AskNoah recently communicated with Dr. Regenstein, Ph.D., of Cornell University, a renowned expert on issues of ritual slaughter in the international livestock industry.

Below we have posted the discussion, which addresses points of interest for those who observe or wish learn more about the Noahide prohibition of eating meat that was removed from a living animal. We then list some of the relevant practices which are recommended for the meat industry by the American Meat Institute. At the end is a link to U.S. regulations for humane slaughter.

To read our related on-line chat with the humane slaughter expert Dr. Temple Grandin, go to our webpage grandin_chat.html. For a more complete discussion, see the relevant chapter in the on-line book "The Path of the Righteous Gentile", by C. Clorfene and Y. Rogalsky. These sources are for general reference only, as any and all practical applications of the Noahide Commandments for Righteous Gentiles should be refered to fully obersvant Rabbinical experts.

From: Webmaster, www.asknoah.org To: Dr. Regenstein, Cornell University Date: Aug. 21/02 12:28 PM Subject: Inquiry regarding U.S. standards for ritual and general slaughter of livestock and fowl Dear Dr. Regenstein, I would like to pose a few questions for you regarding the U.S. standards for general slaughter of livestock and fowl, and how these regulations might be developed in the future. I am the Webmaster for the outreach website www.asknoah.org, which is a serious and wide-ranging effort to raise the level of public awareness and learning about the Seven Commandments for the Children of Noah. The Lubavitcher Rebbe greatly stressed the need for such efforts, especially in the last decades of his leadership. As part of this work, I have done considerable research into the 7th Noahide Commandment which forbids all Gentiles to eat “flesh removed from a living animal.” Although there are several opinions in the Talmud of how this is to be defined, Maimonides holds that meat that was cut from a living animal is forbidden as food for Gentiles even after the animal is dead, and that the religious law is that "living" means that the animal's heart is still beating. (If meat is removed after the heart has stopped beating but before the limbs stop moving, Maimonides holds that it is accepted after the fact, but it is forbidden from the outset.) From my studying of the U.S. slaughter regulations, it seems that across the board, the standard for livestock slaughtering, skinning and butchering is that the animal must be rendered insensitive (i.e, put into a state of surgical anesthesia) before it is skinned or flesh is removed. However, I have not found any regulation that says the animal must be "dead," nor does it define death. From my communications with the humane slaughter expert, Temple Grandin, I have learned that practically speaking, the majority of U.S.-processed livestock meat is probably not “flesh removed from a living animal,” since before the butchering commences, the animals are usually sufficiently bled out so that the heart is stopped. However, there are no official regulations on this matter. (For fowl the situation is worse, since all the slaughter regulations are presently voluntary.) It seems to me that some developments in the past few years have made the environment very favorable for motivating federal action to bring the slaughtering regulations closer into alignment with the definition of "kosher" for Gentiles, or at least to create a new optional category for slaughter houses to get this certification. First of all, more and more people are becoming aware of the Seven Commandments through outreach efforts. Furthermore, in 1991, the US Congress signed a Joint Resolution (Public Law 102-14, 102d Congress, 1st Session, H. J. RES. 104) to designate March 26, 1991 (the Lubavitcher Rebbe's birthday) as Education Day, U.S.A., which contained the following declarations regarding the Seven Noahide Laws: "Whereas Congress recognizes the historical tradition of ethical values and principles which are the basis of civilized society and upon which our great Nation was founded; “Whereas these ethical values and principles have been the bedrock of society from the dawn of civilization, when they were known as the Seven Noahide Laws; Whereas without these ethical values and principles the edifice of civilization stands in serious peril of returning to chaos; “Whereas society is profoundly concerned with the recent weakening of these principles that has resulted in crises that beleaguer and threaten the fabric of civilized society; “Whereas the justified preoccupation with these crises must not let the citizens of this Nation lose sight of their responsibility to transmit these historical ethical values from our distinguished past to the generations of the future..." Similar Joint Resolutions have been passed in the subsequent years, so there definitely is awareness on the Congressional and Presidential level about the importance of the Noahide Laws. To summarize, I would like to know your opinion on the prospects for an effort to create regulatory or voluntary standards for defining certified practices to avoid “flesh removed from a living animal” in U.S. livestock (or fowl) slaughtering operations for the general public. Regards, Webmaster, www.asknoah.org

From: Dr. J. M. Regenstein Date: Aug. 21/02 08:37 PM Subject: Re: Inquiry regarding U.S. standards for ritual and general slaughter of livestock and fowl Your timing is interesting. The Food Marketing Institute (FMI) and the National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR) are currently working on rewriting the rules for animal agriculture by using the power of the marketplace rather than the government. They are working with the trade associations to develop third -party independently audited standards for animal welfare issues including kosher and halal issues. The American Meat Institute (AMI) guidelines are a starting point for this (they are on the AMI website.) I believe they call for the animal to be "dead" before further processing commences. And it may even be in the audit sheets -- which are still in development. So I think this issue may resolve itself in the US in a fairly natural way. It would be nice to see. Hope that is helpful. Dr. J.M. Regenstein

To: Dr. Regenstein, Cornell University Date: Fri., 23 Aug 02 17:25 Subject: Follow up to my question about animal slaughter guidelines Dr. Regenstein, Thank you for your informative reply! I have searched extensively through the AMI guidelines, and I can't find an explicit statement that says an animal must be "dead" before further processing commences. All the guidelines seem to be based on a requirement for "insensitivity," and that signs of a return to sensitivity in an animal being processed indicate a problem with the stunning technique. If you could point me to something further than that in the AMI guidelines, it would be greatly helpful. Best regards, Webmaster, www.asknoah.org

