Kosher vs Halal meats

[Mr Rayon]

Are Jews allowed to eat Halal meat based on Judaism belief?

Are Muslims allowed to eat Kosher meat based on Islamic belief?

Essentially are Halal and Kosher meats the same things? What are the differences?

[ajb]

To us as outsiders (or Kafir as our Muslim "friends" would say) they seem the same, and in my opinion are both cruel ways to butcher animals and have no place in a modern secular society. I think we should all try to avoid Kosher and Halal as best as possible. I don't avoid it "religiously", but I won't knowing buy Halal at my supermarket. (There has been some scandal about supermarkets not telling the public if Halal meat has been used in some products. Also, some public events have been supplied Halal without telling the public.) I occasionally eat curry and kebabs, but recently I am thinking of avoiding these also... I think I will try .

 

However, I am sure the practices though similar (they do have common origins) are different and different enough so that a Jew would not eat Halal and a Muslim would not eat Kosher.

Edited November 26, 2010 by ajb

[John Cuthber]

I don't know how true it is but I have heard that the difference is essentially the language in which the prayer is said.

Since the animal won't understand either language and God, if He exists, will understand both, this distinction seems a bit silly to me.

 

Someone better informed than me has taken the trouble to compile this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_and_Jewish_dietary_laws_compared

[Mr Rayon]

To us as outsiders (or Kafir as our Muslim "friends" would say) they seem the same, and in my opinion are both cruel ways to butcher animals and have no place in a modern secular society.

 

From what I've heard the halal/kosher slaughter are scientifically proven to be the most humane form of animal slaughter out there. This is because the knife first slices through the arteries supplying blood to the brain, and the instant loss of blood supply causes the animal to lose consciousness almost the moment it comes into contact with the knife. Now I'm sure you all know from cuts you may have experienced that the pain doesn't actually kick in for a few moments. In this case of halal/kosher slaughter, by the time the pain begins, the animal is already unconscious and therefore doesn't feel it.

 

In order for an animal to be halal/kosher, the knife used must be perfectly sharp, to the point where running a fingernail up the blade will find absolutely no dents. Even the tiniest knick renders the knife unfit for use, requiring it to be sharpened, a time consuming job. The reason for this is so that the blade will slide into the neck without causing even the slightest tear, meaning it cuts straight through the arteries without obstruction, rendering the animal unconscious as explained above.

 

In contrast, generally in society non-halal/kosher slaughter involves stunning animals with electric bolts to the brain has been shown to be effective in less than 3/4 cases, meaning that the other quarter of animals die in terrible pain due to shoddy slaughtering techniques. I think the alternative is a much more cruel way to kill animals for meat.

Edited November 27, 2010 by Voltman

[ajb]

From what I've heard the halal/kosher slaughter are scientifically proven to be the most humane form of animal slaughter out there.

 

In contrast, generally in society non-halal/kosher slaughter involves stunning animals with electric bolts to the brain has been shown to be effective in less than 3/4 cases, meaning that the other quarter of animals die in terrible pain due to shoddy slaughtering techniques.

 

Not all Halal meat is from animals first stunned. The RSPCA and VBA are worried about this.

[John Cuthber]

I suspect that slaughter according to any of the accepted sets of rules is relatively humane.

However I think that in all too many cases the rules won't get followed. At that point it hardly matters which set of rules you are not following.

[Newbies_Kid]

From what I've heard the halal/kosher slaughter are scientifically proven to be the most humane form of animal slaughter out there. This is because the knife first slices through the arteries supplying blood to the brain, and the instant loss of blood supply causes the animal to lose consciousness almost the moment it comes into contact with the knife.

 

 

Agreed. We muslim must sharpen the knife as sharp as possible to avoid pain for animal.

[John Cuthber]

Just for the record,

this

"The instant loss of blood supply causes the animal to lose consciousness almost the moment it comes into contact with the knife."

is an unsupported assertion, no matter how often you say it.

[Newbies_Kid]

When no oxygen pumped into brain this make the animal lose consciousness. As the brain already dead, the pain receptor will no longer functional and the animal feel no pain. Doesn't this quite logic isn't it. You never conscious when your skin get scratched by razor blade unless you see it in the mirror.

[Mr Skeptic]

In contrast, generally in society non-halal/kosher slaughter involves stunning animals with electric bolts to the brain has been shown to be effective in less than 3/4 cases, meaning that the other quarter of animals die in terrible pain due to shoddy slaughtering techniques. I think the alternative is a much more cruel way to kill animals for meat.

 

As I understand it, the standard slaughtering techniques are as humane as possible, but exceptions are made to the laws so that traditional slaughtering techniques are still allowed. In any case, I'm sure that occasionally people fail at properly performing a halal/kosher slaughtering too. As for the 3/4 number, could you give a reference for that? It seems to me that would be unacceptably low.