Honey, Darling?: agave, honey.The various ethical, environmental, and cultural issues surrounding honey have been considered and discussed on Hazon's blog The Jew and the Carrot, both in posts and comments.  Leah has explored whether honey is “kosher” for vegans, and wondered if there’s “any ethics-based diet that *doesn’t* have a little bit of hypocrisy clouding up its ideals.”  Michael Croland from HeebnVegan explained that the issue does little to promote veganism, and pointed us in the direction of this Satya Mag article on the subject.  Meanwhile, Rabbi Shmuel has suggested that we should critically re-examine the Rosh HaShanah custom of dipping apples in honey, and explore alternatives such as maple syrup, while Rabbi Debbie Prinz joined the conversation with a lip smacking guest post on how we can integrate chocolate into our Rosh HaShanah celebrations.

Rather than continue the debate on whether honey is vegan, eco-kashrut, or even just kosher (Leah notes that she has always “puzzled over how eating a food created by a decidedly non-kosher creature could be considered okay for the Tribe”), I’m offering a number of delicious, vegan, kosher, and organic ideas and recipes for a sweet new year.

Agave Nectar: Derived from the succulent plant of the same name, agave is like honey’s sophisticated big sister. Satisfyingly sweet and sticky, it makes for a perfect apple dip, plus it has a low glycemic index, a long shelf-life, and it won’t crystallize.  Madhava Agave Nectar is available in different grades, is certified organic, and is kosher.  It’s available online and at many markets across the US.

Maple Syrup: As Rabbi Shmuel noted, maple syrup is an ideal choice for Rosh HaShanah thanks to its rich symbolism and earthy sweetness.  “Maples,” he explains, “represent the ultimate in chesed (lovingkindness) giving freely of not only their wood and shelter but their sap - their very essence.” Shady Maple Farm offers certified organic, kosher, pure maple syrup, as do Coombs Family Farms, Highland Sugarworks, and a host of others.

Brown Rice Syrup: Rich in rice protein concentrates, brown rice syrup has been said to have a healthy effect on cholesterol levels, and may help to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Because it’s produced from a whole food source and is composed of simple sugars, brown rice syrup is considered to be one of the healthiest sweeteners in the natural food industry.  With a light, sweet flavor and the consistency of honey, this is another great option to experiment with on Rosh HaShanah.  Lundberg Family Farms offers brown rice syrup that’s organic, eco-farmed, vegan, kosher, and gluten free!

Date Honey: It’s interesting to note that references to honey in the Torah are said to have referred to honey made from dates. This is quite possibly the ultimate symbolic Rosh HaShanah food, and also the hardest to find.  Our own Leah offered a recipe on the Lilith blog last year, but you may still have time to track some down at a local Middle Eastern market, or order it online in time for the holiday.  Try here and here.

Chocolate: It’s incredibly easy to find vegan chocolate these days, and what’s more, you can often find vegan chocolate that’s also organic and fair-trade.  Simply melt some semisweet, vegan chocolate chips with a drop of soy milk or oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Allow it to cool a bit before dipping your apples, bread, and fingers!

Vegan Caramel Sauce: Little goes better with apples than sweet, sticky, mouth watering caramel.  Unfortunately for vegans, caramel often contains milk and butter.  Not to worry, though!  Try one of these recipes for vegan caramel sauce, which create a thick, sweet, pourable alternative.

[Cross-posted from the Jew and the Carrot]

Itamar: as seen from above Labels on the plastic bottles of Giva’ot Olam’s (admittedly delicious) goats milk yogurt describe the farm’s location as ‘The heart of the Shomron’, the Hebrew name for the northern West Bank. What the labels don't say is that the farm is completely illegal: one of over 100 settlement outposts erected without authorization from the Israeli government. The farm’s ‘mother’ settlement—Itamar—was authorized by the Israeli government, but is considered illegal under international law because it's built on occupied territory. Both Giva’ot Olam and Itamar are partly constructed on land privately-owned by Palestinians (and that’s according to data from the Civil Administration in the West Bank).

Giva’ot Olam is nothing short of a green oasis. Surrounded by rocky hilltops, and an arduous hike from the nearest built-up area (itself home to less than 700 people), the farm is run according to organic principles of environmental sustainability and motivated by a strong Jewish faith. The lush green grass that carpets the hill is home to free-range chickens and calm, happy goats whose pens are free from the nauseating stench that typically emanates from Israel’s intensive dairy farms.

