SUBJECT:  Blood in the Diet

QUESTION:  What is your teaching about blood in the diet?

ANSWER:

Thank you for your e-mailed question about blood in the meat.

You are correct in your thinking that it is meat juices and not blood in the meat and prime rib we eat.  I too eat my steak medium rare.  You were also correct about the fact that you were both in the letter and the spirit of the law.

Eating of blood is a practice that is engaged in fully with knowledge of exactly what they are doing.  Some hunters eat the blood of a fresh kill.  There are lots of food recipes that include blood like blood pudding and the like.  Clearly in the meat juices of the meat we eat there could be loose, separate blood cells but the law was not designed to make one guilty for such an occurrence.  The spirit of the law is about attitude.

Below are some descriptions of how kosher meats are prepared.  You are probably right that normal slaughter of meat does not the standards you read here.  That is not to say that regular store brand meat is full of blood either.  What it means is that you must make the judgement call when you buy the meat.  If blood is present, either discard it, or clean it if possible.  It helps to get to know your butcher, or select a vender of meat that practices kosher laws regarding meat.

Kosher slaughtering

                      The mammals and birds that may be eaten must be slaughtered in accordance with Jewish

                      law. (Deut. 12:21). We may not eat animals that died of natural causes (Deut. 14:21) or

                      that were killed by other animals. In addition, the animal must have no disease or flaws in

                      the organs at the time of slaughter. These restrictions do not apply to fish; only to the flocks

                      and herds (Num. 11:22).

                      Ritual slaughter is known as shechitah, and the person who performs the slaughter is called

                      a shochet, both from the Hebrew root Shin-Chet-Tav, meaning to destroy or kill. The

                      method of slaughter is a quick, deep stroke across the throat with a perfectly sharp blade

                      with no nicks or unevenness. This method is painless, causes unconsciousness within two

                      seconds, and is widely recognized as the most humane method of slaughter possible.

                      Another advantage of shechitah is that ensures rapid, complete draining of the blood, which

                      is also necessary to render the meat kosher.

                      The shochet is not simply a butcher; he must be a pious man, well-trained in Jewish law,

                      particularly as it relates to kashrut. In smaller, more remote communities, the rabbi and the

                      shochet were often the same person.

                      Draining of Blood

                      The Torah prohibits consumption of blood. Lev. 7:26-27; Lev. 17:10-14. This is the only

                      dietary law that has a reason specified in Torah: we do not eat blood because the life of the

                      animal is contained in the blood. This applies only to the blood of birds and mammals, not to

                      fish blood. Thus, it is necessary to remove all blood from the flesh of kosher animals.

                      The first step in this process occurs at the time of slaughter. As discussed above, shechitah

                      allows for rapid draining of most of the blood.

                      The remaining blood must be removed, either by broiling or soaking and salting. Liver may

                      only be kashered by the broiling method, because it has so much blood in it and such

                      complex blood vessels. This final process must be completed within 72 hours after

                      slaughter, and before the meat is frozen or ground. Most butchers and all frozen food

                      vendors take care of the soaking and salting for you, but you should always check this

                      when you are buying someplace you are unfamiliar with.

                      An egg that contains a blood spot may not be eaten. This isn't very common, but I find

                      them once in a while. It is a good idea to break an egg into a container and check it before

                      you put it into a heated pan, because if you put a blood-stained egg into a heated pan, the

                      pan becomes non-kosher.

I was not able to find any web sites that speak out against the meat packing industry.  Apparently there is not a crisis. 

We need to be careful however and avoid questionable meat or meat handlers.

INTERESTING SITES ON THE WEB

http://grandin.com/ritual/kosher.slaugh.html     Kosher Meat Slaughter

The Bible verse against eating blood:

Leviticus 3:17

It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.
 

Leviticus 7:26
Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings.
 

Leviticus 7:27
Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.
 

Leviticus 17:10
And whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people.
 

Leviticus 17:11
For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
 

Leviticus 17:12
Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.
 

Leviticus 17:13
And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust.
 

Leviticus 17:14
For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.
 

Leviticus 19:26
Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times.
 

Deuteronomy 12:16
Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.
 

Deuteronomy 12:23
Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.
 

Deuteronomy 12:24
Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water.
 

Deuteronomy 12:27
And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the LORD thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the LORD thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh.
 

Deuteronomy 15:23
Only thou shalt not eat the blood thereof; thou shalt pour it upon the ground as water.

  
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