 |
|
Cows
in Israel
|
In
the U.S, seven million people spend $35 billion annually on halal and kosher
foods. From this number, 29% are Jews. However, many non-Jews, including
Muslims, purchase kosher foods because they prefer religiously slaughtered food
in the belief that it is cleaner and of a higher quality. This is because kosher
law prohibits the mixing of meats in the same meal, food additives and printed
packaging that could contain animal-based derivatives like glycerols (Graphics,
p.1). However, recent news suggests that kosher foods are not necessarily free
from all contamination. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) is being found in
many recent packages of kosher meat products and has become worrisome for the
Israeli government.
Despite
Israel
’s ban of imported meat and bone meal of ruminants from the
U.K.
(in 1988) and other risky countries, this month, a case of BSE from the Israeli
occupied Syrian Golan Heights was diagnosed. The Israeli settlements provide 79%
of
Israel
’s agriculture (Graphics, p.1). To quell public panic, the head of public
health services, Alex Leventhal, made public relations announcements focused on
the understanding that kosher slaughter methods help prevent the spread of BSE
(Associated, p.1). Yet, BSE can be carried by people, vehicles, clothes, manure,
water, and even birds. Private organizations have made a different
announcement, however. Oded Nirs, one member of the public states, “[Wake up]
Head Veterinarian! If
Israel
has one case of foot and mouth disease and there has not been any for 18 months
– it is called an outbreak”(Kanon, p.1).
In
addition, The Committee for Disease Control (CDC) also feels that kosher meat in
Israel
is fertile ground for BSE. The CDC views the socioeconomic and agricultural
structures of
Israel
as contributory factors in its “hazardous veterinary public health”
situation. They cite s a history of 15 animal diseases from anthrax and rabies
to Rift Valley fever and bovine tuberculosis. In fact, the prevalence of hydatid
diseases (cyst and malignant tumor-forming worms) was found to be lower in the
Muslim villages where few animals are kept at home (CDC, p.1, 12).
Israel
spends $1 million annually to vaccinate cattle, sheep, goats and pigs for three
variant forms of BSE (Kanon, p.1). Going back to Oded Nirs Freudian-slip (that
there is no other reference to BSE cases 18 months ago) the CDC notes that
between 1997 and the year 2000 that there were 988 bovine brains examined
because the animals had exhibited CNS disorders similar to BSE (Perl p.1). This
is reminiscent of the cover-up that occurred in the early days of the BSE
epidemic in
Britain
.
 |
|
Cattle
suffer from numerous diseases in
Israel
|
To
address the concerns of Palestinian customers the Israeli Health Minister has
stated that he is confident that no infected meat has reached the market and
that
Israel
will stop selling to the Palestinian Authority all beef that has come from cows
30 months and older (Kosher, p.2). However, one wonders why if one has full
faith in ones products then why does one stop supplying? Since
Israel
is the main meat supplier to the Palestinian community, the condition of
Israeli beef raises many concerns.
In
1997 the value of Israeli beef and dairy cattle was $601 million, of sheep and
goats $81mn. Their exports of processed meat and fish products were $38mn (agriquality
p.1, 2). According to Oded Nir,
Israel
does not export beef, but does export dairy products to the
U.S.
and
Europe
(Kanon, p.1). However, some members of the public are questioning whether they
apply the same religious code to the countries in
Africa
,
Europe
,
Asia
and the
Americas
that that they do to their own kosher meats. Israeli specifications for
import require that kosher slaughter to be approved by the Israeli Veterinary
Services (Tradeport, p.5). However, they do not require the same approval for
export products. The unofficial reason why Israel would stop the supply of beef
30 months old and over to the Palestinian Authority is because as they say they
do not have the facilities to check those commodities for BSE. Therefore,
according to Oded Nir, there is a possibility that “the Palestinian people
might be exposed to BSE and that contaminated meat might be smuggled back into
Israel
” (ENS p.6).
Israel
continues, however, to defend the kosher methods of slaughter as safe and
healthy. However, the spread of disease has more to do with how the animal is
kept than how it is slaughtered. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce,
Israel does not produce feed grains (U.S., p.11) but Israel exports livestock
feeds and supplements to the tune of $54,000 according to 1997 figures (agriquality,
p.3). Livestock has been considered for some time now the source of the problem.
 |
|
Cattle
in
Golan Heights
|
Furthermore,
the Israeli ministries of Finance, Health, Agriculture and Industry and Trade
have combined forces and allocated $3.8 million for the next six months to
prevent the spread to humans. Palestinians are not included, but the program
will be assessed after the six-month period is up and will involve laboratory
tests on brain tissue of all cows slaughtered over the age of 30 months.
Negative results will lead to approval of the meat for marketing. Some of the
funds will go towards the upgrading of refrigeration facilities in
slaughterhouses and meat will be held in refrigeration for 24 hours before
marketing so laboratory tests can be confirmed. All organs: brains, spleen,
eyes, small intestines and the spinal cord of cattle over one year old will be
destroyed (ENS, p.6).
As
for the Palestinians, they are left to wait and see. Whatever the secrets are,
they are under Israeli Intellectual Property Rights, which state, “There is no
protection for trade secrets under Israeli intellectual property law. Trade
secrets are classified as privileged information under the Evidence and Civil
Procedure Law, and the Penal Law provides that an employee with express
knowledge of a trade secret who reveals it may be imprisoned for up to six
months. In addition, a tort action may be brought against an individual who
divulges a trade secret. There is no limitation on the length of time for
classifying an item as a trade secret” (Export, 1-3).
Sources:
