animals' condition was also a far cry from fair. Any comments on this Ynet?

it just goes to show you can't trust anything even the food you eat. We should all become vegetarians:)

I believe alot of the Conservative movements dislike against Agri-Prossesors comes from the fact that the company is owned by a Lubavitcher family. Chabad is the main target for conservative Rabbis to attack. They see Chabad as the biggest threat against thier movement. I know from personal experience. When I moved to the city I live in now, a local Conservative Rabbi spent several months trying to convince me that Chabad was not even Jewish and that they were only out to take my money, like I have any money for them to take.It comes down to Sinal Chinam.

Instead of just reading the biased report in the forward read the other side at http://www.jewishpress.com/print.do/18376

They yearn for the good old days of Uncle Joe Stalin and their friends in the CPUSA.

This article's title can be read in more than one way and some of them are a touch disturbing. You really need to slow down and think about what you print - unless your trying to make puns with your headlines, that is.

I read the original reporting in the Forward, and have also from time to time read mainstream reporting on the meatpacking industry, and it seems that if the Forward is accurate, AgriProcessors is only at the extreme end of a very bad picture. The meatpacking industry is one of the worst places to work - which is one reason why it intends to employ Hispanic immigrants - both legal and illegal. One would hope that an Orthodox company would offer better, not worse, conditions for its workers. The Torah is very specific about humane working conditions for employees and fair compensation. However, it is a sad fact that there are some who consider themselves Orthodox who nevertheless consider themselves outside of civil laws on business and financial matters, and there have been some very ugly scandals. I hope that this matter is investigated properly, and that if AgriProcessors is indeed guilty that the OU will pull its certification and the company will be put out of business. If the allegations are not true, then this should be publicized and the Forward should be required to print a retraction. Either way, the correct response is not namecalling, but calm investigation.

Again for what I read, things are done really nasty over there, beyond affilliation

Spoilsport. It's the best part.

There have been reports about practices at agriprocessors that have alarmed many orthodox Jews as well, and Orthodox kashrut organizations have looked into it more quietly. Most agree there are some issues to address, but can't agree on how to go about it. I'm Orthodox and I'll be the first one to admit that many of our communities having a habit of looking the other way or simply letting it ride to avoid the discomfort of dealing with a problem head on. The issue here is that the conservative movement tends to be more vocal and publicity oriented, whereas the orthodox with the same concerns tend to want to fly under the radar. I don't doubt there are some political motivations involved as well, but its not solely political.

Conservative movement is a major consumers of kosher meat ????? I like to see how the forward or Mr. Morris Allen was able to determine that. They are probably a major consumer of Purdue or Oscar Meyer maybe some conservative would sometimes buy hebrew national.

Actually, they are. Many conservatives, if they don't keep kosher to the letter of the law, do to the spirit. Don't buy treif, don't mix meat and milk, although they do have only one set of dishes and cookware. A lot more Jewish, in my opinion, that obeying the letter of the law, and not the spirit.

Aaron, Firstly, your remarks regarding the Conservative movement vs. Chabad is in your very own words, Sinat Chinam. The real question is, if there is an iota of suspicion, why haven't more authorities who grant hashgacha spoken up on the subject rather than remain mute or at best (worst) mumble something to the effect of "we don't get envolved in labor problems". Kashrut should go beyond just shchita..

Norman. What I said in no way is sinat chinam. I spoke from personal experience with the local Conservative Rabbi where I live. Sinat Chinam is baseless hatred against a fellow Jew. My statements were based on the facts of my situation. The local Reform congregation gets along fine with the local Chabad. Yet all of the surrounding area Conservative affiliated congregations preach against Chabad not only in private but also from the pulpit.

It does for some of us. I remember back in the '60s-'70s the Conservative movement declared California grapes non-kosher because the growers used slave labour.

Let me get this straight. Jews who redefined the Law to suit their lifestyle, rather than allow the Torah to define their lifestyle, plan on investigating the dubious claims against Agri? What a joke. Perhaps after a nice bacon and eggs breakfast next Saturday morning, they can drive over to the plant and check out what's going on. Later, they can all go out for dinner and order up a nice fresh shrimp cocktail before the main course, filet mignon. I for one can't wait to see the report they come up with, one whose conclusions are foregone, and will soon be forgotten as well.

You must be confused, or worse: The Jewish Daily Forwards was and now as a weekly -- see www.forward.com -- fervently anti-Communist; they were historically socialist and social democratic. You may be confusing this paper with the Morgn Freiheit [Morning Freedom], associated for most of its life with the Communsit Party.