Hello, reader! In case you missed the Baltimore Environmental Sustainability Network’s first blog posted in June, let me introduce myself. My name is Sam Sobel, and I am the Baltimore Climate Action Coordinator for Adamah.
The BESN is a newly founded collection of Jewish organizations and individuals in the area, working to promote a more sustainable Jewish Baltimore. Through our collaborative work, we will increase awareness, appreciation and practices of sustainability throughout this community.
The BESN will pursue this goal through education, advocacy and community events. This network is pioneered by Mark Smolarz and The Associated, and is co-chaired by Mark, Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin (a native Baltimorean and longtime local environmental activist) and myself.
The BESN is not the only new climate initiative in the Baltimore Jewish community, however. My role is inaugural, with the intention of further engaging the community in climate action. One of the primary ways in which this is done is through Adamah’s national Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition. Open to any Jewish nonprofit at no cost, the Coalition (adamah.org/coalition) is made up of community organizations that recognize the existential threat and moral urgency of climate change.
The Coalition works to strengthen climate actions within an organization, while the BESN works to promote community collaboration and external engagement. Any Jewish community organization in Baltimore is welcome to join both. Please reach out to besn@associated.org for more information.
Sustainable Meal Gatherings in the Month of Tishri
As we head into the Jewish year of 5786, we carry with us the hopes and goals of a new year. We engage in Teshuvah (repentance) and continue the work of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) and Tikkun Adam (repairing the individual).
These are holistic initiatives, encompassing a wide variety of focuses. At the core of Judaism is a deep respect for the creation that surrounds us. For ourselves (adam) and for our Earth (olam), we have the opportunity to connect these values with our other favorite holiday ritual – sharing meals.
In this installment of the BESN blog, I have tips to meaningfully, beautifully, deliciously, and even cost-effectively observe sustainable chagim (holidays).
May we honor sustainability in this coming year, and may we as a people have far less environmental Teshuvah come 5787.
For those of you who are going to be hosting meals for the holidays this next month, now is a great time to plan for ways to have your holiday table reflect your wishes for the new year. Identifying the environment and our Earth as an aspiration early on in your planning will provide you with a variety of opportunities to make sustainable decisions.
For example, beautifying your table and caring for the Earth. By putting out reusable instead of single-use utensils, cups, tablecloths, and napkins, you are both practicing sustainability and beautifying your holiday table with a personal touch.
Although it may seem like an extra step for a gathering that is already chock full of steps, the touch of a unique and sustainable addition is sure to be a beautifully noticeable difference.
Food Served
There are a number of effective strategies to move toward a tasty, crowd-pleasing, sustainable menu. That being said, don’t fall into the trap of “all or nothing” and don’t make perfect the enemy of good.
Incremental changes make a difference, so just get started! One way is to keep your menu and switch over from industrial meat and dairy to local, regenerative options. If it is important for you to have meat as an option, focus on the how of the cow!
Factory farms often have negative effects on the climate and are sources of water and air pollution. There are ways to farm that are not nearly as detrimental to the climate, such as regenerative farming.
Regenerative farming is a system of farming practices that increases biodiversity, enriches soils, and improves watersheds. Some fantastic regenerative agriculture options include:
- Hidden Waters Farm, Pikesville, Kosher meat options, dairy options, etc. (make sure to order ahead for kosher meat, you can either call, email, or stop in in person!)
- Pearlstone CSA | Pearlstone CSA, Owings Mills or Reisterstown weekly pick-up | People. Planet. Purpose. (keep this in mind to join in the future for sustainable, local veggies!)
- KOL Foods, Grow & Behold (National, shipped regenerative Kosher meat!)
Even if meat is being served, the rest of the meal can still be plant-based. This way of eating focuses on foods primarily from plants. This includes not only fruits and vegetables, but also nuts, seeds, oils, whole grains, legumes and beans.
It doesn’t commit you to being vegetarian or vegan and never eating meat or dairy. Rather, it allows you to proportionately choose more of your foods from plant sources. Some holiday plant-based, vegetarian, and vegan recipes can be found here:
Rainbow Challah|Challah |Holiday Recipes|Shamayim Cookbook|Plant Based Meal Guide|Reducetarian Foundation Recipes
Note: Unlike most other climate actions, purchasing regeneratively farmed food will likely cost more and increase your food budget. However, if you purchase regenerative meat that costs twice as much, but you use 50% less meat in your recipes (replacing the other 50% with beans or another plant-based option, for example), then your expenses will remain the same, and you will have greatly improved the environmental impact of your meal.
Food Wasted
We all know that pit in the stomach when good food gets thrown out. Successfully reducing food waste and feeding people, not the garbage pail, leads to a decrease in costs, and an increase in the joy of community members who benefit from the leftovers.
The EPA Food Recovery Hierarchy prioritizes actions that you can take to prevent and divert wasted food. The top levels of the hierarchy create the most benefits for the environment, society and the economy.
The ripple effect of food waste starts long before anything is actually served. Preventing food waste from happening to begin with is one of the most impactful steps you can take, because it both limits the methane (a potent greenhouse gas) emitted from food present in landfills and prevents waste from the creation, packaging, transporting and storing of unused food in the first place.
There is also the bonus of saving money by buying less food and using your time and labor more efficiently. Food waste can be preemptively avoided by thinking through how much food you need to prepare and serve. By putting out only what’s needed, unopened/unserved food can be saved for another time, or donated. Programs like the “guest-imator” can help you calculate the right amount of food needed for the number of guests.
Especially for communal meals, go into your gathering with a plan for excess food by managing serving sizes and having to-go containers for people to take home extra food that they might want. And, depending on the amount of food leftover (for example, a synagogue hosting a large meal), you can pack up and donate any untouched food to a local shelter or food pantry.
With these tools in hand, you are bound to have fantastically sustainable holidays. Your actions make a difference, not just for you, but for your household, your community, the Jewish people, and the world as a whole.
L’Shanah Tova, may we have peace on a healthy Earth. And go Ravens!
Feel free to reach out to Sam and the BESN at besn@associated.org. For questions about the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition, reach out to Sam at sam.sobel@adamah.org
A special thank you to the Adamah Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition resource guides for providing the information about many of these resources.
Article by Sam Sobel.