I agree with you on the healthiness of vegetarian, but I just like meat. Tho soy can be a good option.

As for Jewish preparation, Kashrut (for meat) only required that the slaughterer be an observant Jew, and that all subsequent preparation be supervised by a Kashrut inspector. The actual butchers, once the meat is slaughtered, do not need to be Jewish; only the supervisor needs to be, to make sure that Kashrut rules are followed. The supervisor then issues a certificate of Kashrut, with his organization’s seal (there are A LOT of kosher-certifying orgs out there).

Brooke:
As far as I know, kosher slaughter is almost instant. Yes, the animal is conscious at the time, but the knife must be incredibly sharp (sharp enough to split a hair lengthwise), and there can be only one cut- the cut must sever ALL the major arteries, veins, and airways simultaneously. In that situation, the animal loses consciousness, from massive blood loss, within a couple of seconds, and dies just a few seconds later. It is supposed to be as painless as possible, and if anything goes wrong, the animal is not considered kosher is sent to a non-kosher butcher.

I try to eat vegetarian- that’s how God originally intended (read Genesis- meat was allowed only after the flood.) When I can’t get that I try to eat kosher food- it’s easier to get than halal in America anyway. And no, to the poster who said we can’t eat kosher if it’s prepared by Jews, that simply isn’t true. When would kosher not be prepared by Jews- Jews cannot eat kosher not prepared by Jews- then it isn’t kosher. Kosher not made by Jews as far as I know is an impossible scenario.

Just leave a post and I’ll be sure to send a trackback ping your way! Since I have to send the pings manually, it may take a few hours for trackbacks to post. Sorry, I’m putting in extra hours at work for the holidays… ……

This is a huge load of it! I wouldn’t let my kid eat one bite of halal meat. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a meat-eater, but I don’t believe in undo cruelty, as Muslims obviously do.

And forcing your hideous beliefs on others? No surprise: It’s in the Koran!

As a Catholic I don’t understand the food requirements of either Jews or Muslims but I do respect their beliefs in this matter and I don’t think it hurts me in any way to eat either Kosher or Halal. I do NOT like the idea of it being forced on me without my knowledge, however. If my kids brought home a note that said that the cafeteria was going to serve Halal food I probably wouldn’t care. If they were going to serve ONLY Halal food I’d have a problem with that unless the school my children went to was 80 or 90% Muslim and then I would probably be questioning the academic material more than anything else.

I do agree with Kerwin that if the school is predominantly any one ethnic group then catering (in the food sense) to that group is reasonable but not on religious grounds. Growing up in NJ I remember being offered Matzo and other Kosher foods at lunch during certain times of the year but they also served processed pizza loaded with cheese for those of us who preferred that. We had the choice. The same cafeteria also served fish on Fridays for us Catholics but also had meat ball sandwiches for those who did not have the same restrictions or chose not to eat fish that day. I don’t recall any Kindergarten fatwas as a result. Down here in the south I am more offended when barbecue is offered during a business meal on a March Friday with no veggie or fish along with it so I either go against my church’s teachings or I don’t eat that afternoon. If it is convenient to offer options then I am all for it and think that such options should be kept in mind by any good business person. Catering for ONLY one group is just plain arrogant.

Of course whom are we talking about here - no arrogance in that group is there?

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