the public's reactions;Yahoo's Healthy Living section had a segment on food experts won't eat including among others, corn-fed beef, farmed salmon, canned tomatoes and microwave popcorn; and the Washington Post Health and Science section had an article on food safety which focused on how industrially produced food makes tainted food hard to avoid.

It is a hot hot issue!

Food and Climate Change

2009-12-08T11:58:00.001-05:00

I (along with many scientists) believe that agriculture's affect on the environment is being seriously underplayed and overlooked in Copenhagen as well as by the US government. As you probably already know, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change began in Copenhagen this week. Some folks have already dubbed it a failure because preliminary climate change negotiations didn't work and they believe no accord will be adopted that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. I think that it is vitally important to do my part to add to the conversation about agriculture's impact on the environment and climate change. The Cool Foods Campaign has a good list of agriculture's contributions to climate change. They say, "It is imperative that the world shift away from industrial food systems and toward an ecological, organic food paradigm if we are to adequately address climate change." Their list doesn't address industrial animal agriculture specifically, but does recommend a shift away from industrial to sustainable (organic) farming practices.

Thanksgiving!

2009-11-30T11:11:00.000-05:00

Well, after 4 weeks of Thanksgiving mayhem, I have a moment's rest.

It is truly a challenge trying to fit a non-industrial product into an industrial world. Its like putting a square peg in a round hole. My turkeys turned out smaller than we or the farmer expected. So I had to end up giving people two and ordering a whole bunch more - and it is not easy to find 100 pastured turkeys the week before Thanksgiving. To top it all off, fulfilling all these changed orders was a terrific challenge for my fulfillment folks. Ahh, the challenges of being a start-up! But at the end of the day, I am really thankful for (my family, my farmers, all the people who I work with) and especially YOU! Thank you, thank you, my customers, for being so understanding, and flexible! One thing I learned while calling many of you in the past couple weeks (to rearrange your orders) is the amount of support people have for what KOL Foods is doing. It is so nice to have that feedback in the midst of mayhem. Here is an email that I got yesterday from Sara Shapiro-Pleven of NYC:

"Devora, thank you so much. The turkeys were unbelievable. It was as if we were eating a whole different animal; I always thought I hated turkey, but this was delicious. I'm so glad that we were able to shop with you! But most of all, thank you for helping us to inspire our family to think more carefully about the food they eat."

Snif.

Global Warming and meat eating

2009-11-17T14:14:00.004-05:00

There was a terrific op ed in the NY Times a couple of weeks ago which separated the issues of industrial animal meat production and vegetarianism. Nicolete Hahn Niman (of Niman Ranch fame) pointed out that the issues raised with eating meat (contributing to carbon dioide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions) are not really problems with eating meat, but with industrial meat production. Using traditional grass-fed farming methods eliminates many of these issues and, if done right, can contribute positively to carbon sequestration.

Here's a good quote: "None of us, whether we are vegan or omnivore, can entirely avoid foods that play a role in global warming. Singling out meat is misleading and unhelpful, especially since few people are likely to entirely abandon animal-based foods."

Click here for the whole Op Ed.

Eating Animals

2009-11-12T14:11:00.003-05:00

Julie Steinberg (JCarrot.org blogger) interviewed me for her review of the new book Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer. The book is a bit of an investigative report on industrial meat production. It also goes into Foer's family history and his choice of vegetarianism. To read the full review click here.

What to do about industrial meat production?

A Prairie Home Companion has fun with Feedlot Beef & Industrial Corn

2009-11-10T14:01:00.001-05:00

Garrison Keillor's show was broadcast in Des Moines last week. He did a terrific job of putting humor into the issue of feedlot/industrial beef and industrial corn in contrast to grass-fed beef. And why not have some fun? Here is the NPR feed for the Dusty Cowboy show (go to minute 24).

He also put a shout out to Grinnell College (in Grinnell, Iowa) where I went to college.

