American Beef and Acts 15

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1 American Beef and Acts 15 By Robert Tippie, Director of Torah Tips Introduction There are many in the christian community who do not accept the food regulations found in Torah. They would explain that the "vision of Peter" in Acts 10:9ff disregarded all previous Torah mitzvot regarding food. They would say that the New Testament scriptures now permit them to eat anything. This doctrine would then makes such foods as horsemeat and monkey meat biblically acceptable. Essentially, many believe that though God in the Torah said that no one among His people should eat pork (for example) -- or even touch it -- that God has now "changed His mind." In this short essay, however, I will not discuss the vision of Peter and its theological implications. We will not engage in arguments concerning whether or not it is acceptable for believers to eat pork or any of the other "unclean" foods. Why? Because that debate could lead to endless theological wrangling that may never really get to the bottom of the issue. Instead, I will deal with the issue from a totally different perspective. I will deal with the issue from the New Testament scriptures alone. Most christians would never even consider that it is unbiblical -- even ungodly -- to eat a hamburger. They would assume since cattle are clean animals, that beef is unquestionably an acceptable food, biblically. Furthermore, they would assume that since the USDA oversees the slaughterhouse procedures in the U.S. that meat prepared by the U.S. meat industry is acceptable. For those that accept only the New Testament scriptures as God's "truth," I present the following argumentation concerning all beef products produced at USDA-approved slaughterhouses. Consider these arguments carefully since they contain arguments of a moral nature. The Food Mandates for Gentiles in Acts 15 In Acts 15, a dispute arose regarding the status of believing gentiles. In other places I have dealt with the text of Acts 15 more extensively (e.g. in the Torah studies). We will not go into all of the intricate details concerning that chapter and its ultimate implications for gentiles. We will examine Acts 15 only in its most basic context. 1

2 The verses in question say: "For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well." Acts 15:28, 29 First of all, we must understand that these things are viewed as absolutely essential in order to consider anyone among the community of believers. James emphatically says that these things are necessary -- not recommended for greater spiritual growth -- but absolutely necessary. In other words, one who does not comply with these four simple, elementary principles cannot be considered as part of the community of believers. There are four principles listed in Acts 15:28, 29. Three of them relate to food. They are: All believers must abstain from meats offered to idols All believers must abstain from consuming blood All believers must abstain from meats that died with their blood in their bodies (i.e. that were strangled) These Biblical New Testament food regulations apply to any meat that any believer -- Jew or gentile -- might consume. Simply because a meat is "clean" doesn't excuse it from these principles. Thus, these principles apply to beef consumption by everyone who says they believe that the New Testament scriptures are God's Word. Two of the three food regulations from Acts 15 are critical for us to understand. They are: All believers must abstain from consuming blood All believers must abstain from meats that died with their blood in their bodies (i.e. that were strangled) Both of these commands lead to the same logical question: Does the beef produced in U.S. slaughterhouses meet the standards of the scriptures? If the answer to the question is "absolutely yes," then those who accept the New Testament as their "rule of life" may eat that meat. If, however, there is any doubt about the status of American beef and its compliance with the New Testament Biblical mandates, then those who call themselves believers must refrain from eating beef produced in U.S. slaughterhouses. Otherwise, they cannot say that they really believe the scriptures. Both of these commands revolve around the same issue, really. That issue is the absolute prohibition in the scriptures -- both the Old and the New Testaments -- against humans consuming any animal blood. That is the obvious focus of the first mandate listed above. 2

3 It is also the reason for the second mandate. Meat that dies from strangulation does not bleed to death. The blood of the animal is still in the animal. Therefore, when a person consumes that meat they are in reality consuming the animal's blood. Slaughterhouse Procedures In order to determine if U.S. beef is acceptable from a New Testament Biblical perspective, we must survey the procedures used in modern slaughterhouses. I will not get "overly graphic" with my depictions of the procedures used in American slaughterhouses. That is unnecessary and may indeed be disturbing to many people. I do need to discuss the means by which cattle die in slaughterhouses, however. So, if that information might disturb you, then I suggest that you skip this section. The first step in the slaughterhouse procedure is (obviously) to kill the animal. In all USDAapproved slaughterhouses, cattle are herded into a "killing area." The first procedure in that area is to render the animal unconscious (or at least "stunned"). This is done with a tool called "captured-bolt gun." The captured-bolt gun is a tool that contains a pointed metal device of substantial width, with a relatively pointed end. This is "the bolt." This "bolt" is attached to an air gun with a wire. This is where it gets its name "captured-bolt." The wire that attaches it to the pneumatic gun itself "captures" the bolt. This adds safety to the surrounding workers so that if the "bolt" misses the cow, it will not strike another slaughterhouse worker. When the cow is brought into the killing area, the captured-bolt gun is pressed against its forehead and the trigger is pulled. If this procedure is done "successfully," the bolt enters into the frontal lobe of the cow's brain. This action results in a number of different outcomes, depending on a number of factors, including: Which part of the cow's brain the bolt damaged The size of the cow The amount of bleeding that immediately occurs The desired result is to "stun" the animal or to render it unconscious without killing it. Then, while unconscious, the animal's throat can be slit to allow for maximum blood loss. Unfortunately, some industry experts say that the "desired effect" is achieved only about 36% of the time. The remainder of the time, a variety of other outcomes (all less desirable) are produced. Those include: Absolutely no reaction from the cow -- it remains fully alive, active, and alert Instant death due to the part of the brain damaged The second step in the slaughterhouse procedure involves chaining the back leg of the cow and raising it off the ground -- head pointed down. At that point, its throat is cut to drain as much of the blood as possible from the animal. If the "bolting" was successful, the cow will 3

