This is an example of Jewish control by proxy...The Kosher tax...Virtually
impossible to get a food item in the stores unless you agree to kosher...  
In order to receive kosher certification, the baker might find himself
pressuring ten or twenty or more suppliers to seek kosher certification. However,
for each such supplier of materials or ingredients to receive certification
would require that his suppliers in turn receive certification as well, and so on
without end. Thus, if a single candidate for kosher certification has to
pressure 20 suppliers, and each of these 20 has to pressure 20 that supply them,
then 400 more are being pressured; and if these 400 have to each pressure 20
of their suppliers, then 8,000 more are being pressured; and so on
exponentially — all triggered by a single kosher-certification candidacy.

Go to the original:
http://www.ukar.org/ronen.shtml

Dear Moshe Ronen:
It is my understanding that kosher certification cannot be granted merely
upon an inspection of a manufacturer's premises and methods, but requires as well
the certification as kosher of all materials that might be used in the
manufacturing process, most notably, ingredients.

For example, a baker cannot receive kosher certification unless his supplier
of flour receives certification first, and his supplier of salt, and of sugar,
and of yeast, and of milk, and of butter, and so on, and so on. (On top of
that, one imagines that materials that are not ingredients and not even edible
would first have to be kosher-certified as well, such as the cellophane
wrapping for bread, or the dish soap used in the kitchen.)

Thus, in order to receive kosher certification, the baker might find himself
pressuring ten or twenty or more suppliers to seek kosher certification.
However, for each such supplier of materials or ingredients to receive certifi
cation would require that his suppliers in turn receive certification as well, and
so on without end. Thus, if a single candidate for kosher certification has
to pressure 20 suppliers, and each of these 20 has to pressure 20 that supply
them, then 400 more are being pressured; and if these 400 have to each
pressure 20 of their suppliers, then 8,000 more are being pressured; and so on
exponentially — all triggered by a single kosher-certification candidacy.

As the supplier of an ingredient may be located at some distance (perhaps
even in a different country, or on a different continent) from the manufacturer
currently seeking kosher certification, the kosher-certification of ingredients
suppliers can require travel by the local rabbinical inspectors, thus driving
up costs:

If information regarding the kosher status of an ingredient sourced from a
distant location needs verification does the agency have experts in kashruth all
over the world who can easily do a plant inspection? Or do they always seem
to demand, at considerable expense and delay in time, to visit the distant
manufacturing plant themselves?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Avrom Pollak, President, STAR-K KOSHER CERTIFICATION, from his address
How to Choose a Kosher Certification, available online at:
http://www.kashrut.com/trade/trade_links/hechsher

Furthermore, Dr. Avrom Pollak reveals that it may sometimes happen that an
ingredient supplier's kosher certification from one agency may not be accepted
by another agency, thus requiring duplicate certification and overlapping fees:

One issue which may not be so obvious when first negotiating terms of kosher
certification, but can be a very serious concern later on, is your need to
know in advance if your raw ingredient suppliers will require kosher
certification, and if they do, will their present certification that they may already
have, be acceptable. Although in most instances reputable agencies accept the
certifications of other reputable agencies there are a disturbing number of
exceptions to this rule and you should be forewarned if one of your suppliers is
going to present a problem.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Avrom Pollak, President, STAR-K KOSHER CERTIFICATION, from his address
How to Choose a Kosher Certification, available online at:
http://www.kashrut.com/trade/trade_links/hechsher

Your answer here would attempt to dispel the impression that the kosher
certification business might be pyramidal in that each candidate finds himself
forced to sign up a large number of other candidates. Whereas in the classical
case, a pyramid scheme is inexorably pushed toward collapse, in the kosher
labelling variation, it may tend toward attaching itself parasitically to the
entire economy. As suppliers can be international, the entire economy that is
vulnerable to parasitization is the entire world economy.

Lubomyr Prytulak

+++++++++++++++
"Many rabbis and professionals have told me recently that they fear for their
jobs should they even begin to articulate their doubts about Israeli
policy--much less give explicit support to calls for an end to the occupation."

-- Rabbi Michael Lerner
Published on Sunday, April 28, 2002 in the Los Angeles Times

======================
Confessions of a Philosopher:

It is not the case that a belief is worthy of respect, or is even interesting
merely because it is widely held, though that it is widely held may give one
food for thought. Of the religions I studied, the one I found least worthy of
intellectual respect was Judaism.

----British Scholar and Philosopher Bryan Magee in 1997
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The QUESTION:
To subscribe and grow with knowledge or
to unsubscribe and Die Stupid? Send an E-mail to:
RePorterNoteBook@aol.com