Seven years ago I made a decision that would radically change my life forever. I decided to devote myself to becoming a Jewish animal welfare advocate. At that time no such job existed and companies like KOL Foods and Grow and Behold were barely getting off the ground, but I knew three things. I knew that this was my greatest passion, that interest in animal welfare was rapidly growing in the Jewish world and that I had a unique perspective and allot to offer to the cause. Today I can gladly say that my gamble has paid off and that the efforts of the past seven years are finally coming to fruition. 

I’ve loved animals ever since I can remember and have held a lingering interest in animal welfare issues since high school but it was only after I completed a project about animal ethics during a college sociology course that I realized how much this topic truly fascinated me and how animals had touched the very depth of my being. That class propelled me on a course which led me to learn shechita (kosher slaughter), start this blog, move to Nebraska and put in thousands of hours researching kosher slaughter, animal welfare and related Jewish law.

These past years have been some of the most challenging I’ve had. Devoting myself to this cause while holding down a full time job has been quite stressful, exhausting and overwhelming. Possibly the hardest part has been moving to Nebraska. Being in such a challenging and isolated environment and working in a place that doesn’t align with my values for the almost three full years has led to tremendous growth but has also been one of the most difficult experiences I’ve endured. Luckily today all that work and struggle has paid off. Next week I will be starting a job as a principal staff member for a new Jewish animal welfare initiative, the first ever Jewish initiative to devote itself to this cause. In my new position not only will I have the chance to effect change through education but I will also hold the role of working inside the kosher meat industry to positively advance the cause of animal welfare within it. This job is truly my dream and more than I could have ever hoped for.

I am wildly excited to start this journey and am ecstatic to take my readers with me for the ride. But before I do I want to extend a thank you to some people that have helped me get here. First and foremost I want to thank Aaron Gross, who saw potential in me the first time we met and has been absolutely instrumental to bringing me to where I am today, none of this would have been possible without you. Next I would like to thank the late Rabbi Yisroel Landsman 'z"l' for teaching me shechita and constantly lighting up my life. I also want to extend my utmost gratitude to Becky O'brien and all of Hazon Colorado for believing in me, supporting my work and doing so much to build me up as a Jewish educator. Last but not least, I want to thank all of my beloved friends, family and loyal readers for your wonderful support, I couldn’t have done it without you!

I’ve mostly fallen behind on my blog for the last six months and with this new position I'm unsure of when I will get to writing. But regardless of when I get back on the blogging horse your can now follow the work I do by going to the Jewish Initiative For Animals website and signing up for updates there.

[note to bloggers and media folks - official “launch” and “press release” coming soon - this announcement is not for publication or reposting]

I only eat heritage poultry. Unfortunately this makes it real hard to keep kosher because there is no commercial kosher heritage chicken or turkey available anywhere on earth so I have to kill and process everything I want to eat. About a year ago I wrote a post about the sheer exhaustion that processing my own meat was causing me and that despite the fact that at first it was empowering at this point it's just become exhausting. Not much has changed in the way of commercial birds since I wrote Ethical Convenience but I’ve been determined to find a more convenient way to eat poultry ethically ever since. I spent nearly a year planning and all my hard work came to fruition with a successful shechita run in August. I killed and processed 30 birds in less than a quarter of the time it took me to do only 15 birds in the past. I even felt happy and energized afterwards. What I learned not only helped spare me energy but can also make producing local kosher poultry, a dream of many that still lies unfulfilled in the U.S., a reality.

Slaughtering animals can be incredibly transformative and powerful. When first experiencing       shechita (kosher slaughter) I found it so powerful that my waking mind could not face the many dark and disturbing emotions that it brought up. I'd often wake up from disturbing dreams feeling frightened, sad and guilty about what I'd done. Today I've learned to cope and rarely dream as I did then, but the dreams I've had and things I've seen will forever hold a dark and frightening place inside my soul.

I spent last Sunday at the Good Shepard Poultry Ranch in Lindsborg, Kansas performing my 3rd annual fall heritage turkey harvest. People are used to buying turkey any time of year, but heritage turkeys mate naturally and are consequently restricted to doing so only during their late winter breeding season. After hatching in the spring, the birds grow for eight months and are ready for slaughter just in time for, you guessed it, Thanksgiving. I also spent the day processing several heritage chickens, including some older breeder hens, which gave a lot of rich, yellow chicken fat that I rendered into shmaltz. I even saved the feet and made 12 quarts of delicious poultry stock. To celebrate the harvest, I invited a few friends over for an “organ party,” where we grilled up some hearts and livers from the slaughter, yum! Just two weeks ago, my 10cf freezer was almost empty, but now it is just about two thirds full. Being able to do this all myself is very rewarding, but I also can’t begin to describe how much work it takes and how truly mentally and physically exhausting it all is. When I started doing shechita I wanted to be connected to my meat no matter what the hassle, but after almost three years, I admit, I would love sometimes to go the store and buy some meat like everybody else.

I spent the first eight and a half years of my life living on one of Israel’s much-idealized kibbutzim (communal living villages). My mom worked in the kibbutz dairy, and for a time my dad worked with the broiler chickens. I loved milking the cows, and my favorite thing in the world was to let the calves put my entire hand in their mouths. Through these experiences I developed a great fascination and love for animals that has never left me.