Glatt kosher is a higher standard of kosher used when inspecting large animals for compliance with Jewish dietary restrictions. If an animal’s lungs have defects, the meat is considered treif and prohibited. Glatt does not necessarily mean more kosher, but distinguishes two types of kosher meat. The rules have a solid logic and are supported by the Torah.
Glatt kosher is a higher kosher standard that is used when inspecting large animals such as livestock after slaughter to determine if their meat complies with the standards of Jewish dietary restrictions. To be considered glatt, when an animal’s lungs are examined, they must be smooth and free from defects. If the lungs have adhesions, punctures or other defects, the meat is considered treif, “torn” or prohibited.
There is some confusion as to what glatt kosher really means, which can cause some interesting labeling situations. In particular, adult cattle and buffaloes may be inspected to determine whether or not they are glactic. There are situations where the meat may not be glatt, but may still be kosher. Smaller animals and birds must always be saturated to be considered kosher. If chickens, ducks, calves, sheep, goats, deer, and so on are treif, the meat is not kosher, and cannot be eaten by Jews who adhere to kashrut, the Jewish dietary laws.
It is common to see butchers advertising glatt kosher meat to assure their Jewish customers that the meat is kosher. In the case of small animals, this is a bit misleading, as people might believe the meat is more kosher because it’s described as glatt, when in reality if the meat wasn’t glatt, it wouldn’t be kosher at all. When large animal meat is advertised as kosher glatt, the additional label carries more weight, distinguishing two different types of kosher meat.
While the rules surrounding glatt kosher meat may seem a bit arcane, there’s a solid logic behind them. “Glatt” is Yiddish for “smooth,” referring to the uniform appearance of a katther glatt animal’s lungs. Lungs that are smooth and free of adhesions are more likely to be healthy, suggesting that the host animal was also healthy and not exposed to harmful substances that could have damaged its lungs.
Given the increasing use of industrial agriculture to produce meat, the idea of looking for particularly healthy animals has merits and suggests a level of care that ordinary consumers cannot exercise. Textual support for the glactic katther rules can be found in the Torah, a Jewish religious text, in which people are expressly forbidden from eating meat which is treif.
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