Complimentary Story
Editor, Wisconsin Christian News:Wearing a heavy smock and rubber boots, Amadedin Eganwa stands over a large conveyor belt that’s carrying unconscious lambs. He faces east, towards Mecca, gently lifts the animal’s head in the same direction and under his breath quickly says a prayer: “bissmillahi Allah akbar” (“in god’s name, Allah is greater”) — before swiftly cutting the lamb’s throat.
Eganwa, a practicing Muslim, performs this slaughter almost 900 times during each shift at Superior Farms slaughterhouse in Denver so that the meat is “halal,” meaning it’s prepared according to Islamic law. With the Muslim population on pace to become the second largest religious group in the United States by 2040, the demand for halal meat and other foods is on the rise to the point that Nielsen reports U.S. sales increased 15% from 2012 to 2015. Some of the largest meat producers in the country, e.g. American Foods Group, are providing more that’s halal (in part to satisfy global, not domestic demand). But industry experts say, U.S. consumers may not be aware of it, because some large grocery chains choose not to label products halal and there’s no way to tell the difference.
“Some retailers are concerned about the halal insignia,” Superior Farms vice-president of sales Greg Ahart said, adding that the lack of labeling generally happens in areas without large Muslim populations. Superior is one of the largest lamb producers in the country, selling to small ethnic grocery stores as well as to retail giants. Five years ago, the Denver plant and one in California slaughtered lamb according to halal standards just one day a week. As demand rose, Superior Farms, which mostly handles lamb with some goat, became all-halal, all the time.
“It really got to be too cumbersome as time went by to maintain inventory segregation on what was halal and what wasn’t,” Ahart said. Shane MacKenzie, who oversees Superior’s operations and has worked with the company for 21 years said halal slaughter doesn’t slow anything down: “It’s exactly the same except for the practicing Muslim (slaughter-man).” The company follows guidelines of the federal humane slaughter act, which every slaughterhouse must follow, as well as certifying board like Halal Transactions of Omaha, which requires the plant to prevent any contamination by non-halal foods, such as pork, alcohol or antibiotics since they tend to contain pork by-products.
No single governing body oversees halal certification of halal meats and the standards can vary, which means there’s little data on the industry ($1.9 billion in the U.S. and $415 billion globally). When it comes to serving halal in the U.S. some retailers may be doing it, but don’t trumpet the fact.
-Esther Honig
