Actually, when I said “stun”, I meant the spike method. I think someone else had said “stun” earlier, and I was conflating them. I should have been clearer.

What’s the fuss? He’s not limiting his selection to just Christians but to small local farmers who produce in a morally responsible way.

That’s mighty disingenuous of you.

It’s not so different that supporting a business becasue of a shared ethnic background.

Racism and nationalism, together? Great! I’m so pleased.

Is it really necessary to freak out every time the word “Christian” comes up?

I thought “Jesus Freak” was an instruction. Oops!

But to the best I’m able to provide, it will be meat raised by Christian small farmers in the Dallas area or otherwise produced in a morally responsible way.

What’s the fuss? He’s not limiting his selection to just Christians but to small local farmers who produce in a morally responsible way.

It’s great that people are making an effort to source their meat from farms that treat animals well. This guy assumes small christian farms will provide that (not always true) but makes it clear he will take the meat from whoever can.

It seems he is also trying to support his local community and the one he identifies with is Christian. It’s not so different that supporting a business becasue of a shared ethnic background.

Is it really necessary to freak out every time the word “Christian” comes up?

Pigs on the other hand have incredibly thick skulls full of sinuses. The spike would only make a pig angry. Thus pigs are slaughtered by the throat slitting method.

Shechita, the act of kosher slaughtering, isn’t necessarily more brutal than its conventional counterpart. The shochet, or ritual slaughterer, has to be trained and has to have studied the Talmudic texts pertaining to the dietary laws. An extremely sharp blade is drawn quickly across the throat, in one continuous motion, severing the jugular vein, carotid artery, esophagus and trachea. If done properly, the animal is supposed to be rendered insensible almost immediately, due to the severing of the nerve and a sudden outpouring of blood from the vessels leading to the brain. If the blade has even the tiniest nick, or if the shochet falters, the meat is rendered non-kosher, or treif.

The process itself isn’t “blessed” by a rabbi; this is a popular misconception. The shochet may be a rabbi, but he needn’t be. A rabbi who is particularly knowledgeable about the laws of kashrut, the dietary laws, must inspect the premises, and certify that the laws are being observed. In a restaurant or food processing plant, this means that he’s observed their procedures and has determined that none of the laws are being violated – only kosher ingredients are being used, there are separate dishes and utensils for milk and meat, etc.

There is a prohibition (tsa’ar ba’alei chayim) against causing unnecessary suffering to animals; however, unfortunately, among today’s Orthodox, the emphasis is generally placed upon scrupulous observance of the laws pertaining to slaughtering. The treatment of the animals prior to that isn’t as much of a priority. Some Conservative and Reform rabbis have lobbied for a standard of kashrut that accommodates ethical and ecological concerns – but the Orthodox have been reluctant to sign on. (After WW II, there was an influx into America of ultra-Orthodox Jews, who have largely commandeered Orthodoxy. They are often unwilling to work with non-Orthodox Jews on any issue, as they are afraid that it will seem as though they are validating the non-Orthodox denominations.)

Some animal rights groups are oppsed to shechita. They claim that it can take several minutes for the animal to die, even when the act is performed properly. Supposedly, there have been studies demonstrating that it’s inherently more humane than conventional assembly-line slaughtering – but, recently, there have been allegations that a large kosher slaughterhouse in the Midwest has been guilty of slaughtering cattle in an assembly-line manner, and not observing proper procedure. They’re also accused of treating their employees poorly, which, in the eyes of many Jews, also constitutes a violation of the spirit of Jewish law.

I had a conversation not long ago with a non-Jewish friend who is a veterinarian. She feels that the stun method, when done properly, is inherently more humane as it renders the animal unconscious immediately. I suspect that she may be correct, but we’ll never get the Orthodox on board, and I think that shechita is probably the best alternative.

By the way, the business about pork and shellfish – that prohibition was meant specifically for the Israelites. Gentiles were enjoined simply to refrain from eating a limb torn from a living animal.

This concludes today’s lesson in Jewish Studies.

He also said:

We live as we like in our individual bodies and deny the consequences to our communities and our idividual souls. Which is why we need Lent.

Maybe you need religion to not be a jerk, but please do not project that onto others.

(And yes, the word “individual” is misspelled on their site. I did not catch it until the comment editor here caught it.)

Sara:

He should just eat kosher meat. As far as I know “kosher” implies (among other things when pertaining to meat) that it’s been blessed by a rabbi.

That might be more hygienic or it might not, but it’s actually more cruel – I’m not sure which you were going for. To be kosher, the animal can’t be unconscious when it’s killed (usually cattle are stunned with the gizmo from No Country for Old Men to be slightly more humane); kosher meat comes from animals whose throats are slit so they slowly bleed to death.