Judaism and Food Waste

What responsibility do we have to address issues of food waste?

This source sheet is a dive into our tradition's commentary on prohibitions against wanton waste, environmental stewardship, responsibility for community members in need, and responses to hunger and surplus. We hope that it serves to mobilize Jewish communities to act on climate change and food injustice by reducing food waste, keeping it out of landfills, and transforming it to reduce food insecurity.

Original source sheet by Lior Gross.

Bal Tashchit

Bal Taschit refers to the prohibition against destruction of fruit trees when besieging a city. This is the initial prohibition against wanton destruction.

The Mishneh Torah expands the scope of Bal Tashchit to address issues of food, water, resource, and energy waste.

Questions for discussion:
What is the relationship between the items that the Mishneh Torah prohibits for destruction? What do they have in common?

The Sifrei is commenting on the interesting last phrase of our original source, and translates the words slightly differently (using “כי” as a statement instead of a question); instead of "for are trees of the field human," the Sifrei reveals another shade of meaning, "for a person is a tree of the field."

Questions for discussion:

What ideas are the Sifrei bringing to our attention with this commentary?
In what ways does our current food system (and popular food ethics) disconnect our lives from other-than-human lives (eg. plants, animals)?
Do you agree with R' Yishmael's 'logical inference' above?
Does a tree have intrinsic value or simply the virtue of producing fruit?

Questions for discussion:

What is the tone of the Sefer HaChinukh in this source? Is it an appeal to logic, ethic, or emotion?
Are there times when you might be able to use more of your strength to prevent destruction, and in particular to prevent the waste of food? What keeps you from doing so?

Stewardship

A brief introduction to problems in the food system: Linear thinking and externalities.

The systems that create food waste also create vast environmental damage. Much of the food grown or consumed in this country is produced at a surplus, valuing quantity over the demands of the market. According to Earl Butz’s policies from the 1970s, (about) 40% of the food produced in the US is being thrown out at some point along the way, including from farms, stores, restaurants, and homes. This is an outcome of our short-term, linear thinking and industrial “efficiency.” We ask, “What is the fastest and cheapest way to get food from the ground to my plate” without asking, “Who and what is impacted by this process?” We value industrial efficiency and short-term savings and profit over fairness and long-term sustainability. Linear modes of thinking cause inputs to be taken for granted, so unnecessarily large amounts of water, fossil fuel, fertilizer, herbicide, pesticide, and land are used to produce our food.

Even though food production is high, there are impacts that are ignored by corporations and unseen by consumers. Externalities are side effects or consequences of an activity that affects other parties without this being reflected in the cost of the goods or services involved. Examples of that in food production are dangerous seasonal jobs which exploit migrant laborers, and pollution, like the huge dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico which are devoid of oxygen due to fertilizer that washes down the Mississippi. This is industrially efficient only because the externalities go unaccounted for. The result is “cheap” means of production and food, but also degradation of our farmlands, the lives of farm laborers, and our environment at large. The costs of the externalities are passed on to us in the form of farm subsidies from our tax dollars, cancer for farm workers, vanishing freshwater aquifers, and massive greenhouse gas emissions. If corporations had to pay for the effects of these things, the food wouldn’t be quite so “cheap.”

Linear thinking and its excessive, inefficient inputs and externalities are “wanton destruction” and in violation of bal taschit. Sustainable agriculture, on the other hand, reflects circular rather than linear thinking, and practices that don’t discount externalities and rather are regenerative. This means that inputs aren’t taken for granted and are used in ways that are genuinely efficient, and there are no hidden/externalized costs. A system like this automatically leads to less waste in every step of the process.

The Story of Stuff is a mini-documentary that opens viewers’ eyes to the underside of our production and consumption patterns, explains linear thinking and externalities, and makes the connection between our shopping habits and a number of environmental and social issues.

Do we, as Jews, have a responsibility to take care of the planet?

Horeb, sections 397, 398 (R. Shimshon Rephael Hirsch, 1808-1888)

If you should regard the beings beneath you as objects without rights, not perceiving G‑d who created them, and therefore desire that they feel the might of your presumptuous mood, instead of using them only as the means of wise human activity—then G-d’s call proclaims to you, “Do not destroy anything!” Be a mensch! Only if you use the things around you for wise human purposes, sanctified by the word of My teaching, only then are you a mensch and have the right over them which I have given you as a human. However, if you destroy, if you ruin, at that moment you are not a human and have no right to the things around you. I lent them to you for wise use only; never forget that I lent them to you. As soon as you use them unwisely, be it the greatest or the smallest, you commit treachery against My world, you commit murder and robbery against My property, you sin against Me! In truth, there is no one nearer to idolatry than one who can disregard the fact that all things are the creatures and property of G-d, and who then presumes to have the right, because he has the might, to destroy them according to a presumptuous act of will. Yes, that one is already serving the most powerful idols—anger, pride, and above all ego, which in its passion regards itself as the master of things.

Questions for discussion:

What constitutes a "wise purpose"?
What is the relationship between people, resources, and G-d?

Questions for discussion:

How can combating food waste be like planting a carob tree, creating a better world for our descendants?

Pe'ah & Psolet- Rethinking "waste"

Questions for discussion:

What are we commanded regarding the "extra" gleanings of the harvest and fallen fruit of the vineyard?
What might this commandment require of us, if we do not have a vineyard or field? Where does our "extra" come from?

Rashi is connecting the two parts of the verse. Sukkot and gathering are related: The "psolet/leftovers" from your harvest should be used to create your Sukkah.

Questions for discussion:

If you were to cover your Sukkah with something other than psolet material, what would you use? What resources would be consumed? What does the Torah teach us by telling us to use psolet?

Feeding the Hungry

We are faced with a discrepancy: we have food overproduction and waste, but also food insecurity. This points to a food distribution problem, not a lack of food. We know that about 1 in 8 people in the US are food insecure, meaning they do not have consistent or reliable ways to access food that fulfills all of their nutritional needs or those of their families. Food insecurity is an externality that can compound with the effects of the treatment of farm and food industry workers. Asthma disproportionately affects underserved communities located near industrial centers. “Environmental racism” refers to the policies that are responsible for removing community assets (like grocery stores) while introducing pollution.

In what ways, as Jews, are we obligated to help the poor, underserved, and hungry members of our communities and those who live amongst us?

While a common response to food insecurity is to point out health problems such as obesity and heart disease that plague underserved communities, this is another symptom of malnutrition in a system that precludes access to healthier foods.

Problems like lack of a livable wage, rising housing costs, and food geography (sources of healthy food are not always available in lower-income areas) are systematic problems which limit the choices people can make about their food. If people have to work longer hours to continue living in their home, they will not have time or money to get healthy food for their families.

Questions for discussion:

What does the verse in Ecclesiastes teach about the consequences of this response to a request for charity?

Gratitude

In order to combat food waste at a personal level (in addition to actions that change the larger systemic issues we've discussed) we must engender an ethic of gratitude around our food. By appreciating the food that we have, we can appreciate the importance of food for others.

Questions for discussion:

Making a blessing before eating somehow moves the food from being G-d's to being ours. How does this work? What does it teach us about what our relationship with food should be? (See R' Shimshon Rephael Hirsch above)?
How do blessings on food cultivate gratitude?

Questions for discussion:

There is a lot going on in this story!

What are the various concerns that should be taken into account? What are R' Huna's concerns? What are the rabbis' concerns?
How do we interpret this text in a context of systemic overproduction? How do food surpluses and systemic overproduction impact our sense of gratitude?
Can you think of some other solutions?