N.z. Halal, Are You Aware?

[Khandro]

Not sure whether this should go in 'Food' or 'R&S'. I'm informed (Spectator) that all lamb imported into the UK from New Zealand is halal, I had no idea of this.

If this is true the majority of the UK lamb-eating public, are eating halal meat whether they approve of this method of slaughter or not to satisfy the requirements of a small proportion of the population.

What do you think?

[EDDIE51]

I have said this on AB several times over the last few years.
100% of NZ exported lamb has been Halal for over 5 years now.
Halal is a very large and valuable part of the world wide trade in all types of sheep meat.So it make sound economic sense to use Halal slaughter for all Sheep meat products. All but a tiny portion of all sheep meat is produced by Halal slaughter no matter where in the world it is produced.

[Hypognosis]

Thanks, Togo, hc & Eddie.

I haven't read hc's link yet but it has just occurred to me that the southern hemishphere being the opposite season meant we could have 'spring' lamb in autumn and winter or, with freezing, all year round.

[EDDIE51]

The ONLY difference between Halal slaughter and 'normal'slaughter is that in Halal slaughter a tape loop of prayers is played over a loudspeaker in the background of the slaughter house. Any one male or female, Muslim Christian, any Faith or no Faith or not can be a Halal slaughter 'man', as long as they have a tape of prayers to play.
Jewish slaughter on the other hand is far worse , the animals are not even stunned , they must die fully aware of what is happening to them. Only a fully trained male Jew can be a Jewish slaughter man. A Rabbi must be present to ensure all the correct ritual is carried out and that the animals are fully conscious as they die. But of course we never hear of this as the meat is sold only to other Jews.
Nearly all mass produced chicken is Halal as well by the way!
The only way to be sure you are not eating Halal meat is to stick to Pork !

[jno]

All NZ animals are stunned before slaughter, as Hypognosis has already pointed out. If this isn't humane enough for you, you probably shouldn't be eating meat.

[hc4361]

Yes, there are still Halal slaughterhouses in the UK which do not stun.

[Hypognosis]

I think the NZ FAQ I linked to said something to the effect that they ran stun-revive tests, to demonstrate that the stun strength was non-fatal.

Obviously, no-one can know that electrically induced torpor guarantees that the animal experiences no sensation of pain; it merely loses the power of movement, so it cannot react in any way we can observe.

I probably shouldn't be but I'm curious whether this or ECT shocks are stronger (proportionate to body size)? (I'm guessing the animals don't go into seizures).

[Khandro]

Having lived among them and befriended several, I've always admired the Sikhs, they seem to have a good slant on life. Christians need to understand that Allah is not just another word for ‘God’ (Allah means ‘THE god’, not ‘God’) and that Allah, by denying in the Koran that he ever had a son, and by denying the crucifixion of Jesus, puts clear water between the Koran and the Bible. Allah is an idol, and meat dedicated to him is meat sacrificed to an idol.

Sikhs understand this very well, which is why their religion expressly forbids them from eating halal meat. It also explains why they, and anyone who desires openness and honesty in food labelling, are so disturbed that halal meat is being sold surreptitiously with unclear labelling. I would go further and say it shouldn't be sold at all.

[hc4361]

Sikhs won't eat Halal or Kosher meat because they only eat meat from animals that have been killed instantly, not bled out slowly.

[jourdain2]

Well, I'm with the Sikhs on this. Sikhs have never provided integrational problems either.

[tamborine]

ALL beasts are humanely slaughtered in NZ. Sheep are electrically stunned before the jugular is severed. Same as UK DEFRA abattoirs.

http://www.mia.co.nz/industry_information/FAQ-halal/index.htm

[-SharonA-]

Meat is meat!