On the subject of meat: given the totally unbelievable crap livestock gets fed these days in the "West", the massive loads of drugs and hormones they get dosed with, the monstrous conditions under which they subsist from birth to death and the frightening loads of assorted substances that get added to their meat to lengthen shelf-life, maximise profits and minimise human health, US/UK residents in particular might benefit from jumping onto the Islamic "Halal-certified" bandwagon?

With respect for animals, Prophet Muhammad forbade the injury or killing of an animal after it had been caged or bound (al-masbura), to being used for targeting after being caged or bound (mujaththam), or for amputation of part or whole of a limb whilst still alive (al-muthla) and the beating of animals (Bukhari 65:8 #1922).
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Perhaps the most attentive halal meat can be found in North Dakota in the USA. Zem Zem farms in North Dakota gets certified zabiha (slaughtered animal) products come from selected farms where there is humane treatment and the natural vegetarian diet of livestock. The diet consists of natural grasses and grains with absolutely no animal by-products or hormones. Also, the livestock are monitored from birth by the Islamic Society of North Dakota (Dakotahalal, p.1, 2). It is then slaughtered according to Islamic regulation.

This is the only way to guarantee that the meat is halal. It ensures the rights of the animal, religious rites and doesn't compromise human health. From animal husbandry to relieving hunger, justified concerns are alleviated and reduce outbreaks of animal diseases.

Or so "they" say.

Only joking/provoking... ;-)

However, the frozen chickens in my local supermarket (an Italian "hard-discount" chain i.e. own-brand products only) are certified "halal" - which makes commercial sense as the chain has outlets in Bosnia-Herzegovina - and I must admit I find them excellent. I'm not particularly worried about slaughter by throat-slitting being "crueller" than stungunning-or-whatever as I grew up seeing free-range poultry killed traditional small-farm style with a knife = quick and probably less terrifying for the poor creatures than industrial plants and conveyor-belts?  

P.S. I found cheap supermarket poultry in the UK downright disgusting - tasted like seagulls due I guess to being fed on fishmeal? and the texture of the meat was flabby, it fell apart with hardly any cooking, probably because the poor beasts were reared in too-small cages where they couldn't strut around?

The poultry I bought in the US was less "fishy" in flavour than the UK ones but even more flaccid in texture plus after being boiled, if I left any sitting in its soup-water it would start to rot and stink in a most horrific way after only a few hours on top of the stove... really scary, it smelt very different from anything I'd experienced here.

The meat I buy here is slightly tougher than my experience of the "anglosphere" kind but it tastes a lot better, plus it keeps even outside the fridge for over 24 hours even in summer. I often wonder what was "in" those US chickens I ate?


"Ignoring moralities is always undesirable, but doing so systematically is really worrisome." Mohammed Khatami