WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:04.920 Kosher and halal dietary guidelines—particularly in regards to the treatment and slaughter 00:00:04.920 --> 00:00:11.160 of animals—have long sparked controversy and debate, even within their respective religious communities. 00:00:11.160 --> 00:00:16.960 The most contentious aspect of ritual slaughter—taking the international stage more than once—is 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:23.560 whether shechita and zabiha are the most humane and merciful or the most brutal and barbaric. 00:00:28.360 --> 00:00:32.200 Hi it's Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome to another vegan nugget. 00:00:32.200 --> 00:00:36.410 I’ll be honest that this has been one of the most daunting and profoundly challenging 00:00:36.410 --> 00:00:37.960 videos I’ve ever made. 00:00:37.960 --> 00:00:43.460 As a vegan educator, I know all to well that dietary practice alone is a hot button issue. 00:00:43.460 --> 00:00:48.680 Add in religion, culture, heritage, politics, and money, and you’ve got a proper powder 00:00:48.680 --> 00:00:50.180 keg of a topic. 00:00:50.180 --> 00:00:54.460 So before we get started, there are some very important caveats I need to clarify. 00:00:54.960 --> 00:01:00.020 As Jewish and Islamic scholars continue to study, debate, and deepen their own understanding 00:01:00.030 --> 00:01:03.270 of kashrut and halal meat and slaughter even after thousands 00:01:03.270 --> 00:01:05.720 thousands of years, it’s not only unrealistic but 00:01:05.729 --> 00:01:11.420 also irresponsible to assume that I can adequately comprehend and convey the entirety of their 00:01:11.420 --> 00:01:13.180 teachings within a single video. 00:01:13.520 --> 00:01:18.460 Presenting incredibly complex concepts in a simplified format always runs the risk of 00:01:18.469 --> 00:01:20.409 being overly reductionist. 00:01:20.409 --> 00:01:25.479 This is why—as with all of my content—this video has an accompanying blog post with citations, 00:01:25.479 --> 00:01:30.039 an extensive bibliography, and in this case, portions of my original essay that were cut 00:01:30.039 --> 00:01:31.420 for the sake of time. 00:01:31.420 --> 00:01:36.479 That it remains a comparatively lengthy video is a testament to the complexity of this topic. 00:01:36.479 --> 00:01:41.409 Additionally, this video is not an attack on Judaism, Islam, or even religion as whole. 00:01:41.409 --> 00:01:46.310 The aim here is to take a hard look at kosher and halal slaughter and evaluate whether they 00:01:46.310 --> 00:01:49.219 are genuinely humane, merciful practices. 00:01:49.219 --> 00:01:54.149 Such an assessment is perhaps even more vital for their adherents, as violation of these 00:01:54.149 --> 00:01:57.349 principles compromises the very foundation of their faith. 00:01:58.040 --> 00:02:03.280 In fact, the values espoused by animal advocates opposed to ritual slaughter are, according 00:02:03.290 --> 00:02:08.179 to Jewish and Islamic leaders, the very basis of halal and kosher practices. 00:02:08.179 --> 00:02:12.450 But this potential common ground is rarely explored as almost every public debate over 00:02:12.450 --> 00:02:17.000 ritual slaughter arises from undercover footage exposing the horrifically brutal treatment 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:19.540 of animals in halal and kosher slaughterhouses. 00:02:19.540 --> 00:02:25.360 As this abuse grossly violates halal and kosher laws, rightly drawing outrage from all sides, 00:02:25.660 --> 00:02:31.160 the ultimate conclusion is almost always a call for better regulations and stricter enforcement 00:02:31.170 --> 00:02:36.730 of halal and kosher standards, leaving unanswered the very the question of whether these methods—when 00:02:36.730 --> 00:02:41.990 carried out as intended—are humane, and failing to address what truly lies at the 00:02:41.990 --> 00:02:47.710 heart of the humane slaughter debate as a whole: is it even possible to end the life 00:02:47.710 --> 00:02:50.430 of another being in a way that is kind? 00:02:51.230 --> 00:02:55.900 In the effort to actually address this core question through the overwhelmingly complex 00:02:55.900 --> 00:03:01.680 lens of the ritual slaughter debate, I’m approaching this topic in a deliberately different manner. 