For the most part, the conditions under which organically raised animals are kept are more in line with Islamic ethical and cleanliness standards than with the typical practices and conditions of Factory Farming. However, the method of slaughter is a factor as to whether organic meat remains permissible. Also of importance is the cleanliness of the butchering space, specifically whether the knives or the butcher table are contaminated with the meat of a haram animal such as the pig.
Some important questions Muslim shoppers should ask
If you buy organic meat at a supermarket or organic food store...
Question: Is the meat packaged at the store, or at the farm?
Why?: If you are buying meat packaged by the producer, chances are that that producer specializes in one type of meat, one type of animal. Organic cattle farms don't often raise pork, for example. When an organic chicken farm sells its product to supermarkets all over the country, then the equipment it uses to produce and package chicken will be in demand 24/7, processing ONLY chicken.
If your organic chicken meat is butchered and packaged at the store...
Question: How many butchering tables does the store's butcher have?
Many organic stores have a relatively small butcher shop. Organic butchers tend to offer a wide range of meats, from buffalo to beef, pork, wild boar, ostrich, pheasant and chicken in low volume amounts. More-so than with supermarket butchers, organic butchers use the same table for cutting beef, lamb and buffalo as for cutting wild boar and pork. Ask the butcher at your whole foods store if they use the same butchering table and meat grinder for pork and wild boar as for beef, lamb, buffalo or venison. If they do, choose prepackaged organic meats.
If you buy zabiha slaughtered organic meat...
You are truly in the best possible situation. Your meat is in no-doubt halal, from the food that animal ate, the way it was treated, its death and the butchering conditions.
If you buy zabiha, but don't know about the farming conditions that the cow, goat or lamb was raised under, ask your halal butcher to carry organically-raised zabiha slaughtered meats.
Recommended Topics:
No comments:
Post a Comment