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Rabbis and Kashrut orgs - time (and opportunity) to act
On the heels of our recent post (here) exposing the AJN's use of fraudulent terms like "Kosher-friendly" and "Kosher-style" comes their report about a government review into Kosher labeling.
Hopefully, the COAG will also look into the role of media outlets in deceiving the public by using false labels. Though to be honest we feel that the general media would desist from using such tags if informed of its bogus and sham intentions. Sadly the AJN's standards of honesty are usually far lower than that.
We cannot understand why (at least according to the AJN article) the rabbis and Kashrut groups are being so pareve and wishy-washy about this. Shouldn't they be grabbing the opportunity that the government is offering them?
If they lack the sense of duty, then it is time for the COSV or individual laymen to get involved.
Quite simply, it is the AJN whioch is promoting this entire "Kosher style" and "Kosher friendly" industry. These establishments, in the main, do not otherwise advertise "Kosher friendly/style". All in all, they know that they do not fit the requirement, and it only the total lack of integrity of the AJN which is promoting this.
ReplyDeleteReally? I think the contrary is true: it's a really bad idea to get the government involved in religious decisions. Do you want them deciding whether glatt means chalak or whether bishul akum applies to tuna fish?
ReplyDeleteNo Joe, not matters of chalak, but basic kashrus. It's about time that the govt banned deceitful and fraudulent descriptions and advertising of treif products and establishments as 'kosher friendly' and 'kosher style' will come to an end.
ReplyDeleteActually interesting to note that the other similar use of the term isy hotels who promote themselves as 'gay-friendly' which I take to mean that they like/prefer/want gay guests.
(If those hotels only knew how repulsive the idea of being gay-preferred hostelry is to many 'normal' people, they would realise that they are losing more customers than gaining.)
Many Jews do not rely on the kulos that we do, and for them chalak is "basic kashrus". As far as I see it, you have three options. One is to accept this superior standard. Another is to say that you believe the government is the posek acharon, and everybody must accept its p'sak. The third is to to recognise that the government has no business being involved in halacha, a principle our predecessors understood very well.
ReplyDeleteOr you can have the government enforcing the lowest common denominator, prosecuting only clear-cut cases of fraud. Chalak Bet Yosef v Hungarian glatt v non-glatt is a question of varying standards within kashrut, but there is no doubt that an animal with a hole in its lung is not kosher, and one who represents it as kosher ought to be prosecuted. There can be no danger to the community from a government doing its job while staying out of areas of genuine diversity.
ReplyDeleteOf course Milhouse is right. Basic kashrus fraud and misleading advertising shoul dbe stopped in whatever way available.
ReplyDeleteFalse advertising is already illegal. Fraud is already illegal. This proposal isn't about stopping fraud: it's the first step towards establishing a government-approved rabbinate.
ReplyDelete