Halal and Kosher meat should labelling be mandatory?

Humbertbear

I am a vegan and I think if you are going to eat meat you shouldn’t quibble about how it is reared or slaughtered. If you visited an abattoir or researched how cows are treated and reared you wouldn’t want to eat them no matter how they are slaughtered.

That all depends, Pasture for Life animals are reared outside from birth to death, mainly on unimproved pasture as close to their natural habitat as possible, but with the added advantage of medical teatment if they become ill.

In their natural habitat animals that become ill or injured, together with those slowing down through age become easy prey for carnivores above them in the food chain. Is being chased to death when you are old and ill and then attacked and torn apart while alive a more pleasant death than in an abattoir?

Like you I abhor the industrialised rearing of farm animals, the appalling feed lots in the United States. are horrible beyond belief, But organic-plus meat, which is what Pasture for Life is, gives animals a natural habitat and a quick carefully organised death, which is more than they would get in the wild.

In a civilised country they should both be banned.

I am a vegan and I think if you are going to eat meat you shouldn’t quibble about how it is reared or slaughtered. If you visited an abattoir or researched how cows are treated and reared you wouldn’t want to eat them no matter how they are slaughtered.

I'd say you'd probably have to either kill your own dinner, or be stricly vegan, if you wanted no gory details.
Because slaughter is gory, in all its forms.

For me, I'd rather an animal wasn't conscious when it was killed, for a religion, because I don't believe its necessary, as sn atheist.

Halal and Kosher methods are not so different from any other method. There really isn't a nice way of slaughtering animals for meat.
I notice that there isn't a request to have which method is used listed, only if it is Halal or Kosher.
If you are concerned about animal welfare in how it is killed, would you not want to know if the animal was stunned, electrocuted, bolt in the head, minced? Should that be on the label?

Sleepyhead52

paddyann54

2507CO
Kosher meat has been available for over a century,it’s not new and has not been an issue.Its only since people became aware that Muslims use a similar method it has become a problem…funny that!
As posted above there are no slaughterhouses in Scotland that kill without stunning first .

Or maybe because yet another small, shouty group of people made us aware of the fact ... funny that!

I've known about the issues with Kosher meat since uni in the late 70s Paddyanne, I remember having a similar debate to this, back then (not on SM, obvs)

Local farmers and small organic farmers send their animals to the same slaughterhouses as the large industrial factory farms. The animals are killed in exactly the same way, and no more kindly. The whole process is inhumane, terrifying and painful for the animals.

Eleothan, yes, that is true.
But hopefully the less cruel method should be advocated.

I wrote to all the main supermarkets about 10 years ago asking if their meat was halal. I think lamb was the main issue. The general consensus was that New Zealand lamb may have been blessed to Allah, but not British lamb. I said I didn't want my meat blessed so I won't be buying it.

At the end of the day how are any of us going to know what we're eating? You can only go by what they tell you.

Unfortunately I don't think it would be possible to ban all halal or kosher food, there would be civil war. I think there should only be specific shops or smaller supermarkets selling halal or kosher, but failing that the meat should be clearly marked if it is one or the other. We all want to know what we're eating.

I agree the best way is to use a local butcher or farm shop, failing that buy British lamb and ask the supermarket about slaughtering methods. I think supermarkets vary according to the area, but it is a very grey area which needs a lot more clarity.

Yes I think that all meat should be labelled to indicate how it was slaughtered .
I stopped buying chilckens because the animals looked as though they had suffered whilst being slaughtered.
Apparently,88% of Halal meat is pre-stunned.
Kosher meat cannot be stunned according to Jewish dietary laws .
My Jewish neighbours no longer can afford the expense of Kosher meat due the expense -a great deal of it cannot be eaten .

I think there should be NO meat anywhere in the UK that is not from humanely slaughtered animals. That is the British way. If people living in this country don't want to conform to our way of life this is obviously not the right Country for them.

