Kashrut and Genetically Modified food
1. Orthodox Jews are far more likely to keep kosher and are generally more strict in their interpretation of kashrut, but are largely unified in their approval of GM foods. Conservative, Reform, or Reconstructionist Jews, all groups who are less likely to keep kosher day-to-day, are more likely to be concerned about GM foods. Why do you think this might be? Why might Jews who do not keep kosher care about whether GM foods are kosher?
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2. What do you think motivates the differences of opinion on GM foods among Jews?
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3. Why do you think so many different kosher certification agencies exist?
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4. Read the articles in the secondary sources from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and the Times of Israel. How does money influence the creation of kosher regulations?
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5. Why might different Jews have such diverse interpretations of the prohibition on kilayim?
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