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NEWS
Technology Makes Kosher Slaughter Even More Humane
by Yated Ne'eman Staff
The humane slaughter of agricultural animals has been
improved in recent years due to consumer demands on fast-food
chains and supermarkets, said Joe Regenstein, Cornell
University professor of food science, as quoted in the weekly
US-based newsletter Kosher Today.
"The methods of humane slaughter have seen an improvement
over the past several years," says Regenstein. "The key to
all slaughter -- as an acceptable practice -- is to ensure
the animal is not stressed. By implementing new methods for
kosher slaughter that incorporate newer technology, the
animals are less stressed and, as a result of less stress on
the animals, not only are the animals happier, but workers in
the slaughterhouses are much safer," he says. Regenstein
notes that the food industry has made great strides in the
improvement of pre-slaughter handling of agricultural
animals. "We're taking animal agriculture to where the
industry ought to be in the 21st century," he says.
Regenstein discussed these changes in Chicago at a symposium
at the annual meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists
(the Religious and Ethnic Foods Division and the Muscle Foods
Division). The symposium, "Animal Welfare: An Update,"
featured Temple Grandin, professor of animal science at the
University of Colorado and a national proponent of creating
more humane methods of slaughter. Other speakers included
Janet Riley, senior vice president of public affairs at the
American Meat Institute; Chester England III, chief of food
safety for Burger King restaurants; Jill Hollingsworth, vice
president of food safety for the Food Marketing Institute;
and Adele Douglass, executive director of Humane Farm Animal
Care.
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