Kosher Jews and Halal Muslims: Representations of Ritual Slaughter and the Voices of Young People

By Shanza Ali and Ben Kasstan

Huffington Post - 15/04/2014

Whilst some insightful articles have been written about the calls for 'reform' in the kosher and halal meat industry, notably those published in The Guardian, there remain issues in the representation of who a ban would affect. The images of 'ultra-Orthodox' Jews or observant Muslims in their visible insignia lead the 'general' public to believe that perhaps only a minority of people in these faiths abide by the religious laws of eating kosher and halal meat. This representation of 'kosher Jews' and 'halal Muslims' does little to challenge (mis)understandings of what Judaism or Islam entails or how these diverse communities are perceived, and instead offers an inaccurate image of ritual food production being upheld by tightly-knit religious and devout groups who live in enclaves and at the fringes of society.
The language used when representing kosher and halal slaughter is equally damaging, especially when terms such as 'ritual' slaughter, 'slashing' of the throat and 'bleed to death' are used to describe a sacred practice, as seen in a recent article in The Independent. It is no wonder that unease is aroused amongst the public when kosher and halal slaughter is framed in a way that resembles a scene from Sweeney Todd. The irony lies in the fact that all animals, even those killed systematically in abattoirs, have their throats 'slashed' and bleed from the throat - even whilst conscious as a shocking percentage of animals are ineffectively stunned according to research by Compassion in World Farming and the European Food Safety Authority. Despite the differences of religious slaughter in Judaism (shechita) and in Islam (Zabiha), experienced and licenced slaughter-men bring the immediate loss of consciousness which acts as a stun in itself and brings a 'painless' end to an animal (see Shechita UK 2009). These practices must meet the strict demands of religious law which consists of forbidden techniques and explicit requirements; all performed with a view to respect the life of animals.

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