I live in Morocco, where Islam is an official religion and the laws of Quran are implemented in different areas of life. And food consumption is one of them. Probably, everyone heard a word "Halal", which means: " Religiously allowed" - the foods Muslims can eat and the way they should slaught cows, sheep, hens and the other animals except pigs and monkeys.
The Islamic way of slaughtering has many rules - and one of the most important - the animal should be treated with a great respect! It has to be clean and healthy, it should not be hungry or thirsty, it shouldn't see the other animals being slaughtered in front of it, it shouldn't be scared or stressed and the butcher shouldn't sharpen the knife in front of the animal. And only when the prayer:"Bismillah" ( "In the name of God") is said, the animal must be slaughtered with a sharp knife.
Theoretically, it is a very merciful way of killing animals for food, if I may use"merciful killing" expression. After watching Earthlings and American slaughterhouses from the inside, it is hard to be impressed, right?
Practically, I believe that all the rules might be followed only in private tiny farms or households, where once a year every family is obliged to slaughter a sheep due to the Quranic law in a day of Eid Al-Adha. Unfortunately, the mass food industry is not merciful at all - I was trying to find videos from Moroccan slaughterhouses but failed ( nevertheless it does not mean things are different there), instead I found some disturbing videos of slaughtering process from the Islamic countries or Halal slaughtering houses. Please, be aware, that these videos are really full of cruelty: this is about camel's slaughtering, this one is from Saudi Arabia and this one is from Turkish halal slaughterhouse.
I was a vegetarian for 8 years and due to my health issues ( I was pregnant and had a severe iron deficit), I started eating beef. Now I think, I should have tried to find an alternative. So not eating meat is easy for me. For some time I used to eat chicken because it was Halal even though it did not feel right for me somehow- like I am trying to trick myself. So I quit doing it as well.
Dairy and eggs - I am in the process( still eat Gluten free cookies which contain them) and this understanding will help me to stop using those foods completely - this milk, which I am adding to my coffee in the morning is not meant for me - but for the baby cattle, that, was, probably removed from its mom, maybe even killed, for me to be able to use its food for my own consumption.
I feel nothing but shame. That is why I consider myself unable to use animal products in my daily life for ethical reasons.
Animals are joy, not food!
Animals are joy, not food!
0 comments:
Post a Comment