28 Dec 2004
South Asia Tsunami Tragedy

Sometimes words are worth a thousand pictures ...

Here are a selection of eyewitness accounts from people who have written in with their experiences of the devastation.

(link) [CNN]

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Cattle Video Stirs Kosher Meat Debate

I am sure as Hel no fan of PETA (I won't even link them here for fear of what Google's AdWords might place on my site as a result), but in this instance they seem to have uncovered some serious misdeeds.

Kosher slaughter is supposed to be as painless as possible to the animals: and the process used in Postville certainly doesn't meet that requirement.

In fact, any ritual slaughter is supposed to be painless: I know of no religion on earth that approves of it's sacrifical animals being tortured before death. When we Heathens do a animal sacrifice (and we still do, on rare occassions) we insure that the process is painless: if our safeguards should fail, and the animal should suffer, we consider that the offering has been rejected by the gods, and that "our luck has fled". A very bad omen.

As an aside to my readers who may not share my Heathen path, nearly all animal sacrifice done by the religions of the world that still practice it are done in the context of a ritual feast, or ritual slaughter for food. We do not waste the meat (or any part of the animal) in some sort of silly "burnt offering". A careful reading of the Bible will reveal that neither did the ancient Hebrews: small portions of the sacrifice were burnt, but the vast majority of the meat was shared by the temple priests.

Even in a non-religious context I personally insure that none of the animals we at Hammerstead Farms send to slaughter suffer needlessly. I stand on the kill floor and observe the entire process, insuring humane treatment. I have cared for each of them for anywhere from eight weeks to two years, and just because they're destined for the table does not mean that their last moments should be filled with terror and pain. To the contrary, they're giving their very lives that we may live: they should be treated with the utmost respect and deference.

Interestingly, I have read about this facility before, in a wonderful book entitled Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America by Stephen Bloom. The book went into little detail on the actual operations of the slaughterhouse, but delved into the effects of the physical movement of a group of Brooklyn Hasidic Jews to the heart of Iowa hog country. Fascinating stuff on it's own terms...

Los Angeles Times - The beef is produced according to ancient Jewish law: A trained rabbi makes a swift cut across each animal's neck with a long, sharp knife. The blood drains quickly from the meat. Orthodox rabbis supervise the process and certify the beef as kosher.

(link) [Yahoo! News: Top Stories]

00:00 /Asatru | 0 comments | permanent link