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<p>At the risk of offending you, I have to ask why?
Other than a purely religious reason, I can’t see why someone would voluntary keep kosher.</p>
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<p>Maybe he likes that the meat is slaughtered humanely.
Maybe he thinks the food is better quality.
Maybe it’s family tradition.
Maybe for him keeping kosher is how he connects to his religion.
Maybe it’s a step on his personal journey to becoming more observant.
Maybe he wants to eat mindfully.
Maybe it’s none of our business.</p>
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<p>Maybe you’re right. But soze’s question was polite and not out of bounds. I had the exact same thought. Why? My grandmother was orthodox and kept kosher, so I have some personal experience. I can’t imagine someone going through all that effort if they don’t “have to.” At the risk of offending not just OP but hundreds or thousands of other Jewish CC members (I was raised Jewish but became an atheist as a teen), I personally find the whole kosher thing silly. The “rules” were developed in an age before refrigeration and food quality controls, so it may have made sense in the pre-modern era. But today, there would not seem be any reason to keep kosher except for religious tradition. Hence, soze’s inquiry about why someone without a strong religious imperative would do so seems perfectly reasonable to me.</p>
<p>My kids had friends at their colleges who were on the Kosher meal plan or ate in the Kosher dining hall who were not religious (one wasn’t even Jewish). A couple had severe lactose allergies- and needed a level of stringency not available in the regular dining hall (i.e. a non-dairy item might have cross contamination from a dairy utensil or was prepared in a pot which hadn’t been completely washed from the previous meal.) This was not an issue in a kosher dining hall where there was complete separation of the meat and milk prep areas- different utensils, sponges, pots, etc.</p>
<p>I am certainly not weighing in on this young man’s choices- it’s his prerogative to observe in any way he wishes and it’s nasty to suggest that the OP’s parent owes anyone an explanation. But kosher food prep is markedly different from the regular dining hall (people who do not keep kosher are often unaware of what ingredients in packaged foods are actually made from) and if you want to know, “Does this pizza use cheese made from animal rennet” (most food service workers won’t know), eat in a kosher dining hall!</p>
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Bingo! A scientific reason for eating kosher. Now that makes perfect sense.</p>
<p>I thought I was sincerely offering some reasons a “non religious” person might choose to keep kosher. Apparently, my intention was misinterpreted. My apologies to anyone who thought I was being “snide” or “rude.” Really.</p>
<p>It didn’t really come across as rude to me. My son is vegetarian and lactose-intolerant, so he certainly appreciates the Kosher food availability on campus at Cornell. Of course, there’s a better chance of getting something dairy-free on the meat days (some sort of side dish or vegetarian item). At least he knows the mashgiach understands what he needs.</p>
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<p>I agree that it is unusual. My experience mirrors yours. Most observant, non-Orthodox Jews will eat non kosher dairy ouside of their home. However, the OP says that her son is an athlete and needs access to quite a bit of protein. My guess is that eating eggs only for protein would get really old, really fast so he wants kosher meat/chicken available. </p>
<p>As a sometimes observant non-Orthodox Jew, and parent of an athlete it makes sense to me. My son doesn’t keep kosher, but he only eats meat from animals that are kosher (if that makes sense to you). Of course the dining hall/fraternity meal plan are fine for him. He can just skip the pork and shellfish but I can see where it would be difficult for an athlete to eat well on a vegetarian diet.</p>
<p>I didn’t consider the questions or the reply to be rude.
There’s a wide variation in observance of the Kosher laws, the proposed reasons for them, and the term “religious”.
Many people choose specific diets for religious, personal, or health issues. I’m glad to see these options available for people who choose them.</p>
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<p>This is my reason and the way I raised my kids. We eat “kosher style” (no pork/shellfish, don’t mix milk/meat), which serves our purposes. Some people might call this “hypocritical” but I really don’t understand labeling a behavior that is merely “inconsistent” as “hypocritical,” which has a very negative connotation.</p>
<p>When I was in college, kids who were registered with Hillel to eat on the kosher meal plan were expected to refrain from eating meat in the other dining halls, so I did.</p>
<p>I don’t personally think it is hypcritical to take on an aspect of what could universally be called “mindfullness”. Many religions and spiritual paths include aspects of this, like saying grace, preparing a holiday meal (making it special beyond the need to eat), dining with family and loved ones. For others, being vegetarian or choosing organic or local food products fulfills their value system, even if they are not religious.
