BBYO to steer clear of Rubashkin’s
B'nai Brith Youth Organization will abstain from Agriprocessors meat this summer. Here's their statement:
Camp Food is No Joking Matter BBYO Teens Demand Agriprocessor-Free Camp ProgramsAs a result of the allegations of intolerable injustices at Agriprocessors, the largest producer of kosher meat and poultry in the U.S., BBYO takes major stand by asking its various camp partners to avoid serving Agriprocessor products, to which they comply.
Nine hundred teens participating in BBYO's summer leadership experiences at Perlman Camp, PA; Beber Camp, WI; and American Hebrew Academy, CA, over the course of this summer, will eat meals free of Agriprocessor products, showing a unified commitment to social justice and Jewish values.
Teens make concerted effort to expand summer program curricula to address the Agriprocessor issue from variety of angles, including the ritual and ethical implications of kashrut, worker's rights, immigration reform and Jewish values.
The first program will take place on Thursday, June 26, 11:45 am – 1:15 pm, when nearly 100 Jewish teens will gather at Beber Camp in Mukwonago, Wisconson (suburban Milwaukee) to make their voices heard against the intolerable injustices at Agriprocessors. Confirmed speakers include Rabbi Morris Allen, a Minneapolis-based leader of the Heksher Tzedek campaign for kosher foods to be produced ethically, who has been to Postville multiple times and will share first-hand accounts from factory workers. Lauren Shenfeld, BBYO's International Teen Co-President, will also address the group, to raise awareness among her peers and encourage action when teens return home to their local communities.
"If anyone is going to make their opinion on this problem matter to the Jewish community and communities at large, and ultimately stand up against an issue in which human rights and Jewish values are demeaned, it's BBYO teens." – Lauren Shenfeld, BBYO International Teen Co-President
"The reason this issue has struck such a deep chord with BBYO teens is because it's the story of their grandparents and great grandparents – the story of immigrating to find a better life, fighting oppression and standing up for social justice." – Marilyn Sneiderman, BBYO Deputy Director and former Director of Field Mobilization for the National AFL-CIO
94 Comments
Share This
Agriprocessors,
Kashrut
Comments RSS Feed Reader Comments
If BBYO members are concerned they should contact the meat company and seek answers for their concerns. If after they investigate firsthand and discover that there are real issues then they can consider action.
I wonder if they have done this. Or are they just part of this rush to judgment based on unsubstantiated allegations and innuendo. Jewish Law is clear that you cannot judge something until you hear both sides.
Instead of teaching their members to seek truth and hear the whole story they are becoming part of some in the liberal Jewish community that clearly have agenda taht is inimical to Jewish tradition.
If they are signing on to Uri L’Tzedek’s petition, all they are asking for is that Agri produce the document on worker protection that company reps promised to deliver to at the 6/11 meeting and for the company to ask Jim Martin, the compliance officer, to be transparent about the work he is doing.
There is no condemnation, no victimization, no execution happening here!
What is the hold up at Agri? Why will they not provide the documents they promised????
To all who have commented so far against BBYO’s decision:
YOU SHOULD BE ABSOLUTELY ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES !!!!!!
To understand the TRUTH, read in depth ALL of the letters in the URL below:
[www.goveg.com/feat/agriprocessors/letters.asp]
To those in support, KUDOS for your comments.
My earlier post got mixed up later in the day among both categories and could be misconstrued.
Good for BBYO. Making a stand like this is the right thing to do for Jewish campers and a credit to the integrity of their educational experience. Linking the food we eat, standards for Kashrut, and ethical labor practices is exactly the right set of messages for our youth to receive. Keep up the good work, BBYO.
I think its great that people are finally accepting our jewish heritage.
If we don’t look out for people being mistreated here in this country, who is going to look out for us later?
Its ridiculous, after all of these facts have been stated including government fines against the plant, that people are still talking about how “no facts have come out yet”
It seems that we have Uri Tzedek’s team posting up here, accusing AgriProcessors of everything once again. Do they know that the Immigration Service had to let innocent people go after holding them up for 5 weeks in jail?
Regarding B’nai Brith, its sad that they are not working with the number one meatpacking company in Iowa anymore. I don’t feel that a large Jewish business should suffer from a Camp returning food after a long time of providing quality kosher products to other high schools, camps, and organizations throughout the country.
To Gregory F:
It appears it is the 5W team of professional pr hacks hired by Rubashkin that are attacking a bunch of kids from BBYO for standing up for their belief in Tikkum Olam.
I agree that a person is innocent until proven guilty. But tell me this: If every official at Agriprocessors is so innocent, why did a supervisor at the plant flee the country?
If BBYO’s staff and youth leaders really cared about social justice they would forgo serving meat all together.
Not only is the slaughter of animals cruel and unnecessary, but the mass production of meat, particularly beef, contributes to the global food crisis as it takes up to 16 pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat, far more water to produce meat than plant-based food, and the environmental impact through waste runoff, soil degradation and methane emissions.
BBYO is taking a half-asked approach by simply just changing their meat supplier.
Leave a Comment
To comment on this article, you must first be registered with JTA.
Not Registered?
There are real advantages to a FREE registration with JTA.org:
- Make your voice heard through comments on articles
- Receive our e-mailed Daily Briefing, an invaluable quick-read
- Help decide what Jewish news matters most with interactive tools
Register Now
Already a JTA member?
Juda Engelmayer
06/25/08 05:33 PM
Has anyone at BBYO tried to talk to Agriprocessors directly? Has anyone at BBYO asked for someone to come and address what the company sees, how it is addressing matters, and so on?
Perhaps these events are just to further reinforce news and statements that have already been pounded rather than to seek objectivity, pursue dialogue understand what is and has been done, as well as what is in the process of being done to right wrongs, correct flaws and build faith a stronger foundations.
If that is the case, as suggested in a post above (as this being in response to other organizations’ efforts, comments and the like) than this is merely an exercise in public action for these kids to learn how to gather and yell, and not truly an educational facility that shows children how to pursue justice for those who need it.
The pursuit of justice must be done judiciously as well. To not seek answers on their own, but to accept what some say alone, is yielding to despotic charms, and not pursuing what they seem to believe is justice.