Your Friday night brisket may soon be coming from (way) south of the border: JTA reports that a Nicaraguan slaughterhouse has laid the groundwork to mass produce kosher beef for export to the U.S., which may be good for business, but not so good for the rainforests. One pound of beef requires 16 pounds of grass to produce; forests are clear cut at the rate of a hundred acres a minute to feed the bovines.
Of course it’s all about economics, and the demand for “clean” beef such as kosher and organic varieties keeps growing in spite of its higher price sticker. So far there’s never been a Jewish mad cow, but should meat that’s had the rabbi’s schechitah blessing still be considered kosher if it’s contributing to the decimation of the environment of a country that should be changing its cattle ranching practices on a monumental scale rather than finding more profitable niche markets? It’s a quandary our vegetarian friends have already solved for themselves.
btw, we’re having salmon for Shabbat dinner. Wild, not farmed.