The slaughter

Dhabihah is the recommended method by Islamic law of slaughtering any kind of animal excluding camels, locusts, fish, and most sea-life. The process consists of a swift, deep incision with a sharp knife across the neck, cutting the jugular veins and carotid arteries completely but leaving the spinal cord intact. Furthermore it causes all the blood from the animal to gush out leaving negligible amounts of blood remaining in the body, the principle being that blood is a good medium for germs. It is also forbidden to stun an animal before slaughter. It should be in conscious state. Keep in mind this is a ritual form of slaughtering, so the Islamic law recommends this as the most traditional way to slaughter an animal.

There isn’t any specific way of slaughter of these animals. There are huge factories that are run on machines periodically cutting the animal’s throat. In most cases an animal is stunned in electric water to avoid movement and force during the slaughter.

The difference

How distinguished is one from another?

To start up my project, I first want my readers to know exactly what Halal food is. By explaining what Halal really is, you will know exactly what is the difference between Halal and American way. In the following weeks, I will choose one topic of difference between these two kinds and explain it both ways. 

What is Halal?

Halal (ḥalāl; means lawful or legal) is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law (Sharia). It is the opposite of haraam.

Islam has laws regarding which foods can and cannot be eaten and also on the proper method of slaughtering an animal for consumption, known as dhabihah. Dabiha halal only requires that an animal survive on grass and leaves.

A variety of substances are considered as harmful (haraam) for humans to consume and, therefore, forbidden for Muslims:

• Pork (i.e., flesh of pig)
•  Blood
• Animals slaughtered in the name of anyone but Allah. All that has been dedicated or offered in sacrifice to an idolatrous altar or saint or a person considered to be "divine"
• Carrion (carcasses of dead animals)
• An animal that has been strangled, beaten (to death), killed by a fall, gored (to death), savaged by a beast of prey (except by a human)
• Food over which Allah's name is not pronounced (or at least not in a name other than Allah)
• Alcohol and other intoxicants

What is American way?

The animals eaten in the States consists of a lot of different animals that also include pork and deep sea animals. The way animals are bred and grown have drastically changed over the last 50 years. All animals are now kept indoors in factory farms where they aren’t really fed what their natural diet used to be; grass and grains. For example, cows are now given a corn diet to make them grow fatter faster.

The American Way

 For my weekly blog project I will point up the differences between the American way of treatment of animals compared to the Muslim way. Each week my readers will be educated with a lot of awareness of the food they consume. I will have comparisons of the way animals are kept, the workers, the way they are slaughtered, the conditions in which they live and so on so forth. I will try to provide pictures that show difference and maybe interviews from people in the related fields.

This project relates to our theme of the class a lot. I know that I am a purchaser of Halal food. I do not in any circumstances buy or eat any other kinds of meat. On the other hand, most of my classmates buy or eat the meat that these big American corporations grow. Through the knowledge I have of Halal food, I want to convince people to buy organic meat, which is a lot similar to Halal food in ways it is being grown (but not slaughtered the same way). I am learning a lot about how American technology and race for the best led to such harsh conditions of animals. I want to show that even though there is more faster need of meat, it can still be grown humanely.

With this weekly blog project I hope to learn a lot about food and compare to the one I consume. I know not everyone is aware of such kind of details of the food they eat too. Maybe with such a public platform as this blog website, together our whole class could make a difference to the food industry. Just like the African proverb goes, “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito.” Finally, I hope I can teach atleast something to others as well and help them become conscious of their food if not bring a revolution in the food industry. After all, “We are what we eat!”

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SuperStyle Me

I know its kind of a funny title but it perfectly fits with the pictures you will see in this post. I found this article in Fast Company magazine that explained McDonald's designs from back in the days to this time. To keep up with good interior designing to the latest, McDonald has recently $2.4 Billion makeover around the world. Check out the McDonald's Design Heritage:

Problem Posing Method (HW)

Q1. Define the problem in your own words.
Ans. Hundreds and thousands of people were moving to Colorado Springs since 1990’s. This created a spur in all kinds of industries, like shopping malls, supermarkets, gas stations, and most of all fast foods. Colorado Springs’ population doubled from what it was in the 1970’s. Most of Colorado Spring residents have lived less than five years there. From it picking up from being a sleepy tourist town to a hustle-bustle city in 50 years is fanatic.
Q2. Give a quotation to represent the problem, and explain how it represents the problem.
Ans. “In many ways Colorado Spring today is what Los Angeles was fifty years ago- a mecca for the disenchanted middle class, a harbinger of cultural trends, a glimpse of future.”
This quote to me means that Colorado Spring became a mini Los Angeles with people who were weary of rough and tough life. It has a possibility of turnover in cultural trends or could initiate more hidden changes. It also gave a view of what laid ahead for Colorado Spring i.e. the sprawl of industries
Q3. Personalize the problem with an anecdote or observation from your own life. Explain.
Ans. To migrate from a crowded city after retirement or to retreat from the fast life, is a common thing for Americans. Many people get frustrated and want to relax after a long run in their lives. Such a thing always happens even now. Every year people move out of New York City for peaceful lifestyles in other suburbs.
Q4. Describe solutions to the problem that have been tried and that failed. Why did they fail?
Ans. People moved out of citied to get a better quality of life, more open space, less congested, and increasing spare time. Colorado long time residents didn’t like newcomers and often sported bumper stickers like, “Don’t Californicate Colorado”. Even their open mokery to these people migrating into Colorado didn’t stop. The newcomers saw Colorado Spring as an opportunity land.
Q5. Invent your own solution to the problem.
Ans. People moved to smaller, less in-the-spotlight towns, to get peaceful atmosphere. If the high-officials governing the big cities could make them a but less of a hustle bustle/ calm, maybe people would think of moving out and would rather stay in the cities.