Animals eat by instinct, and since we are mammals we do this too, but we can do more than that. The concept behind keeping Kosher is that when we choose to act according to our values, we elevate an instinctual act. It keeps us mindful of our potential as humans and our relationship to G-d. However, that can also be a higher power, nature, or our better selves, depending on what one believes in.</p>
<p>My beef (which comes from the front half of the cow) is actually not with soze, but with DGDzDad.</p>
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<p>I have no problem with your opting not to keep kosher. This is America. But I do object to your dismissing something as “silly” just because it has no value for you. Decide, if you want, that you’re not going to do it because you derive no value from it. But isn’t it kind of presumptuous to deride as “silly” the people who do find value in this observance? Maybe some of them have considered it longer and harder than you have. Other posters in this thread have already explained some perfectly reasonable motives for observing the dietary laws that have nothing to do with refrigeration or trichinosis.</p>
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<p>For many such people, the point is to maintain a home in which Jews who do keep kosher would be willing to share a meal. A non-kosher homeowner’s list of “Jews who do keep kosher” can often include not only friends, but also parents, siblings, adult children or grandchildren. Why is it “hypocritical” to want to maintain a house to which they’d be willing to come for Shabbos dinner or Thanksgiving or a Passover Seder?</p>
<p>I didn’t make that up. From Or Someyach’s website: " Kashrut recognises that the essential human need is not food, drink or comfort, but meaning. Judaism, through the dietary laws, injects meaning even into something as commonplace and instinctive as eating."</p>
<p>This is part of a longer explanation that anyone is free to look at further, or not to. I’m not proseletyzing as there are many ways to add meaning to your life. Your choice, but why criticize others? </p>
<p>I’m not interested in arguing really. We’re on our way to getting this thread closed, because we’ve veered from the OP’s interest in finding where to keep Kosher and it has taken another direction.</p>
<p>I’m completely confused as to what some of these posts are referencing o.O </p>
<p>As an aside, I’m an atheist and I absolutely hate when people talk about God as an “imaginary friend”. Why oh WHY do people feel the need to make fun of others for their beliefs? If it’s not hurting you, move along. </p>
<p>Back to the OP, when I ate meat, I kept Kosher. I’m Jewish by heritage and my dad grew up keeping Kosher so it’s just kind of a habit.</p>
<p>I was under the impression that kosher reflected more stringent inspction practices.
I guess the answer is : it depends.
[Kosher</a> Meat from Uruguay](<a href=“http://www.grandin.com/ritual/kosher.meat.uruguay.html]Kosher”>Kosher Meat from Uruguay)
[Kosher</a> Food is Healthy](<a href=“Kosher Food is Healthy”>Kosher Food is Healthy)</p>
<p>emeraldkity: It does depend.
I’m an Orthodox Jew, so I’m on direct orders from the “skyman” (thanks, soze) as far as what I do or don’t eat. For many, though, there are a lot of other benefits.
Take the person a poster mentioned above who used the kosher dining hall as a way to be sure that the food (I presume meat and pareve) was lactose free. Not only that, but there is one popular Passover cookbook that sold out on Amazon before it even came out because people with celiac disease and other gluten issues bought it knowing that they could trust the recipes not to have gluten. In fact, there was a Passover list (of items that are kosher for Passover) and at least one celiac sufferers association recommended it because they knew it would be accurate- religious Jews are VERY strict about Passover food.
(Disclaimer- there are two types of Passover food, one type of which CAN have gluten. If you can’t eat gluten, you can buy any Passover food labeled NON-GEBROKTS. Gebrokts food contains wheat flour.)
As far as food safety is concerned- you can be pretty sure your hot dogs are 100% beef and all that kind of stuff. On average, I’d say it’s probably a bit safer- by how much, I don’t know- than regular production. As far as factory conditions, though, I have no clue. Basically, kosher food inspects CERTAIN THINGS more stringently than others- which I’m pretty sure does help keep down disease, etc.- but other things are probably about the same or possibly worse, I don’t know.
The one thing that’s good about kosher food is that you know that what’s on the packaging is what’s inside. I know kosher food inspectors who talk about how rigid things are in the kitchen and how there is no wiggle room for error- while there are mistakes occasionally, they’re few and far between. The majority of kosher consumers are actually people who eat kosher, as I and others mentioned above, because of health reasons because of the efforts against cross-contamination and the knowledge that what’s on the label is what’s inside.</p>
<p>@hannahb69 - Great post. Thank you. You have added some scientific reasons for eating kosher that make perfectly good sense. Kind of makes me want to join the party.</p>
<p>Moderator’s note:</p>
<p>Discussing religion is against TOS. Many of the posts are being deleted.</p>
<p>Anyone who wants to discuss benefits of Kosher food or lack there of is free to contribute. </p>
<p>Anyone who wants to tie it back to religion and state that there is no reason for it other than religion, may contribute but should plan on NOT BEING PART OF CC in future.</p>
<p>Not sure if this ties it back to religion since kashrut is inescapably religious in nature, but I know a couple of secular Jews who keep Kosher to either pay homage to their heritage or to constantly be mindful of what they’re doing. </p>
<p>Since Kosher rules were long ago laid out, many non religious Jews find it easier to simply abide by those laws rather than creating their own complex dietary rules or adhering to fad diets (eg, raw food, “cavemen”, etc). That group knows that given the persistence of Kosher foods, stores will continue to offer the option for the foreseeable future, rather than just phase it out when the in vogue diet dies down.</p>
<p>Actually, the rules of kashrut are still evolving, or at least the specifics of how one follows kashrut. For example, you can now buy kosher-certified lettuce (which has been washed multiple times to make sure that no bugs are included). You can also find restaurants and other businesses whose working conditions/practices (e.g. fair pay) are considered in line with Jewish religious law and are certified as such. Not everyone who keeps kosher chooses to buy the certified lettuce or consider ethical concerns as part of kashrut, but it’s fascinating to me (as someone who does keep kosher) how the concept of kashrut morphs.</p>
<p>Also, I love that Oreos are now kosher. When I was a kid, they were entirely off-limits because they were made with lard. We had to make do with Hydrox. Thankfully, my children will never know that level of sacrifice. 
:D</p>