4 be unconscious yet still alive. If the throat-slitting procedure is done correctly, then the major arteries of the animal's throat are cut and massive amounts of blood come out of the animal's body since its heart is still beating. Sometimes, however, the animal arrives at the second step already dead. The bolt killed it. The animal's throat will still be slit, even if it arrives dead. Of course, there is substantially less bleeding due to the fact that the animal's heart is not beating. Biblically -- according to Acts this meat is not permitted. The animal has died without bleeding to death, the flesh still contains blood, and anyone eating it will be consuming blood. That is strictly forbidden for both Jews and gentiles universally by New Testament scriptures. On some occasions, the throat-slitting procedure fails to cut main arteries. That error results in a cow that slowly bleeds to death. Sometimes, the animal does not even bleed to death from the cut. They die from other traumas in the butchering process. This error also renders the animal's meat as unbiblical for Jews and gentiles according to the New Testament passage of Acts 15. Most christians would not hesitate to eat pork. They believe they can "defend" its consumption from Acts 10:9ff. We do not need to debate that issue here. We only need to make a short statement regarding the slaughter of pork. Pork is slaughtered in somewhat similar manner as cattle. One exception, however, is that most pigs are immediately placed in a cauldron of hot water after their throats are slit. This is to make it easier to separate their skin from their flesh -- otherwise, the skinning process takes too much time. On a regular basis, the normal procedures used to kill the pig don't kill them. They remain alive and squealing even as they are immersed in the hot water. In those cases, the animal dies from either exposure to the hot water or from drowning. Both of these forms of death ensure that a vast amount of the animal's blood remains in its body and is assumed into the dead pig's flesh. Thus, even if the New Testament does allow believers to eat pork (which I wholly disagree with), the pork that comes from USDA-approved slaughterhouses may still contain a vast amount of the animal's blood. That fact, in itself, rules that the pork is unbiblical for consumption under Acts 15 by any believer. Conclusion There are errors that occur in the slaughtering process in USDA-approved slaughterhouses that render beef (a clean animal) as an unbiblical meat for consumption by Jewish believers and by gentile believers. This assertion is based solely on examination of scriptures from the New Testament that explicitly apply to all believers. Thus, there is no other response that a person can have: The New Testament scriptures prohibit eating any flesh that dies without bleeding to death and the scriptures prohibit any consumption of blood. People may not call themselves faithful members of God's community and continue to eat beef that has not been properly slaughtered. Willful violation of the scriptures is a sign of unbelief. 4

5 Resolutions What is a believer to do, stop eating? No. There are alternatives (and, interestingly, they are all healthier!). When I came to this realization, I immediately decided to become a vegetarian not because of the "animal cruelty" issue, but because of the issues raised in Acts 15. That is an option but probably not one that will be accepted by most readers. Another option is to buy kosher beef. The processes involved in certifying beef as kosher are far more stringent (biblically) than those used in USDA-approved slaughterhouses. Cattle slaughtered in kosher slaughterhouses are killed by cutting their throats under the direction of a certified rabbi whose purpose for presiding over the slaughter is to make sure that the animal bleeds to death so that blood is no longer part of the meat. Further procedures extract even more blood from the meat. Animals that do not die quickly from blood loss are not accepted. A final option for believers is to use turkey, chicken and fish as their meat sources. All three of those meats are usually slaughtered in a manner that is biblical. The mandates of scripture sometimes require us to do things that set us apart from the rest of the world. Sometimes those mandates inconvenience us. Those issues, ultimately, don't matter. Obedience to the clear commands of scripture should be our only concern. Commandments about food are very important to man's relationship with God. In the Garden of Eden, there was only one command; and, that command was about food -- "you shall not eat of the Tree " In the New Testament, there were four simple commands given to gentiles that determined whether or not they would be let into the fellowship of believers. Three of those commands revolved around food. 5