Ecological Intellegence and Life Cycle Analysis

2009-11-05T12:57:00.002-05:00

I read a great book recently: Ecological Intelligence, How Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy Can Change Everything by Daniel Goleman. The main idea is if the consumer could easily compare the social/environmental/ethical impacts of the products s/he buys then the manufacturers would be forced to change their products to impact the world more positively. Generally speaking, manufacturers are not interested in their products' impacts because it is not economically advantageous. The consumer is at a disadvantage currently because this information is not public (and in most cases, is unresearched). New research is needed to understand the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of all products and then these LCAs need to be made into a easy to use rating/label system.

There are some positive signs of movement on multiple fronts. There are a couple of websites where consumers can already get ratings like http://www.goodguide.com/. Hekhsher Tzedek is trying to put together its own ethical certification of kosher food products. And in the UK, the Department of Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra) has put our a call for proposals for "Effective approaches to environmental labeling of food products".

It is time for those who care greatly that what we buy creates positive (or the least negative) impacts on the world to step up!

Humane Veal?

2009-11-03T13:38:00.003-05:00

Remember veal? The 1980s symbol for animal raised especially inhumanely? There is an interesting article in the 9/28 Washington Post Food section about humanely raised, grass-fed veal. "Its producers argue that if male calves from dairy cows, an otherwise useless by-product of the dairy industry, are not ethically raised for meat, they are sold to less-humane veal producers or are destroyed." What do you think? Should KOL Foods sell grass-fed kosher... veal? Click here for the complete article.

Pastured turkey sale ends Nov. 3.

2009-11-01T19:30:00.004-05:00

Order your KOL Foods Pastured Turkey by Nov. 3 and you will be automatically entered into our raffle to win a free turkey. Click here to go directly to the KOL Foods turkey page. We will soon add turkey recipes to our website since pastured turkey cooks differently.

We love our poultry farmer, Jake Zook. He has a terrific story, a terrific farm and raises great tasting turkeys. If you are ever near Lancaster Country, PA, pay him a visit. His farm practices are an open book to any customer.

Touring farms is a great way to learn where your food comes from, how it was raised and what it takes to bring it to your table. In this age of industrial agriculture, it is so hard to be thankful for our food when we have no idea where it comes from. At KOL Foods, we work hard to develop relationships with our farmers and to tell their stories. May your Thanksgiving blessings be all the more meaningful knowing exactly what it is you are blessing. Click here to read Jake's story.

Industrial Organic - Wise, Empire and all the rest.

2009-10-27T21:34:00.000-04:00

Have you noticed that your kosher organic chicken tastes very similar to the same-old conventional bird that you always used to buy? That is because the ARE very similar!

It is time to clarify the distinction between industrial organic and sustainable (or non-industrial). In the kosher world, all certified organic meat and poultry (Wise, Empire, etc.) that you can find in the common marketplace is industrial organic (except for KOL Foods). The reason why I created KOL Foods was because I found industrial organic to be disappointingly only slightly better than conventional confinement meat and poultry.

Kosher USDA certified organic (read industrial) animals are raised in very similar confinement situations as conventional meat and poultry and they have the very similar waste & environmental problems. The big difference between industrial organic and plain industrial is that to be certified organic, an animal must only be fed organic feed and cannot be given antibiotics or hormones. Other than that, animal's feed can consist of exactly the same ingredients. For example, industrial organic cow would be fed an organic grain (corn) based diet in feedlots.

In terms of poultry, the regulations insist that they have "access" to the outdoors, particularly if they are to be labeled as free range. But all that means is that there needs to be an open door in the same-old industrial confinement house. Chickens (not your adventurous sort) never go through that door so it makes no difference that it is there at all.

As you can see, both "USDA Certified Organic" and "Free Range" are not what one would hope them to be. They are really just the same-old, same-old industrial with a twist.

No Impact Week and Shabbat.

