Wearing a heavy smock and rubber boots, Amadedin Eganwa stands over a large conveyor belt that鈥檚 carrying unconscious lambs. He faces east, towards Mecca, gently lifts the animal鈥檚 head in the same direction and under his breath he quickly says a prayer 鈥� bismillahi allahu akbar, or 鈥渋n God鈥檚 name鈥� 鈥� before swiftly cutting the lamb鈥檚 throat.
Eganwa, a practicing Muslim, performs this slaughter almost 900 times during each shift at Superior Farms slaughterhouse in Denver so that the meat is halal, meaning it鈥檚 prepared according to Islamic law.
With the Muslim population on pace to possibly become the in the United States by 2040, the demand for halal meat and other foods is on the rise to the point that Nielsen reports U.S. sales increased 15 percent from 2012 to 2015. Some of the largest meat producers in the country 鈥� 鈥� are providing more that鈥檚 halal (in part to satisfy global, not domestic, demand). But industry experts say U.S. consumers may not be aware of it, because some large grocery chains choose not to label products halal and there鈥檚 no way to tell the difference.
鈥淭he reality of it is some [retailers] are actually concerned about the halal insignia,鈥� Superior Farms鈥� vice president of sales Greg Ahart said, adding that the lack of labeling generally happens at large retailers in areas where there aren鈥檛 large Muslim populations.
Superior is one of the largest lamb producers in the country, selling to small ethnic grocery stores as well as retail giants.
Five years ago, the Denver plant and one in California slaughtered lamb according to halal standards just one day a week, Ahart said. As demand rose, Superior Farms, which mostly handles lamb with some goat, became all-halal, all the time.
鈥淚t really got to be too cumbersome as time went by to maintain inventory segregation on the product that was halal versus the product that wasn鈥檛 halal,鈥� he said.
Shane MacKenzie, who oversees Superior鈥檚 operations and has worked with the company for 21 years, said halal slaughter doesn鈥檛 slow anything down: 鈥淚t鈥檚 exactly the same except for the practicing Muslim [slaughterman].鈥�
Every step in the company鈥檚 process is approved by , which every slaughterhouse must follow, as well as a certifying board, . Additionally, the plant is required to prevent any contamination by non-halal foods, such as pork, alcohol or the use of antibiotics since they tend to contain pork byproducts.
There isn鈥檛 a single governing body overseeing the certification of halal meats and the standards can vary, which means there鈥檚 little data on the industry. But according to Nielsen, recent sales for halal foods in the US reached $1.9 billion, and Thomson Reuters has pegged the global market at about $415 billion.
Despite the marketing opportunities, research analyst Haroon Latif said, it鈥檚 fairly common for retailers to avoid halal labels.
鈥淭hey may feel it鈥檚 not necessary to mention that it鈥檚 halal and, in some cases, they may fear a backlash,鈥� according to Latif, whose company is a leader in researching the U.S. halal market.
In 2016, Thomson Reuters and DinarStandards by people 18 to 35 that mentioned the word 鈥渉alal.鈥� They found 18 percent of posts had Islamophobic themes and were more likely to come from Europe, Australia and the United States.
When it comes to serving halal, some retailers may be doing it, but don鈥檛 trumpet that fact 鈥� at least in the United States. Customers pointed out on Twitter a few years ago that burger chain Shake Shack sources meat from known halal-certified supplier Creekstone Farms. But Shake Shack denied it on social media and its website says halal meat is only at its locations in the UK and Middle East.
So if Muslims can鈥檛 look at a label, how do they know it鈥檚 halal? Often, Latif said, they have to look at social media or that list certified halal manufacturers. But he thinks retailers eventually will put their fears aside as they see this market grow, treating halal like kosher, which is now mainstream.
鈥淥nce they do the back of the envelope calculations and they understand how many Muslim consumers they鈥檙e living close to, they鈥檒l realize the huge benefit,鈥� he said.
As for Eganwa, the Muslim slaughterman who鈥檚 been doing halal slaughtering for about a year, he says he considers doing things according to his religious custom 鈥渁 service to my people.鈥�
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