UnknownStory of Selecting Kosher Meat Products for Their Stores, The (late 1920s - early 1930s)

Kosher meat slaughter, inspection, and butchering; shoppers in Stroh and Goldberg butcher shops. Probably filmed in New York City. CONTENT ADVISORY: Disturbing slaughterhouse scenes.

This item is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Producer: Unknown
Audio/Visual: Si, B&W
Keywords: Judaism; Meat: Inspection; Meat: Production

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: SirJekyllAppliance - - October 2, 2007
Subject: This Kosher Joint's Big Enough For Both Of Us!

Be interesting to hear justification with quotation for the process along with a contemporaneous film.

Also... spot the bloke from 'Sparks' at around 8'25"!!!!!

Reviewer: GE_Pretzel - - June 13, 2006
Subject: Intriguing footage

This silent film explores the elaborate process by which Kosher meat is prepared for the local market. There are several excellent scenes that demonstrate how the Kosher butcher, known as the shochet, carefully slaughters a cow and ensures that all of its blood is removed so that it can be approved as genuine Kosher. Once the meat has been appropriately labelled, the film illustrates how it is cut and delivered to stores. Unfortunately, scant information is provided about the significance of the Kosher ritual. The squeamish set will be petrified by the explicit nature of this production, but viewers with fortitude should find it engrossing.

Reviewer: Ja30fitz - - July 30, 2005
Subject: Wierd...

VERY old film and VERY disturbing. Still reccomended though.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - June 25, 2005
Subject: Keep your Rabbi in the Slaughterhouse jokes to a minium please.

You've got to hand it to Rick Prelingers Fun Film Factory.. He's Got It all! Technicolor fantasies about phone colors? CHECK! Rambling stories about effeminate boys that like to cook and have dogs named Fifi? CHECK! And now we have this one, a silent film about how Kosher meat is made!! Now if thar's not a subject I've been waiting to find out about, I don't know what is. This film is utterly fascinating and disgusting at the same time. We mostly follow the slaughter and the cutting of a cow, and it's steps to make sure it's Kosher! Yes! There's a rabbi there! And a guy that holds a position of Schochet who does the actual killing, he looks jewish enough, but has that ominous look about him as he traces his finger on his knife blade.. Yikes! After all this killing, cutting, and grading, it's off to market (well, Stroh's and Goldbergs, featuring I think 'Mostly Kosher' meats. It's a madhouse inside! All the housewives gotta get their kosher meat!! LOL This is too bizarre. This film is reccomended, if you can stomach the slaughterhouse scenes.

Reviewer: Pumbaa - - May 28, 2005
Subject: Farm Animals - raised to die

I own a farm with free range goats, chickens, ducks, horses, etc. I treat all my animals as well as I can. The chickens I raise taste better than the store raised ones. Killing them is messy, it is not fun, and blood goes every where when they are killed Kosher style. It makes me eat more eggs and less meat as I don't like to have to killed the animals.

But something has to die if you are going to eat meat. That is why a lot of Buddhist are vegetarians.

A good film to see for those who think meat automatically comes sliced and wrapped up at the supermarket.

Reviewer: Lewis Payne - - September 2, 2004
Subject: Oh, for the love of.....

Edit: In response to the other review - I was NOT trying to denigrate kosher slaughter! Yeesh. I was simply saying that for a *promotional film* to show the *actual* slaughter seems extraordinarily weird now. I can't imagine a Jewish butcher these days sticking an ad on TV (even Israeli tv) showing just how efficiently they slice the necks of their cows. :)
That said, I'm increasing my star count. This film fascinates me in an odd way.

(my original review)..
It's amazing how far promotional advertising has come - stick something like this on the telly these days and you'd be sued into oblivion. Much of this commercial for a kosher meat market takes place in the slaughterhouse, showing absolutely horrifying footage of a cow being slaughtered (machete to the throat) and then being prepared for market (pulling out the guts). Don't watch if you haven't got a strong stomach; makes an interesting companion to "Beef rings the Bell".

Reviewer: David34 - - June 20, 2003
Subject: Not a Machete

The reviewer below obviously knows nothing about kosher laws. The knife used must be razor-sharp without even the slightest nick or imperfection, so sharp that it cuts without pressing down at all. In fact, if the killing is done by pressing down, the meat is not kosher. This ensures that the cut is quick and painless.
While antisemites have often targeted kosher slaughter methods, the fact is that kosher slaughter is humane and less painful than other methods.
Humans aren't the only carnivores, but we are the only ones who care what our prey thinks about being eaten. Effete urbanites who think food comes from styrofoam packages and can't stand the sight of blood know nothing about nature.
Enjoy your tofu. As for me, I'll have the beef.

Shotlist

Excellent footage of kosher meat butchering, and women shoppers in Stroh and Goldberg butcher shops. Probably filmed in New York City.


slaughterhouses meat