Super Glatt Bowl

The New York Times' Kim Severson writes that:

THIS year, for the first time, glatt kosher food will be sold at the Super Bowl.

and claims

Certainly, faith will prompt some of the fans [but...] In an era of heightened concern over food contamination, allergies and the provenance of ingredients, the market for kosher food among non-Jews is setting records.

in this article: For Some, ‘Kosher’ Equals Pure where we read that

Only about 15 percent of people who buy kosher do it for religious reasons, according to Mintel, a research group that last year produced a report on the kosher food explosion. The top reasons cited for buying kosher? Quality, followed by general healthfulness...Now, 40 percent of the food sold at grocery stores has a kosher imprint, according to the kosher and halal food initiative, a research project at Cornell University...people who buy products specifically because they are labeled kosher could be spending as much as $17 billion by 2013, according to Packaged Facts.

There is a downside:

Neil Glick, a real estate agent active in local Washington politics, was raised in a mixed Reform and Conservative household that didn’t keep kosher. But after reading books and watching films that depicted horrific examples of conventional slaughterhouses, he was essentially scared kosher — at least when it comes to meat.

“One thing about kosher food — I do feel less guilt in eating it because I know the end was not as cruel,” he said.

That point is debatable. Certainly, humane treatment is built into Jewish dietary law. Animals must be handled with care, fed a specific diet and slaughtered with a swift cut to the carotid artery. (In addition, rabbis inspect carcasses for defects like broken bones or infection. Washings in salt and cold water help remove all traces of blood.)

The cattle expert Temple Grandin has worked extensively with some large kosher processors to develop humane standards. But some experts in animal welfare warn consumers not to assume that kosher means humane. (Animals slaughtered in accordance with religious law are an exception written into the federal Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act, which requires that mammals be stunned unconscious before killing.)

“Like anything else, it depends on the management and the quality of the operation and the training of the personnel,” said Adele Douglass of Humane Farm Animal Care. The group certifies processors like Applegate Farms and Murray’s Chicken, which meet its strict standards of humane treatment and slaughter. It certifies one halal poultry producer who stuns chickens after throat slitting, but has had no kosher producers who have asked to complete the program.

Ms. Douglass and others point to Agriprocessors, once the largest kosher meatpacking plant in the United States, as an example of what can go wrong. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2008 amid charges of labor abuse and inhumane treatment of animals.

This is interesting:

...cooks like Christopher Kimball, who founded Cook’s Illustrated magazine, swear by the juiciness of Empire Kosher birds. And a whole chicken from Kosher Valley, a new, antibiotic-free kosher brand from the Hain Celestial Group, a natural and organic food producer, made for a delicious dinner roasted with fresh fennel and lemon.

The Kosher Valley chickens are raised on vegetarian feed in Pennsylvania and processed in upstate New York. Priced as much as 40 percent less a pound than organic kosher chicken, they’ve been a good seller at Whole Foods, which began offering them late last year. “This new line brings it to a more affordable price point, so kosher has become an option for everyone,” said Jim Zola, a Whole Foods regional meat coordinator.

My wife prefers a certain brand here, Shomron, over others because of quality sense.