Comments on: Shackle and Hoist - A Serious Shonde

By: Ketzirah Carly

Ketzirah Carly — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 16:28:19 +0000

Ahhh….this just makes me so angry. Why should I respect rabbinical authority over Kashrut when this kind of thing is allowed to happen. I mean they lost me with allowing hydrogenated oils to be okay in kosher foods, even after we all learned how terrible it is. But this — we’re talking about cruelty to animals. I’m not a big fan of PETA, but I’m glad they are bringing this to light.

I may not be able to personally inspect the slaughter houses that process the meat I eat, but at least I’ve met the farmers and have seen the way they treat their animals personally.

By: Michael Croland

Michael Croland — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 13:19:10 +0000

Thanks for covering this topic! I just linked to and quoted from this post at http://heebnvegan.blogspot.com.....ng_18.html (OR http://tinyurl.com/2q69e2).

FYI: There’s a lot that’s troubling about the Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act (HMLSA). Just about everything that can be deemed religious means that the USDA will look the other way; see http://failedmessiah.typepad.c.....s-aga.html (OR http://tinyurl.com/2m6ae4).

In addition, the HMLSA does not protect chickens, turkeys, and other birds killed for food. This means that MORE THAN 95 PERCENT (roughly 9.5 million) of the land animals killed for food in this country have no protection under the HMLSA.

For more information on the weakness of the HMLSA, see: http://goveg.com/government_hsa.asp.

By: Jeff Yoskowitz

Jeff Yoskowitz — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:59:50 +0000

The exemption for religious slaughter was a landmark ruling for the Orthodox Union. After years of lobbying and defending Shechitah they finally had Jewish slaughter validated by the US government. For the first 50 years of the 20th century Jewish groups were fighting for that exemption and it was celebrated in the 1950s.

The OU needs to pick up its slack–true, but I actually think the government can take more of a role in regulating Jewish law. In Germany in the late 19th century when certain laws banned mainstream kosher slaughter practices Jews were able to adapt and accommodate within the parameters of Jewish law (however, there were some blatantly irreconcilable laws that were pretty anti-Semitic in nature). Kosher slaughtering practices can make progressive changes and it may take government coercion that will no doubt be dubbed anti-Semitic by the ADL and other organizations. Somewhat of a pickle we’re in if you ask me. We can dream, though, right?

By: Leah Koenig

Leah Koenig — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:05:29 +0000

Thanks for the facts, FactMatters. Religious exemption, eh? So I guess that means it really is up to the OU to pick up the slack…

By: FactMatters

FactMatters — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 14:59:12 +0000

The act was first passed in 1958, way after The Jungle. But, it was a very popular law at the time. It’s been updated since. Even George W. pushed a clause in the Farm Bill that insists the law be enforced. Apparently, the act contains a broad exemption for all animals slaughtered in accordance with religious law, according to Wikipedia. It’s really inhumane.

By: Leah Koenig

Leah Koenig — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 14:27:16 +0000

By the way - PETA has a petition you can sign to let the Orthodox Union and Israeli Rabbinate what you think:

http://getactive.peta.org/camp.....y_petition

I’m not the biggest PETA fan, and am not suggesting this is the best or only way to act against this injustice - but it’s out there as an option.