People who get enraged at the existence of Halal and Kosher meat are, in my opinion, focusing on a single moment in a farm animal's life rather than concentrating on the misery of their lives as a whole.

I have heard farmers referring to their animals as "the product" - seemingly unconcerned that such "product" is a living creature that experiences pain and fear. The huge demand for meat has created an industrial system of production which is completely inhumane. I think people should pay more attention to that than getting outraged about the method of killing.

No matter the rights and wrongs, and some are big wrongs, consumers have had long battles over accurate food labelling.
We should be told exactly what it is we are buying.

Cossy

ExDancer

I'm sure I read somewhere that all meat used in state school kitchens is now kosher slaughtered. I sincerely hope I'm wrong.

I’m pretty sure that this isn’t true, as most schools will be governed by the rules of either their local authority or their academy trust.

Some schools have meals supplied ready cooked, lots still maintain their own kitchen staff and chefs or cooks.

I would imagine that companies that prepare this food just say that the meat is kosher/halal to get the gig.

Makes it easy to deal with all groups and all persuasions. And how would anyone know otherwise?

Oh and I don’t eat meat and haven,t eaten any fowl since I was very young.

Not at all Rosie51 just pointing out that there was no outcry about this form of slaughter until it concerned Muslims.
I have always been aware of kosher food and rituals my mothers best friend from childhood until she died was Jewish
We ate foods of Jewish origin …it was just accepted as it was.
I have Muslim friends and I can’t see why all of a sudden it has become a huge issue.
If it’s to be banned it must be for both…I don’t believe in any god but I respect my friends right to follow there faith even when some aspects I don’t agree with.

nanna8

Horrible practice and yes,it should be banned. It won’t be ,though,because it would not be politically correct

I think it would be regarded as anti-Semitic and anti-Moslem. I can’t imagine that any Government of any colour would attempt this.

Horrible practice and yes,it should be banned. It won’t be ,though,because it would not be politically correct

What about fish and other sea food sources GoldenAge would you also advocate against their consumption? Not 'getting at' you, honestly interested.

Is it just the method of slaughter and place of rearing that gransnetters want to know about, or might they also want to know how much grazing land (if any) the livestock and chickens had enjoyed in their lives, how much exercise the little chickens had for their little (and beautiful) legs, and whether they could even flap their wings. Of course I hate the idea of certain slaughter methods but even if they're 'humane' animals know if they're being transported to their death, it's an instinct and they become anxious and this translates to physical changes. Not eating meat or poultry is the answer, and there are plenty of other protein sources.

paddyann54

2507CO
Kosher meat has been available for over a century,it’s not new and has not been an issue.Its only since people became aware that Muslims use a similar method it has become a problem…funny that!
As posted above there are no slaughterhouses in Scotland that kill without stunning first .

As you well know Kosher meat was only available for the longest time from Kosher butchers, it was not in every supermarket so most people never encountered it.
Stunning that is 'reversible' is not true stunning. You look for anti Muslim prejudice at every opportunity (even where it doesn't exist) but don't seem at all concerned about anti-semitism.....funny that!

2507C0 I totally agree with you. It wouldn't happen in reverse if we were in their countries! We are being taken for mugs and about time it stopped.

paddyann54 Well it is appalling and cruel. Maybe people didn't realise what it entailed regarding kosher before.

paddyann54

2507CO
Kosher meat has been available for over a century,it’s not new and has not been an issue.Its only since people became aware that Muslims use a similar method it has become a problem…funny that!
As posted above there are no slaughterhouses in Scotland that kill without stunning first .

Or maybe because yet another small, shouty group of people made us aware of the fact ... funny that!

Sago

“Use the right term next time”

butterandjam Who do you think you are speaking to posters in such a way?

I expect it is someone who feels so deeply that they forgot their manners, just for a moment. It's not an excuse but, just maybe, excusable. I am sad that some people have used what I believe was a genuine question to take pot shots at meat eaters!