Ethical, organic, safe: the other side of halal food | Life and style | The Guardian

Ethical, organic, safe: the other side of halal food | Life and style | The Guardian: "The halal industry, he says, tends to focus too much on how animals die rather than on how they live. Halal certification audits may focus on the details of whether there's alcohol in the hand sanitiser at abattoirs, or use of the unlawful "blessed blade", which has the pre-slaughter prayer written on it rather than having it pronounced for each individual animal. But there are broader issues at stake, springing from Islam's emphasis on sustainable living and kindness to animals. The Qur'an commands Muslims to "eat of what is in the earth lawful and wholesome", but too often, notes Lutfi, the emphasis remains on the lawful – halal – rather than tayyib, the wholesome and pure. Many halal meat producers too often mirror the pitfalls of the mass food industry: expediency and cheapness often trumping Islamic dictates on natural methods of farming and raising animals. "Halal is so much wider than just how an animal is killed or about meat," says Muhammad Nazir, CEO of Ghanim International UK, a halal food company backed by the Brunei government. "It's about eating food that benefits an individual in their physical and spiritual wellbeing.""



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