Would you be annoyed if school went 100% halal meat?

[Wintershealing]

The school I work at has a new head teacher who has announced from after half term all meat needs to be halal. She says it's a more ethical way to slaughter animals (she's vegan herself) and no non-halal meat will be on offer. She said anyone who doesn't want it can bring a packed lunch.

I don't know much about halal meat other than it's religious connections. What do you think?

The animals would probably prefer neither option. Both are horrific ends really. People just don’t like word “halal” but manage to ignore it outside every kebab shop they go in

Has she explained why it's more ethical? I'm struggling to understand.

By the way the animals are slaughtered apparently.

It’s obviously for cost reasons. Unless she means that lower cost meals is ethical because CoL etc

Yes, I’m vegan so I don’t agree with any form of slaughter, but if it has to be done, I want it to be as humane as possible, and I would hate this being the only option available. I think it should be banned tbh.

Wouldn't bother me. They will always have an alternative to meat for the vegan/vegetarians so no child will have to eat halal if they don't want too.

80% of halal meat in the UK is stunned before slaughter now, so it's not really much different to non halal.

The halal meat Is the same price from supplier so I don't think it's a cost thing

This used to be a regular bun-fight on MN. There are those who will claim halal meat is beyond the pale due to inhumane slaughter methods, and those who will claim the opposite. As others have said, slaughtering animals for meat is what it is. I would not clutch my pearls at this headmistress.

Is it true a prayer is said to the animals under Islamic rules?

I don't get it...In a regular slaughterhouse, the animals are stunned before being killed.

I didn't know that. Thank you for the information.

I’m veggie so I feel like if people are going to eat meat, why are they so picky about the word halal? I’ve just done a quick google and all UK meat is required to be stunned before slaughter and it is then slaughtered via severing a major artery. I’m not sure how different that is to halal being stunned and its throat cut? The only issue is there is some dispensation to religious specifics relating to kosher & halal meat, but 80-90% of UK halal meat is stunned anyway. Unless the meat is some trash from abroad I don’t see the huge issue?

The animal dies in order for you to eat either way.

Oh what - you mean being stunned, hung in the air and having their throats cut so they bleed to death? Sometimes they don't bother to stun them first.

And that is supposed to be ethical?

No my understanding is that Halal and Kosher meat can only be sold to those who require it for religious reasons. It is an exemption for those that practice the religion. Look at non stun slaughter and halal slaughter online and decide it you want to fund it.

There is a woman on X investigating how much meat is slaughtered in halal slaughterhouses but not labelled correctly. It seems to be more than you would expect and supermarkets are not keen to put things in writing (I know as I have written to a few).

Animals should be slaughtered in the most humane way possible. I do not buy halal slaughtered meat. So no I would not buy the school meal and I would be fighting the decision.

Exactly.
I wouldn't care. I am not a big meat eater but as long as the slaughter house it came from passes food hygiene rules then I don't really care how it's slaughtered.
If I was I'd stop eating meat completely.

@Elefinstrunf you do realise that Christians and Muslims (and Jews) all worship the same God 😂😂

I don't know much about halal meat other than it's religious connections.

Information is available on Google.

This thread has been done to death and regularly too.

All they seem to do is cause bun fights among MNetters.

@Elefinstrunf I think that is the issue for people. It's not so much about the way the animal is slaughtered because they are killed anyway. It's the having a religious practice forced upon them?

https://www.bva.co.uk/take-action/our-policies/non-stun-slaughter/

British veterinary association says

Whats Our View

‘All animals should be stunned before slaughter’

@Wintershealing I would have an issue with the head being woefully misinformed and surprised that as a vegan she seems to think that halal slaughter is somehow more ethical than ordinary slaughter.

Eating halal meat is not being forced into a religious practice. What sounds are playing whilst the animal is slaughtered is irrelevant. There is no tangible difference to the resulting meat products, halal meat is indistinguishable from non-halal meat.

If it does really bother you what sounds are being played whilst animals are being slaughtered, then you could opt for packed lunches or the various non meat options that there will be.

I'm inclined to agree with this. If you're invested enough in the issue of animal slaughter to start getting into comparing/contrasting slaughter methods then it's probably time to go vegetarian.

And I can't get worked up about whose prayers are being said during the slaughter either.

Meat is meat. I don't care what religion the cow my children eat was.