Islamic dietary laws are dietary laws that Muslims follow. Islamic jurisprudence specifies which foods are halāl and which are harām. The dietary laws are found in the Quran, the holy book of Islam, as well as in collections of traditions attributed to Islamic prophet Muhammad.
Halal is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word halal is contrasted with haram (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification known as "the five decisions": mandatory, recommended, neutral, reprehensible and forbidden. Islamic jurists disagree on whether the term halal covers the first two or the first four of these categories. In recent times, Islamic movements seeking to mobilize the masses and authors writing for a popular audience have emphasized the simpler distinction of halal and haram.
In Judaism, shechita is ritual slaughtering of certain mammals and birds for food according to kashrut.
Kosher foods are foods that conform to the Jewish dietary regulations of kashrut. The laws of kashrut apply to food derived from living creatures and kosher foods are restricted to certain types of mammals, birds and fish meeting specific criteria; the flesh of any animals that do not meet these criteria is forbidden by the dietary laws. Furthermore, kosher mammals and birds must be slaughtered according to a process known as shechita and their blood may never be consumed and must be removed from the meat by a process of salting and soaking in water for the meat to be permissible for use. All plant-based products, including fruits, vegetables, grains, herbs and spices, are intrinsically kosher, although certain produce grown in the Land of Israel is subjected to other requirements, such as tithing, before it may be consumed.
The Humane Slaughter Act, or the Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act, is a United States federal law designed to decrease suffering of livestock during slaughter. It was approved on August 27, 1958. The most notable of these requirements is the need to have an animal completely sedated and insensible to pain. This is to minimize the suffering to the point where the animal feels nothing at all, instead blacking out and never waking. This differs from animal to animal as size increases and decreases. Larger animals such as bovines require a stronger method than chickens, for example. Bovines require electronarcosis or something equally potent, though electronarcosis remains a standard. The bovine would have a device placed on their head that, once activated, sends an electric charge that efficiently and safely stuns them. Chickens, on the other hand, require much less current to be efficiently sedated and are given a run under electrically charged water. To ensure that these guidelines are met, The Food Safety and Inspection Service inspectors at slaughtering plants are responsible for overseeing compliance, and have the authority to stop slaughter lines and order plant employees to take corrective actions. Although more than 168 million chickens and around 9 billion broiler chickens are killed for food in the United States yearly, the Humane Slaughter Act specifically mentions only cattle, calves, horses, mules, sheep and swine.
In Islamic law, dhabīḥah, also spelled zabiha, is the prescribed method of slaughter for halal animals. It consists of a swift, deep incision to the throat with a very sharp knife, cutting the wind pipe, jugular veins and carotid arteries on both sides but leaving the spinal cord intact. The butcher is also required to call upon the name of Allah (Bismillah) individually for each animal.
The Islamic dietary laws (halal) and the Jewish dietary laws are both quite detailed, and contain both points of similarity and discord. Both are the dietary laws and described in distinct religious texts: an explanation of the Islamic code of law found in the Quran and Sunnah and the Jewish code of laws found in the Torah, Talmud and Shulchan Aruch.
The legal aspects of ritual slaughter include the regulation of slaughterhouses, butchers, and religious personnel involved with traditional shechita (Jewish) and dhabiha (Islamic). Regulations also may extend to butchery products sold in accordance with kashrut and halal religious law. Governments regulate ritual slaughter, primarily through legislation and administrative law. In addition, compliance with oversight of ritual slaughter is monitored by governmental agencies and, on occasion, contested in litigation.
Jhatka, or Jhataka or chatka, is the meat from an animal killed instantly, such as by a single strike of a sword or axe to sever the head within the Sikh religion. This type of slaughter is preferred by most Rajputs in Hinduism, Sikhs, as well as meat-consuming Buddhists, Hindus and some khatiks of the Punjab region and North India, also within this method of butchering the animal must not be scared or shaken before the slaughter.
Animal slaughter is the killing of animals, usually referring to killing domestic livestock. It is estimated that each year 80 billion land animals are slaughtered for food. Most animals are slaughtered for food; however, they may also be slaughtered for other reasons such as for harvesting of pelts, being diseased and unsuitable for consumption, or being surplus for maintaining a breeding stock. Slaughter typically involves some initial cutting, opening the major body cavities to remove the entrails and offal but usually leaving the carcass in one piece. Such dressing can be done by hunters in the field or in a slaughterhouse. Later, the carcass is usually butchered into smaller cuts.
Ritual slaughter is the practice of slaughtering livestock for meat in the context of a ritual. Ritual slaughter involves a prescribed practice of slaughtering an animal for food production purposes.
Nortura is a Norwegian agricultural cooperative that operates slaughterhouses and other processing plants related to meat and eggs. The company was created as a merger between Gilde Norsk Kjøtt and Prior Norge in 2006, and has head offices in Oslo.
Gilde Norsk Kjøtt is a defunct Norwegian red meat processing company organised as an agricultural cooperative. The company was by far the largest processor in the country when it merged with Prior Norge in 2006 to create Nortura. The company had gradually grown together as the slaughter cooperatives in the country had merged. It was not until 2000 that the company fully merged into one legal entity. Before this it had been an association between various local slaughterhouses.
Prior Norge is a defunct Norwegian white meat and egg processing company organised as an agricultural cooperative. The company merged with Gilde Norsk Kjøtt in 2006 to create Nortura. The Prior brand is still used.
Prior is a brand name used by Nortura on its eggs and white meat. The brand dates back to 1977 when Norsk Eggcentral rebranded Sol-egg to Prior. The brand was owned by Prior Norge until 2006 when it merged with Gilde Norsk Kjøtt to form Nortura.
Terina is a brand name used by the Norwegian meat processing company Nortura on its frozen and canned food. The production uses raw products from Gilde but is processed through the subsidiary Terina AS. There are processing plants in Namsos, Tynset, Sogndal and Lillehammer. Annual production was 17,000 tonnes with a revenue of NOK 1.4 billion and 300 employees in 2005.
Halal literally means "permissible" in Arabic and refers to food items that are permissible to consume under Sharia law, whereas haram refers to any substance not permitted to consume. According to the Australian Food and Grocery Council, halal foods must be "free from any substance taken or extracted from a haram animal or ingredient ; [be] made, processed, manufactured and/or stored by using utensils, equipment and/or machinery that has been cleaned according to Islamic law ; and [be] free from contact with, or being close to, a haram substance during preparation, manufacture, processing and storage ."
Animal welfare and rights in India regards the treatment of and laws concerning non-human animals in India. It is distinct from animal conservation in India.
Halal meat is meat of animal slaughtered according to Quran and Sunnah and thus permitted for consumption by Muslims.
Halal conspiracy theories revolve around a series of Islamophobic conspiracy theories and hoaxes regarding halal certification in products such as food, beverages and cosmetics. The claims usually made include that the sale of halal-certified goods in stores is a precursor to the Islamization or institution of Sharia law in a non-Muslim country, that the fees paid by companies for halal certification fund Islamic terrorism, that halal slaughter for meat is cruel, unhygienic or constitutes as animal sacrifice, among others. The spread of these claims has resulted in boycotts and harassment campaigns against businesses who sell halal-certified products, most notably in Australia and India, although anti-halal boycott movements also exist in Denmark, France, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States.
