After ban, Poland may reinstate kosher slaughter

Poland cut its own throat

Farmers, producers and now lawmakers say they regret kibosh being put on kosher and halal meat in deference to animal rights

By VANESSA GERA, TOI

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — For some, it was a barbaric way to treat animals. For others, it was great business.

Until January, slaughterhouses across Poland — a deeply Catholic nation — were the unlikely venues for the Islamic and Jewish slaughter of animals, which in both religions involves a swift cut to the throat of a conscious animal and death by bleeding.

Millions of euros were being made exporting the halal and kosher meat to countries like Egypt, Iran and Israel, as well as to Muslim and Jewish markets inside Europe.

In a victory for a growing animal rights movement, activists succeeded in getting a ban on such religious slaughter. But with economic decline deepening and exports seen as a possible salvation, the government faces pressure to get the practice reinstated legally — and is scrambling to do so.

Though Poland’s own cuisine is heavy in pork, a meat banned by Jewish and Islamic laws, the country has cut out this niche business for itself in one example of the economic savvy Poland has shown since joining the European Union in 2004. Kosher and halal meat exports have grown between 20 and 30 percent per year in recent years as the largely agricultural country has capitalized on its low labor costs and a reputation for healthy farm animals.

“God gave us good food, good soil good and good farm animals, and he gave the Muslim countries what they have under the surface — black gold,” said Mufti Tomasz Miskiewicz, the top Muslim leader in Poland. “There are nations with big populations — like Egypt, the Arab countries, Indonesia — that need this food and don’t have enough cattle to produce enough meat themselves.”

The business has been encouraged by Poland’s Jewish and Muslim communities, minorities that are very small but with a presence going back many centuries. Polish Jews once made up the world’s largest Jewish population; though nearly wiped out in the Holocaust, the community is growing. Tatars, a Muslim people, also settled here centuries ago, and have been joined recently by Arab diplomats, businessmen and students.

The kosher and halal business had boomed until January, when the ban took effect following a ruling by the Constitutional Tribunal. Though the actual slaughter was carried out by specially trained Muslim and Jewish officials, the industry also created thousands of supporting jobs for others.

Animal rights activists argue that killing animals without stunning them first causes unnecessary suffering to the animals. Jewish and Muslim leaders strongly disagree, and insist that their method is actually more humane, in part became it causes the animals to lose consciousness very fast. They argue that standard industrial slaughter involves pre-stunning that is sometimes not effective, leading to even greater suffering.

Poland’s chief rabbi, Michael Schudrich, says Jewish tradition has always been concerned with the welfare of animals, noting, for instance, that it bans hunting and any senseless suffering.

“For close to 3,000 years, Jewish slaughter practices have been followed that minimize pain to the animal,” Schudrich said.

Polish meat industry officials are hesitant to take sides on which slaughter method causes more suffering, with their focus firmly on economics.

The pro-market government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk is also eager to get the business going again and has recently drafted a law that would reinstate religious slaughter while also adding some new protections for animals.

The law’s fate now rests with parliament, which is due to debate and vote on it in the coming weeks. It is expected to pass since the government enjoys majority support in the assembly, but probably not without some heated debate. Lawmakers are under pressure from all sides, including from an animal rights movement that has grown stronger as the ex-communist country grows increasingly Westernized.

In the meantime, industry leaders warn that millions of euros and thousands of jobs could be lost if Poland doesn’t re-legalize religious slaughter soon.

“Banning ritual slaughter was a cardinal mistake with huge consequences,” said Witold Choinski, the head of Polskie Mieso, or Polish Meat, an organization that represents the interests of meat producers.

Choinski said there are no official figures on the financial losses so far, but the number is high: the industry is worth about 500 million euros ($650 million) per year to the Polish economy and it has been largely frozen for nearly half a year. About 100,000 tons of kosher or halal beef and 100,000 tons of poultry were exported annually before the ban — making up between 20 and 30 percent of Poland’s beef exports and about 10 percent of poultry exports, Choinski said.

He says there is currently no production at all of the religiously slaughtered meat, though Miskiewicz and others says there is some small-scale production taking place in a legal gray zone.

Many of the Polish meat facilities which handle kosher and halal meat — usually in addition to traditional slaughter — have had to limit their overall production because of the ban, while major contracts with traders from the Middle East have been suspended, Choinski said.

