The Law

[Wharton]

So buy Famous Ramona Water. Or Hillcrest. Or Joe Muggs. How about Hickory Springs? Should I find you some more?

You still don't get the point. Every bottled spring water in my metro area is fluoride free, whether name brand or private store brand, but it is all kosher. I have no choice as a CONSUMER. I buy bottled water to avoid the fluoride.

 

[rosends]

You still don't get the point. Every bottled spring water in my metro area is fluoride free, whether name brand or private store brand, but it is all kosher. I have no choice as a CONSUMER. I buy bottled water to avoid the fluoride.

So go online and buy another brand that has no kosher symbol. You DO have access to the internet, right? The ones I listed are fluoride free http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/salud/salud_fluor35.htm

and let me know how much money you save when you buy them. Then you can go buy the kosher ones and know the differential that you are being gouged by.

 

[Wharton]

Seems like lots of companies think it isn't needed. Monadnock Mountain Spring Water for example. Maybe they aren't capitalists. Maybe big companies figure it is needed, in order to keep up with other businesses that have it. You should sue, or complain to them that their practice of capitalism isn't in line with how you want to spend your money. Maybe all their marketing is an unnecessary expense that I hate paying for when I buy a product. Isn't there a line item veto on my receipt?

1. Monadnock Spring Water derives from our own Wilton, New Hampshire property. Our spring water is tested daily by our own quality control staff. Also once a week samples are examined by a state certified laboratory. Our water exceeds all state and federal guidelines and is Kosher.

 

[rosends]

Or, you could just get a filter. Here -- I did some shopping for you on the interwebz http://www.amazon.com/Stage-Countertop-Fluoride-Removal-System/dp/B00DYVS0JA?tag=reactual-20

 

[rosends]

1. Monadnock Spring Water derives from our own Wilton, New Hampshire property. Our spring water is tested daily by our own quality control staff. Also once a week samples are examined by a state certified laboratory. Our water exceeds all state and federal guidelines and is Kosher.

AH, it makes the claim, but where is the symbol? It appears that they are making the claim based on what they know, not what is certified. Can you point to their supervisory agency?

 

[roger1440]

The entire American supermarket system? Are you serious? In most areas of the country it is impossible to find anything other than a few staples with kosher supervision. Have you ever been shopping somewhere outside of a major metropolitan area? You ask if I look. You have no idea how conscientious I have to be. I look constantly. I can only buy certain brands of salsa. I have to make sure to get certain brands of chocolate pudding. You want to complain because I CAN get certain foods? Life is tough all over.

Where in New Jersey are you from? I'm from Bergen County, NJ. In my neck of the woods are lots of Jews. I'm guessing you are from no where near my area. For others reading this, Manhattan is directly east of here. The Empire State Building I can see from here. It's about 6 or 7 miles from my window.

 

[rosends]

maybe a itcher is ore your speed http://www.qualitywaterfilters4you....nhw-PqR1dDvRPprojxeglvMNHACs_FAfwoaAs2i8P8HAQ

 

[rosends]

Where in New Jersey are you from? I'm from Bergen County, NJ. In my neck of the woods are lots of Jews. I'm guessing you are from no where near my area. For others reading this, Manhattan is directly east of here. The Empire State Building I can see from here. It's about 6 or 7 miles from my window.

I'm in Teaneck. But drive away from the folliwng areas and shopping is different:
Teaneck/Englewood/Fair lawn/Paramus/Bergenfield
Passaic
Deal
Highland Park
Cherry Hill

Once you get past there, the number of kosher product drops precipitously.

 

[Wharton]

So go online and buy another brand that has no kosher symbol. You DO have access to the internet, right? The ones I listed are fluoride free http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/salud/salud_fluor35.htm

and let me know how much money you save when you buy them. Then you can go buy the kosher ones and know the differential that you are being gouged by.

Ah no. As a consumer, I'm in the majority. It is you, in the extreme minority, that needs to go online to buy products for religious purposes.

 

[roger1440]

I'm in Teaneck. But drive away from the folliwng areas and shopping is different:
Teaneck/Englewood/Fair lawn/Paramus/Bergenfield
Passaic
Deal
Highland Park
Cherry Hill

Once you get past there, the number of kosher product drops precipitously.

You can't get anymore Jewish then Teaneck in NJ. I lived there 12 years and moved from there a few years ago. I'm in Hackensack now. I lived in Highland Park too.

 

[rosends]

Ah no. As a consumer, I'm in the majority. It is you, in the extreme minority, that needs to go online to buy products for religious purposes.