00:03:02.190 --> 00:03:06.070 Let’s begin with a brief overview of the similarities and differences between kosher 00:03:06.070 --> 00:03:07.600 and halal dietary laws. 00:03:07.600 --> 00:03:12.920 Meaning “right/proper” and “lawful/permitted” respectively, both terms encompass far more 00:03:12.920 --> 00:03:16.070 than their most recognized application to meat and slaughter. 00:03:16.070 --> 00:03:19.400 Their origins are rooted in scripture—the Tanakh and Talmud (written and oral Torah) 00:03:19.400 --> 00:03:22.036 for kashrut and the Quran and various hadith (report describing the words, actions, or 00:03:22.036 --> 00:03:23.170 habits of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) for halal. 00:03:23.170 --> 00:03:27.800 Both dictate which species may or may not be eaten, expressly prohibit the consumption 00:03:27.800 --> 00:03:33.350 of blood—thus requiring complete exsanguination of the corpse—and specify animals must be 00:03:33.350 --> 00:03:37.730 alive, healthy, and uninjured at the time of their slaughter, which is to be performed 00:03:37.730 --> 00:03:40.819 with a swift cut from a sharpened knife (chalaf or chalef in kosher) in order to minimize 00:03:40.819 --> 00:03:43.010 pain and provide the quickest death. 00:03:43.010 --> 00:03:47.030 While there are numerous differences and nuances between the two sets of laws, the most notable 00:03:47.030 --> 00:03:51.860 variation in regards to the humane debate is their stance on pre-slaughter stunning. 00:03:51.860 --> 00:03:56.530 Kosher standards explicitly require animals be fully conscious and aware when killed. 00:03:56.530 --> 00:04:01.790 Some Jewish individuals, like Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, advocate the adoption of post-slaughter 00:04:01.790 --> 00:04:06.440 stunning—meaning immediately after the throat is cut—stating that “the drawn out moments 00:04:06.440 --> 00:04:10.660 between the slaughter and final death are terribly painful and stressful for the dying 00:04:10.660 --> 00:04:15.960 animal [who is] completely conscious and continues to shake in extreme pain for minutes after 00:04:15.960 --> 00:04:17.029 the neck is cut.” 00:04:17.029 --> 00:04:22.130 However post-slaughter stunning lacks any majority acceptance within the Jewish community. 00:04:22.130 --> 00:04:26.080 While halal slaughter is traditionally—and still typically—also carried out on fully 00:04:26.080 --> 00:04:31.270 conscious animals, some Muslim authorities have approved very particular methods of pre-slaughter 00:04:31.270 --> 00:04:33.919 stunning, given they meet specific requirements (must be nonlethal such that animal would 00:04:33.919 --> 00:04:34.919 regain consciousness in less than a minute and be able to eat within five minutes) and 00:04:34.919 --> 00:04:39.909 almost all halal slaughter plants in Australia and New Zealand perform pre-slaughter stunning. 00:04:39.909 --> 00:04:42.840 This brings us to another layer of complexity. 00:04:42.840 --> 00:04:47.319 Irrevocably intertwined with the question of ritual slaughter’s “humaneness” is 00:04:47.319 --> 00:04:50.410 the role of governmental bodies in its regulation. 00:04:50.410 --> 00:04:55.310 Every country with humane slaughter regulations—which in and of themselves are a study in human 00:04:55.310 --> 00:05:00.180 ingenuity and self-deception—requires stunning animals prior to slaughter. 00:05:00.180 --> 00:05:05.419 However, the vast majority—including the United States—contain exemptions for religious 00:05:05.419 --> 00:05:09.379 slaughter, with the whole of the European Union specifically mandating member states 00:05:09.379 --> 00:05:11.800 permit non-stunning kosher slaughter. 00:05:11.800 --> 00:05:16.860 Just as the humane treatment of animals is confoundingly offered as both the main objection 00:05:16.870 --> 00:05:23.120 to and justification for ritual slaughter, the issue is further muddied when every government’s 00:05:23.120 --> 00:05:28.080 humane regulations require stunning, yet simultaneously defend ritual slaughter 00:05:28.080 --> 00:05:30.240 with arguments of its enhanced humaneness. 