On the surfaHappy Goats: make good milkce, Giva’ot Olam is a peaceful place where the still air is only disturbed by the sounds of the sheep or birdsong. It is also one of the biggest producers of organic yogurt and eggs sold in Israel (although I didn’t see a single hen roaming outside when I visited—apparently they get let out to exercise at certain times of the day). But these hilltops aren’t those of the Galilee or the Judean Hills: They are in the middle of the West Bank, lying just east of Nablus, the largest Palestinian city (or “the largest Arab city in Israel”, as the American rabbi leading our propaganda tour described it.)

“A guy called Avri just took his trailer there and started living here, he did the same thing in other places too. People came to live with him and then he moved on to settle other hilltops,” explained Moshe, an American-born settler who was one of the first Jews to settle a nearby hilltop over 20 years ago which became known as Itamar. Moshe, with his M16 strapped tightly to hAll Along The: organic watchtoweris back, described the farmer, Avri Ran, as a ‘pioneer’ and the ‘father of the hilltop movement’.

A few weeks ago I met another American-born settler living in Bat Ayin who was keen to extol the ecological virtues of his small, religious community, oblivious to the irony within the ethical contradiction of his choices. How can one be ‘environmentally sustainable’ whilst living on occupied territory? As tasty as their yogurt might be, buying products from Giva’ot Olam or other West Bank settlements inevitably means buying into the ideology of eternally conquering territory regardless of the cost to the Jewish State.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great thing that more Israelis are going organic: Side effects of the Zionist dream to ‘make the desert bloom’ have turned farm animals into chronically-sick meat machines, and resulted in the pollution of the country’s scarce water and soil. Sales of organic food rose by 30% in Israel last year, and organic systems now account for almost 5% of the country's total agriculture. There's no question that Israelis needs more organic farms, but they should build them in their own country and not in the West Bank.

Our post earlier this week about No Sweat, the sweatshop-free apparel company creating jobs for Palestinians in Bethlehem, set off quite the debate. Whatever your stance on the work Adam Neiman and company are doing, one thing is for certain: A number of their organic, Bethlehem-made T-shirts are must haves. Here are a few of our faves:

Organic Bethlehem Green Menorah Tee, $18: "The Shalom Center of Philadelphia does remarkable interfaith work with an integrated approach to the issues of peace, justice and environmental responsibility. Their new green menorah covenant campaign is focused on climate change. It's an especially good fit on our Palestinian produced organic t-shirts from Bethlehem, West Bank. $4 per t-shirt goes to support the Shalom Center's climate change campaign."

Organic Bethlehem Vision in Action Tee, $18: "There’s only one symbol in the holy land that’s embraced by Jews, Christians & Muslims & this is it, the eye of Fatima (or Miriam), encircled by a Japanese proverb that fits the moment to a T: Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare. Fatima was Mohammed’s daughter, Miriam, Moses’ sister. It is said that the symbol actually represents the hidden female aspect of the deity and is used as a talisman to ward off the evil eye. For us the placement of the eye in the hand implies vision in action - what we strive to provide every day."

Organic Bethlehem Musicians Against Sweatshops Tee, $20: "Musicians Against Sweat Shops™ official tee is here, and only here! Support this initiative to help wipe sweatshops out of the music merchandising business while raising awareness of the issue. $5 on every T goes to MASS."

Previous: Alternative Jewish Grooves for Passover

The Vending Machine of the Future: organic, kosher, natural, vegetarian, healthy, and oh-so-deliciousAdmit it: those pre-peeled baby carrots you begrudgingly bring to work every day are inevitably trumped by the irresistible seductions of a vending machine stocked with salty, cheesy, chocolaty evils. Lately, though, a new breeze is blowing through the vending industry -- and it's not just flatulence! (Har).

A handful of companies are beginning to offer those with special dietary needs better options, from kosher and organic to vegetarian and "allergy-friendly."

Kosher Vending Industries is making sure that Jews on the run can get a kashrut snack where options are scarce. Organic Vending only stocks items that are free of artificial flavor, artificial color, preservatives, and trans fats, and a large majority of their products meet the USDA standard for Organics. YoNaturals Inc. stocks their vending machines with a wide range of products, from fresh juices to organic pita chips.

