Oh, how I love cheese. When I was a kid, I used to melt American cheese in the microwave and eat it straight up, with a fork. Even as an adult, sometimes I play a little game in my head (or with anyone who’s willing to participate) called “Three Cheeses.” Which three cheeses would you choose if you could only have three for the rest of your life? You have to carefully consider all your food needs. For instance, if you want a life that includes pizza, you must have mozzarella. And Parmesan is a wise pick because it’s versatile.

Here are my three: Mozzarella, Parmesan, cheddar, feta, Gouda, Swiss, ricotta. And cream cheese. And American. Jeez, choosing only three is like making Sophie’s Choice.

So you can imagine my dismay when I realized I could find no local third-party humane-certified cheese or milk. Eggs, chicken, and bacon we’ve got covered (yay!); dairy has proved the biggest challenge. And how can a person have chicken Parmesan without parm and mozzarella? Or an omelet or tuna melt without cheddar? So the truth is, I’ve been eating cheese and butter indiscriminately, even as I adhere to strict standards about animal flesh.

But the life of a dairy cow may be even worse than one raised for its meat, so I’m starting to address the holes and inconsistencies in my food policies. In factory farms (including large organic farms whose packaging assures you that the milk used to make the cheese is free of hormones and antibiotics), cows are confined to single stalls and repeatedly impregnated so they produce milk. The female offspring, naturally, are used to replace older dairy cows in the herd. Many of the males are sold for veal (and we’ve all heard that horror story).

With these lovely facts in mind Michael and I went to the farmers’ market again on Saturday, fingers crossed. Dairy mission accomplished! We were happy to find two good sources: feta made with goat milk ($6 for 5 oz.) and Dutch Farmstead cheese for $16.99/lb. Though not humane certified, our conversations with the farmers/cheesemakers left us confident that their animals were well-treated.

The feta was made by Lynn Fleming of Lynnhaven Dairy Goats, who had a lot to tell us about how she raises her goats (she bottle feeds them when necessary!). The Dutch Farmstead was made at Cato Corner Farm in Connecticut, whose sign informed us that their 40 cows went to pasture on April 23rd. I felt that detailed pasture information was the best we could hope for, beyond the gold standard of a third-party certifer.

We also bought a half gallon (in an old-fashioned glass bottle) of skim milk from Milk Thistle Farm for $7.

I realize these prices are far beyond what most people can or will pay. They’re even beyond what I would have paid six months ago. This represents a personal shift in priorities—a shift I am fortunate to have the luxury to make.

Michael, who has been off all dairy for months now, was so elated by our purchases that he flapped his wings and flew home. I remained to talk to Ann Marie, a vintner who grows grapes and makes wine on the North Fork of Long Island, and bought a bottle of Merlot to celebrate.

My mom with one of her Samoyeds.

My mom was a true animal lover. Over the course of 25 years, she mothered five big, white, puffy Samoyeds (not at the same time!), most of them rescues. So this year I’m planning to buy some gifts in her memory, through some of my favorite organizations.

Best Friends Animal Society’s mother’s day appeal is about supporting the human “moms” who take care of helpless animals, the animals who are determined to care for their litters under difficult conditions, and, of course, all the animals who need loving homes and TLC. You can make a donation in your mother’s honor: $25 fixes an animal to prevent unwanted litters, $50 will microchip five cats with permanent ID to help them find their families if lost, $100 helps a homeless animal get from a shelter to a forever home.

Meanwhile, Farm Sanctuary helps you honor the love between animal moms and their offspring by sponsoring one of the rescued animals at their sanctuaries. Most factory farm animals are separated from their moms shortly after birth and never get to experience a life-long bond. The Farm Sanctuary’s animals, who of whom were rescued from industrial farms, depend on adoptive “parents” to provide them with everything they need. (When you sponsor an animal, you get a personalized adoption certificate and color photo to present to your mother.)

The Humane Society and the ASPCA are also offering special gifts for Mother’s Day; all purchases support these organizations’ efforts to save animals and improve their lives.

After all my recent criticisms of kosher meat, I want to share something helpful about the laws of kashrut, courtesy of my dear cousin Amy, who keeps a kosher home. (This has nothing to do with animal slaughter, I promise.)

The laws of kashrut require that milk and meat be kept strictly separate—separate dishes, silverware, tablecloths, pots and pans; even separate ovens, stovetops, sinks, and counters. Jews who keep strictly kosher wait a minimum of three hours after eating meat before ingesting any dairy. Orthodox Jewish rabbis look into every aspect of packaged products to determine whether they contain milk or meat byproducts.

