I reccomend everyone pick up some halal "bacon" - the packages usually say "breakfast" beef.... it's damn good stuff, and the drippings are killer.

When I was in the halal market I saw they had a cut of cow that looked like bacon - is that what this is? Beef bacon?

if everything were kosher or halal, the meat industry might be a better place, no? meh, maybe.

i've heard some varying opines on what exactly kosher meat signifies and considering i live in midwood, a very orthodox jewish neighborhood, AND right next door to a glatt kosher supermarket, i'm always wondering what REALLY makes kosher meat...kosher.

i know this is silly and i could probably wiki it, but here's the weird things i've been told:

someone once told me it's just having a rabbi present, another said it's got something to do with packing the entire slaughtered animal in salt (eh?), another said it was uttering a certain prayer, and another version was a lot like the halal list above. i should just go wiki it!

my husband had to visit killing floors as part of his job working with meat inspectors... the one he found the most difficult to witness was the Kosher plant -- the animal has its throat cut, and it is conscious while it happens. He said that he saw animals hung upside down while they looked to be still alive... He hasn't been able to eat Kosher meat since that day...

kdkaboom, I think Kosher meat is quite similar to Halal, although I'm neither Jewish nor Muslim. But I believe the guidelines come from the part of the Torah that overlaps with the Koran.

And I agree that the meat industry might be better if we all ate Kosher or Halal beef, but what about the hindquarters! No cheeseburgers! (OK, I know cheeseburgers aren't kosher, either).

what about the animal? is halal or kosher really more humane way to slaughter it?

well, would you rather have you throat slit swiftly and smoothly so that you didn't even immediately feel it (think how it takes a minute to notice you've been cut with your kitchen knife) and then have the blood drained so that you lose consciousness and essentially die peacefully in your sleep, or would you rather be electrocuted in the bumm, often not enough to properly stun or kill you which is the supposed purpose, and then start to be cut apart while you are still kicking, screaming, and most definitely alive (not nerve reaction).

That is the difference between kosher and non-kosher meat. And the reason I did not eat meat for 6 years.

My boyfriend owns a large Halal slaughter house in New York. Each animal is taken away from the other animals when it is slaughtered. It is given water to drink beforehand, and each animal is killed with one cut to the throat while ritual prayers are recited. The knives are re-sharpened before and after each killing. The animals are not kept in cages. The chickens are not piled on top of each other in crates. His poultry comes from Amish farms, and his lamb and goats are free range from Texas. The animals are fed all natural feed, and they are never given drugs or fed any animal by-products.
The Halal laws are very similar to the Kosher laws. It is about respecting the creature whose life you are taking, and acting with reverent accordance. Two-thirds of my boyfriend's customers are not Muslim. They are just people looking for responsibly raised and slaughtered meat. I have lamb chops in my freezer right now, and I know exactly where and how they were produced. And I get the freshest eggs of anyone I know!

Monika1, it is interetsing that your husband finds the slaugher of kosher/halal animals more vile than those of the standard method. Somehow it sickens me more to think of the cows being stunned on a conveyor and hopefully unconcious as they are slaughtered. I do eat meat, and am not planning to stop, but I would much prefer to know the animal was killed humanely and as painleslly as possible versus being distraught and scared out of their wits prior to death.

I have to echo what emmyp said. It is part of the dietary laws that the animals are killed as humanely and quickly as possible and they are to be treated better as they are raised.

I am so happy that when I move to Pittsburgh I will have access to a number of Kosher and one Halal butcher shop. It is also my understanding (while unconfirmed) that they would be free of artificial hormones - but I might be incorrect in that part.

hanging upside down and bleeding to death is humane? the more I know about meat the less I want to eat any of it.

kdkaboom (and others) -

In order for meat to be kosher, it must fit a number of requirements:
- It must be from a kosher animal (e.g., cow, as opposed to pig)
- It must have been in good health before its slaughter (there are technical details as to how this is defined)
- It must be slaughtered at the neck with a very sharp knife (again, I'm not getting into some of the technicalities)
- Some portions of the fat, and all blood must be removed. (The blood is drawn out by packing the fresh meat in salt, which is where kosher salt gets its name from.)

A blessing is generally said before the slaughter, but its absence would not, I think, render the meat non-kosher.

And a rabbi is generally supposed to be present to ensure that all the above have been strictly followed.

There may be some others, but those are the main points.