2009-10-22T23:44:00.001-04:00

We are catching up with the end of No Impact Week. (Just because we missed most of this week, doesn't mean we shouldn't use the guide and organize our own communities.) The No Impact Week Guide focuses each day of the week on an element of our impact. Sunday examines consumption: Monday looks at trash; Tuesday it's transportation; Wednesday it's food and Thursday it's energy. The week culminates in an "eco-shabbath" which looks considerably like the Jewish Shabbat.

I saw No Impact Man (the movie) when Rabbi Steve Greenberg brought it to the Hazon Rosh Hashana retreat at Pearlstone in MD. Steve actually knows Colin Beavan (aka No Impact Man) and talked to him considerably about his "No Impact" project. When Colin described his year attempting to have no impact by (among other things) not buying anything new, not using electricity, not traveling in any motorized way, Steve pointed out that religious Jews do all those things every week! Here's an interesting perspective...

What would Shabbat be like if we focused not only on community and spirituality, but on the repair of the world in a very real and practical way?

Click here for the No Impact Week Guide Book.

Pastured Turkeys. Online ordering available now until Nov. 3

2009-10-21T12:24:00.003-04:00

KOL Foods' Broad Breasted Whites are not your normal birds. They are raised on the pasture of Jake Zook’s Amish farm in Lancaster Country, PA especially for KOL Foods. While conventional turkeys are fed and bred to have such large breasts that they have trouble walking, KOL Foods’ turkeys are reminiscent of a time before industrialization when poultry was free to roam. Our turkeys live turkey lives. Jake provides them with all the staples: ample food, drink, protection and good old-fashioned freedom. The turkeys live on the farm’s pastureland where a hoop barn provides them with shade but does not keep them contained. Using a technique called Rotational Grazing, Jake moves the hoop barn each morning to a fresh piece of pasture. The birds follow to find fresh grass and grubs – in a bird’s eye view: heaven.

Jake understands what they mean; he also sees his farm as heaven. In the 1980s he farmed conventionally like all his neighbors and friends. Then severe liver illness brought him to his knees. In and out of the hospital for months, Jake had time to discover that the cause of his disease came from the toxic fertilizers he was using. Once well, Jake vowed to work with nature instead of toxins. He converted his farm to raise his animals on pasture. Jake and his soils took a while to recover, but now the land that once was so hard and infertile that most of the pesticides he put on it washed into the creek, is rich and fertile and can absorb rain water again. The earthworms have returned.

In the age of industrial meat production, we have forgotten that the health of our bodies isn’t just in what we eat; it is in what what we eat eats. For our turkeys to be healthy for us, they need to eat healthy grass and healthy grubs grown on healthy soils. In a wonderful synergy of nature, not only are pastured turkeys healthy for us and healthy for the earth, they are deliciously rich in flavor. They taste like turkey was meant to taste.

So let’s have a truly special Thanksgiving. Eat consciously. Know your farmer and where your meal comes from and to be truly thankful in bringing them to your table.

Pastured turkey online ordering is available until Nov. 3rd.
Click here for more information and to order.

Cool Foods Campaign

2009-10-15T11:34:00.001-04:00

I'd like to put a plug out there for the Center for Food Safety's Cool Foods Campaign. They are doing some terrific work to push the govt. to include industrial agriculture regulation in the Climate and Energy bill. The current proposal does not sufficiently address the impact agriculture has on climate change, and the significant potential it could have in reversing current destructive climatic trends. Here is what the Center for Food Safety (CFS) says...

"Though research unequivocally concludes that industrial agriculture is one of the major contributors to global warming, neither international nor domestic policies adequately take on this issue," said Debi Barker, Director of the Center for Food Safety's Climate Change and Agriculture Program." Barker notes that at least 60 percent of all dangerous nitrous oxide (NO2) emissions and 40 percent of all methane (CH4) emissions are produced by industrial farming, primarily from the use of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer and intensive livestock operations respectively.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an international consultative body, reports conservatively that industrial agriculture accounts for at least 14 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. Many scientists maintain that this number is even higher, falling in the 25 to 30 percent range when the total energy backpack of the current food system is taken into account.

