Free Online Lectures This Fall
Join Penn’s Katz Center for fascinating talks on Jewish history, texts, cultures,
and ideas. These events are free and open to all on Zoom.

SERIES: Canon in Context
Who composed the works that changed the
Jewish legal landscape, and what were these
codifiers trying to achieve? This series explores
the historical context of halakhic compilations
and codes.

H EADLINES
Impossible Pork
Won’t Be Certifi ed
as Kosher
N AT I O N AL
SERIES: Critical Race Studies
Looking at the premodern world, the early
modern Atlantic, and this American century, we
ask two central questions: How is race a helpful
lens for understanding the Jewish historical
experience? And, how does Jewish history inform
large-scale questions about racial thinking and
systemic racism?
Plus, a special panel on the implications of “community” and “continuity” as they relate
to Jewish belonging, institution-bulding, and academic study.

Visit us online to register.

katz.sas.upenn.edu KAISERMAN JCC RESOLUTION
Let it be resolved on September 23, 2021, that the Board of Directors
of the Kaiserman JCC on the occasion of the passing of
Shirley M. Conston,
past president of the Jewish Community Centers of Greater
Philadelphia, celebrate and honor the memory of Shirley’s
leadership, generosity, and vision. Walking into the Kaiserman JCC
over the past years, countless individuals, families, and community
members have benefi ted from the institution she and her husband
Charles (of blessed memory) helped so fundamentally and literally
shape and build. The embodiment of Jewish vision, and our value of
L’dor V’dor, while we mourn with her family, including her children
Elisabeth, Cynthia, Stuart, and their many grandchildren and great-
grandchildren, we more so memorialize her tremendous impact and
passion. May her memory be for a blessing.

8 SEPTEMBER 30, 2021
JEWISH EXPONENT
JACOB GURVIS | JTA.ORG
IMPOSSIBLE FOODS, the
plant-based meat company, is
releasing a long-awaited new
product — but unlike the wildly
popular Impossible Burger, it
won’t be certifi ed kosher.

The largest and most
infl uential certifi er of kosher
products in the world has
declined to endorse Impossible
Pork, even though nothing
about its ingredients or prepa-
ration confl icts with Jewish
dietary laws.

“Th e Impossible Pork, we
didn’t give an ‘OU’ to it, not
because it wasn’t kosher per se,”
said Rabbi Menachem Genack,
the CEO of the Orthodox
Union’s kosher division. “It may
indeed be completely in terms of
its ingredients: If it’s completely
plant-derived, it’s kosher. Just
in terms of sensitivities to the
consumer ... it didn’t get it.”
For Jews who keep kosher, the
Impossible Burger has allowed
some food experiences that
would otherwise be off -limits
because of the prohibition in
dietary law on mixing milk and
meat. For the last fi ve years, Jews
and kosher restaurants have been
able to serve up cheese-topped
chili, greasy cheeseburgers, and
that quintessential American
diner pairing: a hamburger
with a milkshake.

“Th e Impossible Burger itself
is a huge, huge success and people
really, really like it,” Genack said.

“It’s a really excellent, excellent
product in every respect.”
With the new product,
Impossible Foods wanted to
give that same experience to
Jews and Muslims who do not
eat pork, along with others
who are seeking to avoid
animal products or reduce
their environmental impact.

But Genack said he and
others at the OU recalled what
happened when they once
certifi ed “bacon” that wasn’t
made of pig.

“We still get deluged with
calls from consumers who
either don’t get it or they’re
uncomfortable with it,” he said.

The OU certifies other
products that might seem to
confl ict with Jewish dietary
law, explaining on its website
that “a fi sh sauce may display
a picture of a non‐kosher fi sh,
the OU may appear on artifi -
cial crab or pork, or there may
be a recipe for a non‐kosher
food item on the label.” It
even certifi es other products
that aim to replicate the pork
experience, such as Trader Joe’s
“spicy porkless plant-based
snack rinds.”
But ultimately agency
offi cials decided that a product
called “pork” just wouldn’t fl y,
Genack said.

“We, of course, discussed
it with the company and they
understood,” he said.

For Impossible Foods, the
word “pork” is here to stay.

“While Impossible Pork was
originally designed for Halal
and Kosher certifi cation, we
aren’t moving forward with
those certifi cations as we wish
to continue to use the term
‘Pork’ in our product name,”
an Impossible Foods spokes-
person told JTA in an email.

The decision
means Impossible Pork won’t be on
the menu at kosher restau-
rants, which must use only
kosher-certified products
in order to retain their own
kosher certification. That
includes kosher
and/or vegan Asian restaurants with
mainstay dishes that would
typically include pork, such as
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM