Do you have problems eating foods containing the following?

[Aelon]

Kosher and Halal?

A sister stayed in our place for a vacation said when she saw in our pantry we are stacking kosher ingredients, " I won't eat foods with kosher"

In Montreal, there are lots of Jewish stores that we love to go on for shopping since we know those items or products especially food are clean. But some individuals don't like it because they have some rituals prior to food preparation.

[pucca]

I can understand the sisters reasoning's on this. Those that have come out of Babylon the Great will be more sensitive to things that would bring them back even through food.

Having worked in a hospital food services department however; I see the value of eating Kosher/Hamil foods when possible. Their meat's are bloodless and killed properly. Their fruits and vegetables are clean and fresh. Their foods are are prepared in a sanitary area not like most food service companies today.

Both my husband and myself order Kosher meals while travelling on planes; trains or in hospital where ever possible as its hot, clean, and the food is packaged so its not touched by anyone after leaving the sanitary preparation area.

The eating of Kosher & Hamil foods would definitely be a conscience decision for each one to make.

[Astrid]

I don't eater Halal meat, because for that the animals have to die in a horrible way.

[LeslieDean]

Thank you Astrd. I just read about the method. I would love to give meat up entirely and for the most part I eat very little.

[Shawnster]

Just an FYI. Kosher is not an ingredient. Foods do not contain kosher.

From wiki:

Kosher foods are those that conform to the regulations of the Jewish Halakhic law framework, kosher meaning fit or allowed to be eaten. A list of some kosher foods are found in the book of Leviticus 11:1-47. There are also certain kosher rules found there. Reasons for food not being kosher include the presence of ingredients derived from nonkosher animals or from kosher animals that were not slaughtered in the ritually proper manner, a mixture of meat and milk, wine, or grape juice (or their derivatives) produced without supervision, the use of produce from Israel that has not been tithed, or the use of non-kosher cooking utensils and machinery.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosher_foods

[LizzyJo]

I don't eater Halal meat, because for that the animals have to die in a horrible way.

What? I thought it was like Kosher killing and butchering.

[Mei]

Hello Brothers and Sisters! I had always wondered myself about Kosher and Halal foods or products. Here is some information from the 2011 Watchtower Library:

"Kosher Foods Better?

Over 20,000 kosher products can be found on U.S. supermarket shelves and are being bought by many who are not religious Jews or devout Muslims (who have a similar dietary code). Why? Because people “associate the term with purity and wholesomeness,” says Tufts University Diet & Nutrition Letter. “But the kosher dietary laws, or ‘kashruth,’ were set forth to protect not the health of the body but rather of the soul, so to speak,” and “that doesn’t mean meat that passes kosher inspections is necessarily better for you than non-kosher meat.” The Jewish food inspector looks for meat that meets the dietary standards derived from the Torah, such as the draining of blood, but he is not trained to look as thoroughly for signs of infection or disease as government inspectors are. Nor does he check sanitation standards at manufacturing plants the way the government inspectors do, but he generally checks to see that ingredients and machinery meet the kosher code, which “has nothing to do with foods’ nutritional value.”

Blessings to everyone... ~ Agape

[surfergirl]

Hi Mei. I never understood difference between. kosher and halal thanks for help me to see. Gabe

[Astrid]

I read about Halal butchering and it seemed extremly cruel to me. The animal really has to suffer, because it has to feel everything.

[Tia]

I had no idea sis...I never ate from the markets, and there are a few in the surrounding areas here. But, after reading your post! there is no way that I could purchase meat from them.

I read about Halal butchering and it seemed extremly cruel to me. The animal really has to suffer, because it has to feel everything.

[Bec C]

I thought I heard that each animal was prayed over too for it to be halal meat. Maybe thats why the sis had a problem.

I must admit I wonder why we dont have meat thats completely bled, as we are very careful not to have products with blood in, but meat seems to just have to be bled at death, but in the packaging there is always blood around it.

Could anyone enlighten me?

[LizzyJo]

I read about Halal butchering and it seemed extremly cruel to me. The animal really has to suffer, because it has to feel everything.

What is the cruel part?

In the US slaughterhouses they hit the cows in the forehead to stun them (ideally the hearts to continue beating) and then hang them by their hind legs and cut them open . They bleed out as the advance down the line to be processes. It seems to me that this part is the least of their worries. I would imagine that being put on a big truck, hauled to the place where they are to be killed and be among strange cows as opposed to your own herd and smelling the smells that must surround the place would be terrifying.

Is it crueler than all that?

Yet still I eat meat.

I will be glad in the new system where this cruel practice will be gone.

[Greenfield]

I thought I heard that each animal was prayed over too for it to be halal meat. Maybe thats why the sis had a problem.

I must admit I wonder why we dont have meat thats completely bled, as we are very careful not to have products with blood in, but meat seems to just have to be bled at death, but in the packaging there is always blood around it.

Could anyone enlighten me?

As long as the meat is bled, which it is in our culture, it is fine to eat. The "blood" consists of interstitial (between the cells) fluid as well as residual blood left over after bleeding (which even the ancient Jews would have eaten until Pharisees did what Pharisees do).

There is nothing wrong with eating kosher or halal meat. I don't know if there is any ritual but it doesn't matter. If the rabbis or imams pray to the Lord or to Allah in some part of the process and that makes it wrong, then it would also be wrong to eat meat that was originally part of a pagan ritual at an ancient temple prior to being sold in the market. Yet Christians were and are free to do so.

"Everything that is sold in a meat market [or supermarket] keep eating, making no inquiry on account of your conscience."-1 Corinthians 10:25.

*** w10 10/1 p. 12 Did You Know? ***

Why does the Bible book of 1 Corinthians discuss meat that had been sacrificed to idols?

▪ The apostle Paul wrote: “Everything that is sold in a meat market keep eating, making no inquiry on account of your conscience.” (1 Corinthians 10:25) Where did such meat come from?

Animal sacrifice was the principal ceremony in Greek and Roman temples, but not all the meat from the sacrificial animals was eaten during the ceremony. Excess meat from pagan temples found its way into public meat markets. The book Idol Meat in Corinth states: “Cult officials . . . are called in other contexts cooks and/or butchers. From their allotted portion for slaying the sacrificial animal, they sold meat in the market.”

Thus, not all the meat sold in the market was left over from religious ceremonies. Excavation in Pompeii’s meat market (Latin, macellum) revealed the presence of entire skeletons of sheep. This suggests, says scholar Henry J. Cadbury, that “the meat may have been sold on the hoof or slaughtered in the macellum as well as sold already butchered or sacrificed in a temple.”

Paul’s point was that, although Christians would not share in pagan worship, meat that had been sacrificed in a temple was not intrinsically contaminated. [Emphasis added.]

Likewise, meat or any other food that had been prayed over by a rabbi or Muslim imam is not contaminated. Not that they even do this, I don't know.

[Mei]

I must admit I wonder why we dont have meat thats completely bled, as we are very careful not to have products with blood in, but meat seems to just have to be bled at death, but in the packaging there is always blood around it.

Could anyone enlighten me?

Hi Rebecca! Here are some thoughts:

Personally (and in the U.S.) I trust the USDA approved meat sold at the local grocery stores to be bled properly. The USDA condemns the inhumane slaughtering of animals. See here: http://www.fda.gov/RegulatoryInformation/Legislation/ucm148693.htmI If you do not live in the U.S. perhaps you may want to check your country's federal meat inspection requirements. I do not believe there is a good biblical reason that I should not eat meat bought from a local grocery store. On the contrary, it is stated in 1 Corinthians 10:25-29 that: “25) Everything that is sold in a meat market keep eating, making no inquiry on account of YOUR conscience; 26) for “to Jehovah belong the earth and that which fills it.” 27) If anyone of the unbelievers invites YOU and YOU wish to go, proceed to eat everything that is set before YOU, making no inquiry on account of YOUR conscience. 28) But if anyone should say to YOU: ‘This is something offered in sacrifice,’ do not eat on account of the one that disclosed it and on account of conscience. 29) ‘Conscience,’ I say, not your own, but that of the other person. For why should it be that my freedom is judged by another person’s conscience.

But if you purchase meat at your local grocery store then get home to find small traces of blood, you may want to consider washing it first and then boiling before preparing it to your liking. You may, of course, decide to become a vegetarian but just know that you will need to supplement your protein intake (since meat contains a high value of protein). But, you may already be aware of this.

There will always be minute traces of blood remaining in meat. You might take notice that fish, which contains blood, is not bled, nor is mention made in the Bible of the need to bleed it before consumption. The reason perhaps is likely that it contains very little quantity of blood to be reasonably drained out. The point about abstaining from blood is not about trying to prevent even as much as a single blood cell from entering your mouth. The point is about showing respect for life by reasonable effort to abstain from wantonly consuming blood - be it orally or intravenously.

I hope this helps. Blessings to you Sister ~ Mei Ling

[Bec C]

Many thanks for th eanswers guys, I never saw that scripture about the meat markets being ok. I have always wondered as we cant really have blood fractions, but sometimes theres some blood on the meat, but I guess it could be fluid rather than blood.

Many thanks for taking the time to answer my question