Halal foods: An Islamic approach to ethical consumerism

Last updated on: June 8, 2011 at 7:30 am by zahedamanullah

Halal foods: An Islamic approach to ethical consumerism 2011-06-08T07:30:16-04:00 zahedamanullah

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Happy cow, happy consumer

Until recently, halal foods were defined only by ritual slaughter and mass-market production. But today’s ethical consumer trends are making the industry take a second look at what halal really means.

Ask any number of Muslims about the meaning of halal (when it comes to food) and you’re likely to get as many answers as there are cuisines. While the methods and conditions under which halal meat was prepared were relatively uncontroversial or unchallenged a generation ago, increasing consumer awareness has resulted in a demand for greater transparency in standards and production.

According to recent surveys, American Muslim consumers are much more brand conscious (70%) and much less price sensitive than in the past. As their identities gel, over 80% want to buy brands that support their Muslim or cultural identity. At the same time, 75% want brands that make them feel part of a wider community, not a marginal one. These seemingly divergent requirements are worth a deeper look since they are actually the driver of convergence of Islamic and Western values, as it pertains to natural food ingredients, sustainable farming practices, socially responsible ethics, and environmental stewardship.

Recent trends in all natural and organic American food products have given some indication of what American Muslim consumers are increasingly seeking as their lifestyles converge. Over the past few decades, we have seen an emphasis on ethical consumerism and values-based food products. Organic and natural foods, which contain no additives, preservatives, or unhealthy processing, have been growing at 20% per year since the early 1990s and in the U.S. alone generate over $30 billion in sales. Sales of socially responsible products that promote just practices for workers’ rights and socially responsible ethics, such as FairTrade, have proved to be very compelling economic and social enterprises in the US. And environmentally friendly products, which offer recycled packaging and energy efficient alternatives, have also made a positive impact with consumers. American consumers have proven that they are willing to pay a premium for products with these values. Wouldn’t affluent American Muslim consumers, who are 40% more affluent than the average American, do likewise?

For pioneering halal food manufacturers and certifiers who have been keeping track of all these trends, serving this market means creating a “faith-based” approach that goes beyond the conventional rules-based criteria for religious slaughter. This approach emphasizes restoring sacredness and nurturing a spiritual connection with food, creating an emotional connection with food and culture that should appeal to Muslim and non-Muslim consumers alike. These values are often called “tayyib,” an explicit reference in the Qur’an that refers to what is good, wholesome, and pure among what is permissible (halal).

Exploring tayyib more broadly, a case can also be made for a set of common values in business ethics that meets or exceeds the highest standards set in mainstream industry. This includes applying Islamic principles of economic and social justice (diversity, empowerment, transparency), equity to stakeholders (fair wages for employees, fair trade globally), and a sense of responsibility to the environment, consumers, and society at large.

This tayyib approach also warrants more attention to the basics of ritual slaughter itself. Although mechanical slaughter has been increasingly allowed by some halal certifiers to cope with price and volume constraints, the traditional method of slaughtering by hand has found strong advocates, especially since it is a much cleaner and holistic alternative to the unhealthy commercial meat production and factory farming methods present in mainstream America today. “Human beings can calm the animal down before slaughter and reassure the animal with a human touch,” says Abdullah Nana, head of Halal Advocates of America, an organization that monitors halal processing. ”The recitation of the name of Allah by a human being at the time of slaughter is a requirement for Muslims, and we firmly believe that the name of God serves to calm the animal and reassure it before slaughter.”

Such an approach has its supporters within the mainstream industry. Consider the efforts of Temple Grandin, a doctor of animal science at Colorado State University and a pioneering animal welfare expert. Grandin has researched unstunned hand slaughtering and found scientific evidence to prove that it to is less stressful to the animal than stunning (though other less scientific studies used by stunning advocates argue otherwise). Additionally, she found that more pain and stress was caused to the animal from the way it was held during slaughter (usually hung), which has led to her proposals of alternate methods of restraint. Adds Nana, “I know of organic meat plants who implement hand slaughter and have a tremendous appreciation of ritual slaughter as a whole and the alignment of this slaughter method with the values the company stands for.”