00:05:31.160 --> 00:05:33.099 How can this possibly be? 00:05:33.099 --> 00:05:36.419 All methods of slaughter cannot simultaneously be the most humane. 00:05:36.920 --> 00:05:38.980 Who is truly in the right? 00:05:38.980 --> 00:05:44.100 Perhaps the most influential and oft-referenced study in regards to the humanness of ritual 00:05:44.100 --> 00:05:50.039 slaughter is the 1994 paper from Dr. Temple Grandin, widely heralded as the foremost authority 00:05:50.039 --> 00:05:53.809 on humane livestock handling and slaughterhouse restraint system design. 00:05:53.809 --> 00:05:58.259 Grandin emphasizes the “need to critically consider the scientific information available 00:05:58.259 --> 00:06:03.259 about the effects of different slaughter practices on animals before reaching any judgments about 00:06:03.259 --> 00:06:08.089 the appropriateness of a particular form of slaughter” and to “understand the importance 00:06:08.089 --> 00:06:11.900 of these practices to the people who follow these religious codes.” 00:06:11.900 --> 00:06:17.009 The study outlines three basic concerns: stressfulness of restraint methods, pain perception during 00:06:17.009 --> 00:06:22.039 the incision and latency of onset of complete insensibility, meaning how long it takes for 00:06:22.039 --> 00:06:26.779 the animal to lose consciousness—and thus stop feeling pain—after their throat is cut. 00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:30.380 Because animals are conscious at the time of ritual slaughter, they 00:06:30.380 --> 00:06:32.539 must be fully bodily restrained. 00:06:32.539 --> 00:06:36.759 A large contributor to the confusion within the humane debate is the extreme variation 00:06:36.759 --> 00:06:41.979 of restraint systems and methodologies utilized around the world and even from factory to factory. 00:06:42.120 --> 00:06:47.759 For a rather exhaustive 76-slide PowerPoint presentation—from meat industry insiders—detailing 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:53.499 these variations, complete with photographic illustrations and their impact on profits, 00:06:53.499 --> 00:06:55.479 see the blog post. 00:06:55.479 --> 00:06:59.529 One of the most objectionable and decidedly stressful forms of restraint is shackling 00:06:59.529 --> 00:07:04.110 and hoisting animals while fully conscious, a method banned in Canada and other countries, 00:07:04.110 --> 00:07:07.990 but still used in North and South America, Israel, and many others. 00:07:07.990 --> 00:07:11.909 The primary method of restraint utilized for ritual slaughter without stunning in Europe, 00:07:11.909 --> 00:07:17.249 as well as Israel, and select US plants, is a full inversion pen, wherein cows are flipped 00:07:17.249 --> 00:07:21.070 upside down with a head restraint exposing their neck for slaughter. 00:07:21.070 --> 00:07:25.060 Largely preferred by Jewish and Muslim communities, because they allow for a more natural and 00:07:25.060 --> 00:07:29.819 controlled cutting motion, Grandin’s research along with subsequent studies, including one 00:07:29.819 --> 00:07:34.779 in 2004 from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), found this method highly stressful 00:07:34.779 --> 00:07:37.879 for cows, recommending instead upright restraint. 00:07:37.879 --> 00:07:43.189 However, facing pushback from religious communities and what it cryptically refers to as “different 00:07:43.189 --> 00:07:48.039 stakeholders,” the European Commission ordered an extensive investigation and report comparing 00:07:48.039 --> 00:07:49.919 upright and inverted methods. 00:07:49.919 --> 00:07:56.719 The report, issued on February 8, 2016, exactly 3 years and 2 months after its due date and 00:07:56.719 --> 00:08:01.749 over 6 years after its commission, concluded that there was no discernable different in 00:08:01.749 --> 00:08:03.849 animal welfare between the methods. 00:08:03.849 --> 00:08:08.289 It’s no wonder there’s such confusion and conflict surrounding ritual slaughter. 