http://www.bifconference.com


Sign up!

Quick links:

Share the EXTRA

Connect with
our community:

Follow us on twitterJoin us on Twitter














Bookmark and Share

Religious Slaughter

Religious slaughter requirements explained.

Religious slaughter has the goal of producing good food for all — scientifically, culturally, religiously and emotionally, said Joe Regenstein, professor emeritus of food science at Cornell University and head of the Cornell Kosher and Halal Food Initiative. He spoke to more than 100 attendees from five countries at the fifth International Symposium on Beef Cattle Welfare (ISBCW) in Manhattan, Kan., June 8-10.


Joe Regenstein

Religious slaughter has the goal of producing good food for all — scientifically, culturally, religiously and emotionally, said Joe Regenstein.

He shared some initial clarifications, saying both kosher and halal are not classified as such because of blessings. A product is or is not kosher or halal according to whether it follows the rules, not because the rabbi or imam is there, he explained. The rabbi and imam provide a third-party audit to assure that the rules are followed. However, both groups do say a blessing with respect to slaughter: Muslims bless each animal, and Jews bless each batch of animals.


So, what are the rules? Generally, kosher and halal cover the allowed animals and the prohibition of blood, he explained. Kosher allows ruminants with split hooves and that chew their cud, such as a cow, sheep, goat, deer and giraffe. Halal allows non-carnivorous animals, which includes the same animals plus camels and rabbits. Kosher allows traditional birds — but not ostrich, emu or rhea — and fish with fins and removable scales. Halal includes birds like the ostrich, emu or rhea, and all animals that spend their entire life in the water, but many Muslims are more restrictive in practice, he noted.


Both have specific slaughter requirements, most notably that animals are made unconscious by a cut across the neck. Kosher includes inspection of animals after slaughter, deveining, and soaking and salting. Both require that all byproducts derived from animals must be obtained from religiously slaughtered animals.


He noted that there are many other rules, but added that a few more key rules include the separation of milk and meat and special Passover restrictions for kosher, and prohibition of alcohol for halal. Both respective religions have procedures for making equipment acceptable for kosher and halal.


He shared a statement by Temple Grandin, professor of livestock behavior and welfare at Colorado State University, on kosher slaughter: “Recently, I participated in a ritual kosher slaughter — in this ritual, the way it was meant to be done, I must say. This was at a plant where the management really understood the importance and significance of what they were doing, and communicated this to their employees — and to the animals, as well, I believe.


“After some practice, I learned that the animals would stand quietly and not resist being restrained if I eased the chin-lift up under the animal’s chin. Jerking the controls or causing the apparatus to make sudden movements made the cattle jump. … Some cattle were held so loosely by the head-holder and the rear pusher gate that they could easily have pulled away from the rabbi’s knife. I was relieved and surprised to discover that the animals don’t even feel the super-sharp blade as it touches their skin. They made no attempt to pull away.”


He concluded that research on religious slaughter should be careful of issues that are not “religious requirements” but which confound the research results, like people, facility, equipment and non-slaughter stress. These need to be optimized before looking at the impact of the religious slaughter procedure.


Watch for additional coverage of the 2016 ISBCW on www.angus.media and in the Angus Journal and Angus Beef Bulletin. Comprehensive meeting coverage will be archived at www.api-virtuallibrary.com/meetings_other_news.html.


comment on this story

 



 

 



[Click here to go to the top of the page.]