"The environmental goals of climate legislation cannot be compromised, but without addressing the impacts of industrial agriculture practices on climate, that is exactly what's taking place," added Andrew Kimbrell, Founder and Executive Director of CFS. "If the United States is serious about creating real environmental change, this piece of legislation must recognize the impacts of industrial agriculture on climate and take steps to reverse trends by requiring a shift to low-impact, sustainable agriculture."

Antibiotics in feed and E.coli

2009-10-14T10:15:00.001-04:00

Here is an interesting note that I pulled from the Union for Concerned Scientists, a science-based nonprofit working for a healthy environment and a safer world.

According to a new study, resistant E. coli infections in humans come from antibiotics given to conventional feedlot animals. The study noted that E. coli strains on meat most likely develop resistance as a direct consequence of antibiotic use in food animals. Read the study (pdf) and commentary (pdf) in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

"The agricultural industry often pretends that the science supporting the link between antibiotic use in livestock and resistant bacterial infections in humans is incomplete. This is yet another study proving the connection." ~ Margaret Mellon, Food & Environment Program Director

Jewish Week Article

2009-10-12T11:42:00.001-04:00

In case you haven't seen it yet, KOL Foods was on the front page of last week's Jewish Week (with a photo of me!). Not a bad article about the importance of non-industrial meat and the need for its accessibility for kosher consumers. It also laid out some really beautiful thoughts on sustainability and kashrut from a Jewish perspective. Here is the opening paragraph:

"Rabbi Natan Margalit has become a seasoned chicken plucker. Simon Feil’s Brooklyn freezer is stuffed with beef cuts — including unanticipated non-kosher ones he cannot eat. And Devora Kimelman-Block, a onetime vegetarian, is quickly becoming the Jeff Bezos of kosher, free-range organic meat — taking Web orders and shipping beef, lamb and chicken all over the East Coast." Click here to view the article in its entirety.

Grass-fed meat, safer meat

2009-10-08T11:37:00.000-04:00

Yesterday NPR's On Point aired Why is a Burger Still Unsafe? which was an interview with Michael Moss the investigative reporter whose article on E. coli bacteria in ground beef appeared on the front page of Sunday's NYT. If you haven't read the article yet, you definately should. There is also a good summary video that you can click here to view. The central story about a 22 year old that became paraplegic and brain damaged from eating tainted meat, honestly made me cry.

One important question that keeps being asked and rarely answered is how the E.coli got in the burgers and why are the cases getting more extreme? It is the slaughterhouses and processing plants that get sued, but what about how the animals are being raised? Moss' article barely mentions the feedlots and doesn't suggest any preventative measures in how the animals are being raised that could prevent E.coli infections. As the video states, they are looking to sue the last place where the bacteria could have been prevented. Why not start with the first place?

Here is the summary of a Cornell University study about this very issue: a major cause of E.coli is that the cattle are on a grain (corn) based diet. Grass-fed animals have far fewer E. coli than grain-fed animals. What's more, the small amount of E. coli they do have is much less likely to survive the natural acidity of our digestive tracts—our first line of defense against infectious diseases.

Why this marked difference in the survival of the bacteria? Feeding grain to cattle makes their digestive tracts abnormally acidic. Over time, the E. coli in their systems become acclimated to this acid environment. When we ingest them, a high percentage will survive the acid shock of our digestive juices. By contrast, few E. coli from grass-fed cattle will survive because they have not become acid-resistant. When cattle are fed their natural diet of grass, our natural defenses are still capable of protecting us.

