Do you eat hallal food?

[Withdean11]

Not knowingly, no. Disgusting how Halal meat is the only option in many places (i.e colleges i London).

 

[midnight_rendezvous]

I find it rather amusing how some people get so into animal rights when halal is banded around but are the kind of people who didn't bat an eye when it came to light the likes of KFC were using battery farms. Willing to bet a lot of outrage surrounding halal meat has absolutely nothing to do with animal rights and more to do with the religion of the people who eat it.

 

[Triggaaar]

Not disagreeing with your general point, but...

I find it rather amusing how some people get so into animal rights when halal is banded around but are the kind of people who didn't bat an eye when it came to light the likes of KFC were using battery farms.

are you seriously telling me that people thought KFC used free range chicken? Presumably McD use battery farms too, along with most places we get chicken?

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

Quite a bit. yes.

We've recently been "hosting" students. The chaps we've had from Saudi and Kuwait required halal diet so we bought in halal meat....only for them to never be home to eat the stuff.

So I've had it instead.

 

[skipper734]

Kingsmill bread. It's a cutthroat business.

 

[beorhthelm]

...Willing to bet a lot of outrage surrounding halal meat has absolutely nothing to do with animal rights and more to do with the religion of the people who eat it.

unless they are vegatarian, i'd say all outrage around halal meat has nothing to do with animal rights and everything to do with religion. its not like the halal butchers are allowed to mistreat animals, though it happens as it does in secular abattoirs, its against the rules.

 

[Saladpack Seagull]

I suppose when eating in Middle Eastern restaurants in London (I've tried Lebanese and Iranian) I must have had Hallal meat but I didn't really think about it too much. Both these places were full of people of that ethnicity, so I imagine the dishes on offer were authentic to their culture. Very nice they were, too (the dishes AND the people!)

 

[Hotchilidog]

I find it rather amusing how some people get so into animal rights when halal is banded around but are the kind of people who didn't bat an eye when it came to light the likes of KFC were using battery farms. Willing to bet a lot of outrage surrounding halal meat has absolutely nothing to do with animal rights and more to do with the religion of the people who eat it.

This. If you think non-halal meat is produced with less cruelty then you are sadly mistaken. It's just another excuse to single out muslims for abuse.

 

[Triggaaar]

Quite a bit. yes.

We've recently been "hosting" students. The chaps we've had from Saudi and Kuwait required halal diet so we bought in halal meat

I won't get halal meat because of animal welfare, so the students can eat out - it's win / win.

unless they are vegatarian, i'd say all outrage around halal meat has nothing to do with animal rights and everything to do with religion.

You'd be wrong then. The only reason I won't buy halal meat is because I want animals to be stunned before they are slaughtered. It's not against halal rules for them to be stunned, but if you buy meat labelled as halal then it probably hasn't been stunned, whereas all Tesco and Sainsbury's meat that isn't labelled as halal has been stunned.

This. If you think non-halal meat is produced with less cruelty then you are sadly mistaken. It's just another excuse to single out muslims for abuse.

See above.

 

[MattBackHome]

Not disagreeing with your general point, but...are you seriously telling me that people thought KFC used free range chicken? Presumably McD use battery farms too, along with most places we get chicken?

My understanding of McDs is that the beef is all local (ish) and 'ethically sourced', so your BigMac is nigh on guilt free.

The chicken comes from Hellsville, Bangkok though.

 

[Guinness Boy]

I have. Bloody excellent kebab house near our old office in East London. If you've had a curry or kebab here the chances are you've eaten hallal and been too drunk to care.

 

[daveinprague]

All halal means is 'allowed'.
Companies that want to sell their products widely, will place halal certification to maximise profits.
The only reason its an issue is its Islamic, and that offends the permanently offended.

 

[Albion in the north]

Yes, all meat eaters here do, as some halal food isn't labelled as halal.

Is almost definitely the correct answer.
Most chicken bought in this country is Halal whether it is labelled as such or not.
Pretty much any NZ lamb is also Halalas they export most of their meat and a lot of it to Muslim countries.

An abbattoir that supplies Halal meat can only supply that. They cannot slaughter some Halal and some not.
Many meat suppliers do not want to limit their market so will slaughter it all Halal and sell it to whoever.

 

[beorhthelm]

You'd be wrong then. The only reason I won't buy halal meat is because I want animals to be stunned before they are slaughtered.

are you outraged, or making a consumer choice - do you see what i mean? anyway, i'd be wary of assuming all animals have been stunned, even if its supposed to have been. conditions upto and the final dispatch are more important that some technical processes imo.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

I won't get halal meat because of animal welfare, so the students can eat out - it's win / win.

