A group of conservative rabbis has released a long-awaited set of guidelines for a controversial new definition of "kosher" foods. Traditionally, the kosher designation has been determined by how the food is handled, from the way animals are raised to how food is presented at a meal (cheese and meat are not supposed to touch, for example).

These new rules up the ante to include labor conditions, workers' wages, corporate transparency, and even environmental impact. Rabbi Morris Allen, whose blog's tagline is "Keeping Kosher in the 21st Century", first conceived of the program in 2006, when unethical labor practices at the nation's largest kosher slaughterhouse, in Postville, Iowa, came to light. That slaughterhouse, you're sure to recall, was the site of an FBI raid in May, when hundreds of illegal immigrants were rounded up and deported -- mostly back to Mexico and Central America.

Known as the Hekhsher Tzedek program, the ammended kosher designation will likely carry a fee, but this isn't unusual: rabbis entrusted to label foods and restaurants as "kosher" have historically charged for the service. (Of course, this hasn't always been a perfect system, either: I had two friends who worked at a kosher bakery in Minneapolis, MN, where the rabbi simply came in to collect his fee, and neglected to ensure much of anything.)

Some in the Jewish community fault Allen's program for diverging from ancient kosher laws to include ethical standards, which many view as arbitrary and prohibitive. It will be too hard for them to maintain profitable businesses, they argue, if they have to adhere to such a strict list of rules on top of those already set by their religion.

[Image Credit: Dr. Temple Grandin, from Wikimedia Commons]