In theory, this is all meant to ensure a humane and clean process.
In practice, unfortunately, there are ways to abuse the process (which is what monika1's husband saw, and what's detailed here).

thank you, reuven! :)

Wow, that wiki post made me sad! I had no idea but they seem to be a rogue source so hopefully the rest are respectful for the life they are taking. I wonder how you can know if your meat is from the bad place - can they tell you if you ask? I would assume so as they are supposed to know all the places the meat has been. That is one thing I like about Whole Foods meat dept.

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One thing to keep in mind is that dietary restrictions like Halal or Kosher came not only from humane reasons, but safety reasons as well.

One reason pork is generally frowned on in either is because it's so much easier for humans to get sick on it.

The same reason is the basis for decreeing that animals should be conscious until slaughtered - it was intended to keep people from eating a cow that was sick enough to be passed out or near death. Obviously, any cow that sick might pose a serious risk to anyone who ate it in ancient times.

Nowadays, like pork, it's a proclamation that is a little outdated. We don't have to worry as much about sick cows getting into the food supply, although unscrupulous people sometimes do it anyway. In the grand scheme of things, though, a sudden trigger-bolt to the head probably isn't any more humane and a super-fast slice.

As in all things, just how "humane" kosher, halal, or regular meat is depends on the individual factory and the workers themselves.

In one respect, though, halal still has an important safety aspect - it's far healthier to eat animals that are NOT eating cannibalistic byproducts.

what i appreciate about kosher and halal slaughtering is the respect that is paid to the animal. i would rather end my life with a slit throat and a prayer than with an electric current up my...

First and foremost, I appreciate the information. Very interesting!

Second, the thought of eating any kind of meat right now is nauseating. (and I usually love it)

So I am Muslim, and while there are likely more humane methods of killing animals nowadays (anesthetizing and whatnot) I think that the original reasons for killing the animal while they are fully aware is

1) as someone said, to know the animal is healthy, and

2) to respect the animal.

Once while I was in my front yard trying to pick a pear from our pear tree, my aunt came up to me and told me not to. She pointed out that it was sunset and (apparently according to our culture) plants go to sleep when the sun is not out. She told me to never pick fruit after dark, because you should not kill something while it is sleeping. It is disrespectful. Kind of like stabbing a man in the back, I guess. I think that is part of the reason why animals are still slaughtered like this today.

Halal is definitely the more humane way...

For everything else we use scientific experiments and logic to come to conclusions... but when it comes to the Halal slaughter issue all i see from the opposition is propaganda and emotional blackmail...

Show a few animals convulsing on the floor and covered in blood.. and ooooh.... it must be wrong..

no research no experiment.. objective achieved...

Muslims don't unnecessarily torture the animals unlike most other western style abattoirs / slaughterhouse workers.. (Its against our religion..).
The animal dies faster with the Halal way...
The animal drains more blood in the halal way...
The animal feels less... Yes that's right less!! pain...
The meat is more hygienic, safer to eat and tastier...(something you must try a few times to experience..)

its backed by independent research,... and the list goes on..

Full article with a German study to back up its claims..

I don't really want to enter the ethics-of-halal debate myself because I don't know enough, but just keep in mind that you never want to buy halal meat for a steak or roast, because the absence of blood just makes it flavourless and dry, and in the case of a roast, means that you get little to no juices that you would otherwise make a gravy with. I lived in Turkey once for several months and quickly learned this. (Minced beef is generally fine because how it tends to be cooked.)

I had spoken to a friend who recommended Halal meat as a more humane approach to slaughtering an animal. After reading up on it though, I still have my doubts, who is to say that the animal feels less pain from this method? With the halal method of slaughter, the animal isn't even stunned at all, so therefore I believe the animal has a full understanding of what is happening. The animal is possibly less stressed prior to the slaughter, but in the long run is it more humane? I know these animals are reared to be eaten, but from what I have read they are still pretty intelligent animals.

On the western methods of slaughtering and the humane treatment of animals perhaps read Slaughterhouse by Gail A Eisnitz.

I don't know WHERE this article got its research, but here is some information for you...
'The Sharia term for halal slaughter is dhakat. Dhakat is to slaughter an animal by cutting the trachea, the esophagus, and the jugular vein, letting the blood drain out while saying “Bismillah allahu akbar”—in the name of Allah the greatest.

Many Christians, Hindus or Sikhs and Jews find it offensive to eat meat slaughtered according to Islamic ritual (although Jews are less likely to be exposed to such meat, because they eat kosher). The issue for many Christians is that in halal slaughter, an imam offers the animal up as a sacrifice to Allah which makes it meat sacrificed to idols.'
And, if you'd like to know more visit: http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=39442