Eating meat that was not removed from a living animal

[Director Michael]

I am concerned lest I eat meat of an animal inhumanely slaughtered.  However, I am wondering about not being treated well while being raised, like chickens that can't even turn around in their cage and are treated horribly, their little feet not even touching grass in their lives.  Then there are the pictures we see of cattle desperate to escape being driven into the pens and slaughter houses.  Most of our meat is filled with antibiotics and chemicals....I try to avoid articles about the abuse, but it is inescapable.

I recommend that you browse through the web site of the American Meat Institute, https://www.meatinstitute.org/

In particular, see the section on Animal Welfare:
https://www.meatinstitute.org/index.php?...82/pid/282

The prime document to see is the "Recommended Animal Handling Guidelines and Audit Guide 2010 Edition (draft) February 2010" (PDF):
https://www.meatinstitute.org/ht/a/GetDo...on/i/57158

If you wish to be very particular about the meat you buy, it will probably require a significant effort, but you can try to find out the contact information for the personal businesses or corporations that run the slaughterhouses for the consumer meat that you have available to choose from. If the operation is large enough to require federal inspections, for any type of meat (beef, lamb, pork, poultry), you can contact the USDA and ask how well the operation is conforming to USDA regulations, and to the most current Recommended Animal Handling Guidelines.

 So my question is where does kosher meat come from?

Some of it comes from regular non-kosher slaughterhouses, which sell a small percentage of their animals for in-house kosher slaughter. Some of it comes from slaughterhouses that are dedicated entirely to kosher slaughter. If you contact the kosher-certification agencies that give kosher certification ("hechsher") to the various brands of kosher meat that are available to you, they can give you information about that. They can also tell you the method by which the animals are slaughtered (e.g. for cattle, whether they are slaughtered in an upright position, or hoisted by chain; most modern operations use the less stressful upright position).

 Is there a "kosher" way to raise animals?

"Kosher meat" for Jews refers to the method of slaughtering the animal, inspecting parts of the carcass for health defects, using only certain parts of the animal for kosher consumption, and salting and rinsing the meat. All of these have numerous ritual details, and Rabbinical oversight is required. The Torah's precepts that specify humane conditions for raising animals are separate, but somewhat related, issues, but this is not what determines the kosher status of the meat, for either Gentiles (for whom the meat must not have been severed from a living animal), or for Jews (who have many additional requirements and conditions).

 Is kosher meat raised by Jews who maintain a certain standard?

Most of the animals slaughtered for kosher meat are raised by non-Jewish farmers. There are exceptions, and Jewish-owed poultry farms are more common, including free-ranging.

If I eat regular meat do I need to salt it to remove blood?

No. Gentiles are permitted to eat animal blood if they wish, whether or not it is the blood contained within the meat.

Regarding all of the above, please see this section of our web site, at
https://asknoah.org/7-commandments/forbidden-meat