The news about the discovery in the US of a case of "mad cow" disease (otherwise known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a disease caused by feeding animal products to otherwise vegetarian ruminants) may not be of concern to Muslims who stick with halal meat, but given the sad state of halal verification and authentication in this country - not to mention wildly varying opinions of what "halal" really means - Muslims shouldn't take any comfort in that label. Not only are many of the cattle slaughtered for your local halal grocer raised using the same system that produced the recent "mad cow" case, but even the new stringent standards introduced last month (which ban additional animal products from the cattle food chain) don't keep cattle destined for the halal butcher free from being cannibals. In fact, 75% of halal meat in America comes from pork-fed cows.

If Muslims want the "halal" label to really mean something, we should strive to raise and slaughter our meat the way Allah intended - as vegetarian animals, free of chemicals and inhumane treatment. The only way Muslims can insure this is to consider only organic or naturally-raised animals as truly halal. Organic and "free-range" animals are becoming more popular in America, and most importantly, the organic label is clearly defined by state and federal law. Muslim consumers should push for a uniform definition of halal that includes organic or natural principles, and showcase this for non-Muslim customers who are equally concerned about safe and ethical meat eating.

The most important reason why Muslims should immediately switch to organic sources for halal meat is to protect the health and safety of consumers. While it may seem like overreacting due to only two verified cases of "mad cow" disease in North America, the simple fact is that we just don't know much about the origins of BSE, the infectious "prion" agents that are not responsive to heat or medicines, the link between BSE and the human version of the disease (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, or CJD), or BSE and CJD's long latency period (said to be up to 40 years in humans). "There's a strong possibility that more than one cow consumed the same feed," said Dr. Peter Lurie of the Public Citizen's Health Research Group, a watchdog organization in Washington. "One simply can't complacently assume this one cow that was detected was the only cow infected."

It is not worth taking a risk with our health just so cattle ranchers can save a few dollars or the rendering industry (which takes animal by-products and converts them into feed) can justify its existence. The USDA has been too timid in raising the issue with the cattle industry, which has successfully resisted every partial ban on feed with animal products in them, and has succeeded even after this latest scare in keeping non-cattle animal products (such as pork) in the cattle food chain. Because of this, it is still legal in the US to feed cow�s blood to cows, to feed sheep and cows to pigs and chickens, and to feed pigs and chickens to one another and to cows.

Another reason to switch to organic halal is because Islamic principles govern the raising of animals as well as their slaughter for food. Humane treatement of animals is clearly defined in Islam, and forcing vegetarian animals such as cows to consume meat products, becoming cannibals in the process - shouldn't be considered Islamic. In addition to being fed properly, "free-range" cattle are also more likely to have a healthy outdoor existence, as opposed to some ranches where animals are kept crowded together indoors, eating (when the meat-based feed above isn't available or is banned) such appetizing items as "chicken litter" - a combination of litter, excrement, excess feathers and spilled food often found on chicken house floors. Free-range cattle ranches can also be favorably compared to "factory farming" - which turn the raising of animals into a production line with crowded feed lots and long trips in cramped transport vehicles.

In the wake of the "mad cow" scare, Muslims have a chance to make the halal label stand for something. We can take advantage of this opportunity and create a product which can be the highest quality available for Muslim and non-Muslim alike. If we wait for government regulations to crawl slowly to acceptable levels, or for consumer pressure to overcome corporate greed, we might be waiting too long. The answer is here now, and Muslim consumers should demand it every time they visit their local halal butcher - if it's not organic, it's not halal.

You're referring to FDA regulation nationally. There is an alternative. In Baltimore, there are regulations, under the rubric of fraud prevention and consumer protection, that govern kosher products. It's not unreasonable to support regulation that govern claims of halal products.

So many Muslims obsess over the manner in which the animal is slaughtered and ignore the long, miserable, and polluted rest of the lifespan of the animal. Meat is not born at death.

I just want to point out that free-range is not the same as organic. Muslims should monitor closely what their live stock consumes. A bird, such as a chicken, when free-ranging will attack and kill it's own food. (I stopped allowing my chickens to free-range when I saw one attack and kill and eat a field mouse) Also free ranging lowers the quality of the food They end up tough and rubbery and it takes longer and costs more to bring them to slaughter weight. There is a humane, organic way of confining them and contoling the quality of their feed. It's more economical for the farmer as produces higher quality food for us.

Salam. We should support efforts in this regard, one such is Green Zabiha http://www.greenzabiha.com.