ITHACA, N.Y. -- The humane slaughter of agricultural animals has been improved in recent years due to consumer demands on fast-food chains and supermarkets, says Joe Regenstein, Cornell University professor of food science.

Regenstein will discuss how these changes could affect the future of halal practices, the Islamic food laws, as part of his keynote address to the Fifth International Halal Food Conference, July 11, at the Palmer House in Chicago.

Regenstein also has organized a morning symposium at McCormick Place, Chicago, July 16 for the annual meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists (the Religious and Ethnic Foods Division and the Muscle Foods Division). The symposium, "Animal Welfare: An Update," will feature Temple Grandin, professor of animal science at the University of Colorado and a national proponent of creating more humane methods of slaughter. Other speakers will include Janet Riley, senior vice president of public affairs at the American Meat Institute; Chester England III, chief of food safety for Burger King restaurants; Jill Hollingsworth, vice president of food safety for the Food Marketing Institute; and Adele Douglass, executive director of Humane Farm Animal Care.

"The methods of humane slaughter have seen an improvement over the past several years," says Regenstein. "The key to all slaughter -- as an acceptable practice -- is to ensure the animal is not stressed. By implementing new methods for kosher or halal slaughter that incorporate newer technology, the animals are less stressed and, as a result of less stress on the animals, not only are the animals happier, but workers in the slaughterhouses are much safer," he says.

In the past two years, such fast-food chains as McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King have created animal welfare committees and have begun requiring meat suppliers to follow highly defined animal care guidelines that exceed federal law.

Regenstein notes that the food industry has made great strides in the improvement of pre-slaughter handling of agricultural animals. "We're taking animal agriculture to where the industry ought to be in the 21st century," he says.