IS CELL-BASED MEAT HALAL?-THE ISLAMIC STANCE ON CELL-BASED MEAT
Introduction
One of the challenges of getting cell-based meat into the global market is consumer acceptance. Various people groups have different dispositions towards cell-cultured meat. This challenge with consumer acceptance does not exclude religious groups like the Jews and Muslims who have rules guiding their diet.
In Islam, a guiding dietary principle is that only halal foods should be consumed. Halal food is any food that does not contain the constituents prohibited for consumption by Islamic law. This article explores the point of view of Islam on whether or not cell-based meat will be accepted as appropriate for consumption by the Muslim community.
Defining Food in Islam
The Sharia law of Muslims is concerned about various aspects of life, including health and wellness. In the law, there are guidelines for the sustenance of life and health, which include the consumption of pure foods known as halal foods. Generally, foods are categorised as either halal (lawful) or haram (unlawful) in Islam. Foods that fall under these two groups are clearly stated in the Quran.
Particularly, the Quran forbids the consumption of animals that die on their own. It also rules out the consumption of animals that feed on flesh. In addition, it is unacceptable to consume blood. Other examples of foods that should not be consumed are animals with fangs, donkey meat, lizards, etc. Animals that would be eaten under the acceptable guidelines must be slaughtered without any form of violence or cruelty, and the name of God must be invoked in all slaughtering processes.
One of the principles of the Sharia is that the process of production must conform to natural laws known as firthia in Islam. The question that arises here is whether or not cell-based meat defies natural law. For instance, the purpose of animals is to provide food like meat, milk, eggs, and other vital resources that humans need for survival in a natural way. Any process that opposes the natural manner of obtaining these resources from animals is regarded by Islam as tampering with what Allah has created.
Producing Halal Meat
To determine the status of cultivated meat as halal or haram, it is important to understand the Sharia guidelines for food production. In the case of meat, the person who will slaughter the animal must be a Muslim faithful who is in a good state of mental health. The tool for slaughter should also be sharp so that it can cut through the skin and allow for a complete flow of blood out the animal’s body. The guidelines also indicate that the invocation of God’s name during slaughter is an important part of ensuring that the meat is halal. The belief is that this invocation is a sign of compassion towards the animal, and prevents violence on animals; and that the animal is being used for the purpose intended by God and not otherwise. It is also important that the tools used for slaughtering, packaging and storing halal meat are different from the ones used for haram meat.
The Sharia’s Stance on Cultured Meat
Islam is not allergic to innovation, but the goal is that whatever innovation will be adopted must follow the laid down laws. The question of the acceptance of cell-based meat in Islam would therefore depend on the conformity of the cell-based meat production process to Islamic laws,
In cell-based meat production, there are no exceptions to the kinds of animals from which stem cell lines are obtained; all kinds of animals are suitable. This is a challenge as Islam marks out some animals as unlawful for consumption. Even lawful animals can become unlawful if they die on their own, through violence, strangling, etc. According to Islamic scholars, these kinds of meat are declared by God as impure and detrimental to human health.
Another issue lies with the slaughtering requirement in Islamic laws. Draining the blood of animals during slaughter is an important factor for producing halal meat. In cell-cultured meat production, there is no blood drain because there is no slaughter involved. While cultivated meat may not contain blood, there are cases where serum made from blood is used during production. This raises a concern because according to the Islamic guideline the blood contains impurities and disease-causing agents, hence it must be properly drained and never consumed.
Can Cell-Based Meat Ever Be Halal?
A school of thought is that since cell-based meat production does not involve any form of animal violence in terms of slaughter, then it may be considered halal. This is of course at variance with the traditional laws that make slaughter mandatory. The idea is that since Islam also prohibits animal cruelty, which is one of the goals of lab-grown meat, it can be considered halal. It is believed that if the cell lines can be obtained in a way that is regarded halal by the custodians of Islamic laws, it may be easy to get cell-based meat certified as halal.
Dr. Mohammed Hamdan and Dr. Mark Post researched this in 2017 and affirmed that if the stem cells are obtained from halal slaughtered animals, and the production process eliminates the use of blood or serum from animals, cultivated meat can be certified as halal.
It would be necessary that cell-based meat companies seek the necessary approval from Islamic authorities to certify cultivated meat as halal. This would help to protect consumers’ rights, in this case, Muslim consumers. Cell-based meat companies must also be ready to be as transparent as possible about the how and why of cell-based meat.
Conclusion
In Islam, it is believed that all food production processing from the most basic steps of choosing raw materials, through processing, packaging, storage, marketing and consumption must follow halal guidelines. Muslims are encouraged to avoid any food whose halal status they cannot ascertain.