For American Halal, a Stamford, CT-based premium halal company, these tayyib values were designed into their Saffron Road brand from the ground up. Starting with a commitment to use hand slaughtered meat with transparent and verifiable standards, they endeavoured to use all natural (antibiotic free or certified organic) ingredients with no additives, preservatives, or hormones; animals humanely raised in a safe, clean, and comfortable environment; sustainably and locally raised on smaller family owned farms; and 100% vegetarian animal feed with no hormones, antibiotics, or rendering. All of these have been implemented at considerable expense and risk, particularly so for an early stage company like American Halal.

“The spiritual essence behind this 1,400 year old Islamic tradition of zabihah and tayyib harvesting is the belief that all our livestock should be given proper dignity and treated humanely so that the livestock we eat are raised in a safe, clean, comfortable environment,” says Adnan Durrani, CEO of American Halal. “By sourcing only from smaller family owned farms and adhering to zabihah or hand slaughtering methods, we at Saffron Road believe we can then conduct this in a holistic manner, to better serve our Creator while still being mindful of our core sustainable values. For sure our halal sacred cow is that we shall never fall into the questionable practice of machine slaughter – for us, this would be a sacrilege in terms of our core values.”

And in order to effectively translate these values to a wider audience, a broader ethical approach would include the highest standards of mainstream certification in a number of areas. For Saffron Road, American Halal sought participation in the Non-GMO Project (which opposes genetic modification) and became the only halal certified brand to meet the guidelines of Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC), a US animal welfare organization which Temple Grandin is the advisor to, insuring Saffron Road explicitly follows Grandin’s animal welfare philosophy in their treatment of animals.

To complete the process, Saffron Road sought a mainstream retailer that embodies the same ethos and values – Austin, TX-based Whole Foods Market, the largest natural food retailer in the world. Saffron Road became the first halal product line to be offered nationally at the premium natural food chain, which incidentally was the only U.S. food retailer to raised its profit forecast to record levels for 2011, in spite of slumps elsewhere in the U.S. food retail market. Sales of Saffron Road have also been robust and Whole Foods has recently increased Saffron Road’s shelf space by 400% and is adding 11 new products for Ramadan, 2011.

As the halal marketplace and industry matures, we may see more efforts at incorporating tayyib values in halal products. As American halal food consumers continue to demand a deeper spiritual connection with their food and the processes by which they are produced, they have also demonstrated that they are willing to pay for them. It’s a message that hearts and minds of the global halal industry cannot afford to ignore.

Zahed Amanullah is Executive Editor of altmuslim.com. He also serves on the Board of Directors for American Halal.

Commentary

Zahed Amanullah

Previous Post

June 6, 2011

Hijab & Society: What's It Like Without the Muslim Headscarf?

Next Post

June 10, 2011 Muslims in the public square: Can a Muslim ever become president?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2012 Elections 30 Dayd 30 Writers (2017) 30 Days 30 Writers 30 Days 30 Writers (2015) 30 Days 30 Writers (2016) 30 Days 30 Writers (2018) 30 Days 30 Writers 2017 Ali Asadullah Ali Eteraz Alper Bilgili Arthur Richards Asides Asma Uddin Black History Month Briefings Charles Turner Commentary Cyrus McGoldrick Eman H Aly Fatimah Popal Hajj Hajj and Dhul Hijjah Hesham Hassaballa Hisham Hellyer Ibrahim Abusharif Inas Younis Irfan Yusuf Jalal Baig Junaid Afeef Laila Alawa Laila Alwala Mas'ood Cajee Muqtedar Khan Nakia Jackson Newsmakers Parvez Ahmed Podcasts Rabia Chaudry Rafia Zakaria Ramadan Reviews Safiyyah Ally Saud Inam Shahed Amanullah Svend White The Opinionated Oncologist Visions Wajahat Ali Zahed Amanullah Zahir Janmohamed Zainab Khan

Select a Month November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who became Moses' spokesperson to Pharaoh?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Aaron Miriam Hur Joshua