This was covered fairly extensively in a news story. The issue is the Subway next to the property. None of this other stuff! The Subway owners feel the slaughterhouse is a turn-off for people coming to eat Subway meat... It is certainly easy enough to see their point. Ironically most people don't even realize where slaughter houses are located, and if no one had said anything, the two business could have easily co-existed. I don't think there is even a hint of rascism involved. The store owners are black and the slaughterhouse owners are Muslim. I think it's a 'gross entrails lying around the property' issue. And whether you eat meat or not is probably of no importance either.
Seems to me the person calling for investigation should have taken his own advice!
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meat of the matter
A friend asked me to sign a petition against a proposed slaughterhouse on the East Side. The neighborhood there isn’t residential but apparently some nearby businesses are arguing that the city should not license the operation.
I kind of think it’s hypocritical to be against a slaughterhouse if I eat meat, which I do. So does the friend who asked me to sign the petition. Isn’t local food production a good thing? Plus, it’s a halal slaughterhouse, run by Muslims, and I wonder how much racism has to do with opposition to the business. What do you guys think?
—Canny Carnivore
The Straight Skinny says: Not in my backyard, brother. That’s what we’re dealing with here: NIMBYs. If we’re talking about the same slaughterhouse—and how many proposals for halal slaughterhouses on Buffalo’s East Side are floating around—then it’s in a non-residential area. It’s primarily industrial. One of the opposing neighbors is a Subway franchise, which stays in business by selling, that’s right, meat.
There’s an old saying about exposing the inner works of any industry: No one wants to see how sausage is made. But your Jimmy Deans come from somewhere, and it seems to me that we ought not to punish people who start businesses that meet the demands of the market. Maybe that makes me Chicago School, but so be it.
Which leads us to your suspicion that there may be some racism involved. Buffalo’s Muslim community is indeed growing quickly, and it has special needs. The proposed slaughterhouse is an effort to satisfy one of those needs. Is the opposition racist? Lacking the ability to look into the hearts of those agitating against it, who can say? Probably not consciously so, I would guess, though Muslims have a tough time in this country.
In any case, that’s not a question you need to answer: You want to know if you ought to sign the petition. Your doubts are your answer. If you’re skeptical about the matter or motives behind this or any petition, don’t sign it. No one’s holding a meat cleaver over your head
It’s Classified says: Unfortunately, meat doesn’t just grow on trees, and until the day comes when it does, I can only dream about my beef orchard.
I don’t have much in the way of advice off the top of my head, but I do have a few questions. Are there any zoning issues with the slaughterhouse? What businesses are opposed to the slaughterhouse, and what are their motives? Will there be any significant impact to the community?
Finally, has anyone spoken with the people involved in operating the slaughterhouse? That might be a nice starting point, and it would give all parties a chance to express their concerns.
The Wise Young Intern says: Before you sign anything you should do your due diligence. If you aren’t opposed to meat, then it wouldn’t make much sense to sign a petition opposing a slaughterhouse. However, there may be other reasons to protest this business that you aren’t yet aware of. Look into the company, its mission statement, look for news articles that mention the company. Once you have gathered what you feel to be sufficient information regarding the company and its processes, make your informed decision with confidence.
Whether or not your friend’s opposition to the company has to do with the ethnicity of the ownership is a question worth asking. It has happened that immigrant groups have used legitimately earned American money to fund military operations back home (i.e. the Fenians, Al Qaeda) but that is rarely the case. If your friend or yourself have legitimate concerns about where the owners of this business are putting their money, then do some investigating. If there is no reason to believe that these people are doing anything wrong then there should be no reason to petition a business that will bring jobs and money to an area of town that could use such things.
Please send your questions for our panel of experts to advice@artvoice.com.
Reader Comments
Cindy 29 May 2009, 09:07
Ben 29 May 2009, 12:40
This story is months old now (As of February, at least: http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/buffaloerie/story/585893.html). The space has been zoned for slaughterhouse use, and the Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved the business in March. Franczyk toured the owners' facility in Brooklyn to observe the condition of operations there, and reported back nothing but cleanliness. (http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/620573.html) I don't know if the opposition is grounded in racism (more accurately, religious intolerance) or more in the petitioners' methodology -- it's easy to convince someone when sensationalist titles like "Slaughterhouse approved at same building as Subway restaurant" are circulated in the news. I'd lean toward the latter. The owner of the Subway shop is on a personal crusade (amusing for one involved in the sale of meat) against the slaughterhouse, and he has the media close in tow. It's a shame -- the production and export of Halal meats would be an excellent use of the space.
AnObserver 29 May 2009, 22:26
Fail on the racism. Fail on comparing processed meats with raw meat as they are not the same thing. Fail on thinking mission statements mean anything. Fail on having any clue about food processing. The slaughterhouse will be IN the same building as the Subway. Is is almost impossible to really seal the shared wall. I knew someone with a candy store in a strip store building and was happy when a Chinese restaurant moved in next door for the extra traffic it would generate. Unfortunately, it generated a lot of smells. The landlord never did get the shared wall to seal from odors. It literally drove him out of business. The Subway business will be driven out, too. Even if there were no odors (which I doubt), I wouldn't buy food prepared to eat when any sort of raw farm products are processed in the same building. I know I'm very careful handling raw meats in my kitchen to avoid cross contamination with foods that are served raw or that are already cooked. Same principal applies, so the slaughterhouse may be in the right neighborhood but not in a shared building. Unfortunately, that's one of the hazards of renting and not owning/controlling your space. But who's to say a KFC isn't going to open up 2 buildings upwind and ruin the air quality in the immediate neighborhood anyway? Business is risk.
Tracy Murphy
08 Jun 2009, 22:52
Actual footage of NYC slaughterhouse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqJnhxHTZq0&feature=channel_page In the 1950's, the Humane Slaughter Act was established to render certain animals unconcious before slaughter. This Act was passed due to the outcry of the American people who felt that the animal should be treated humanely. The opposition for the slaughterhouse is not about religious discrimination or telling people what they can or cannot eat. It is about moving toward more humane treatment of animals and educating the people in our community on more humane slaughter methods. By approving a market that would not render an animal unconcious before slaughter, would not be a step forward for the humane treatment of animals. Additionally, the Center of Disease Control advises people to make every effort to stay away from Live Animal Markets as they can carry contagious diseases such as the Avian Flu. The birds that are at these markets have weakened immune systems and are highly susceptable to disease. Adding to it, is the fact that they are packed together in crates, one on top of each other, with feces falling on the birds below. The feces, the bird's coughs and sneezes can spread disease. If someone even breaths this in, they can become quite ill. Live Animal Markets are not a good thing for Buffalo or our country in general as they carry much disease and are inhumane to animals. Tracy Murphy Leave a Comment:
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