It is a myth that meat slaughtered in a Halal way is cruel to the animal, this has been a case in point for many of those opposing processed Halal meat. Contrary to this halal meat is the most hygienic way of consuming meat products, in continuation of my previous posts, I bring forth to you some excerpts from an article which I recently came across in one of
the most popular daily -
“We read a kalma (Quranic
verse) before the meat is cut. Lekin, marta toh murga hi hai (Finally, it’s the
animal that pays the price). It’s just a question of using different methods of
slaughter,” shrugs Mohammad Salim, owner of a tiny meat shop in the
Gurdwara Road Market of New Delhi’s Kotla Mubarakpur area.
Dr V K Modi, head of
department of meat technology at the Central Food Technology Research
Institute in Mysore, says the halal method is effective in draining out
most of the blood from a slaughtered animal, which is vital if its meat is to
be soft. “In jhatka, chances of blood clotting are higher. This could spoil the
meat if it’s kept uncooked for a few days. It could also make the meat tougher
to chew.”
Halal involves a swipe
with a sharp blade across the animal’s neck, severing the windpipe, jugular
vein and carotid artery. Contrary to popular belief, Dr Modi, who trains
butchers in the art of slaughtering at the institute’s abattoir, says evidence
suggests that animals slaughtered through jhatka suffer more trauma than
those killed by halal. “The less an animal struggles, the better the meat.
When animals face trauma, the glycogen content in their muscles is activated,
leaving the meat tough. Stored glycogen is the agent that leads to rigor mortis
(or, stiffening of muscles on death),” Dr Modi says.
For the meat to be tender
and juicy, the pH count in the animal should ideally be around 5.4 after
slaughter. “Struggle leads to the utilisation of stored energy, making the pH
count rise to as high as 7,” In halal¸ the struggle is lesser by at least 20
per cent, claims a Delhibased nutrition expert.
Dr Modi has support from
Dr Karuna Chaturvedi, consultant nutritionist at Apollo Hospitals in New
Delhi. “Halal is considered healthier because after slaughter, blood is drained
from the animal’s arteries, ejecting most toxins because the heart continues to
pump for a few seconds after slaughter. In jhatka, not all the blood is
drained, leaving the meat tougher and drier.”
Ironically, in most
Indian abattoirs, animals are first stunned with 70 volts of electricity in the
brain, leaving them unconscious. “The animal’s state of unconsciousness reduces
its struggle,” says Dr Modi. However, Islamic scholar Maulana Wahiuddin Khan
argues that the Islamic code of slaughter doesn’t approve of stunning.
“According to Islam, the purpose of slaughtering is to release all blood from
the animal’s body, leaving no room for growth of micro-organisms. When stunned,
only a part of its blood is released.”
Flesh is lawful, blood, unlawful, states Islam, according to the Maulana. Stunning, in fact, puts the breaks on the blood drain due to a halt in the brain’s activity, freezing it mid-stream.
But Mohammed Noman Lateef, GM, Halal India Pvt. Ltd., an established halal certification body in India, highlights a subtle difference in detail. “We are not against stunning as long as it doesn’t kill the animal before it’s presented for slaughter.”
“By cutting the windpipe and the carotid artery, the flow of blood to the nerve in the brain that causes the sensation of pain, is stopped,” says Mufti Obaidullah Qasmi, former teacher at Darul Uloom, Deoband. “This leads to reduced pain.” The animal may appear to struggle and kick but that’s due to the contraction and relaxation of muscles deficient in blood rather than pain.
Lateef says halal is
finding favour even among non-Muslims for the hygiene factor. Halal, a $2.1
trillion industry is growing at the rate of $500 million annually. “By 2015,
Muslims will account for 25 per cent of the global population. Even in a
country like France, there are over eight million Muslims, who love meat. Their
needs cannot be ignored.”
Detailed article can
be found at below link
HJI View
Although it is
a personal choice, for Muslims it's a religious belief to have Halal meat
only but based on above arguments it is only more evident that Halal meat is
better way of not only slaughtering but of consuming the meat for it's hygienic
factors.
So,
Eat Halal, Stay
Healthy !!
We are improving the
efforts of making such joints serving halal food more easier.
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