A New York Jewish community launched a program in 2004 called "Tuv Ha’Aretz" which means "good for the land and best of the land". This program is the partnership between a synagogue and a local organic farmer. Between the religious leaders of the synagogue and the farmer an agreement of share has been made; while they pre-purchase so much produce for the season, it ensures that the farmer has a market and that the Jewish community can gain from cheaper organic produce.
The basic local idea is to remote organic farming by leading with action, the do as I do concept. In the broader context this "movement" is helping preserve farmland, create protection for surrounding wildlife and water sources from pesticides, and its building a stronger community around this ideology.
In 2009 this program had branched out to roughly 32 organized agreements just in the US and Israel alone. During this survey in 2009 it was recorded that more than 1 million dollars in the US of Jewish purchases was funding organic food. Now a member of Tuv Ha’Aretz organizes a Jewish Farm School, that promotes environmental education and practices that for sustainable agriculture.
This movement is strikingly different from the "Ecological Monks" and "Chipko" because their religious pretense was for unity of all living things. This natural obligation is a major aspect of Buddhism and Hinduism, but is not necessarily stressed in Jewish text like the Torah. It is interesting that the organization was founded not on obligation or expectation, but an ideology that this movement will better the world. And it is interesting that both the Hinduism and Buddhism movement was focused around the protection of nature by protesting, where this movement was all about developing a beneficial organization that helps the local farming market, while still gaining from the inexpensive produce, and promoting a worldwide message of preservation.
-Jordan Carlson
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