How can pork be kosher

Play audio. Open gallery view. Impossible Foods plant-based beef products are seen inside a refrigerator at the meat section of a chain supermarket in Hong Kong, China. Click the alert icon to follow topics: Kosher Jewish law Jewish food. Tel Aviv Is Over. Gay Haredim Turn to Her for Help. A Project of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics. Washington University in St. I t almost sounds like a joke: Kosher pork? Pork is one of the most explicitly prohibited foods in kashrut —the collection of Jewish rules regarding food preparation and consumption.

But provided sufficient supervision and monitoring, entirely plant-based foods generally are kosher. The controversial decision raises broader questions about the politics and economics of religious dietary laws, the way that religious communities navigate new developments in biotechnology and culinary science, and the entanglement of authority, culture, and public perception when it comes to navigating these issues.

Weitzman serves on the Rabbinic Council of JewishVeg , an organization that promotes veganism and animal welfare as an outgrowth of Jewish teachings. But concerns about potential confusion are not new. This is the paradox of fake meat. Its success relies on its being as indistinguishable from animal meat as possible while also making clear to eaters that it is not actually meat. Creating that sense of authenticity is not only reflected in formulating the physical food—its flavors and textures—but the social experience of meat consumption, a practice with deep cultural importance.

Even in private settings such as the home, meat-eating is often associated with luxury, with indications of class or wealth and, in many cases, masculinity.

For plant-based products to succeed in the omnivore market, they need to adhere to a form of cultural conservatism. Successful fake meat is one that can be consumed in places and ways that allow the vegetarian to assimilate into an omnivorous society.

I was at the store this morning and spoke to the manager. He said that this store at no time sells kosher meat and as a matter of fact specializes in pork cuts only. The machine was bought used and had been at the store only a few days. From what was on the label most likely the machine came from a store that sold kosher.