|
From Girlhacker, via Howard Fienberg, comes this notice of kosher petfood Kosher petfood? Well, that's not quite as over-the-top as it sounds at first. Generally speaking, whilst a frum Jew may of course not consume any tamei (ritually unclear, non-kosher; colloquially, tref), he may benefit from it in others ways. Thus, if he acquired a leg of lamb in barter (no, leg of lamb is usually not kosher), he could sell it to a gentile, or feed it to his dog. Two tamei foodstuffs, however, he may not benefit from in any way: a forbidden mixture (of meat and dairy) and hametz on Passover (there are others, but no one is likely to, e.g., pour his cat a saucer of idolatrous wine). A forbidden mixture must be buried; hametz must be burned (or sold to a gentile before Passover). Obviously, feeding either to your dog would be of benefit to you (since it is a mitzvah not to mistreat any animal); thus it is forbidden. I see from their letter of certification that the products of KosherPets are certified by the Chicago Rabbinical Council as being free of both forbidden mixtures and hametz. They are noted to be not acceptable for human consumption. John "Akatsukami" Braue Wednesday, April 03, 2002 |
|