USCJ Issues Hekhsher Tsedek Policy

By | Aug 01, 2008
Latest

The Agriprocessor, Inc., saga continues. But this time it looks like something positive has emerged from the fracas.

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism has announced its policy for the ethical hekhsher tsedek, which will be placed on foods deriving from companies complying with a specific set of ethical guidelines based in Judaism.

According to the USCJ website,

The commission was appointed by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Rabbinical Assembly in response to published reports describing alleged unsafe working conditions and worker mistreatment at the nation’s largest kosher meatpacking plant, AgriProcessors, Inc., in Postville, Iowa. It set out to determine if the charges were accurate, to learn about working conditions at the plant, and to establish next steps, if needed, to help ensure workers’ dignity, safety and rights within the context of Jewish law, values and tradition.

The resulting policy was published yesterday, and the new guidelines can be found in full here. They are listed in five categories: wage and benefits, employee health and safety, product development policies, environmental impact and corporate transparency and integrity.

Benjamin Schuman-Stoler


Bookmark and Share

2 thoughts on “USCJ Issues Hekhsher Tsedek Policy

  1. Yael says:

    Your link to the guidelines didn’t work so I thought I’d post another. Working Guidelines

    These guidelines probably are best viewed in conjunction with Al Pi Di.

  2. Ben says:

    Thanks, Yael!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.