There is no more appropriate time than Sukkot for us as Jews to consider the consequences of what we eat and how we grow our food for our own health and the health of our planet. This is not just a catchy motto, but the truth of how our bodies work. The food we eat supports all our activity and can affect our health dramatically in both positive and negative ways. Unfortunately, most of the food we eat is grown with many chemicals, particularly pesticides, which can be harmful both to human health and wildlife. Though pesticides are much better regulated today than they were 30 or 40 years ago, there is continuing evidence that pesticides continue to harm humans, particularly children and farmworkers.
Children eat more food and drink more water per pound of body weight than adults.
And there is mounting evidence that exposure to pesticides and other toxic chemicals in utero may be responsible for increasing rates of certain childhood cancers and birth defects. Sukkot is an opportunity to begin to take responsibility for protecting our health, the health of farmworkers, and the health of the environment.