Poland had been close to sealing major long-term contracts with Saudi Arabia, but these were abandoned because of the unclear legal situation. Meanwhile, many Polish companies that produce halal and kosher meat are on the verge of bankruptcy, and up to 6,000 workers could lose their jobs, he said.

“Poland can’t afford this. Most meat production facilities are in small places without other places for people to work and this is dooming the economic prospects of people,” he said. “But I think there will be a resolution because no government can allow 6,000 people to get laid off during an economic crisis.”

For now, business is being picked up by producers in nearby countries, including Estonia and the Czech Republic, Miskiewicz said.

Bosnia is also working hard to position itself as an exporter of halal products. The country opened its first halal fair Wednesday in Sarajevo, welcoming representatives of the Islamic world to take a look at Bosnian products. Erdal Trhulj, Bosnia’s regional industry minister, said the halal industry is growing worldwide, and that his country “aims to become a hub for halal industry in this part of Europe.”

The debate surrounding the issue has lacked any overt anti-Jewish or anti-Islamic tones, though religious rights are also pressing concern for the minorities and a government that wants to maintain good ties with them.

Miskiewicz says there is a degree of unfairness in banning Jewish and Islamic slaughter when so many Polish Catholics follow a similar practice themselves at Christmas, when carp are slaughtered in homes across the nation without any pre-stunning.

May 16, 2013 | 77 Comments »

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50 Comments / 77 Comments

  1. vivarto Said:

    Yet, you cannot accuse the whole nation for the crimes done by some.

    Leftist salami.
    Yes I can.
    ASHTRAY! GLASS ASHTRAY, Burn it now.

    vivarto Said:

    And indeed today Poland is changing. It is significantly less antisemitic, than just 40 years ago

    And significant more Islamonazis and I am significantly less pregnant than last year.
    Carve that epitaph on the glass ashtray – “They were significantly less antisemitic when their country evaporated.”

    Sounds good.

  2. Jedwabne
    Mila 18
    Lublin
    Budzyn

    And many many more.
    And even worse with Ukrainians, Latvians, Lithuanians.
    Yet, you cannot accuse the whole nation for the crimes done by some.
    And indeed today Poland is changing. It is significantly less antisemitic, than just 40 years ago.

    For big part the credit goes to the Polish pope.

  3. Honey Bee Said:

    you got me into trouble you know?

    No , I don’t. there was another thread, in another place, in another time – many people there were troubled. I left them a message of wisdom and guidance and vacated that troubled place that wasteland of bloodied and unkempt souls. I have never returned since – perhaps they still wander there the walking wounded – howling in confusion. I have no idea what happened to them.
    ..
    Jedwabne
    Mila 18
    Lublin
    Budzyn

    The Poles can exonerate themselves – first send all their children to Israel for adoption – then turn Poland into an glass ashtray. Anything less would be impolite.
    Only thing more useless than a pole is two poles – they don’t need to eat.

  4. Honey Bee Said:

    Sarah Silverstein has corrupted Max

    I have always depended on the kindness of strangers and ‘dishonest whores’. You see m’dear real men eat meat and real men prefer sluts – especially those with such a nefretti neck

    Sarah Silverman can do no wrong. It’s a fact!

  5. vivarto Said:

    So what are the rules?


    Shechita

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    In Judaism All animals are prohibited, but out of necessity an exception is made for three or four of them. 3 out of the 4 are domesticated and can be slaughtered according to Jewish ritual the 4th (gazelle) is permitted but since it can’t be hunted or trapped it’s almost impossible to kill the animal according to strict Kosher ritual. With domesticated animals People give them life to take it later.

    Judaism stipulates that animals must be killed painlessly. Murder—even of animals, even out of utter necessity—is still murder and must not be enjoyed; Judaism opposes recreational hunting. In Judaism all Life is sacred, and people may not kill even animals, but humans must eat; the concession is made, therefore, to let people kill a few intellectually less advanced animals, and even that was limited to domestic animals who people raised in the first place and rigidly regulated to minimize suffering. It is forbidden to slaughter an animal in front of other animals, or to slaughter an animal and its young on the same day, even separately. This is forbidden no matter how far away the animals are from each other. An animal’s “young” is defined as either its own offspring, or another animal that follows it around, even if of another species.

