Actually the Halal point is a good one the same goes Kosher, in both cases you are assured of controlled process. Note that many other processors use the same kind of standards its just impossible to know if your meat was processed "ethically" or not otherwise. For my part I believe that the horror stories are the exception not the rule and your odds are pretty good with regular meat. Oddly enough MacDonald’s is right up there with a controlled beef process from birth to slaughter house to paper bag.