Cloning: kosher or treyf?Over the past decade, meat-eaters have had to face issues ranging from hormones and antibiotics to E. coli and mad cow disease. Now a new concern is about to land smack-dab in the middle of their dinner plates, right between their mashed potatoes and peas. The FDA--that bastion of consumer safety, always striving to honor science over politics--is poised to begin allowing meat producers to use cloning to breed "genetically superior" cows, pigs and goats for food. Yum, yum! Specials tonight include Hello, Dolly lamb chops with a side of Monsanto Creamed Corn.

If the idea of eating a cloned animal makes you lose your appetite, no worries: You'll just check the label to make sure that your brisket is "traditional," right? Wrong.

The FDA says labels are not needed because the meat and milk pose no special risks.

Oh! Well, if the FDA says so, it must be true! What a relief. I'm starving, pass the...wait, what? You want to know whether you're eating the original or the carbon copy? Gosh, picky, picky. Well, chances are that neither cloned animals nor their offspring will be marketed as organic, so there's that.

They may be considered safe to eat, but meat and milk products from cloned animals and their offspring are unlikely to be marketed as organic.

The National Organic Standards Board, an expert advisory panel to the U.S. Agriculture Department's National Organic Program, has made it clear that organic agriculture should not allow the use of cloned animals or their offspring in the production of organic food.

The board voted in April to exclude cloned animals, their offspring, and any food products from cloned animals from the organic sector.

So at least you can head over to your local natural food store for some organic animal protein. And while the frankenfood may not be labeled, a registry of cloned animals will be kept to track them as they move into the food processing chain.

The two largest cloning companies in the United States said Wednesday that they will keep a registry of all their animals that will allow food companies to identify cloned animals when they move into the food processing chain.

Trans Ova Genetics of Sioux Center, Iowa and ViaGen Inc. of Austin, Texas announced the new supply chain management system in response to concerns from lawmakers, the food industry and consumers who are uneasy about eating cloned animals.

Bon appetit!

Local or organic? Farmer's Market or Supermarket? And what about the GMOs? There's a lot of talk -- and a lot of confusion -- these days, about our food. Around the world, people are starting to grapple with the negative impact that large scale, industrial Agribusiness has had over the past half century. As its legacy of soil erosion, polluted groundwater, and chemically-laden fruits and vegetables becomes clear, more and more people are choosing to support organic and local farmers. Emily Freed is one of those farmers. As the Assistant Field Production Manager of Jacobs Farm in Northern California, she's responsible for over 250-acres of organic farmland. She's also a Jewish activist who was recently named as one of the Heeb 100 in the category of Food. Despite it being her busy season (she was in the midst of moving about 6,000 lbs of herbs out of the farms each day when we caught up with her), she found the time to discuss the organic movement, the future of food, the connection between agriculture and the environment, and how it's all related to Judaism.

You're responsible for six farms and a total of over 250 acres of organic culinary herb farmland, but your work takes you beyond the field and into the world of environmental activism. How has agriculture impacted the environment, and what are you doing to change it?
When we pollute the soil with fertilizers and insecticides, they seep into our food and water systems. In turn, we ingest those chemicals by eating conventional produce, dairy, and grains. One of my current roles as a professional farmer is to educate non-farmers and gardeners on the importance of buying organic vegetables, fruit, flowers, and dairy. It can be daunting to even teach friends and family the reasons to buy organic produce so I pick my battles. I sit high on my soapbox to my pregnant friends and share with them why they must purchase local and organic dairy products. I spend time with my family answering their ongoing questions of which are the most important foods they should be buying organic. I find peace and relaxation when I cook meals with my friends who are farmers and gardeners that deeply appreciate the love of growing their own food. I know I’m doing my job right when I see the light going off in someone’s head when they realize the power of using their dollars to purchase organic foods from local growers.

You worked previously for the now defunct Joshua Venture, an organization that funded initiatives by young Jewish activists and entrepreneurs. What led you to Jacobs Farm, and how are you translating your work there into Jewish social activism?
Joshua Venture is not defunct but rather went into a period of hibernation starting in the Spring 2005. This period allowed interested foundations to reflect on both the structure of the fellowship program as well as its funding model. A group of funders is planning the re-launch of the program and hopefully we will be seeing the fellowship in its next version in the beginning of 2008.