Or MASS buy the halal stickers, buy your bog standard meat, and stick on a sticker*






*Just to clarify, I haven't done that........yet.

 

[Hotchilidog]

I won't get halal meat because of animal welfare, so the students can eat out - it's win / win.

You'd be wrong then. The only reason I won't buy halal meat is because I want animals to be stunned before they are slaughtered. It's not against halal rules for them to be stunned, but if you buy meat labelled as halal then it probably hasn't been stunned, whereas all Tesco and Sainsbury's meat that isn't labelled as halal has been stunned.

See above.

If you think conventional slaughter and production is any less traumatic for the animal then you are wrong. Go online and find some film of animals being "stunned" and see how universally effective it is, not.

I'm not going to get into a pointless circular discussion about the ethics of eating animals, clearly you eat meat and I am not going to change your mind, I accept that.

However opposing halal slaughter for animal welfare reasons seems fairly pointless when you sanction the rest of the animal food production process, isn't really doing the cause of real animal welfare that much good at all.

 

[Triggaaar]

An abbattoir that supplies Halal meat can only supply that.

While I can imagine it being the case that Halal abattoirs only do halal, they don't have to according to halal rules do they? Each animal is individual.

are you outraged, or making a consumer choice - do you see what i mean?

Yes you're right, I'm not outraged, but I think the original point was that choosing not to have halal was being against Muslims, rather than making a choice on animal welfare, which it's not in my case.

anyway, i'd be wary of assuming all animals have been stunned, even if its supposed to have been. conditions upto and the final dispatch are more important that some technical processes imo.

Well I can only make a choice on what I'm offered. They say some meat is stunned prior to slaughter, and some is not, so I choose the meat that they say is. IMO all meat sold in this country should be stunned before slaughter (so that includes halal) and animals should be treated well before that point too.

IMO, halal meat isn't halal, because the original idea of halal meat is that the animals shouldn't suffer, but slaughtering them without first stunning them means that they do suffer.

Or MASS buy the halal stickers, buy your bog standard meat, and stick on a sticker

I wouldn't even need to do that, I could just say 'yes, it's halal', and they'd believe me. But I wouldn't do that. And what's the point anyway, I'm happy for them to eat out

 

[Triggaaar]

If you think conventional slaughter and production is any less traumatic for the animal then you are wrong.

I have looked into it. Research has been done at university's (inc Bristol I think) about how much pain an animal is in when they are stunned and slaughtered, vs when they are not stunned, and the results show they are in less pain when they are stunned first.

Go online and find some film of animals being "stunned" and see how universally effective it is, not.

I don't fancy watching it right now, and films of poorly treated animals wouldn't be proof either way.

I'm not going to get into a pointless circular discussion about the ethics of eating animals, clearly you eat meat and I am not going to change your mind

As long as you're not a vegetarian, we'll have no problem there.

However opposing halal slaughter for animal welfare reasons seems fairly pointless when you sanction the rest of the animal food production process, isn't really doing the cause of real animal welfare that much good at all.

I could become a vegan, but I'd absolutely hate that (I like animal products too much). Next up, I could devote part of my life to fighting for animal welfare - I guess I don't feel strongly enough about it to do that. Next up, I can make some choices that I think are better for animal welfare, like promoting the method of stunning animals before they are slaughtered - I'm doing that. If you can show me evidence that stunning animals is worse for them, I may have to change my view.

 

[Albion in the north]

While I can imagine it being the case that Halal abattoirs only do halal, they don't have to according to halal rules do they? Each animal is individual.

I should have said that the other way round. If an abbatoir supplies non halal meat it cannot also supply Halal meat. (Im pretty sure that this is a religious thing, but could be wrong)
The abbatoir pays for a priest to pray at the beginning of the day and then has to employ muslims to carry out the slaughter. Commercially it makes sense for them to kill all the animals like this and then they have a bigger market to sell to, labelling each as Halal or not as required.

 

[beorhthelm]

Well I can only make a choice on what I'm offered. They say some meat is stunned prior to slaughter, and some is not, so I choose the meat that they say is. IMO all meat sold in this country should be stunned before slaughter (so that includes halal) and animals should be treated well before that point too.

IMO, halal meat isn't halal, because the original idea of halal meat is that the animals shouldn't suffer, but slaughtering them without first stunning them means that they do suffer.

ha, but you cant make that choice as its not communicated. maybe it should be. the issue of stunning is a bit of a modern development, and to me immaterial in the bigger picture. some non-Halal meat wont be stunned and some Halal meat will be stunned prior to dispatch, like so much with religious guidance there's opinions on whether it applies or not (the strict rule as i recall is that the animal must not already be dead. there is a sensible anthropological reason for this, dead meat is likely to be off.)