If I merely wanted to be a gadfly, I can think of many easier avenues for a lifelong vegetarian than supervising the slaughter and processing of kosher meat.  I’m very proud to work with a new company, EcoGlatt, which provides healthy meat, 100% grass fed and finished, and is strictly kosher.  I’m not criticizing or rebelling against any of the national kashrut supervision organizations.  I’m simply taking this opportunity to enable Jews who otherwise wouldn’t be eating meat that is kosher.

As I’ve written in my standard response to questions about my work in this area, “over the last several decades many Jews in American have decided that if forced to choose between kosher and natural/organic, they choose organic.  Terrible publicity in recent years has led other Jews to shun kosher meat because they feel that Kosher no longer necessarily follows the spirit of the halacha, to minimize tzar ba’alei chayim (unnecessary cruelty to animals).  EcoGlatt was founded to overcome those objections by provided healthy, beyond organic, grass-fed and finished meat, schechted in the most humane,upright and kosher manner and at a very competitive and attractive price.  Hopefully there will be many, but if even only one additional Jew chooses to eat kosher meat because of our efforts, we’ve “saved a world””.

With great respect to the study required to supervise kashrut, and I’ve done this myself, it just isn’t rocket-science.  The Torah gives us mitzvot, commandments, as a way to harmonize ourselves with the Divine Will and, thus, deepen our relationship with God.  It’s not supposed to be an obstacle course in which we drive ourselves and everyone else crazy, impoverish ourselves, just to prove how sincere we are.  As I was taught years ago, God doesn’t want our chumrot (over-strict interpretations), but rather our love.  The deck, as it were, is stacked in our favor to successfully observe mitzvot and it just isn’t, and isn’t supposed to be, that difficult or expensive or unpleasant.

The major kashrut supervisors, for the most part, do a wonderful and important job.  I don’t see myself as competing, but rather working together to bring more Jews under the “wings of the Shechina“.