After Joshua Venture shut the doors temporarily, I realized I had few options: travel, get another job, or try something such as gardening that I had always enjoyed as a hobby with an opportunity to turn it into a career. I read about the six month Apprenticeship in Agroecology at UC Santa Cruz and it sounded like an amazing experience to live and work on a farm along the Central Coast of California. I did the apprenticeship and loved the experience so much that I stayed on for a year as a teaching assistant for the 2006 cohort of apprentices. After teaching at the University, I was lucky enough to find my current position of Assistant Production Manager at Jacobs Farm, which I began in April 2007. In my spare time, I am a consultant for teachers, students, teens, and adults at JCC’s, congregations, and schools in the Bay Area. I enjoy teaching others hands on gardening skills as well as the importance of the environment within the context of the Jewish holidays and festivals.

You've expressed your interest in putting sustainability, the local food movement, and nutrition into a Jewish educational context, a passion that led you to participate in the ROI Summit in Jerusalem this past year. What's Jewish about environmentalism? What can Judaism tell us about our intended relationship with the earth?
Judaism and environmentalism tie together in countless ways. One example of this is the value of eating seasonally. Long ago our ancestors were farmers who looked to agricultural signs in the garden to mark the passing of the seasons and for holiday celebration. Today, if we pay attention to the seasons in Israel just as our ancestors have done in the past, we notice that the reason why we eat pomegranates for Rosh Hashanah is because the dark red globes are dripping from the trees in September and October. We eat parsley on Passover because that is typically when the green leafy herb first emerges from the ground in the spring. When we eat locally and seasonally, we are connecting with our past and following the rhythm of the universe. It's exciting because it reminds us that life is bigger than just you or me. Judaism and the mitzvah of tikkun olam teach us that the current generation must inspire the next generation to protect and honor the earth. By eating locally and seasonally, we are preserving the soil and our food systems, helping us accomplish one of Judaism’s most sacred teachings.

A lot of people still seem to think (or at least, take for granted) that food comes from the supermarket. There's a disconnect that distances us from the origins of our sustenance. What are the inherent problems with this mindset, and do you see a shift occurring?
I understand the disconnect of being a consumer and picking a bunch of kale at the supermarket and putting it in a plastic bag, verses being the farmer who bundles fifty bunches of kale all morning in order to get ready to sell the product at the afternoon farmer’s market. When you don’t physically pull the food from the ground yourself, you don’t realize all of the time and energy that goes into growing the product. It’s so easy to just accept that kale comes pre-bundled with a flashy twist tie and all of the stalk ends are the same length. But that’s not the case and it’s a shame that more people don’t grow their own kale in their backyards.

But slowly, people are comprehending the importance of buying fresh and buying local. More than ever, people are signing up for CSA’s, buying produce at the farmer’s markets, and reading up on the benefits of eating organic foods. I’ll end my answer to this question with a funny story about my father who is my toughest client to convert into the organic world. He buys the Safeway brand of organic milk. Time and time again when I go home to visit, I explain the importance of buying local organic milk, especially when he lives so close to one of the best and most humane dairies in Northern California, Clover Stornetta Farms. One day, I opened the refrigerator and saw local and organic milk from the dairy close to his home. I complimented him on his choice of milk and he looked at me with a smile and says, “Don’t think you’ve won this battle.” At that moment, I realized that even the toughest clients are realizing the importance of buying local and organic, and there is hope for the future of organics within the conventional mind frame.

For a lot of people, farmers seem to be a myth, an extinct species, or at the very least, extremely far away. The truth is, there aren't many traditional farmers left. What do you see as the cultural costs of the end of traditional agrarianism? What is the future of food?
To be honest, I spend so much of my time with farmers and gardeners that I forget that I am in the minority of people who grow their own food. I have to take a step back to realize that most of the world drives to the grocery store in their cars and purchases their food from a pile of produce that has been shipped most likely across the country. Additionally, I am always taken aback when I have to explain the meaning of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) to friends and relatives. I live in a Northern California bubble where we are surrounded with farmers markets that run all year round and my local corner store in Santa Cruz only carries milk from local dairies. I think most people are finally getting the importance of growing their own food or at least knowing the farmer who grows their food. The bottom line for me is tasting the difference between fresh food that was harvested from the earth that day in comparison to produce that has been in transit for weeks. Once a person has tasted a carrot straight from healthy soil, I can only hope that they will never go back to easting those small uniform pieces of orange rubber. I wish I knew the future of food and our food systems but I don’t. However, I do know that becoming “certified sustainable” is the next coined term in the produce world and will be the hot topic in 2008.

