Kosher: Private Regulation in the Age of Industrial Food
An extremely valuable contribution to understanding the history, dynamics, evolution, and remarkable growth ofKashrussupervisory agencies in America. (Rabbi Menachem Genack, Rabbinic Administrator and CEO, Orthodox Union Kosher Division)Kosheris one terrific book. It's a wonderfully entertaining account of the squabbles, finger-pointing, and cutthroat competition that turned kosher certification from scandalous corruption to a respectable--and highly profitable--business. Today, if a food is labeled kosher, itiskosher, which is more than can be said of most claims on food labels. You don't have to be Jewish to appreciate the fun inTimothy Lytton's presentation of an unusually successful case study in business ethics. (Marion Nestle, New York University, author ofFood Politics)Timothy Lytton's wide-ranging account brings to bear a valuable new perspective on the kosher food industry. Harnessing the law and biochemistry, information technology and history--including, most memorably, the vinegar scandal of 1986--his lucid new book makes clear that keeping kosher has as much to do with the institutions of modern America as it does with age-old precepts. (Jenna Weissman Joselit, The George Washington University)