I do -- like water that is supervised. Good thing it is available. You, of course, can buy a filter, or buy a non-supervised brand (I listed a bunch of them). You just prefer your Ozarka and Mountain Arrow so since you are so brand loyal you get mad that it has a symbol on it which you insist, makes the product cost more. Life's tough. Deal with it.

 

[rosends]

You can't get anymore Jewish then Teaneck in NJ. I lived there 12 years and moved from there a few years ago. I'm in Hackensack now. I lived in Highland Park too.

But even shopping in the Shoprite on Rte 4 I have to check to make sure that I get the right Sriracha, wraps and frozen veggies, and often, I go home empty handed.

 

[roger1440]

But even shopping in the Shoprite on Rte 4 I have to check to make sure that I get the right Sriracha, wraps and frozen veggies, and often, I go home empty handed.

You know as well as I do, it's the old law of "supply and demand". With no demand there is no supply. You are better off in this area of the country then most other areas.

 

[rosends]

I'm off to sleep, but this wikipedia article has some interesting numbers about the actual cost of kosher supervision:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_tax_(antisemitic_canard)

 

[Tumah]

WANT TO HAVE IT? BS. There's no capitalist company that will pay for something that's not needed. It's an unnecessary expense.

Off the OU website

Which market? That market, which includes vegetarians, vegans, gluten free shoppers, and health buffs. The market, that Mintel, a leading market research company, reports includes 62 percent purchasing kosher for its quality rather than because of religious reasons. In other words, three out of five kosher food buyers are not motivated by religious influences...
...Market research indicates that fully 62 percent of people who buy kosher foods do so for reasons of “quality” while 51 percent say they buy kosher for its “general healthfulness.” A third buy kosher because they believe that kosher food safety standards are better than with traditional supermarket foods. Only 15 percent of respondents say they buy kosher food because of religious rules...

 

[Wharton]

AH, it makes the claim, but where is the symbol? It appears that they are making the claim based on what they know, not what is certified. Can you point to their supervisory agency?

They're still paying for kosher. Symbol or no symbol. The Coke and Pepsi you drink at fast food restaurants are kosher-no symbol. They pay.

 

[Wharton]

Off the OU website

I can play this game too.

Washington Post of Nov. 2, 1987

According to New York Orthodox Rabbi Schulem Rubin: "Kosher doesn't taste any better; kosher isn't healthier; kosher doesn't have less salmonella. You can eat a Holly Farm chicken which sells for 39 cents a pound on sale, and next taste a Kosher chicken selling for $1.69 a pound, and not tell the difference. There's a lot of money to be made! Religion is not based on logic!" - The Washington Post (November 2, 1987)

 

[Tumah]

I can play this game too.

Washington Post of Nov. 2, 1987

According to New York Orthodox Rabbi Schulem Rubin: "Kosher doesn't taste any better; kosher isn't healthier; kosher doesn't have less salmonella. You can eat a Holly Farm chicken which sells for 39 cents a pound on sale, and next taste a Kosher chicken selling for $1.69 a pound, and not tell the difference. There's a lot of money to be made! Religion is not based on logic!" - The Washington Post (November 2, 1987)

I question whether an Orthodox Rabbi would make such a derogatory statement towards his own religion. Especially considering that the only websites to feature this quote seem to be of the sort discussed in the Wikipedia link rosends linked earlier.
That being said, there is definitely a misconception about kosher among uninformed consumers that some companies are taking advantage of by taking certification on their products. That's for sure. That doesn't change the point though, does it? No one is feeding consumers this information, they're assuming it on their own. And there are likewise many informed consumers who are taking advantage of the third party monitoring that the kosher symbol provides. So as has been pointed out the only one you can blame for the proliferation of kosher certified products are your neighbors who choose them.

 

[Wharton]

I question whether an Orthodox Rabbi would make such a derogatory statement towards his own religion. Especially considering that the only websites to feature this quote seem to be of the sort discussed in the Wikipedia link rosends linked earlier.
That being said, there is definitely a misconception about kosher among uninformed consumers that some companies are taking advantage of by taking certification on their products. That's for sure. That doesn't change the point though, does it? No one is feeding consumers this information, they're assuming it on their own. And there are likewise many informed consumers who are taking advantage of the third party monitoring that the kosher symbol provides. So as has been pointed out the only one you can blame for the proliferation of kosher certified products are your neighbors who choose them.

And once again, I'll tell you that my neighbors usually have no choice.

 

[Tumah]

And once again, I'll tell you that my neighbors usually have no choice.

I was referring to the American consumer at large, not just your immediate neighbor. If there wasn't enough people interested in the certification, it wouldn't be so widespread.