Is There Such Thing As Halal Food Anymore?
I have been disheartened and concerened for quite some time now about the foods we eat - not only from an Islamic perspective, but also a health perspective. Do we really know what is in our food - do we know what the animals we eat are fed and how they are treated? Are we sure that the foods we eat today are truly classified under 'Halal food'? Yes - this means even those of us who chose to only consume "Halal Meat" - if there is such a thing nowadays.
I'm not trying to be pessimistic or difficult - but the problem with the foods we eat is that their affects will only show up later in our lives and in the lives of our children - and most likely their affects will be overshadowed and we will only treat the problem when it arises without any knowledge that what we ate caused the problem in the first place.
Nowadays we not only have genetically engineered fruits and vegetables - we have animals that are given "protein" (meat from other animals) as part of their feed - they are treated cruely and then they are slaughtered cruely - oh, and I forgot to mention that they receive antibiotics and growth hormones. All of which we, ourselves, consume when we sit down to our meals.
A friend recently tried contacting many of the so-called "Halal" meat producers in the US and most of them replied that they could not verify what the animals were fed. Isn't that something that should concern us? At this point, I'm seriously considering becoming vegetarian - as I'm sure my neighbors wouldn't appreciate me raising my own feed in our tiny backyard. I don't really know what we can/should do about this - but I know we really should educate ourselves more about the food we eat and then decide what we're going to do about it. We must realize that the foods we consume are no small matter.
Here are a few good websites that deal with these types of issues, if you are interested in educating yourself more about this topic. I plan to try to learn more - before it is too late. I want to remind all of us about the following hadith:
"Each of you is a shepherd and each of you is responsible for his flock. The leader is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock; a man is the shepherd of his family and is responsible for his flock; a woman is the shepherd in the house of her husband and is responsible for her flock; a servant is the shepherd of his master's wealth and is responsible for it. Each of you is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock." (Bukhari and Muslim)
Halal and Healthy
GoVeg.com
Here are some articles about this issue:
The Halal Meat Industry
Mechanical Slaughter
IT MAY BE ZABIHA, BUT IS IT HALAL?
Cattle Feed is Often a Sum of Animal Parts
Halal and Kosher slaughter 'must end'
Just wanted to update you on what we're thinking about this topic in our home. We found that
there are some farms in our state (not necessarily in our backyard) that raise their animals
I still think we will lean more on the vegetarian side and there's more to be learned - i.e.,
It may be an adjustment - especially because I only know a few vegetarian meals that
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5 Comments:
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MAY PEACE BE UPON YOUR SOUL, HEART, MIND, AND BODY...AMEN...
By
WELL, THIS ARTICLE REMINDED ME OF THIS:
http://beautifulislam.net/pafiledb/pafiledb.php?action=file&id=178
Please do listen to it....
sara, at November 24, 2005
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Asalamu Alaikum,
By
Yeah, I have said I am going to have a chicken coop in our back yard!LOL And we get meat from local farmers when we can. I don't know where we are headed with all of this... And I feel like when I start the subject I just get bogged down in how hard it would be to change our family's diet. But you bring up some valid points... Halal is a brand here, a claim. Since it is largely unregulated, I don't count on it meeting any standerds. UmmLayla, at November 25, 2005
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As-salaam alaikum,
By
Food needs to be pure as well as slaughtered Islamically. Food grown with antibiotics and growth hormones can hardly be called pure. It's not too hard to be a vegetable once you get into the swing of things. I would advise you check out vegetarian cookbooks from the library before buying any, and just copy recipes that you might like to try. It's cheaper that way. Insha'llah it will be easy for you.
Casey Umm Mai
, at November 27, 2005
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I agree with Casey's idea about the library. Two worth trying are Laurel's Kitchen and Moosewood. I found a few good recipes in Enchanted Broccoli Forest (can't remember if that one is from Moosewood or if it is it's own thing). Also, There are a few vegetarian recipes in What's Cooking Indian and Tess Mallos, The Complete Middle East Cookbook.
By
Overall, the one thing I try to do is use more whole grain when cooking vegetarian so that there is more protien in the meal. Although it does take some getting used to if you aren't used to brown rice and whole wheat flour. You might want to try half and half when you start with the flour that way the adjustment is easier. I can make some darn good flat bread with only whole wheat, and DH doesn't even know the difference!LOL UmmLayla, at November 28, 2005
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Assalam-oAlaikum!
By
What a coincidence!
For the past few days I have been forcing myself out if bed for Fajr with success.Just today, I nearly missed my Fajr prayer but thanks to Allah I was able to offer it.
Your article states the Prophet's reaction to the missing of Fajr Prayer.
Thanx...I'll be even more strict with myself from now on and try to offer my prayers at the most Awwal time. Cookie, at January 03, 2006
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