slaughter
We Need to Rethink Our Approach to Seafood Altogether
I firmly believe that we need to change our mindset for a more ethical approach to how we farm, catch, kill, handle, and consume seafood. It's not just that we're overfishing species out of season, but we're letting them die in a way that benefits no...
Halal Slaughter Is More Complicated Than You Realize
As the Muslim populations of Western nations continue to grow, controversy over the halal slaughter of animals has intensified. We asked Dr. Temple Grandin the question that's most often at the center of the scandals: is halal slaughter humane?
Soul Food: Halal
Dawn sets out to uncover what’s so hot about Halal. She finds delectable delicacies at The Halal Guys food cart and an intimate family dinner, learns about the relationship between food and religion, and visits a Halal slaughterhouse.
A Proper Maasai Wedding Starts with a Cup of Fresh Cow's Blood
On the morning of my friend's wedding in Nairobi, I watched as Maasai tribesmen wrestled a steer to the ground and slit its throat. It would become the centerpiece of the wedding feast, but not before we drank its blood.
Animal Rights Activists Don’t Want You to Swing Chickens for God
On the eve of Yom Kippur, I followed a group of Brooklyn animal rights activists who were protesting Kapparot: the ultra-Orthodox Jewish ceremony of imbuing a live chicken with one’s sins, swinging it over one’s head, and sacrificing it to remove...
The Sacrificial Animals of Instagram
This weekend, Muslims around the world are celebrating Eid al-Adha, AKA "The Festival of the Sacrifice." And some people are taking the opportunity to give their chosen animals a close-up on Instagram before they part ways with this world.
The Artful Slaughter Begins with a Rub Behind the Ears
Last weekend, I joined a bunch of chefs in Cornwall, England, at the behest of Tom Adams, Pitt Cue Co.'s owner and Mangalitsa lover to learn how to kill the Rolls Royce of pigs from the Austrian porcine authority, Christoph Wiesner.
The Politics of Food: Smokies
In the first episode of The Politics of Food, Ben Ferguson investigates the UK’s growing illegal trade in "smokies,” a West African delicacy that has been outlawed in Europe since 1987.
Hairy, Feral Pigs Produce the Most Delicious Meat
I became a bit of a pig geek a few years ago and fell in love with Mangalitsas—the hairy, semi-feral kind that are tough as nails and produce red meat similar to beef. After I built them a woodland "pigtopia," I quickly realized that they're the most...
The Deer Stalking Controversy Raises Important Questions for Meat Eaters
Deer stalking is, and always has been, a controversial subject. Killing for the sake of killing is one thing, but for those who eat meat, the hands-on nature of hunting raises some important questions.
There's More Than One Way to Kill a Rabbit
Whole Foods has recently introduced rabbit meat in a handful of its US stores, and bunny lovers are furious. The fact that Whole Foods is even offering rabbit is enough to set them off, but how those rabbits get slaughtered is another matter entirely.
The Ethics of Eating Fish That'll Die Pretty Soon Anyway
Forget about sustainability for a second: Is it a worse crime to eat a sea creature that lives for many years than one that's only around for a few months? If so, let's gorge ourselves on short-lived squid and shrimp, and leave immortal jellyfish in...