Kobe Beef? Halal or Haram?

Kobe beef (神戸ビーフ Kōbe bīfu) refers to cuts of beef from the Tajima strain of wagyu cattle, raised in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, according to rules as set out by the Kobe Beef Marketing & Distribution Promotion Association. The meat is generally considered to be a delicacy, renowned for its flavour, tenderness, and fatty, well-marbled texture. Kobe beef can be prepared as steak, sukiyaki, shabu shabu, sashimi, teppanyaki, and more.
Kobe beef is also called Kobe niku (神戸肉, "Kobe meat"), Kobe-gyu (神戸牛) or Kobe-ushi (神戸牛, "Kobe cow") in Japanese.

History

Cattle were introduced into Japan in the second century as work animals, and used in rice cultivation. The mountainous topography of the islands of Japan resulted in small regions of isolated breeding, yielding herds that developed and maintained qualities in their meat that differ significantly from other breeds of cattle.
Starting in the late 18th century, and for several decades thereafter, native Japanese cattle were interbred with many European breeds, including Brown Swiss, Shorthorn and Devon. The cattle originally recognized in 1943 as "Kobe beef" were cattle from herds in the Kobe area of Japan, and could be any of four breeds of Wagyu cattle: the Akaushi (Japanese Red), the Kuroushi (Japanese Black), the Japanese Polled and the Japanese Shorthorn. Tajima is a strain of the Japanese Black.
In 1983, a marketing group was formed in order to define and promote the Kobe trademark. The Kobe Beef Marketing and Distribution Promotion Association sets standards in order for a cow to be labeled Kobe Beef.
Kobe beef in Japan is a registered trademark of the Kobe Beef Marketing and Distribution Promotion Association (神戸肉流通推進協議会 Kōbeniku Ryūtsū Suishin Kyōgikai). It must fulfill all the following conditions:

• Tajima cattle born in Hyōgo Prefecture
• Farm feeding in Hyōgo Prefecture
• Bullock (steer) or castrated bull, to purify the beef
• Processed at slaughterhouses in Kobe, Nishinomiya, Sanda, Kakogawa and Himeji in Hyōgo Prefecture.
• Marbling ratio, called BMS, of level 6 and above.
• Meat Quality Score of 4 or 5
• Gross weight of beef from one animal is 470 kg or less.

The cattle are fed on grain fodder and brushed sometimes for setting fur. The melting point of fat of Kobe beef (Tajima cattle) is lower than common beef fat.

Facts
Do you know how kobe beef is raised before they are slaughtered?
1. Animal cruelty!  The cattle are confined for many months so that their muscles stay weak from lack of exercise. That way, their flesh remains tender.
2. Joint swelling. Due to their restricted movements by their farmers, the cattle gets joint swelling which is the real reason why they are massaged daily, in order for the farmers to get them to the markets. The myth that they are massaged as a testimony of their luxurious lives is a complete lie, garbage, balony, what ever you may want to call it but it is completely a 100% fabricated lie!
3. Given alcohol. From the time they are a week old until they are three and a half years old, the cattle are kept in a lean-to behind someone's house where they get bored and go off their feed. Their gut stops working. The best way to get their gut working again is to give them a bottle of beer
4. Sick. They grow so big and heavy, they get arthritic.
5. Suffering. Kobe cattle endure these conditions for three years.
Check out other facts at  http://www.animalliberationfront.com/Practical/FactoryFarm/Cows/BeefWithKobe.htm

Kobe beef is extremely expensive and is hard to find, they are offered at five-star restaurants. Most people that are socially active may find themselves drawn to glamour and rumours that myths of Kobe beef provide. Their flesh is juicy and tender, which is why it is so expensive but for Muslims beware, as stated before part of the cattle's diet is alcohol. and some may argue that it's the cattle that consume the alcohol and not us well, THINK AGAIN!


 Alcohol and the human body

Alcohol (ethanol) is a clear, volatile liquid that burns (oxidizes) easily. It has a slight, characteristic odor and is very soluble in water. Alcohol is an organic compound composed of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen; its chemical formula is C2H5OH.
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and it is the central nervous system which is the bodily system that is most severely affected by alcohol (see chart below). The degree to which the central nervous system function is impaired is directly proportional to the concentration of alcohol in the blood.
When ingested, alcohol passes from the stomach into the small intestine, where it is rapidly absorbed into the blood and distributed throughout the body. Because it is distributed so quickly and thoroughly the alcohol can affect the central nervous system even in small concentrations. In low concentrations, alcohol reduces inhibitions. As blood alcohol concentration increases, a person's response to stimuli decreases markedly, speech becomes slurred, and he or she becomes unsteady and has trouble walking. With very high concentrations - greater than 0.35 grams/100 milliliters of blood (equivalent to 0.35 grams/210 liters of breath ) - a person can become comatose and die. The American Medical Association has defined the blood alcohol concentration level of impairment for all people to be 0.04 grams/100 milliliters of blood (equivalent to .04 grams/210 liters of breath).


Absorption
Alcohol is absorbed from all parts of the gastrointestinal tract largely by simple diffusion into the blood. However the small intestine is by far the most efficient region of the gastrointestinal tract for alcohol absorption because of its very large surface area. In a fasting individual, it is generally agreed that 10% to 20% of a dose of alcohol is absorbed from the stomach (the volume of alcohol affects the absorption) and 75% to 80% is absorbed from the small intestine. Because of this peak blood alcohol concentrations are achieved in fasting people within 0.5 to 2.0 hours, (average 0.75 - 1.35 hours depending upon dose and time of last meal) while non-fasting people exhibit peak alcohol concentrations within 1.0, and in extreme cases up to as much as 4.0 hours (average 1.06 - 2.12 hours).

Distribution
Alcohol has a high affinity for water and is therefore found in body tissues and fluids inasmuch as they contain water. Absorbed alcohol is rapidly carried throughout the body in the blood and once absorption of alcohol is complete an equilibrium occurs such that blood at all points in the system contains approximately the same concentration of alcohol.

In simple English, the cattle consumes alcohol, which is digested and absorbed through the intestine into the bloodstream where some diffuses through the body tissues because alcohol has a high affinity of water and we know that water diffuses through body tissues through osmosis. Which means? The alcohols is now a part of the flesh of the cattle, which you consume...the whole process starts again, this time it's our body the one absorbing the alcohol!

Still arguing that it's just a little alcohol? This should refute all arguements if you are a muslim. Otherwise, you are free to eat as you please, in regards to your own health i think you know as well as I do that alcohol consumption damages your liver, taken straight or indirectly.





 S.a.w Prophet Muhammad said:
"" What is intoxicating in large quantities, it is forbidden even in small amounts. "(Book of Sunan Ibn Majah Volume 3, Book intoxicating, Chapter 30, Hadith No.. 3392) "

Therefore there is no reason for even a sip of alcohol or a drop.

The conclusion is that kobe beef is haram at any point of time due to how it is raised.