Kosher Gate!

find its way to the past of least resistance and find all in order. The only true surprise audit is one done by the IRS.

Do the allegations against AG encompass more of a human process than a simple slaughter procedure as to Kashrut? Do allegations of illegal labor, false documents and alleged employee mistreatment factor into the kosher mix? How many times do we as consumers give active thought to the human factor behind the manufacture of a product in our hands? We generally do not give it much thought at all unless allegations are brought to national attention through spies, infiltrators and informers. The allegations have sparked a spin-off Kosher Justice Movment in which looks beyond the singular manner in which the food is prepared but to overall the manner in which it gets to the table.

Does any of the above matter in the greater, “religion blind” scope of social morality? Strip away the mudslinging. Strip away religious and cultural outrage. You are still left with allegations of behavior that if true can not be tolerated on any level. Animal cruelty is a crime. Using child labor as slave labor is a crime. Conspiring to provide and actually providing false immigration documents to illegal aliens is a crime. At most the owners are guilty of conspiratorial criminal conduct punishable in a courtroom free of religious influence. At a minimum they are guilty of what amounts to “criminal ignorance” of what is going on in their company. The federal investigation continues. The two highest ranking employees arrested in the raid have just recently argued that their trials should be moved from Des Moines, Iowa due to the massive publicity. Both supervisors have been charged with encouraging illegal immigrants to reside in the United States and with aiding and abetting the possession and use of fraudulent identification. One has also been charged with aiding and abetting aggravated identity theft. Those further up the food chain at AG have to be holding their collective breaths for the dreaded word that a “Rat Out Michael Vick” type plea agreement has been reached. You can bet their has been brutal pressure on these guys to serve up some big wigs.

Has Agriprocessors been singled out for prosecution? When over 50 percent of your workforce is illegal you have not been singled out, you have been caught.

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