Halal meat

[missmooncat]

I know halal meat is what muslims eat.But what exactly is different about it?is it slaughtered differently, or blessed?can anyone tell me,cos I sometimes have meat from halal butchers and think it tastes better.

thanks

[curiosity]

I was wondering if it tasted better myself, as we have a few Halal butchers in town. It was after seeing that programme about Supermarket secrets and the meat they use, I'd considered going to a farm or a reliable butcher. But my friend said halal meat tastes good. I think it is because of the way it was slaughtered that makes it Halal ( I think the throat is slit & the animal bleeds to death, but not 100% sure) But I would also like to know where the meat comes from, e.g is it an animal from a farm that has give it a good life, which apparently affects the taste.

[nicola_red]

Curiosity is right - the animal is ritually slaughtered which involves slitting of the throat.  I have no wish to disrespect anyone's religious beliefs but I do have to say that it's a horifically cruel death for an innocent creature, even more so than traditional British methods of slaughter.

[Louisebabe]

Barbaric, disgusting, horrific........what more can i say.....

[ursula62]

According to a vet friend of mine, Halal/Kosher slaughter methods are kinder than the traditional British methods. With Halal/Kosher ritual slaughter, the animal's throat is slit and it loses consciousness within a couple of seconds.  In slaughterhouses, animals are stunned with electricity before being cut open. Often they aren't completely dead.

Basically if you eat meat, you need to be aware that something has died to create your supper. If you can't live with that fact then it looks like being a veggie is your only option!

I'm an omnivore, not a veggie, but after watching some footage of a slaughterhouse, I wonder if I would eat meat if I had to kill the animal with my bare hands rather than buy it in a nice plastic packet from the supermarket.

[nicola_red]

I should add to my earlier answer in case people don't know me that I am a vegan and I wasn't trying to say that non-halal meat eaters are somehow kinder to animals than halal ones.  I agree with ursula.

[puttycake]

Nicola_red has the courage of her convictions - the rest of us are just hypocrites. Go Nicola!

[nicola_red]

Ooh thankyou puttycake, that's very nice to hear.

[Octavius]

Halaal has a general meaning and a more specific one. In Arabic-speaking countries, the term halaal is used to describe anything that is permissible under Islamic law, in contrast to haraam, that which is forbidden. This includes behavior, speech, dress, and manner.

A variety of foods are considered haraam (forbidden), including: the flesh of swine (pork), blood, and animals slaughtered in the name of anyone but God, carrion, carnivourous animals with the exception of all fish and sea animals, and all intoxicants (specifically alcohol).

The halaal method of slaughtering animals is to cut through the large arteries in the neck to drain all blood from the animal, because as noted above, the consumption of blood itself is forbidden.  This action of slaughtering an animal is a ritual religious act that is preceded by the words "In the name of God, most gracious, most merciful".

I witnissed the moment after a goat had it's throat cut (didn't see t being done) for Eid when I worked in Pakistan, it is neither pleasant or humane.

[Artemis]

Just to point out that in slaughterhouses the animals are rendered unconscious before the throats are cut. Sheep and pigs being smaller than cattle can either be electrocuted or gassed. Both of which are recoverable by the beast. With cattle a captive bolt is used to render the beast uncoscious which is irrevocable. The object of both methods is to render the beast unconscious but keep the heart pumping so the maximum amount of blood is pumped out. Tests have been taken that Halal/Kosher slaughter does not remove more blood than if rendered unconscious first. 

[lady_p_gold]

Does that mean that the people who use this method of slaughter have somehow been exempted from any legislation which I believe says that animals must be stunned before slaughter ?

[sumsi]

Halal slaughtering done the right way is very humane to the extent that Islamic law says that an animal that is to be slaughtered should be removed from the others, so its death doesn't affect the other animal, and the animal to be killed should not even see the knife it is to be slaughtered with. Its also so fast that it doesn't involve suffering.

L