    In Judaism the entire animal kingdom has been prohibited for food with the exception of four animals: goat, sheep, cows, and gazelle. Thus it is clear that G-d detested our consumption of meat, yet considered it an unavoidable concession. Medical advances and animal rights groups are decreasing meat consumption. In our time we’re entering an era of Edenic vegetarianism.

  6. Honey Bee Said:

    My Grandparentss came from Lodz, Poland. I have the same semtiments towards the Poles that you do.

    They haven’t changed. Neither have the Germans.

    Don’t worry about what the poles eat – they don’t need to eat.

  7. vivarto Said:

    So what are the rules?

    They yell,when you grab the up. I could tell you a long boring story about C’boy and friend when they tried to treat a cow for an infected teat. Rodeoooooooo Cow won.

  8. Honey Bee Said:

    They yell***********loudly. Ever hear a rabbit when a coyotoe has grab it up?

    So are you telling me that if the animals yell they are no longer kosher?

    Another question is, can animals yell, if their throat is cut? If someone cuts my throat, I don’t think I’d be able to yell, but that does not mean that I’d not be suffering.
    So what are the rules?

  9. vivarto Said:

    Who and how is determining whether the animal has experienced pain

    They yell***********loudly. Ever hear a rabbit when a coyotoe has grab it up?

  10. Honey Bee Said:

    Sarah Silverstein has corrupted Max!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    The thing about Sarah is that I can’t even get angry at her.
    I just see a very sick woman. Visibly suffering. Schizophrenia is no joy.

  11. If he errors and the animal is seen to have experienced pain the animal is declared unfit and cannot be used as Kosher by Jews.

    Who and how is determining whether the animal has experienced pain?

  12. CuriousAmerican Said:

    Why would you want to end Islamic slaughter, but keep Jewish slaughter?

    Any Muslim can slaughter and the infliction or lack of pain to an animal is not the purpose of Halal. In Halal a prayer over each slaughtered animal is recited that mentions Mohamed and is required! In Judaism the ritual slaughterer (Shochet) is required to cite a payer only over the first and last animal slaughtered during that day or sequence. If he errors and the animal is seen to have experienced pain the animal is declared unfit and cannot be used as Kosher by Jews.
    A ritual Jewish slaughterer will inspect each animal for signs that the animal is no diseased or unfit for other ritual reasons not so Halal.

    A Muslim is permitted by Muslim law to eat Kosher but no Jew is allowed to eat Halal in place of Kosher.

  13. vivarto Said:

    As for humor, I am glad that you find your “humor” entertaining

    Sarah Silverstein has corrupted Max!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  14. vivarto Said:

    Explain please

    Your not an American! We recite this when some one is angery, at us.

    ” Nobody likes me, everybody hates me. Guess I’ll go eat worms”

  15. Max Said:

    I don’t have any beliefs. I’m making fun of your beliefs with other beliefs – Oh meatless one

    Of course you have, the only thing is that you are unconscious of your beliefs.
    For example you believe that meat is fit for human consumption. But you are so dense that you perceive your belief as objective truth.
    As for humor, I am glad that you find your “humor” entertaining.

  16. Max Said:

    MK Ilatov: Palestinians do not want peace.

    No they want victory

    When one person wants peace, and the other wants victory, who will win?

  17. @ Max:

    OMG Max, you have a sense of humor!! Are we friends again,Sweetie, you got me into trouble you know?
    My Grandparentss came from Lodz, Poland. I have the same semtiments towards the Poles that you do.

  18. @ vivarto:
    I don’t have any beliefs. I’m making fun of your beliefs with other beliefs – Oh meatless one – a lack of meat dims your bulb as will as your humour.

  19. And in real news:

    75 injured in West Bank demonstrations;
    Abbas calls for sovereign state on pre-1967 lines;
    MK Ilatov: Palestinians do not want peace.

  20. Max Said:

    looney tunes – soybean eaters make lousy soldiers. Try feeding your soldiers alfalfa and see how long you got a country.

    Eating an animal – you absorb it’s manna and it’s power

    Max, these are very primitive and unscientific beliefs.
    Japanese Samurais might were among the best worriers of all time. They were either totally vegan, or nearly vegan.
    Countless world champions including martial artists have been vegan.
    http://www.greatveganathletes.com/taxonomy/term/28
    Sorry to tell you but your manny is the same b.s. as the fear of black cats and of #13.
    But then perhaps you also believe in astrology…

  21. vivarto Said:

    A cigar is just a cigar,but a steak!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Forgive me, but I can’t follow your thought here.

