A gentleman I know worked at a slaughter house for a few months. He was so disturbed by how the animals were treated, and how unsafe and disgusting it was, he said he only eats meat if it’s kosher now, because he knows the animals are killed more humanely for kosher meat. If you don’t know about how kosher meat is prepared, read on:

Jewish law states that kosher mammals and birds must be slaughtered according to a strict set of guidelines, the slaughter (shechita) (?????) which as a side-benefit minimizes the pain inflicted on the animal. This necessarily eliminates the practice of hunting wild game for food, unless it can be captured alive and ritually slaughtered.

A professional slaughterer, or shochet (????), using a large razor-sharp knife with absolutely no irregularities, nicks or dents, and checked carefully between killing each animal, makes a single cut across the throat to a precise depth, severing both carotid arteries, both jugular veins, both vagus nerves, the trachea and the esophagus, no higher than the epiglottis and no lower than where cilia begin inside the trachea, causing the animal to instantaneously bleed to death. Any variation from this exact procedure could cause unnecessary suffering; therefore, if the knife catches even for a split second or is found afterward to have developed any irregularities, or the depth of cut is too deep or shallow, the carcass is not kosher (nevela) and is sold as regular meat to the general public. The shochet must not only be rigorously trained in this procedure, but also a pious Jew of good character who observes the Sabbath, and who remains cognizant that these are God’s creatures who are sacrificing their lives for the good of himself and his community and should not be allowed to suffer. In smaller communities, traditionally the shochet was often the town rabbi or the rabbi of one of the local synagogues; large factories which produce Kosher meat have professional full time shochtim on staff. Koshat is now available either directly in local stores or by order everywhere in the world.

Once killed, the animal is opened to determine whether there are any of seventy different irregularities or growths on its internal organs, which would render the animal non-kosher. The term glatt kosher (although it is often used colloquially to mean “strictly kosher”) literally means “smooth”, and properly refers to meat where the lungs have absolutely no adhesions (i.e. scars from previous inflammation), thus there was never even a question of their not being kosher.

As Jewish law prohibits the consumption of the blood of any animal, all blood and large blood vessels must be removed from the meat. This is most commonly done by soaking and salting, but also can be done by a special broiling process. The hindquarters of a mammal are not kosher unless the sciatic nerve and the fat surrounding it are removed (Genesis 32, last verse). This is a very time-consuming process demanding a great deal of special training, and is rarely done outside Israel where there is a greater demand for kosher meat. When it is not done the hindquarters of the animal are sold for non-kosher meat. (source)

Now, obviously, I see no reason for animals to be killed for consumption since we can get all of our nutrition from non-animal sources. However, there are clearly still many people that eat meat. And I feel that, if they are going to eat meat, at least they could choose to buy animals that are killed in a kinder manner, such as with kosher meat.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it became standard for all slaughterhouses to kill animals this humanely? It’s not as wonderful as convincing the world to stop eating meat, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction. At least it shows the animals some respect, and a less horrifying death.

However, there is another Jewish ritual which is less humane, which VegNews briefly mentions in the most recent issue. For this ritual, kapparot, “Orthodox Hasidic rabbis swing chickens over their heads and then slice their throats with razors…” This ritual “is intended to allow the transference of an adherent’s sins into the body of a chicken so they can be extinguished along with the bird’s life.” Now, obviously I do not support this, whether it’s for religious purposes or not. But this ritual is completely unnecessary in the Jewish culture since “Rabbinical law permits the substitution of monetary donation for charitable purposes in place of a chicken, allowing people to partake in the ancient custom in a manner that is more consistent with Jewish teachings on cultivating compassion and respect for animals.” haaretz.com

So, if you know anyone still performing this ritual, I encourage you to talk to them about the more humane alternative: donating to charity. Not only are you not harming a poor, defenseless chicken, but you’re helping those in need. What a fantastic idea!