Posted on 08/14/2016 4:08:18 AM PDT by HomerBohn
This is an outrage. If the roles were were reversed and it was Muslims being ignored, Muslims whose dietary religious traditions being violated, all hell would break loose.
Pamela Geller: USDA Ignores AFDI Petition to Require All Halal Meat Be Labeled as Such
A great deal of meat sold in this country is halal but is not labeled is such. It’s a scandal — but an established practice: meat packers generally do not separate halal meat from non-halal meat, and do not label halal meat as such. We attempted to right that wrong. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture has for four years now ignored, shelved, or just plain refused to rule on our petition.
As many Americans do not, for a variety of reasons, wish to eat halal meat, back in February 2012, my organization, the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), filed a citizen petition with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, asking that a regulation be enacted to ensure that all halal food be clearly labeled as halal. In April 2012, we agreed not to publicize our petition in order to give the agency some space to review the document without any pressure from the public.
On May 11, 2012, we had a face-to-face meeting in the USDA offices with top FSIS officials. We discussed this petition and the need for halal meat to be clearly labeled. Present at this meeting was Dan Engeljohn, a longtime USDA official who is now Assistant Administrator for the Office of Policy and Program Development (OPPD) in the FSIS. This position makes him responsible for FSIS regulations.
Engeljohn and company have now had four years to rule on our petition. They’ve done absolutely nothing.
As far back as October 2010, I reported on little-noted but explosive revelations that much of the meat in Europe and the United States was being processed as halal without the knowledge of the non-Muslim consumers who bought it.
Then in November 2011, I penned an article that caused a firestorm across the political spectrum, revealing that Butterball turkeys were all halal, but were not labeled as such. Heads exploded on the left – not over Butterball’s deception, but over my having the audacity to reveal it. And the clueless and compromised on the right were enraged as well: John Podhoretz tweeted, “I’d tell Pamela Geller to put a sock in it, but the sock might be halal.”
I was, of course, excoriated as a racist Islamophobic anti-Muslim bigot. In reality, however, we have no objection to halal meat being sold, as long as it is clearly labeled as such, and as long as non-halal meat is available. Meat that is halal must be labeled as such.
Our petition regarding ritual slaughter was posted on the FSIS website on February 14, 2012. It was a “ritual slaughter” petition that applied to all types of ritual slaughter: kosher, halal, etc. Every type of ritual slaughter holds some type of concern for some segment of the consuming public. We were not asking the USDA to single out a specific type of slaughter when dealing with this issue; our petition did not single out one type of ritual slaughter over another, nor did it wish to discriminate against a specific religious group.
We just wanted all meat that had been ritually slaughtered to be clearly labeled to that effect. Kosher meat is routinely marked accordingly; why not halal meat?
Our petition has since been taken down from the FSIS site, but here is a screenshot via the wayback machine.
This is strictly a false labeling and consumer choice issue. Religious people – Jews, Muslims, and others — should have the freedom to have meat and poultry products produced in a way that meets their needs. Conversely, consumers who don’t wish to consume ritually slaughtered products have a right to sufficient labeling information.
Under the current system, ritually slaughtered meat and poultry is not sufficiently labeled for consumers to be able to choose exactly what they want. Labeling can be misleading and untruthful in what it does not say if key facts are omitted. Consumers should have the ability to be able to choose for themselves if they want to eat ritually slaughtered products. Some Christians see the New Testament prohibiting the consumption of meat sacrificed to idols, and some would view halal meat as meeting that definition. But under current law, they have no way to avoid eating it.
Just as those who buy meat and poultry products labeled halal or kosher should have a reasonable expectation that the meat they’re buying was actually produced in that manner, so also those of us who don’t want to eat halal meat for whatever reason should also have a reasonable assurance that meat not labeled halal was not actually slaughtered in accordance with Sharia rules. As halal slaughter increases in the US, the likelihood of unknowingly buying meat sacrificed under the present system also increases.
This is a matter of simple justice and common sense. So why is the USDA stonewalling on our petition?
A little more complicated than that. in the ancient days almost all meats sold was from animal sacrifices to the gods. To partake of it meant you were in agreement with worshiping those gods.
If a butcher put out meat and said nothing, you could buy with no problem. It was just meat for sale.
If the butcher proclaimed “This meat is sacrificed to the gods!” then a Christian was not to eat of it lest he be seen as partaking of the sacrifices to the gods.
But since Christians also knew there were no other gods, eating of it did not really pollute them. It was being seen partaking of those sacrifices that was the problem.
This might be why some meats are not listed as “Halal” so as not to bother Christians.
I do like my pork!
I understand that in the next life this will all pass away, but here, right now, it matters. One thing I've learned over the past 30 or so years is that it does matter. This and every other seemingly small incursion into our culture matters. This is how we lose---we shrug our shoulders at the "small" things, and the leftists, who are content to take small steps, destroy our culture bit by bit. They count on us yawning or turning away. Haven't we learned that yet?
Always order the bacon-wrapped filet... just to be safe.
Thanks for the link. I read the article and comments but couldn’t find any American brands of chicken named/listed/mentioned that actually send their product to China for processing. The USDA has approved this method, but what companies are actually following through with the process? Per your original statement, what brands of chicken send their product to China for processing?
