From Farm to Food: A Breakdown of Jewish Animal Slaughter

By Avi Eisen
Montclair State University

In the beginning, we were vegetarians. Adam and Havah were told the garden would provide for them, and it was unnecessary to eat the animals. Then, during the times of Noah, God said eating animals was allowed, but the animals had to already be dead. Finally, in chapter 11 of Vayikra, God lists various animals that can and cannot be eaten.

So, what is it about certain animals that appears to make them kosher (beyond the simplicity of God’s command)? It’s the demonstration of respect they show for life, and consequently, we show for them. We don’t eat birds of prey, we don’t eat carnivorous fish, and we don’t eat land animals that hunt. How do we respect these animals in return? In the method we slaughter them.

We slaughter these animals in a manner that causes the least pain. When a land animal is cut in a certain area by the jugular vein, the animal will not feel pain when cut. The animal won’t even flinch when the knife is brought up to it. Once the jugular vein is cut, the heart starts beating faster, causing the blood to flow much more quickly and, consequently, causing the animal to die much faster. The animal is killed for food in the most humane way possible.

Is it only the animal and the quickness of death that makes something kosher? A still-used method of slaughter is called hoisting and shackling. This method involves shackling the hind legs of the animal and hoisting them up in the air. The animal then stays like this for a few minutes before the head is picked up and slaughtered. This causes the animal a lot of discomfort. While technically, this animal would still be considered kosher, it’s not within the spirit of showing respect to the animals, since the method of slaughter causes pain and suffering. The Conservative Movement’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards voted an uncommon 21-0 with no abstentions (the committee is made up on 24 Rabbis) that this procedure was not an approved method of slaughter.

Another type of meat has long caused debate as well. Veal is created by taking a newly born calf, escorting it into a box no more than two feet wide, and leaving it in there for a couple of weeks. Since the animal has no room to move, its muscles become useless and tender. This method also causes the animal chronic stress. Once again, this would technically be considered kosher, but it is not within the spirit of showing respect to the animals. There is, as of yet, no specific halakhah (Jewish law) regarding this practice.

The laws of kashrut aren’t just limitations on what we eat. They’re ways to relate to what we eat and they teach us to show respect for the things that provide us sustenance. The age-old practices of Judaism aren’t just religious beliefs, but ways for us to relate to everything that we do, even down to basic needs.

[Posted 4/27/06]