photo: Postville, Iowa by Prairie Robin, Creative Commons

Although those Communists were staunchly anti-religious, there are some religious underpinnings to their communal land structures that attempted to remove the hierarchal systems that are seemingly inherent in our current industrial agricultural systems (but certainly don’t need to be).  I’m not advocating for a Bolshevik revolution but for us to consider how our hierarchacal, agribusiness-dominated system of harvesting and distributing food is inherently oppressive to people, our health and to the environment.

I attended to two panels this morning at the Hazon conference about the seven-year Jewish land cycle and the recent scandal at Rubashkins of Postville, Iowa, the largest kosher meat processing plant in the US that is now bankrupt after their labor and animal violations were brought to the public’s attention.  The Rubashkins issue reinforced the dissonance between us and our food sources when we live within the framework of an industrial food system (whether it’s kosher or not).  The Orthodox Union, the certifier of kosher meats in the United States did not raise concerns about the documented violations at Rubashkins because their meat was meeting their kosher standards (which concern only about the actual cut of meat). However, Rubashkins’ workers, many of whom are undocumented immigrants, toiled under dangerous conditions without overtime pay or other benefits.

While Rubashkins scandal has forced the kosher world to reflect on how their inactions led to this situation, there are plenty of other food industries that kosher consumers patronize that have similar problems to Rubashkins. Efforts by groups like Uri L’Tzedek (which means “awaken to justice) and Magen Tzedek (which translates as shield of justice) are making strides to establish kosher standards for laborers in kosher establishments (restaurants and meat-processing facilities).

One such industry is the agricultural industry which isn’t exclusively for kosher customers, like Rubashkins, but nonetheless, could also benefit from the same labor standards that groups are implementing in the kosher meat world.  However, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel to create new ideas for how agricultural workers need to be treated because the teachings are already found in the Torah.

The Shmita year (yes, for those of you unfamiliar with this word, it sounds like shmata but that’s a ragged item of clothing) is a radical, profound way to use land as the great equalizer between all classes. The Torah dictates that all farmers must allow their land to lay fallow in its seventh year which means that no annual plants can be farmed.  All debts are eliminated and you are required to provide food for poor people.

Sounds tough, perhaps?  But, this Biblical, yet radical, idea can transform how we interact with each other and our relationship with the land. This profound practice is a way for us to rescind our domination of our land and nature and to acknowledge that we’re only the land’s caretakers for six of every seven years. The cumulation of all of these practices makes the land the one of the ultimate social justice tools by creating equality amongst people of all classes and to force humans to acknowledge the land as something that is ultimately a communal entity. This is one of the most powerful tools for us to connect with the land, our food sources and to inspire community building amongst disparate communities who are united in their dependence on the land for food.

Shmita concepts can and should be applied not just to the kosher meat industry but to all food production sectors, whether they’re kosher or not.  These practices would help us move from agri-business to agri-culture that brings us closer to our food, enables us to develop a more harmonious balance with our food sources and through these deep connections and will help to develop sustainable food sources that protect workers, animals and the enviornment.

takepart with Uri L’Tzedek and takepart with Magez Tzedek to learn about their efforts to develop labor certificates. And, learn about the Shmita Project.