People on food stamps.
I’ve got Ham, and Bacon in my fridge.
How can they make shellfish ‘ha-lal’?
How can they make lobsters halal?
How can they make mudbugs halal?
How can they make andouille halal?
How can they make kielbasa halal?
http://www.feelhealthylife.com/one-million-pounds-of-rat-meat-sold-as-boneless-chicken-wings-in-u-s/
Nor do we want to put money in the pockets of halal butchers.
Interesting article. Odd that there were no companies named who were on the receiving end of this rat meat shipment. That said, could you please send me a link to an article or website naming the companies who send their chicken to China for processing, that you originally mentioned? Thanks.
The rat meat/FDA thing is a hoax. That explains why there were no names or companies listed.
Kosher’s better.
I am totally befuddled by this thread. I feel I'm in the twilight zone. If a voodoo doctor waved his hands over the food, does it make it less wholesome, does it make it unsafe to eat? Are potential pathogens increased or decreased?
What is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's charge? Their Job? Is their job modified in any way by religious non-physical intervention? of the physical state of the food?
What is the brouhaha about?
I made two kinds of chicken the other day. Bacon wrapped and prosciutto wrapped. The filling for both was ham, mozzarella, parmesan and crisp bacon. Thrice the pork and delicious.
I think the kill is done Halal, not with a Muslim prayer, however.
I believe an artery is cut and the blood is pumped out by the heart. I’ve heard the animal effectively falls asleep, but I can’t say I have killed this way.
I watched the video...One of the most disturbing I have seen—right up there with the ISIS beheadings...’
where is the FDA and PETA?? This is clearly animal abuse...
These savage barbarians with their horrific customs need to be sent home...
So clever...not
mmm mmm good!
Would that also include observant Jews?
You might be interested to know that the Kosher slaughter method (shehitah) is the essentially the same as Halal – it is forbidden to shocked or render the animal unconscious before slaughter. Oh and PETA is against both Halal and Kosher slaughtering methods, but then again they want everyone to GO VEGAN!
http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/kosher-slaughtering-an-introduction/#
(Note: Administering electric shock to an animal prior to shehitah [kosher slaughtering] is prohibited, because it incapacitates the animal and renders it a trefah [animal unfit to eat]. It is forbidden to eat the meat of such an animal. The prohibition extends, as well, to administering an anesthetic, in the form of a drug and the like, since it may endanger the health and life of the animal and render it trefah prior to shehitah.)
I am totally befuddled by this thread. I feel I'm in the twilight zone. If a voodoo doctor waved his hands over the food, does it make it less wholesome, does it make it unsafe to eat? Are potential pathogens increased or decreased? What is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's charge? Their Job? Is their job modified in any way by religious non-physical intervention? of the physical state of the food? What is the brouhaha about?
The USDA does have rules regarding humane slaughter methods but exempts methods as proscribed by religious customs, both Kosher and others including Halal.
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2014-title7/html/USCODE-2014-title7-chap48-sec1902.htm
§1902. Humane methods
No method of slaughtering or handling in connection with slaughtering shall be deemed to comply with the public policy of the United States unless it is humane. Either of the following two methods of slaughtering and handling are hereby found to be humane:
(a) in the case of cattle, calves, horses, mules, sheep, swine, and other livestock, all animals are rendered insensible to pain by a single blow or gunshot or an electrical, chemical or other means that is rapid and effective, before being shackled, hoisted, thrown, cast, or cut; or
(b) by slaughtering in accordance with the ritual requirements of the Jewish faith or any other religious faith that prescribes a method of slaughter whereby the animal suffers loss of consciousness by anemia of the brain caused by the simultaneous and instantaneous severance of the carotid arteries with a sharp instrument and handling in connection with such slaughtering.
Neither the FDA nor the USDA certifies whether a food product is Kosher or Halal. What the USDA does say is that if it is labeled as such, it must be, for Kosher “prepared under rabbinical supervision” and if Halal “must be handled according to Islamic law and under Islamic authority” but the USDA does not regulate those entities providing the religious certifications. If the question is if the animal is slaughtered using method (b) does have to be labeled as such? It would seem the answer is no. As long as other USDA requirements are met, it would be up to the food processor, slaughter house to obtain a Kosher or Halal certification from a religious org providing such. If I am not mistaken there are several rabbinical orgs that issue Kosher certifications.
For instance:
“The United States government is not involved in religious matters, which is why agencies such as the USDA do not certify halal or kosher foods. That must be done by religious authorities or those they sanction. USDA does inform exporters of other countries’ import standards and directs exporters to U.S. halal certifiers approved by destination countries. ISWA is among those internationally recognized halal certifiers.”
http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/pamphlet/2012/07/201207028400.html#ixzz4HQtJjQwq
If a label bears a Halal or Kosher statement, does FSIS have to monitor the production of the product to observe ritual slaughter of animals?
No, the acceptability of the ritual used is the responsibility of the religious organization. How they verify the acceptability is up to the organization. FSIS inspection personnel may verify that the label is not falsified by verifying that the appropriate religious organization was contacted.
In other words, all the USDA cares about is if the food product is labeled as Kosher or Halal is that it was certified by "the appropriate religious organization".
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