The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1921-04-20
HALF OF CITY'S MEAT
KOSHER BUTcHERED
Government Reports Show impor
tance of This Trade in The
Larger Cities.

The Importance Of the kosher
meat trade in this city is shown in
recent Government reports indicat-
ing that almost half of the .city's
meat is kosher slaughtered. Kosher
is a Hebrew word meaning cere-
monially clean a. .ording to Jewish
law.
During 1920" says the Market
Reporter, issued by the Department
of Agriculture, "there were slaught-
cred in New York in round numbers
43s,0O cattle, $4,000 calves and
1,2s0,40O sheep and lambs. Of these
approximately SO per cent. of the
calves and Is per cent. of the sheep
and the lambs were slaughtered and
dressed, in accordance with the He
brew regulations. If in connection
with the above there is taken into
account the fact that between so
and IS per cent Of the meat
consumed in New York City is
slaughtered locally, the Importance
Of kosher meats becomes apparent.
"While considerable numbers of
live Stock are koshered in almost
every city Of any considerable size
the trade naturally reaches its
greatest volume in the great centers
Of population like New York, Jersey
City, Boston, Philadelphia and Chi
cago. New York City with It's Jewish
population of approximately 1,500,-
600 is the largest kosher meat mar
ket in the United States and posi-
bly, in the world.
"The fact that the kosher trade
uses only the fore quarters accounts
to considerable extent for the, large
number of animals required to sup
ply that class Of trade. The hind
quarters are always sold to the gen.
tile trade. In New York City and
Philadelphia the ribs r sold to gen.
tiles in addition to the hind quarters.
This leaves only the chuck and plate
for the kosher trade which repre-.
sents about 43 per cent of the car.
cass weight. This is probably done
for purely business reasons, as the
rib is wholly acceptable from a re-
ligous standpoint and in most cities
is used by the kosher trade along
with the rest Of the fore quarter.
1.-THE kosher trade is confined al
most exclusively to heavy, fat ami
mails, and for that reason kosher
slaughter produces a tonnage of
meat per given number of animals
much higher than the average re-
sulting from slaughter for gentle
consumption"
Describing the method of slaughter
of kosher meats, the Government re-
port says:
"The kosher system of slaughter
ing differs somewhat from the gen.
eral custom among gentiles, and one
Of the prime requisites is that the
animal bleed thoroughly. According
to Jewish belief no blood should re-
main in the meat when consumed.
For that reason the animals throat
it cut without being first stunned by
a blow in the head, as is done in
other killing. y
while kosher slaughter is pri-
marily of a religious nature, being
performed by the Rabbi or his
deputy, it is also a system Of inspec-
ton and antedates the modern Gov
eminent inspection by several thou
sand years. The Schecter, or man
who does the slaughtering ,inspects
the carcass and accepts or rejects it,
depending upon whether or not it
meets the requirements of the He
brew law. If the carcass is accepted
he afixes his official stamp. Those
holding strictly to the orthodox faith
insist on having kosher meat exclu-
l.u A. III H..