    Don’t think just eat. I like steak too – hamburger as well. I used to live on a farm – unlike what most city slickers think, animals don’t talk , tell stories or start revolutions.

    vivarto Said:

    It takes hypocrisy to eat animals when other food is available.

    looney tunes – soybean eaters make lousy soldiers. Try feeding your soldiers alfalfa and see how long you got a country.

    Eating an animal – you absorb it’s manna and it’s power – what tastes best is eating an animal that wants to eat me.

    You have to eat animals with the correct side dishes
    I like bear with a fine Chianti and side order of salmon and wild berries and shark with a white wine and lobsters..

  22. The Islamics will slaughter the Poles so I don’t see the problem – they don’t need to worry about eating.

  23. yamit82 Said:

    ban the practice in San Francisco

    Its San Francisco,it’s not ant-semitic,it’s San Francisco’s obsession with the male member.

  24. @ vivarto:
    Jewish slaughter is inhuman.
    Mohammedan slaughter is just as inhuman.
    The modern Western slaughter is almost as inhuman.

    The question to my mind is NOT what is humane to the animal, but what is humane to the eater.

    Stun guns can send brain material (Mad Cow Disease) into the animal’s meat, which would otherwise be confined to the animals organs.

    Pulverizing a brain with a stun pellet, can send toxins into the bloodstream; and poison all the meat.

    Anesthesia poisons the meat with chemicals.

    Kosher slaughter preserves the safety of the meat for the consumer.

    Kosher slaugher might be the most humane for the human consumer.

    I am a Christian, and even I see that.

  25. @ Laura:
    I think islamic slaughter should be banned.

    Why would you want to end Islamic slaughter, but keep Jewish slaughter?

  26. Let’s be honest.
    Jewish slaughter is inhuman.
    Mohammedan slaughter is just as inhuman.
    The modern Western slaughter is almost as inhuman.

    It takes hypocrisy to eat animals when other food is available. However meat eaters have not yet arrived on the stage of development where they can see with their own eyes. They look at reality with the eyes of the crowd. Since in their crowd eating animal corpses is considered “normal,” they will continue to do that.

  27. @ Eric R.:
    @ Samuel Fistel:
    @ Laura:

    European Doctors Blast American Report That Recommended Circumcision
    Hit U.S. Panel’s ‘Cultural Bias’ for Citing Benefits of Procedure

    Thirty-eight physicians from Europe have written a paper alleging that “cultural bias” was behind the pro-circumcision stance of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

    The commentary, published on March 18 on the website of the U.S.-based Pediatrics journal, disputes a report which the American academy on children’s health published in August, which states that “benefits of newborn male circumcision outweigh the risks but the benefits are not great enough to recommend universal newborn circumcision.”

    Read more: http://forward.com/articles/173203/european-doctors-blast-american-report-that-recomm/#ixzz2TS3UIlaO

    Read more: http://forward.com/articles/173203/european-doctors-blast-american-report-that-recomm/#ixzz2TS2x3TwY

  28. Eventually, Europe will ban not only shechitah, but brit mila. This will allow the Euronazis to achieve what they have dreamed of for 2,000 years. A Judenrein Europe. The great irony is that Russia, of all places, seems like the one place in Europe that will not ban it.

  29. Banning Jewish kosher slaughter: european christian nazis then; european post-christian liberals now:

    The catholic hitler banned kosher slaughter in 1933. The catholic Poles (as well as arian Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, etc.) have now re-instituted the ban. Why? Because swiftly slitting the throat of a cow is “not humane”. And what is humane? Stunning the cow before it is slaughtered. And how is this “humane” stunning accomplished? With a re-usable penetrating stun gun shot into the brain (equivalent to shooting), with a non-penetrating stun gun (equivalent to a hammer), with electrocution, or with gassing. These “humane” methods were also used by the european christian nazis on the Jews in the death camps in Poland.

    It has been shown repeatedly that these “humane” methods do not work effectively, and that many of the animals have to be stunned a second time. And of course, you can freely hunt wild deer and pigs in europe with guns and dogs, and there are no restrictions on severely wounding the animals without managing to kill them.

    Only Jewish kosher slaughter is singled out (shades of the three D’s: demonization, delegitimization, and double-standards).