Pollan discussed many different aspects regarding food, such as the meat many Americans consume; where it comes from, and the process an animal goes through in order to become a meat product shelved in a grocery store. He talked about this in his book: The Omnivore’s Dilemma and in a documentary he starred in titled Food Inc. He tries to show his readers and viewers that the American way of slaughtering animals does not consider the animals, but only the consumers. Pollan lacked information on other methods of slaughtering and how it compares to the method used by many Americans. For example many individuals claim that the Islamic method of slaughtering treats the animal with respect and saves the animal from severe pain, while the meat produced using the Western method does not. I wanted to dig deeper to try and figure out the differences regarding the treatment of animals being slaughtered the Haram way vs. the Halal way.
I decided to do my research online; doing so, I came across a website claiming: “Non-Halal meat is unhealthy and indisposed.” I decided to read this article which starts by discussing quotes from The Holy Quran. Reading further on, it talks about the role of human beings and other animals living in this world with us, and what is and is not to be consumed by a member of the Islamic religion. Later on they get to what I was looking for by discussing the topic of slaughtering animals two different ways, the Halal way and the Haram way. According to Kamoonpuri, slaughtering an animal the Halal way does not harm the creature in any way at all, whereas slaughtering the animal using the method practiced in many Western societies (Haram way) causes the poor creature to suffer from severe pain.
To prove this claim, they decided to conduct an experiment which involved slaughtering animals two different ways: by using a sharp knife to make a deep incision on the neck, while cutting the jugular veins and carotid arteries of sides and the trachea and esophagus (Halal), or by stunning the animal using a CBP (Captive Bolt Pistol) which is considered Haram. Before slaughtering the animals, electrodes were surgically implanted at different points on the skull of the animal to record results. Electroencephalographs and electrocardiograms were used to record the condition of the heart and brain of the animal. At the end it was concluded that the Islamic method uses a much more compassionate way of slaughter; there was no evidence of pain suffered by the animal, and the animal went into a sudden state of deep sleep since there was a large amount of blood loss from the body. Slaughtering the creature using the Western method of captive bolt stunning caused severe pain to the animal. After discussing the results of the experiment conducted, the many things taken into account when slaughtering a creature using the Islamic method were discussed. The sharpening of the knife should not be done in front of the animal, animals should not be slaughtered in front of one another, animals should be given water before being slaughtered, and the animal should be laid on its sides, while being soothed and stroked gently.
It is forbidden in Islam to tamper with the lives of animals and inflict torture upon them. After reading through this article, I found that the Islamic way of slaughtering the animal indeed shows much care and concern for the animal. I compared this to what I saw and read about the American food industry and their treatment with animals while taking a part of this food unit. The research I did connects to the issue of animal cruelty discussed in Food Inc. and shown in Our Daily Bread. Michael Pollan also talked about it in his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma. There were parts in the film and the book where the poor treatment of animals was used to aware the reader/viewer about the “behind the scenes” of the American food industry. This was done by discussing/showing the environment they live in and how they are handled in the process of slaughtering. Many individuals claim that when slaughtering the animal using the method many Westerners use, animals are treated as if they have no feeling or emotion. This is why I decided to research an alternate way of slaughtering animals. I think Pollan should have discussed different ways of slaughter such as the Halal and Kosher way to present alternatives to the Western way of slaughtering an animal, which lacks on care of the animal, and makes the creature become a victim of severe pain.
To be honest living as a Muslim consuming only Halal meat my whole life, I wasn’t much aware about all this. I mean I knew about the method since I have witnessed it a couple of times when I was young, but I never really took time to do my own research on this topic. I decided to look more into this during the food unit since I became fully aware of the slaughtering methods practiced in the Western culture, which is indeed cruel to the animal. I researched the different methods the United States uses to slaughter an animal; the USDA approves all the following methods of slaughter: chemical (carbon dioxide), mechanical (gunshot), mechanical (captive bolt) and electrical (stunning or slaughtering the animal using electrical current). This matters to me because I find it disturbing that the Western way of slaughtering animals does not seem to show much concern for the treatment of their animals, and this is not what I am taught by the religion I follow.
Citations:
"NON-HALAL MEAT IS UNHEALTHY AND INDISPOSED A SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION." http://www.islamic-laws.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct 2010.
"Animal Slaughter." www.Wikipedia.com. N.p., 20 Oct 2010. Web. 30 Oct 2010.
No comments:
Post a Comment