Should you be told if the meat you're served is halal?

[YouWillNeverGuessMyUsername]

If you go to a restaurant or cafe or cafeteria at work or whatever. Would you expect to be informed that they were serving halal meat?

It's usually stated on the menu. If you eat anywhere that's Middle eastern/Levantine/Indian etc I think it's a given, even if doesn't say explicitly (unlikely).

No. It makes no difference to me. Same goes for kosher.

Anyone that’s had a chicken burger in McD’s has had halal meat you know…

Yes

There is no legal requirement to label meat as kosher/halal.

But if you ask the restaurant then they should be able to identify whether the meat is halal or kosher.

Yes.
Because it’s important for Muslims to know its halal just as much as it’s important for some people with other views to know so they can choose to avoid it.

These threads pop up now and again. Only ever about one type of religious slaughter, though. Almost as if there is an agenda.

And Kosher I assume? Or is it just an issue with muslim food?

Yes, always with faux naivety lol

Indeed - and arguably kosher is worse as the animal isn’t stunned.

@YouWillNeverGuessMyUsername why do non-Muslims need awareness raising about halal meat when there is no actual measurable difference to the meat products that they are being served? It’s only relevant if you have a religious reason to care about the specifics of how an animal was slaughtered - specifics which make no material difference to the process. So only of relevance to Muslims, who presumably would ask if necessary.

UK McDonald’s does not use halal chicken.

Yep. Just make it clear for anyone who wants to know.

Either it’s ok to care if food is halal or it’s not ok to care if food is halal.

Makes no difference to the animal if there's a prayer played over a loudspeaker or not. The method is the same.

If somebody has a problem with it, apart from looking at the window to see whether theres a halal sign up, they can just order some pork or shellfish/with cheese on top, although the odds of somebody not noticing the cost of kosher meat must be pretty low.

I also wonder whether anybody would actively avoid non meat products with a kosher symbol on the packaging. After all, if they object to the faith or the dietary requirements including slaughter, it would seem logical that they wouldn't want their money to go towards the cost of obtaining a kosher mark for wine, bread, cereal or frozen veg, wouldn't it?

As a vegetarian, I would like to think my veggies have been stored away from all meat, but you can't be sure. I think non-Muslim meat eaters should have the same choice as Muslim meat-eaters, i.e. halal or non-halal.

Yes I had a sausage sandwich recently and sausages were clearly Halal - I don’t object on the principle- I object because they taste horrible to me- I’m the same with most things kosher

No - why? As long as meat is slaughtered under UK rules to prevent harm and distress - I can’t see the animals being particularly fussed which method is used to kill

Oh ok 😂

It's my work canteen. They serve halal meat with telling people explicitly. If people ask they will say so, but are of the opinion that people don't need to know. Nowhere is it labelled not are we told, as they deliberately don't tell anyone unless they ask.

So I'm trying to work out if we should be informed or not.

We're not served kosher meat, so no issues there.

We are served halal without being informed unless someone asks. I am just wondering if employees should be told directly or not.

Why do you care? No doe-eyed faux naïveté just really. Why?

There is no legal requirement to label food as halal or kosher.

They do have to answer accurately if asked directly.

Hopefully that clarifies your concerns.

Probably because they weren’t pork sausages like you’re used to, they weren’t not very nice because they’re Halal! There’s no difference in taste between halal chicken and non-halal chicken.

I don’t ask and I don’t care. I would care if I was a a Muslim, so I would ask. Same as I would ask if meat were Kosher if I were Jewish.

But what difference does it make? 90% of Halal meat here is stunned pre slaughter, so the only difference is the prayer. And I can’t imagine why you would have a problem with a prayer being said? It hardly effects the taste