00:08:08.289 --> 00:08:13.189 With such variation in methodology, conflicting scientific studies and governmental back and 00:08:13.189 --> 00:08:17.909 forth, influenced to varying degrees by religious tensions, political pressure and meat industry 00:08:17.909 --> 00:08:22.190 interests, how can anyone be sure what kosher and halal even mean anymore? 00:08:22.190 --> 00:08:27.559 Just as humane and free-range labels lack any meaningful improvements for animals, and 00:08:27.559 --> 00:08:33.210 governmental mandates lack timely—or any—enforcement, halal and kosher certifications have time 00:08:33.210 --> 00:08:38.490 and again been exposed as inadequately enforced, with rampant violations of both religious 00:08:38.490 --> 00:08:42.539 and governmental laws being the norm rather than the exception. 00:08:42.539 --> 00:08:48.310 A particularly horrific undercover investigation conducted in Postville, Iowa, at AgriProcessors, 00:08:48.310 --> 00:08:53.990 the largest kosher slaughterhouse in the America, revealed unbelievably barbaric footage, subsequently 00:08:53.990 --> 00:08:58.670 featured in the documentary Earthlings, and sparked international outrage from all camps. 00:08:58.670 --> 00:09:03.430 While I believe it’s of vital importance to witness the reality of what we do to animals, 00:09:03.430 --> 00:09:07.840 I’m not including this footage here as it would no doubt result in this video being 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:12.500 age restricted, thus severely limiting accessibility to the remaining information. 00:09:12.500 --> 00:09:17.000 I have provided a link to the video, along with a mini-documentary response from the 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:21.680 Jewish community and additional videos of halal investigations. 00:09:21.680 --> 00:09:30.450 The undercover investigator at AgriProcessors described in his notes seeing cow after cow 00:09:30.450 --> 00:09:35.680 loaded into the full inversion rotating restraint and having their trachea or esophagus ripped 00:09:35.680 --> 00:09:39.070 out of their open throats as they aspirated on their own blood. 00:09:39.070 --> 00:09:42.880 They were then dumped onto the blood-soaked floor and many struggled to stand with their 00:09:42.880 --> 00:09:44.770 heads nearly severed off. 00:09:44.770 --> 00:09:47.400 One managed to stand and walked into the corner. 00:09:47.400 --> 00:09:49.580 Some cried out despite their torn throats. 00:09:49.580 --> 00:09:50.580 He wrote: 00:09:50.580 --> 00:09:54.700 “The first time I saw a cow stagger to his feet and walk around with his trachea dangling 00:09:54.700 --> 00:09:58.590 outside of his body, I thought to myself, this can’t be happening—but after several 00:09:58.590 --> 00:09:59.910 days I knew better. 00:09:59.910 --> 00:10:04.080 There is no justification for the cruelty I documented in that slaughterhouse. 00:10:04.080 --> 00:10:08.500 The presence of the USDA didn’t have any effect, nor did the presence of the rabbis. 00:10:08.500 --> 00:10:12.820 These animals were failed by both religion and regulations.” 00:10:12.820 --> 00:10:17.420 Jewish and Islamic communities were appalled by this footage, and even Temple Grandin said 00:10:17.420 --> 00:10:20.000 it was “the most disgusting thing I’d ever seen. 00:10:20.000 --> 00:10:21.290 I couldn’t believe it.” 00:10:21.290 --> 00:10:25.610 When Grandin, visited the plant, workers had performed the slaughter to her standards, 00:10:25.610 --> 00:10:27.060 as they did for visiting rabbis. 00:10:27.060 --> 00:10:31.660 But the undercover footage taken over seven weeks showed this barbaric treatment was in 00:10:31.660 --> 00:10:36.670 fact standard operating procedure, leaving Grandin to conclude “the only way to ensure 00:10:36.670 --> 00:10:40.980 that correct procedures are followed in this plant is to install video cameras that can 00:10:40.980 --> 00:10:42.830 be audited over the internet.” 00:10:42.830 --> 00:10:48.120 This of course begs the question: what is going on inside of every other plant she’s 00:10:48.120 --> 00:10:53.610 approved—or any slaughterhouse for that matter—when no one is watching? 