How has your time with Jacobs Farm changed you? What challenges have you faced? What kind of reactions do you get when you tell people you're a farmer?
The past eight months at Jacobs Farm have been my introduction to agribusiness (the business of farming). I have learned a tremendous amount about the strengths and challenges of farming 250 acres of organic culinary herbs where every farm is at least a 15-minute drive from the next. Everyday I face the challenge of being a young woman in a predominantly male career field. I have to say I live the motto that “some days are diamonds and some days are rocks.” I don’t think I’ve ever met someone that hasn’t been impressed by the fact that I am a female farmer and it feels really good to produce organic herbs for people all across the country. One of my proudest moments was when I was recently at Chez Panisse in Berkeley with parents to celebrate my mom’s 60th birthday. Once the waiter found out I was a farmer, he thanked me profusely and sent over a huge bowl of delicious figs and grapes. It was a highlight for both me and my proud parents.

What suggestions do you have for those of us who want to make better nutritional, environmental, and ecological choices when doing our grocery shopping?
In order to be successful in our eating and grocery shopping habits, one must start small and make it simple. Don’t overwhelm yourself with every detail of “Is it better to buy organic or local?” in the beginning. For starters, use a cloth tote on your next trip to the grocery store rather than paper or plastic bags. Keep the totes in your car for easy access. Next, buy produce at a farmer’s market instead of a grocery store. Give your money directly to the farmers every week – they will appreciate it much more than the store clerk. Join a CSA and support a local farm as well as become a member of a community that enjoys eating local, seasonal produce. Lastly, go to the grocery store or farmer’s market with a friend because it’s much more fun to shop with another person. While shopping together, you can compare labels and realize just how far the food has to travel to get to your kitchen table.

What about for people who'd like to start their own backyard -- or even windowsill -- garden? Any books or tips to help them along?
Go for it! No space is too small to grow food. Dig your hands in the dirt, plant some seeds, and see what happens. From the windowsill, to the garden, to a 250-acre farm, it’s an experiment year after year. I strongly suggest the local library for gardening books. It’s really amazing how inspiring pictures of vegetables and delicious fruits can be…or as we say in the farm industry, “food porn.” My favorite books are the Western Garden Book, The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, and the manual "Teaching Organic Farming and Gardening" by the department of Agroecology at UC Santa Cruz. You can download the teaching manual for free here. Whatever happens in your summer or winter garden, take notes as to what worked and what didn’t work. It’s astonishing how last years records can save you so much time the following season. My greatest tip to pass on to aspiring farmers and gardeners is although sometimes it’s the hardest thing in the entire world, don’t pick an unripe peach or nectarine off a tree. You’ll be disappointed. Learn to enjoy the wait for the perfect piece of summer fruit. The dripping of sweet juice down your face will be satisfaction for seasons to come.

Cross posted to The Jew & the Carrot

Previous Pickled Q&As
David Sax of Save the Deli
Katie of Don't Eat off the Sidewalk
Adam Roberts, the Amateur Gourmet
Vegan Cookbook Guru Sarah Kramer

We—the children of the boomers, the privileged progressives—have a giving problem, which is that we don’t do it. Instead, we cloak ourselves in the trappings of charity. We carve out lives that appear to be socially just, full of free range chicken and Birkenstocks. We look good, even if we don’t do-good.

Revolution: Never looked so good.Hell, we ask for money, either as non-profiteers, or as individuals with pet projects. Each year, I get a handful of e-mails from friends requesting “charitable donations.” They want to take their band on the road, or they want to fly to Nepal to read bedtime stories to orphans, and they’re asking me to fund the trip. They have feral cats to foster, and co-operative gardens to maintain, and that’s great, but it does little to repair the world. Sure it’s nice to have live music in the park, but that that just makes our lives nicer, decorates our world.

Please understand, I’m in no position to judge, because I’m worst of all. Last year, while working for a Jewish charity I “rescued” Kareem, a stray pit bull living down the street from me. Then I spent SEVEN THOUSAND dollars to kill her slowly, with a fancy veterinary specialist, on credit, and then solicited Jewish donors to fund my hopeless project. And it worked. Which is insane.

I cared enough to nurse the damn dog, just not enough to put the bill on my own credit card, or take a second job to pay the bill.

SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS TO KILL A DAMN DOG!!! I wasn’t being a do-gooder, I was sucking the system, siphoning off money that could have been going to AIDS research or literacy. I got so caught up in what looked like charity that I lost all reason, not to mention my math skills.

I realize now that for years I’ve made the mistake of mixing up my progressive lifestyle for true charity, and I think maybe you have too.

Forget dogs: This mutt doesn't need your money. Ask yourself: Do you feel better about yourself when you shop at Whole Paycheck, or when you ride your bike to work? Do you imagine the world thinks you “look” progressive?

And how do you judge the world? Let’s say you spot a thirty-ish woman in a vintage sundress, carrying a cloth grocery bag to the farmers market while sipping a soy chai, and walking beside her is a middle aged woman in a salmon colored Capri pants-and-sweatshirt ensemble that surely came from Wal-Mart. A Disney outfit. She’s drinking a Big Gulp.

How might you imagine they stack up to each other with regard to charity? I bet the Wal-Mart mom gives a big chunk of change to her church each year, which—among other things—supports a soup kitchen. And I bet she doesn’t have a ringer-T that says so either.

Keep in mind, it’s still good to ride your bike to work, but if it makes you feel like you’ve “done your bit” there’s a problem. If your hemp pants make you feel like you don’t need to send some money to Louisiana, you’ve gotten off the path.

For some, the solution seems to be “getting involved” but that doesn’t take the place of giving either. So if you’re working in the development office of an environmental organization, however cool that is—you should be donating to that same organization as well. Because when you’re getting paid to do “good work”, it isn’t really charity. That’s just the non-profit sector supporting you.

Look up to Grandma: She was fashionable and gave to charity. Maybe we’re screwed up because we’re just plain bad with money, raised on credit cards and take-out, but there’s an illogic in place, because we think we’re progressive. We think we want to help. We’ve taken the Sesame Street aesthetics that our hippie parents fed us, and we’ve blended them with the greed of our own me decades, and the result is a lot of bumper stickers. We buy organic milk, and then get wasted on Cosmos, or we buy ethanol for our SUVs. The image of progressive living has a price tag., and so we don’t ever have enough to give to charity. Our appetites always exceed our resources, no matter how great our resources may be.

Face it. We just really like to buy stuff, and we live in a world designed to feed that passion. Despite our aesthetics of charity, despite our rocking of the vote—what does our generation value? TiVo. High speed Internet. Very pale beers with slices of citrus fruit floating in them. Whatever the billboards tell us to value, which means our discretionary spending is beyond belief.

Three years ago, a study based on more than 7000 households showed that just over one-half (53 %) of our generation made donations of $25 or more in 2000. Compare this to our post-Holocaust/Depression grandparents, 80% of whom gave at our age. Or our hippie parents, who donated at a rate of 75%. Bubbe and Zayde gave an average of $1,707. We give $532.

But Generation X, Y, and Z?

We refuse to share our good fortune. Despite the fact that a 30-year-old today (we’ll call him Mike) is 50% more likely to have a college degree than his dad (Steve), and despite the fact that Mike earns $5,000 more a year than Steve did 30 years ago (even adjusted for inflation), he isn’t giving any of it away. In fact, Mike probably doesn’t believe he can afford to give. Like many of us, he think he’ll have the money someday, talks about what he’ll do when that day comes, and then goes out for dinner. Like many of us, he thinks he’s “just getting by.”

Gen-x: Spending all of our money on cosmos. But our generation has a strange concept of what it means to “get by.” We spend more on vacations than our grandparents ever dreamed of, and per trip expenditures have increased 66% over the past 5 years. While Steve spent a well-earned week in the Poconos, Mike flies off to Mali, and even if he has to slap it on the credit card, he feels totally entitled. In 1997, Generation X spent approximately $30 billion eating out, and we’re the highest consumers of fast food, beer, wine coolers (ugh!), and booze. When it comes to food, we lead the way with soda, chocolate, chips and beer, so then of course we spend a lot on gym memberships too.

So I’m making a resolution now, and I’m asking you to hold me to it.

I’m going to do better. In fact, I’m going to try to give away 7K next year, to make up for Kareem the dead dog. I’m going to research giving, and I’m going to stop eating out so fucking much. I’m going to try to figure out how the people who give make it work. That’s right, I’m admitting my ignorance and facing the music. I’m going to talk to my grandparents, and maybe a banker, or a rabbi, and I’ll get back to you when I have some answers.

