Dr. Temple Grandin In The Jerusalem Post

Dr. Temple Grandin has written a piece on shechita for the Jerusalem Post:

NOW THAT I was able to hold the animal gently, it was possible to observe its reaction to shehita. When shehita was performed on each steer, I was amazed that the animal did not move. To find out if shehita was really painless, I started holding the head of each animal with less and less pressure to see if it would move during shehita. Even big bulls stayed still when the head holder was so loose they could have easily pulled their heads out.

I also observed that some shohets were better than others in their ability to cause rapid unconsciousness. All of the cuts were correct from a religious standpoint, but some shohets were more biologically effective. A swift cut was more effective than a slower one. In the hands of the best shohets, the animal does not make a sound or flinch, and drops unconscious in eight to 10 seconds.

My experiences in seeing how humane shehita can be could not have prepared me for the video taken at the kosher meat plant AgriProcessors, which recently became the center of considerable controversy. The video showed cattle that were clearly conscious after their throats had been cut and their trachea had been ripped out and was hanging from their necks.

I have been in over 30 kosher plants, and I had never seen such a dreadful procedure. Obviously, yanking on the trachea would cause great pain and may have delayed the onset of unconsciousness.

She also notes that many of the South American plants that export beef to Israel [and the US] also have serious problems. [Much of this meat comes to the US with OU and Satmar-related supervision and is used in OU products and restaurants, MealMart, Alle Processing and Schrieber's.]

Read it all here.

Comments

[FNULNU]

AGRIPROCESSORS IS NOT ALLOWED TO EXPORT MEAT TO ISRAEL!

See 'Export Requirements for Israel' put out by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture. This last was last updated in January 2004 (and confirmed to me over the phone as current)

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OFO/export/israel.htm

According to the section of site 'Plants Eligible to Export [to Israel]':

"The list of kosher and non-kosher plants eligible to export to Israel is available in the FSIS Export Library. Exporters may also contact FSIS Technical Service Center at (402) 221-7400 for a copy. "

This list for MEAT is available at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Frame/FrameRedirect.asp?main=http:/OFO/export/lisrael.htm

Please note that no kosher plant is on that list. Though the list is a few years old it is still the current list a telephone call to FSIS confirmed.

A company not on this list is not supposed to be granted an export license.

That means AgriProcessors should not be able to sell to Israel.!

Does anyone know any reason this would not be the case???

[FNU LNU]

I have found the following reports, both from 2001:

A report on Israeli requirements for kosher meat at:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200107/120681187.pdf

A report on the Israeli kosher market:
http://www.fas.usda.gov/gainfiles/200110/130682378.pdf

It points out:

* The Israeli rabbanut does require the turning box, unlike the US standards
* Two US factories meet those standards and exported in 2000 $1.5 million worth of beef (880 tons)

Anyway, it seems they do (or did) sell the meat to Israel and this cow flipping was one of the main issues that held it up. Perhaps the US list of which plants are authorized by Israel is not correct, possibly because Agriprocessors has not updated the FSIS.

[FNU.LNU]

One report mentions the Israeli rabbanut prohibts use of an electric prod to bring the cows to the slaugher.