00:10:53.610 --> 00:10:56.110 These atrocities are not anomalies. 00:10:56.110 --> 00:11:00.300 In an interview with activist Anita Krajnc of Toronto Pig Save, a kill floor worker from 00:11:00.300 --> 00:11:05.300 Riding Regency Meat Packers, a Halal and Kosher slaughterhouse in Toronto, Canada, observed 00:11:05.300 --> 00:11:09.370 rabbis reaching into the cows’ neck and grabbing their esophagus. 00:11:09.370 --> 00:11:14.170 He described how cows are routinely still conscious when chained and hung upside down, 00:11:14.170 --> 00:11:20.040 taking four to five minutes to die, such that the first few cows of each day reach the “scalper” 00:11:20.040 --> 00:11:24.620 and are fully aware when the skin is peeled from their face. 00:11:24.620 --> 00:11:26.210 Where is the regulation in all of this? 00:11:26.210 --> 00:11:29.790 For many in the Jewish community, that was the most astounding aspect of the 00:11:29.790 --> 00:11:31.660 AgriProcessers scandal. 00:11:31.670 --> 00:11:36.630 In the face of this blatant brutality decried by every side of the issue, The Orthodox Union, 00:11:36.630 --> 00:11:41.320 which certified the plant as kosher, stated “We continue to vouch for the kashrut of 00:11:41.320 --> 00:11:46.060 all of the meat prepared by AgriProcessors, Inc., which was never compromised." 00:11:46.060 --> 00:11:50.250 In a most poignant summation, religious scholar Dr. Aaron Gross writes: 00:11:50.250 --> 00:11:55.390 “the fact that the products of factory farming and even abusive facilities like AgriProcessors 00:11:55.390 --> 00:12:00.820 are given moral legitimacy by being deemed ‘kosher,’ transforms kashrut from an ethical 00:12:00.820 --> 00:12:04.920 system into one that helps mask organized animal abuse. 00:12:04.920 --> 00:12:09.540 This awkward situation is so far from the moral vision of kashrut that it is painful 00:12:09.540 --> 00:12:10.770 to even acknowledge.” 00:12:10.770 --> 00:12:15.070 As I said at the start of this video, while it’s vital to acknowledge that violations 00:12:15.070 --> 00:12:20.690 are the norm rather than the exception within kosher and halal factories, in order to truly 00:12:20.690 --> 00:12:26.030 evaluate the ethics of ritual slaughter, we must strive to assess the principles in their 00:12:26.030 --> 00:12:32.990 ideal manifestation, even if such a manifestation doesn’t actually exist in any current application. 00:12:32.990 --> 00:12:37.680 In the end, after all of this human-created noise and confusion, the best way to answer 00:12:37.680 --> 00:12:41.020 whether ritual slaughter is humane is by simple observation. 00:12:41.020 --> 00:12:45.440 I’m even going to far as to edit out the actual cutting of the throat 00:12:45.440 --> 00:12:47.400 or any visuals of blood. 00:12:47.410 --> 00:12:51.341 So let’s observe this most profoundly idealized example of ritual slaughter. 00:12:54.341 --> 00:12:58.690 “The position has to be very comfortable for the animal first, so he can cooperate 00:12:58.690 --> 00:13:01.290 with me and I’m be comfortable to give him a good slaughter. 00:14:29.640 --> 00:14:34.940 I want to assure you - only lucky animals are slaughtered here—they are very proud 00:14:34.940 --> 00:14:40.580 to fulfill their mission—it’s a necessary act for this meat to reach your table.” 00:14:42.860 --> 00:14:48.860 Even in this most idealized and artificially sterilized scenario—which even the slaughterer 00:14:48.860 --> 00:14:53.450 states is the exception—its evident this sheep was not a wiling participant. 00:14:53.450 --> 00:14:58.040 Ending the life any sentient being prematurely and against their will cannot possibly be 00:14:58.040 --> 00:15:00.130 a humane or merciful act. 00:15:00.130 --> 00:15:03.600 Just like children, these beings cannot give us their consent. 