From: Dr. J. M. Regenstein Date: Aug. 25/02 08:53 AM Subject: Re: Follow up to my question about animal slaughter guidelines Hi! I think I need to follow this up with Temple Grandin and others. I think the issue is one of measurement -- you can only audit what you can measure and insensibility is measurable, death is not. But I'll try to learn more. Dr. J. M. Regenstein

To: Dr. Regenstein, Cornell University Date: 3 September ’02 4:31 PM Subject: For your reference: selected laws of permissible meat for Gentiles. Dear Dr. Regenstein, Thank you for your plans to follow up with other experts regarding how our modern animal-slaughter regulations might be crafted to included consideration of the prohibition of “flesh removed from a living animal” for Gentiles. A useful resource for the relevant laws is the book "Path of the Righteous Gentile", by C. Clorfene and Y. Rogalsky. Here are a few selected rules of "flesh removed from a living animal" from the book: · [In the Covenant with Noah, G-d commanded] ... "Every moving thing that lives shall be for you for food; just as the green herbs, I have given you everything. But flesh with its living soul, its blood, you shall not eat." (Gen.9:3-4) This does not mean that an animal's blood is its soul and G-d was forbidding man to drink animal blood. The vitalizing animal soul is contained within the blood, and this is what the commandment refers to, for when an animal dies, this vitalizing soul departs. So long as this vitalizing soul remains within the animal, its flesh is forbidden to man as food. ... · Although the [Noahide] courts do not punish for [eating the limb or flesh of a living fowl], it is forbidden. (Note: Animals, birds, and fish may be killed for food in any way that man deems to be efficient, and it should be done as humanely as possible. Slaughtering of animals or birds does not have to be in a ritual manner as with Jews. Fish are considered dead the moment they are taken out of the water, but even so, one may not eat a fish while it appears to be alive, as this is a lack of refinement ...) · When one slaughters an animal, even if its windpipe and esophagus are severed, so long as the limbs are still moving, the limbs and the meat that are separated from them are forbidden to a Noahide because of this law. However, if one eats the limb or flesh of an animal after it has been killed, but while it is still moving, he is not punished for this by the [Noahide] courts, for it is not actually considered the limb or flesh of a living animal. Best regards, Webmaster, www.asknoah.org

From: Dr. J. M. Regenstein Date: Sept. 04/02 08:03 AM Subject: Re: For your reference: selected laws of permissible meat for Gentiles Hi! I got to speak to Dr. Grandin the other night -- and she indicated that the insensitive standard that is used is actually longer than "heart death" -- if the animal is properly bled out, there should be no problems and any of the larger plants leave sufficient time for bleed out to reach such insensitiveness. The only place she was at all concerned was possibly small plants, those that might not become a part of the upcoming audit plan. Hope that helps. Dr. J. M. Regenstein

POINTS OF FURTHER INFORMATION

Recommended practice (source: Dr. Temple Grandin) "Checking for signs of return to sensibility after bleeding insures that the animal will not recover."

Cardiac Arrest Stunning (source: http://ansci.colostate.edu/documents/livestock/1985/cardiac_arrest.html) A stunning method that will reliably render an animal insensible to pain and sensation prior to hoisting and bleeding is essential to prevent suffering. Cardiac arrest stunning is more effective than conventional electric stunning. In cardiac arrest stunning, an electric current is passed through both the brain and the heart to produce permanent insensibility. Since the animal is killed by the electricity it cannot revive during hoisting, bleeding, or slaughtering procedures. In contrast, conventional electrical stunning induces reversible insensibility for a short period of time. The advantages of cardiac arrest stunning are outlined below. If the interval between removal of the electric stunner and bleeding (throat cutting) is too long or if the throat is cut incorrectly, an animal may enter the scalding tank or have a limb or skin removed while still conscious. Cardiac arrest stunning practically eliminates this possibility compared to conventional electric stunning. Another advantage of cardiac arrest stunning is if the animal accidentally misses the bleeding station, stopping the heart will probably induce unconsciousness prior to the animal's being transported to the scalding tank or the first leg removal or skinning station.

Electrical Stunning - Trouble Shooting Guide (source: AMI website, '03) Problem - The initial stun appears to be done correctly but the animal blinks or shows other signs of return to sensibility 30 to 90 seconds after stunning. Causes [partial list]: · The stunning to bleed interval is too long. This is especially a problem with head only reversible stunning. The solution is to shorten the interval between stunning and bleeding. · Poor bleeding if an animal shows signs of return to sensibility after it has been bled. This can occur in cardiac arrested animals because there are always a few animals where the heart is not stopped. Training of the person doing the bleeding will usually solve this problem.

CO2 Stunning - Trouble Shooting Guide (source: AMI website, '03) [ Partial list of reasons for return to sensibility.]: · The time between exit from the CO2 chamber and bleeding is too long. To prevent recovery from the anesthesia, bleed the animals more quickly. · Poor bleeding technique. If animals show signs of return to sensibility after bleeding the person doing the bleeding may need more training.

Bleed Rail Insensibility (source: AMI website, '03) Criteria for stunned animals possibly showing partial sensibility such as eye reflexes or nose twitching (Score a minimum of 100 animals in large plants). When a 100 animal audit is performed 100% must be rendered insensible. Use these figures when averaging the scores of many audits. · Excellent - Cattle less than 1 per 1000. Pigs and sheep less than 1 per 2000. · Acceptable - Cattle less than 1 per 500. Pigs and sheep less than 1 per 1000. There is a zero tolerance for beginning any slaughter procedure such as skinning the head, leg removal or scalding on an animal that shows any sign of return to sensibility.  It must be immediately shot with a captive bolt stunner.

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