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[els-explores-blog]

KOPI EPIPHANY

So I just found out today that robusta beans, aka the beans that make up our local kopi, are often roasted in butter/margarine/lard and sometimes sugar. At least this is how a bulk of the internet describes it. Apparently, roasting them with the added fat and sugar helps to bring out a darker, more intense, flavor to the beans.

But hold up. Lard???

Who would’ve thought.

I don’t think anyone in this world actually questions if kopi is halal. It’s a staple to most (yes myself included), a daily necessity that people usually wouldn’t think to think twice about.

I tried to search for more information online, but I couldn’t find much. It seems people really don’t question their kopi. But alas, Google has failed me this time. Now, I don’t know if this is the traditional way of roasting (maybe that’s why no one talks about it anymore) and that just maybe, this is no longer the practice these days. But, I can’t be too sure.

Unless you can go to your favorite coffee shop and ask your local kopi uncle if his beans were roasted in lard - Have kopi at your own discretion, fams.

Note: I told Jodie about this and she made a valid point. This just shows us how little we know about our food sources and the processes they’ve been put through. This kopi epiphany only started because she recently started drinking kopi (the unavoidable effect that uni has on you ha ha ha) and was asking me if there was anything a vegan should look out for, other than the milk that was in kopi. I vaguely remembered reading something a few years back, about kopi beans being roasted in butter. And that supposed quick google search to confirm my memory, landed me here. LARD KOPI.

[els-explores-blog]

Been reading up over the past few days and I realized that I truly do not know much about the food we eat. There are so many things to consider - grass-fed, organic, free-range, wild-caught, farm-grown, sustainable seafood etc. I guess it all depends on what your goal is. Are you making changes to support the welfare of the animals? Are you doing this for your own health? Or are you trying to do your part to save the earth?

Hopefully with more research I’ll be able to find options that best fits all three goals. Wish me luck!

[els-explores-blog]

BEYOND LABELS: IS IT REALLY HALAL?

Why is it so hard to find halal, grass-fed, organic meat in Singapore. Even if you could, shit’s crazy expensive. I might as well go vegetarian (Not a bad idea actually, but I’d miss chicken too much.)

Honestly, before I got to know Jodie (aka the love of my life, who also happens to be vegan), I never really thought about where my food comes from. Jodie is the epitome of kindness and love, which was a big part of the reason why she chose to turn vegan in the first place. As she would like to say, it’s for the animals (trust me it’s super cute, I love this scrub.)

Me being me, my curiosity led me to watch a couple of documentaries on how our food is produced and I must admit, it’s pretty sad. Most of the animals are deprived for the most part of their lives, cooped up in disease-ridden conditions, before being slaughtered. And don’t even get me started on the low quality, steroid-filled junk they’re fed with to fatten them up before harvest.

Then something hit me, ah halal! The muslim community likes to talk about how halal meat is generally healthier than other meats. Apparently, all the blood and toxins are drained out from the animal before processing and packaging them to sell. (If you want to start an argument about how the muslim way of slaughter is more cruel than the conventional way, don’t @ me. I suggest you actually do a little bit of reading up first.) But it got me thinking, what about their treatment pre-slaughter?

Apparently, there are a few conditions for meat to be considered halal, apart from the way of slaughter. This I agree with, because the Islam I know, strongly asks muslims to treat animals with compassion and respect. 

Under the islamic law, animals are afforded certain rights, such as:

1- The right to live a minimum amount of time. That means the animal is given the time to mature naturally without the use of growth hormones or genetically modifying certain traits to grow faster;

2- The right to offspring;

3- The right to live according to its natural habitat. This means animals have to be let out of the barn to roam freely when the weather is suitable; and

4- The right to wholesome food that is not harmful.

I delved into google, trying to find out if animals for halal meat were, for real, treated well throughout their lives. The thought of halal meat being accidentally organic/grass-fed got me excited.

But I was disappointed with what I found. In our world today, commercially produced halal meat does not actually mean that they were allowed these rights. I wasn’t just sad because they weren’t accidentally organic, or that the animals weren’t treated kindly through their lives. I was sad because this is the thing about a bulk of the muslims I know. They nit-pick according to their own convenience, and belittle the people that choose different. Hypocrites. (Okay I admit I’m not just talking about food right now. But this is a whole other topic for a whole other time.)

Back to the topic. 

God has asked us to eat from the earth what is halal and tayyib. Muslims these days I feel, put a lot of emphasis on what is halal (lawful/permissible) but conveniently forget the part about tayyib (meaning food that is pure, ethical, wholesome and good). I’m sure animals raised in such inhumane conditions couldn’t pass through the requirements of tayyib.

It really got me thinking if we ever think about what we put into our bodies. Even if you couldn’t care less about the welfare of these animals, do you ever think about how their ill-treatment might have an indirect impact on you? You are what you eat, right? Low quality life = low quality meat = low quality nutrition for your bodies.

I admit I am not the most knowledgeable person on this topic (for I am only the Queen of Google, as my family calls me). Nor do I have the credentials to be taken seriously. But these are just some things to think about. 

I, for one, am going to try my best to keep searching for halal, grass-fed, organic meat options in Singapore. Same sentiments go to free-range chicken and eggs. Hopefully it doesn’t break the bank. But if it does, I guess turning vegan is always an option.

(Kidding!)

Edit: So, it turns out free-range chicken doesn’t always mean what it means... I found out companies like to play around with words to trick consumers into thinking their products are the better choice. When in truth, “free-range” animals are trapped up in their cells for the most part of their days too. 

Why is it so hard, decisions, decisions.