00:15:03.600 --> 00:15:09.100 His cessation of struggling after much manipulation and assurance is more of a sad statement of 00:15:09.100 --> 00:15:14.460 his innocent yet misplaced trust in his caretaker turned slaughterer than any form of willful 00:15:14.460 --> 00:15:18.050 submission through a full comprehension of what’s to come. 00:15:18.050 --> 00:15:22.691 The assertion that this act is necessary, thus justifying the lesser of the evils, is 00:15:22.691 --> 00:15:28.060 one of the main rationalizations offered by meat eaters, secular and religious alike. 00:15:28.060 --> 00:15:34.300 But no religion—Judaism and Islam included—mandates the consumption of animals. 00:15:34.300 --> 00:15:38.860 In fact, as I cover in my video series History of Veganism, primarily in the Middle Ages 00:15:38.860 --> 00:15:43.760 episode, the Quran and hadith contain numerous verses in support of compassion and respect 00:15:43.760 --> 00:15:48.740 for animals, even emphasizing the consumption of fruits and vegetables to sustain humans 00:15:48.740 --> 00:15:50.400 and animals alike. 00:15:50.400 --> 00:15:55.190 And following Genesis 1:29, Rabbinic tradition has taught that human beings were originally 00:15:55.190 --> 00:15:59.750 vegetarian in the garden of Eden and it was only after the fall and the flood that meat 00:15:59.750 --> 00:16:01.480 eating was reluctantly permitted. 00:16:01.480 --> 00:16:05.240 Thus the spiritual ideal is a diet free of animal products. 00:16:05.240 --> 00:16:10.260 There are countless Jewish and Muslim vegans, many of whom state their decision to go vegan 00:16:10.260 --> 00:16:14.360 was a natural extension of their religious practice, and greatly deepened their connection 00:16:14.360 --> 00:16:15.360 to their faith. 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:18.820 The myth of humane slaughter reaches beyond any religion. 00:16:18.820 --> 00:16:24.029 Humanity as a whole consistently strives to excuse and justify the enslavement, torture, 00:16:24.029 --> 00:16:25.430 and murder of sentient beings. 00:16:25.430 --> 00:16:30.130 There’s a level of absurdity with how much time, energy, detail, government money, and 00:16:30.130 --> 00:16:35.910 paperwork goes into finding just the right way to kill. 00:16:35.910 --> 00:16:41.310 We point fingers at inexcusable abuse in other countries, cultures, religions, and specific 00:16:41.310 --> 00:16:46.490 companies, erupting in righteous outrage and conveniently avoiding any assessment of our 00:16:46.490 --> 00:16:50.570 own complicity in the deaths of the animals on our plates. 00:16:50.570 --> 00:16:55.010 I’ll conclude with the words of Jewish author, noble laureate and Holocaust survivor 00:16:55.010 --> 00:16:56.420 Isaac Bashevis Singer, 00:16:56.430 --> 00:17:01.120 “People often say that humans have always eaten animals, as if this is a justification 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:03.060 for continuing the practice. 00:17:03.060 --> 00:17:07.130 According to this logic, we should not try to prevent people from murdering other people, 00:17:07.130 --> 00:17:10.180 since this has also been done since the earliest of times.” 00:17:10.180 --> 00:17:12.569 I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. 00:17:12.569 --> 00:17:16.680 If you’d like to help support Bite Size Vegan so I can keep putting in the long hours 00:17:16.680 --> 00:17:20.630 to bring you this free educational resource, please check out the support links in the 00:17:20.630 --> 00:17:24.390 video description below where you can give a one-time donation or see the link in the 00:17:24.390 --> 00:17:26.830 sidebar to join the Nugget Army on Patreon. 00:17:26.830 --> 00:17:31.370 I’d like to give a special thanks my $50 and above patrons and my whole Patreon family 00:17:31.370 --> 00:17:35.300 for making this and all of my videos possible. 00:17:35.300 --> 00:17:40.440 Please share this video far and wide to inform and spur focused, constructive debate. 00:17:40.440 --> 00:17:42.840 And subscribe for more vegan content every week. 00:17:42.840 --> 00:17:47.480 Now go live vegan, no matter your faith or lack thereof, and I’ll see you soon. 00:17:47.940 --> 00:17:53.680 It's more, the Bible makes clear that, in the ideal world - the world God had in mind, 00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:56.740 has in mind for the future, everybody would be vegetarian.