Something's Kosher Here!: Foodways Among Jewish Brooklyn College Nutrition Students

Abstract

Journal for the Stu4J of Food and Society The Jewish calendar is filled with observances framed by dietary prescriptions and proscriptions. For many Jewish New Yorkers who follow kosher dietary laws, traditional food habits pose challenges everydayand in many ways.Food-related conflicts and questions concerning holiday foods, religious fasting, nutrient adequacy, fat consumption, weight control, access to and the expense of kosher food, anorexia, body image and other diet-health factors arise on a ritual, daily and celebratory basis. I became aware of these issues in the course of my work at Brooklyn College where a fair number of Jewish professors and students of nutrition observe kosher dietary practices. Brooklyn College dietetics students graduate with skills to address food and nutrition issues in multicultural New York. Orthodox Jewish students have an intensified food focus influenced by their studies, Judaism's culture, Brooklyn's diversity, and life experiences, among other factors. For them, the studies of dietetics may either seamlessly meld principles of good nutrition with their cultural foodways or it may exacerbate personal dietary struggles. This paper looks at ways that Brooklyn College students who follow kosher dietary law face the challenges of reconciling traditional and new foodways, bridging traditions, generations and cultures, and putting nutrition theory to practice.