Labelling Meat And Poultry As 'halal'.

[hc4361]

Assuming you are neither Muslim nor vegetarian, would you be put off buying meat if you knew it was slaughtered the Halal way?

I have had this email from Tesco.
"For example, all our New Zealand lamb meets Halal standards."

I know for a fact that this isn't labelled on the product nor sold in the Halal section - I would expect some sort of label or symbol to indicate to Muslims that the product is suitable for them.

Could it be that Tesco believe they would sell less it the meat was labelled as Halal?

[emmie]

what i get in a tizzy about is not being given the choice, if it's a method of slaughter i don't care for, and no we don't all go to abattoirs so won't know for sure it's humane, but erring on the side of caution i would want all meat products marked as halal, non halal, it's not that hard. We shouldn't just have it foisted on us. If people can protest that horsemeat is found in beef products and be upset, then why not over a method of killing animals one doesn't agree with. If you see badger baiting, or fox hunting don't you find that appalling, why should livestock be treated any differently.

[pastafreak]

Most animals seem to be very stressed as they are led to slaughter-the idea being that they sense what is to come. That may be worse than the actual method used.

[tamborine]

no apology. I would NOT subject any of my animals to that practise

[hc4361]

I agree entirely with em10.

Slaughterhouses are given exemptions from UK slaughter laws to enable them to provide meat for Jews or Muslims.
All other slaughterhouses MUST comply with the very strict laws.

These exemptions are to allow Muslims and Jews to eat meat that satisfy their religious requirements; it was never intended that this meat be supplied to everyone.

I have no objection to people eating Halal or Kosher meat - it is the lack of labelling I object to. I will not knowingly eat Halal or Kosher meat and my choice should be given as much respect as the Muslim's refusal to eat non-Halal.

[MadMen]

hc, just out of interest, have you spoken to Tesco about this?

[boxtops]

In answer to your OP - my answer is No. I've eaten halah meat on many occasions, it doesn't bother me in the least. We have no assurance that animals feel any more distress in a conventional slaughterhouse. Many halal slaughterhouses stun the animals these days, I am told. It makes no difference to me - the animal has to die so that I can eat it. That may sound callous, but it's a fact.

[boxtops]

...and with other products, you know it's halal if the label is partly written in Arabic. Have a look at a Kitkat.

[friedgreentomato]

exactly box - if it bothered me that much i would go veggie!

[Old_Geezer]

Andy, you have worked the logic the wrong way. My post disapproves of halal (or for that matter any method that isn't the normally approved one for this country). It makes no comment on non-halal save the implication that I trust the government has put in a decent set of rules for normal practice, including stunning. I'm sure the system could be made better and more closely monitored, but that's a different issue.

[hc4361]

Yes, I have, Madmen, and I quoted part of their email in my OP.

I have since emailed back asking why they don't label the meat as Halal - I am waiting for a reply.

[bednobs]

kitkats are slaughtered the halal way????? OMG!

[bednobs]

as far as i know, isn't all NZ lamb halal?

[MadMen]

I'd be interested to see what they say, hc.
I've not got an issue with it, but I can see that loads and loads of people would!

Please be sure to post an update, once they've replied.

[IggyB]

I eat meat but am very mindful of animal welfare issues - the manner that my dinner was killed is quite important to me and I don't feel that makes me a hypocrite, instead I feel that that makes me a responsible consumer. I pay a premium to meat producers who maintain high animal welfare standards and as a result I don't eat meat everyday (which is probably good for me and the environment).

I am a bit uncomfortable with the killing methods used for halal food and for this reason would tend avoid it - as an atheist I am also a bit perplexed by my meat having a pray said to it.

[hc4361]

No, bednobs. In an email from the NZ Meat Industry Association:

We would like to stress that not all New Zealand lamb that is exported to the UK is halal, and we suggest that you ask your retailer whether they are able to provide non-halal New Zealand lamb so that you can continue to enjoy what we believe is a top quality product.

[hc4361]

I will keep you updated with Tesco's response but I expect it will take a day or two for them to reply.

[MadMen]

"I am also a bit perplexed by my meat having a prayer said to it. "

What you get up to in your spare time is your business...

[MadMen]

That's very interesting, hc. Also, I wonder if the lamb has some kind of sticker on there, saying it's halal? If not, I would have thought there'd be a bit of a backlash when people 'found out'.

[hc4361]

He's referring to the requirement that animals must be prayed over as they are bleeding to death to satisfy Halal rules.

[jake-the-peg]

Given that meat can be stunned for Halal it appears that the only difference is that it's throat is slit by a muslim who is muttering a prayer at the time.

Given this I guess the logic is people shouldn't care whether or not its halal or not - even though I don't I think that's a false assumption especially as there's an understandable lack of willingness to talk about what goes on in any abbotoir.


from that article I linked to earlier:

//In Uttoxeter, a tense woman spells it out. 'Do you think I need the press in here? I'm sorry, but I don't know how to deal with you. I only get paid £10,000 a year. How much do you think Alastair Campbell gets? And he's still looking pretty stupid, isn't he?'//