Of course, you should still follow all safe-handling recommendations when you prepare meat from grass-fed animals. It takes only a few E. coli bacteria to make us ill. But you can be assured that your risk of becoming infected is much, much lower.

If you want to have safer meat, you need to eat grass-fed meat. If you are looking for kosher, grass-fed meat click here.

Here is a study by Cornell University:
Russell, J. B., F. Diez-Gonzalez, and G. N. Jarvis. “Potential Effect of Cattle Diets on the Transmission of Pathogenic Escherichia Coli to Humans” Microbes Infect 2, no. 1 (2000): 45-53.

A Purposeful Fast: A Yom Kippur Sermon on Food

2009-10-06T10:42:00.000-04:00

Yes, we are just passed Yom Kippur, but with the fast still fresh in our minds and with the gates not yet fully closed, I think Rabbi Dov Gartenberg's (of Temple Beth Shalom in CA) sermon has some terrific lessons for us. Specifically I would like to highlight one issue which is close to my heart and which continues to bring my blood to a boil...

"No one is talking about how our government subsidizes terrible food choices. No one challenges a system that spends billions of marketing dollars seducing us to eat food products that undermine our environment, waste huge amounts of fossil fuels and most of all jeopardize our personal health... The government is putting itself in the uncomfortable position of subsidizing both the costs of treating Type 2 diabetes and the consumption of high-fructose corn syrup, one of the main contributing factors to that disease. Our health crisis in America is driven not only by a broken health care system, but even more so by the American way of eating and producing food. This food system compromises our health which requires massive amounts of expensive medical intervention to keep us functioning and alive." Click here for the sermon in its entirety.

A kavennah for eating meat...

2009-10-05T11:10:00.000-04:00

To celebrate the birthday of the world we should eat in a way that honors the earth and honors the life that was taken in order for us to eat.

If eating meat over the holidays:

1) Eat consciously. Bless it and reflect on everything involved in bringing it to your plate.

2) Eat sparingly. The rabbis encouraged people to eat meat on the holidays because they lived in a society in which eating meat was rare luxury. It isn’t special if you eat it at every meal.

3) Don’t swallow your ethics. Do your best to consume ethically. Consider buying sustainable, non-industrial, pastured, organic meats (like those available through www.kolfoods.com). If buying industrial meats, go for the organics and the companies that employ union labor.

Who is KOL Foods?

2009-10-02T14:44:00.000-04:00

Today’s dominant agricultural methods rely on synthetic fertilizers, chemical pesticides, large amounts of energy and water, major transportation systems, poor waste disposal and factory-style practices for raising livestock and crops. Artificial hormones, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, mad cow disease, and large-scale outbreaks of potentially deadly E.coli are all associated with this industrial form of food production.

Sustainable agriculture involves food production methods that are healthy, do not harm the environment, respect workers, are humane to animals, provide fair wages to farmers, and support farming communities. And the results are delicious!

History of KOL Foods
Until July 2007, virtually all kosher meat available to U.S. consumers was industrially produced. A kosher consumer who refused to eat unethical, industrially produced meat had no choice but to become vegetarian. KOL Foods gives kosher consumers access to healthy, ethically produced, non-industrial meat. Today, there is no need to choose between eating according to your values and keeping kosher.

In July 2007, KOL Foods established a partnership with a synagogue in Washington, DC, a slaughterhouse and a local farmer to make the first glatt kosher, organically raised, local, grass-fed meat available. Scores of kosher consumers were eager for this product. In just its second offering, the program generated sales of more than 2,400 pounds of beef through a single email. Jews from 14 different DC area synagogues, ranging from Reform to Conservative to Orthodox, purchased this beef. We were so encouraged by this powerful consumer response that we worked to expand to meet the demand.

Website
While we build a new system to make delicious, healthy products available in your community, we hope you'll join us in our advocacy efforts which promote sustainable agriculture. Please explore our website to learn more about KOL Foods and how you can reduce your foodprint. www.kolfoods.com