Thread: Postville May Be Treyf, but Kosher Consumers Keep Buying

News From Postville May Be Treyf, but Kosher Consumers Keep Buying


By Anthony Weiss
Thu. Jun 05, 2008

The news of the massive immigration raid on the largest kosher slaughterhouse in the United States has triggered national headlines and outrage among a group of vocal Jewish activists, but the raid seems to be having little impact on consumers’ appetite for kosher meat.

Based on conversations with kosher butchers, rabbinic authorities and consumers across the country, it appears that the demand for meat produced by Agriprocessors — the most commonly available kosher meat in America — has continued unabated since federal agents raided the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, Iowa, on May 12 and arrested 389 workers.

The raid has spawned reports of worker abuse at the plant and has revived discussion among Jewish activists about the nexus between kosher laws and Jewish ethics. But people involved with the kosher meat business report that the greatest challenge has not been finding people willing to buy kosher meat, but rather, given the drop in supply coming out of Postville, finding enough kosher meat to sell to them.

“Most people don’t care where their meat comes from,â€

A few people who knew about the raid nonetheless said that it had not changed the way they shop. One woman at Moishe’s, who identified herself as Evelyn, said that while she was conscious of the raid as she shopped for meat, she continued to buy Agriprocessors products as long as they were fresh.

“The same thing must be going on in all the slaughterhouses,â€