In the meantime, what are you going to do?

* * *


Short quiz:

1.) Do you have bumper stickers or T shirts that advocate missions you haven’t actively contributed to in the last year?

2.) Do your organic purchases each week outnumber the quantity of organizations where you’ve volunteered?

3.) Have you traveled in a developing nation and then come home and bought items made in China?

4.) Is the amount of money you spend on alcohol each week more or less than the amount of money you spend of charitable causes?

5.) Do you belong to Working Assets? If so, how often do you actually make an additional donation when you pay your bill?

Obviously I don’t count Mother’s Day as a Jewish holiday, but neither do I feel comfortable ignoring it. I know it was invented by Hallmark, but I also know I better be nice to my mom on Mother’s Day—or else. And part of the stress of Mother’s Day is finding the right gift. Here are some Jewish-themed options for your Jewcy mom:

25 Questions: for your Jewish mother There’s a new book coming out on Mother’s Day called 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother. It looks fun and funny and smart, but beware that you’ll have to preorder and then pick it up at the bookstore on Mother’s Day if you want to deliver your gift on time.

If your mom is as much of a wizard in the kitchen as mine is, she probably doesn’t need another cookbook. Then again, Adventures in Bubby Irma’s Kitchen is a great collection of recipes. Easy and tasty ideas with cute anecdotes. And hey, if you give your mom a cookbook, consider getting her some ingredients, too. Specifically, check out the Community Supported Agriculture website where you can search for farms in your area who will sell you shares of their crops. Every week your mom can get a huge crate of fresh organic produce. Saving her time and money on groceries will definitely score you big points.

If your mom spent all of your childhood impressing a deep sense of guilt on you, then consider The Modern Jewish Girl’s Guide to Guilt. It’s an anthology, and I found it to be a little scattered, but it’s very fitting for lots of Jewish moms I know.

If your mom is musical, try Mayim Rabim by Ayelet Rose Gottleib. It’s a CD of traditional Jewish liturgy sung in jazzy and interesting new tunes. Very sophisticated and funky. Not for a Debbie Friedman fan, but if your mom has adventurous musical tastes she’ll probably enjoy it.

If you feel strongly about going with the standard flowers and chocolates, check out Ideal Bite for tips on where to buy organic bouquets and sweets. Helping the earth and treating your mom—double points!

And if your mom swears up and down that she really doesn’t want anything, consider making a donation in her name to A Package From Home. APFH is an organization in Israel that provides care packages for Israeli soldiers with no family in Israel. So basically, all those young guys and girls who made aliyah alone get boxes of sweets, plus important extras like warm socks for cold nights, and personal hygiene products in travel sizes. Your money goes towards a mom-like gesture for people whose moms are far away.

Abundant Goodness: You have nothing to loseI just found out that a synagogue here in Atlanta is starting a CSA!  Which has me superexcited.  Not just because fresh fruits and veggies are awesome, but because the CSA is starting at the same synagogue I've been talking about joining... and this will be a cheap and easy (low-risk) way for me to start getting involved with the community!  I can go and help garden, and join in for pot-lucks, and meanwhile case the joint, sniff out the scene...

Which is my Faithhacker tip for today!  Try to find an appealing backdoor to any synagogue you're thinking of joining.  A CSA if there is one... but if not, consider something like a film festival or book club.  They're often open to people outside the synagogue membership, but give you a chance to hang out and meet the regulars.  It will cost little, and give you a great sense for whether you'd be happy attending services on a regular basis.

But beyond my tip... the idea of a Jewish CSA just kicks ass.

I found myself wondering if this is unusual, a Jewish CSA.  I sat down today, googled "Jewish CSA" and discovered it's not unheard of.  There are even theories on the matter, about what makes a CSA Jewish:

What we eat is simultaneously a Jewish issue, an environmental issue and a health issue. As such, it's a great way to foster new vision in the Jewish community - a vision that's Jewishly-rooted, engaged in the world around us, and committed to healthy living in the broadest sense. Two years ago, Hazon hosted a 12-week learning community addressing the question How and What Should a Jew Eat? The question addresses kashrut in a traditional sense, but also the complexities of how food is grown, where it comes from, and how it is packaged, amongst other issues.

Pretty cool.   I'm in!