A report published this week by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said 51% of cows slaughtered by traditional Jewish (shechita) methods during a survey by the Food Standards Agency were rejected as not meeting religious requirements but "fit for wider consumption".
Forty-three per cent of shechita-slaughtered sheep were also rejected.
When the same survey into slaughterhouses was conducted in 2018, 15% of cattle and 27% of sheep slaughtered for kosher meat were rejected.
Additionally, the hindquarters of cattle, sheep and goats slaughtered by shechita are not considered kosher and are routinely sold on the non-Jewish market. The report said kosher food business operators provided:
no meaningful information" when asked about the destination of meat from the hindquarters. It said it is "unclear whether hind quarters are sent on for wider consumption.
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This is an appalling abuse of humane slaughter legislation which requires all animals be humanely stunned before being slaughtered; except on religious grounds. I think all animals should be humanely slaughtered without exception. Religious grounds are not reasonable grounds for any animal to be inhumanely slaughtered.
ReplyDeleteThe NS Society should campaign for the labeling of all ritual slaughtered meat because it is all inhumane and only permitted under religious exception. Halal slaughter produces an even greater disproportionate percentage of animals ritually slaughtered for Islam. Muslims make up just over 1% but a high % of it is sold to unsuspecting non-Muslims. For example, a Muslim run fast food outlet is selling as much as 99% of its meat produce to non-Muslims. That makes for a huge number of livestock being inhumanely slaughtered on exceptional religious grounds that ought not be.
The reason for the disproportionate ritual slaughter of animals for consumption outside of either religion is not driven be profit. Some Islamic leaders have asserted that feeding Halal to non-believers cleanses the way for Islam -if that is the motivation behind it -then I see that as a hate crime.
Your opinion on this topic is about as relevant as mine on transubstantiation. Kosher slaughter is a complex issue with many rules, but when it is done properly, it is very, very quick. The knives used have to be incredibly sharp, and there needs to be an absolutely clean cut. There's no rule that the animal has to be shackled and hoisted, or frightened in any way in the pricess. Stunning the animalmakes the animal invalid.
ReplyDeleteKosher slaughter is very complex, but it can and should be humane. Stunning the animal beforehand makes the animal treif. We can eat the hindquarters, but the sciatic nerve must be removed, and this requires a skilled kosher butcher.
ReplyDeleteYour opinion on this is about as significant as mine on transsubstantiation
Sorry, I was in a vehicle and had trouble editing.
ReplyDelete