You’ll find plenty of hidden meat products in food that you think is free of them. For example, gelatin is made from the boiled skin, bones, and hooves of slaughtered animals. You’ll also find animal products in Jello, marshmallows, grocery-store guacamoles and sour creams, many brands of yogurt, as well as many chewy candies like Skittles, gummy bears, and some gums (like Trident Splash). Lard is pig fat and is used to flavor products like vegetable soups, seasoned rice and stuffing mixes—even Salsa Verde Doritos. Rendered beef fat (suet or tallow) is sometimes used in pastries, bread/muffin/biscuit mixes, and… Hostess snack cakes.

Kosher products come in three varieties: milk, meat, and pareve. Pareve contains neither milk nor meat, and therefore may be used in all dishes.

So here’s the trick. If you’re a strict vegetarian or are looking to consume only meat that has been well-raised and slaughtered, the word “PAREVE” on the label assures you of no animal-related surprises. Pretty handy, no?

If you haven’t already, please read Part One.

The slaughter of animals according to kosher law is called shechita. In contrast with standard humane practice in the U.S., even in factory farms, the animal is not stunned insensate prior to slaughter. The conscious animal’s throat is cut by drawing a very sharp knife across it. Most animal welfare groups object to kosher slaughter because it can take several minutes for the animal to die, since the spinal cord is not severed completely at the first cut.

Jews have historically insisted on compassion for animals. The concept, in Hebrew, is called tsa’ar ba’alei chaim. But it seems to me that the Orthodox rabbis heading the governing bodies of the kosher industry are focused more on the letter of the law and less on its spirit. The goal should be to make the ancient laws of kashrut relevant to modern life (or, more to the point, modern agribusiness).

Kosher slaughter is prohibited in Iceland and Norway, slaughterhouse workers in Germany and Sweden have held strikes in protest against shechita, and the United Kingdom forbids shechita while the animal is lying on its back (known as “shackling and hoisting,” this method is part of the traditional practice of shechita). Temple Grandin has weighed in, too. Dr. Grandin, an animal scientist and leading designer of slaughterhouses, explains that when the cut is done correctly, the animal appears not to feel it. From an animal welfare standpoint, her concern is the stressful and cruel method of restraint used in some plants. Here’s what Dr. Grandin has observed:

• When animals are led quietly into a restraining device in which they stand upright, into a frame that supplies chin and head support, the animals have little or no reaction to the cut. When a shochet uses a rapid cutting stroke under these conditions, 95% of calves collapse almost immediately.
• However, where there is a poorly designed restraining device or the animal is shackled and hoisted, the cattle may react vigorously during the cut, kicking, twisting and occasionally going into spasms.
• The problem is that some rabbinical authorities prefer an inverted restraint method that allows the shochet to cut downward, because they are concerned that an upward cut may violate the Jewish rule forbidding excessive pressure on the knife. There is concern that the animal may push downward on the knife during an upward cut. But observations indicate that just the opposite happens. When bulls are held in a pneumatically powered head restraint in which they can easily move, the animals pull their heads upwards away from the knife during a mis-cut, reducing pressure on the blade.

All of this raises two questions: How often is the cut done incorrectly, and how often are poorly designed or inverted methods of restraint (or shackling and hoisting) used? Good luck finding this information.

Short of personally witnessing the moment of death, it’s impossible to know how the kosher meat on your plate was slaughtered. The same is true for any meat, of course. If we’re concerned about animal welfare, our decision to eat a specific piece of meat comes down to trust. Do we trust the rabbis who assign kosher seals? Do we trust corporations like McDonald’s, whose “humane auditors” are employed by the same companies that manufacture its hamburger patties? Temple Grandin? Animal welfare groups who audit farms and slaughterhouses for humane practices? The farmer at the farmers’ market who describes directly to the customer how she raises her chickens?

Personally, I tend to trust the last three parties listed above. But deciding who to trust can be difficult. How do you know you’ve made the right decision? In this regard, I envy those whose religious faith makes such decisions a lot easier.

Kosher’s Not So Kosher for the Animals – Part One →

(Stay tuned for a piece by my friend Semil Shah on growing up “beyond vegetarian” as a Jain Buddhist. And please feel free to comment on the way this issue relates to your own religion or belief system.)