Welcome to MipiKale
Whether you are a strict vegetarian or love meat, MipiKale is a place to share information, ideas, and news about animal-free kosher food. That could be vegan, or plant-based, cuisine. Or it could be real meat and dairy products produced through cellular agriculture, growing proteins, fats, and other types of cells. The two are different of course, but they have similar goals: creating a sustainable food economy that is better for the environment and health, and can feed a growing population. Kosher comes in for millions of people who buy kosher foods, whether for religious reasons, or because they perceive that the certification is an indicator of quality. MipiKale is not about lecturing or politics; it is about sharing information.
Plant-Based
For those who follow kosher regulations about separating meat and milk, both plant-based and cellular agriculture foods have the potential to be disruptive to the entire kosher food industry. Depending on how they are processed, plant based dairy products can be used with meat and vice versa. Already restaurants are serving kosher cheeseburgers, either made from beef and vegan cheese or real cheese on a vegan burger (or vegan burgers with vegan cheese). As the products continue to improve to the point that they taste like the original “real thing.” the need to make distinctions about what one can eat becomes less onerous.
Cultured or Cellular Agriculture
And cellular agriculture is even more disruptive. Real dairy milk and cheese, identical to what a cow produces, that is pareve and can be served with beef. Real animal meat that is pareve (maybe) and can be served with dairy (from a cow or a lab). Indeed, if the promise of these technologies comes true to life, then these methods of producing proteins and fats will become the predominant means of producing meat and dairy products. In such a world, it is conceivable that there will be a flood of kosher foods, no distinction between meat and dairy restaurants or home kitchens, and almost any restaurant could conceivably be kosher.
Our Site
When or if this will happen is speculative. But the industry is moving forward with new and better products rapidly. MipiKale will document this with industry news, new products announcements, interviews with key players in the market, taste tests, and more. We are starting small and hope to grow over time. Don’t expect daily updates just yet. If there is something you would like to see, let us know. We welcome comments, constructive criticism, and hearty but respectful debate. Due to the nature of the Internet, all comments are going to be moderated.
Kashrut
There are different standards of kosher, including differences on leniencies and stringencies, ashkenazi vs sepharadi, hasidic vs mitnagid, and whose supervision is acceptable. In general, MipiKale seeks to avoid these debates (and will not allow comments to discuss them).
Our policy in general will be to disclose who provides kashrut supervision on an item and let the market decide its acceptability. Our description of kashrut rules is stated in broad, general terms. There are plenty of Websites that go into greater detail for those who wish a detailed primer. We are also aware that some of the supervision agencies or individuals in the vegan food marketplace are not widely accepted or found on common lists.
If asked, we would encourage restarants and food manufacturers to utilize a supervision listed on either the Kosherquest or CRC websites, without judging the reliability of others that are not. We see this as good business: if you are seeking to reach a market, don’t use a service mark that is not widely accepted.
Submissions and advertising.
Want to write for us? Or tell us about your product or service? Great! We welcome submissions, press releases and opportunities to test products or do a company/product profile. Please note that we are a volunteer effort for now. All submissions are subject to editorial review. We will accept advertising and sponsorship once the site grows. We will always operate transparently.
