By Dina Fraenkel – OK Kosher
Once again, the kashrus-observant world is faced with another shechita crisis. The problem effects shechita in America and across the globe. It has recently come to light that three major issues in cattle-raising and meat preservation are having a profound effect on the kashrus of meat.
The first problem involves a surgical procedure to remove excess gas from the stomach of a cow, which results from the common “pen-feeding” of commercial cattle. “Pen-feeding,” where the cattle are kept in pens and fed grain in troughs without room to exercise and eat freely, causes the cows to develop huge amounts of gas in their digestive systems (caused by the fermenting grain). In order to relieve the cows of this gas, farmers do a surgical procedure to puncture the stomach and release the excess gas. This puncture wound renders the cow problematic regarding glatt kosher (and sometimes renders them treif).