Fresh Updates from RAC

Turkey pardoning jokes aside, Thanksgiving packs a lot of ethical punches for a secular holiday. First, we have some murmurings of imperialism (more on that tomorrow in Sarah’s post). Add to that the simplified explanation of making peace with our neighbors (sound familiar in this week’s news?) And then on top of that we have food. Food, the supposedly neutral territory. Those glorious eight minutes of silence when the entire bickering extended family stops to inhale their meal. Ask anyone, or read a week of my blogs, and you’ll soon discover that food fuels me, and not just physically. I like to think about food, look at food, plan my next encounter with food, and discuss it at length. I’m fairly certain I speak for a large contingent of the Jewish community when I say, I love food. But this week, more than most, food is causing me grief.

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A month ago, I tempted you with a taste of current fiscal policy (warning: please read Sequestration Part 1 before this, or you will be very confused, not to mention less informed!). You learned what sequestration is, where it came from and how it affects you and the programs you care about. So now let’s talk about the future. What are the options for avoiding the fiscal cliff? Will it be a cliff, or a slope? But most of all, why should you care?

If sequestration takes effect and the fiscal cliff hits, here is a snapshot of what is at stake:

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Last week one of my bosses posed this question to me: “How do you access your Judaism?”

Immediately, I thought of more than a few ways: singing on Shabbat, Jewish courses in college, living tikkun olam through community service, my job, saying the sh’ma. I was about to respond with these, when I realized that one answer rose above the rest by far. I access my Judaism through food.

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What would Passover be without matzah ball soup, Hanukkah without latkes, Thanksgiving without turkey? For the Jewish – and indeed American – people, food plays a pivotal role in who and what we are. So let’s celebrate it with Food Day on October 24.

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Despite this era of heightened partisan bickering, there is one thing that 533 members of congress have in common (all but Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) and Betty Sutton (D-OH)). Despite a history of seismic political shifts, there is one trait that every president has shared. And despite the major economic and environmental consequences of this issue, it is likely never to be addressed in a major political campaign.

The vast prevalence of meat eating across the United Sates has serious ramifications for our world that remain largely un-discussed. Indeed, what many consider a set of fringe animal rights concerns could actually be one of the major human rights crises of our day.

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I must admit that when I first read about a growing movement to develop urban farms, a viable cost effective and environmentally friendly technique to produce food was not the first thing that came to mind. Nevertheless, a recent story in the Wall Street Journal highlights the advancements in urban farming taking place all around the world. Read more…

“When you have eaten and you are satisfied, praise God for the good land God had given you” (Deuteronomy 8:10)

The sing-song-y nature of the Birkat Hamazon is stuck in my head as I write this post. Kakatuv v’achalta v’savata uveirachta et Adonai elohecha al ha’aretz hatova asher natan lach… How often have I chanted these words without realizing what they say? Food Day is about paying attention – paying attention to what we eat, to where we eat, to how we eat, to why we eat, and to how we think about what, where, how, and why we eat.

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Yes, I am talking to you. Do you have any idea what that glass of milk did to the environment on its journey to your mouth? And do not even get me started on the steak you were eyeing last night!

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