To ask if a school turning its canteen halal of kosher is them imposing a faith on people

[Souredstones]

I don't know how I feel about this but a Facebook post has really made me think if a school canteen is halal or kosher then isn't it imposing a faith on its pupils? Or is it? I don't know so I defer to the wise ladies of Mumsnet for a decision

WOW. I cannot believe the ignorance and bigotry expressed here. Personally, I send my children with a packed lunch everyday, so I know that they are eating healthy, home cooked, nutritious food.

Sorry Peppi but you're very, very wrong in saying that Kosher is the same as Halal. It's the rituals surrounding it that differentiate the two Of course it is, and that's what makes them kosher or halal in the first place!!

If you're Jewish, you cannot eat halal foods. If you're Muslim, you can eat kosher foods. I don't know how to make that any clearer.

I'm not muslim and I don't want to eat halal meat. Non-muslims should be given the choice. If halal slaughter is cruel, the government should have the guts to ban it.

Alright Schadenfreude. Have never heard of such a thing before, so no need for the face!

Name-changing Jewish semi-regular here. I can see where Bonsoir is coming from with her comment about kosher food being unpalatable - kosher meat is dearer but not always better quality than other meat (if anything sometimes it can seem tougher) and some traditional Eastern European Jewish specialities can be rather an ahem acquired taste - cocktail fishballs/chopped liver with egg and onion etc.

Are we just talking meat here or all foods? As the term Halal and kosher applies to all food. So all fruit, vegetables, water and fish are halal.
Kosher has more restrictions but is similar. So its daft saying 'kosher is unpalatable' when an apple is kosher, as is lettuce or salmon or coca-cola.

All those of you who think halal slaughter is cruel, I trust that you only buy meat from local butchers who can assure you of the method if slaughter. I cannot be hypocritical as I buy my meat from Tesco and have no idea how it is slaughtered and don't trust tesco even to know where the meat is from of what supplier chain they bought it from! I have no idea where school canteens source their meat from.

burberryqueen I don't eat Indian takeaways for that reason. I think I have just as much right not to eat halal meat as anyone else has to eat it. While we are giving people a choice why can't I have mine without being described as a bigot ?

Opinions on the method of slaughter aside, I feel there should be a choice for parents to indicate to the school that they do not agree with Halal meat being served to their child. And in my mind, the choice shouldn't be presented in the form of a meat free alternative.

True indian food should be veggie anyway. You chicken tikka madras is probably cooked by a bangladeshie not an indian.

cconferencepear that is fair enuff - I didn't call anyone a "bigot" but i do think some people are misinformed/misguided

I wonder if all schools should just serve veggie food, tbh.

What AdventureTed said.

I can't see as it is imposing faith on people. If you are happy enough to eat meat, you must realise that animals will be killed to provide that meat. I'm a big disagreeing person when it comes to britain losing it's culture but i don't see how halal food is imposing anything on anyone tbh.
Halal and kosher food is pretty delicious and probably made better than our own processed shit so i'm happy for my children to eat it, yes.

Well there would have to be separate kitchens then to avoid cross contamination because if a utensil is used for traditional (for want of a better word) meat and then used for Halal, it is no longer Halal.

yanbu - this really pisses me off! 1/4 of my dds school are muslims & demanded halal meat so 3/4 of the none muslims are stuck with halal meat also. & i disagree with how the animals are slaughtered so my dc have packed lunches now. why should muslims get preferential treatment over the 3/4 of non halal meat eaters? if i sent my children to a school in a different culture i wouldnt dream of demanding this :-(

1.) Undercover investigations have shown dodgy stuff goes on in non-halal slaughterhouses as well as in halal ones.

2.) This would be a non-issue if everybody was vegetarian (and the world would be a better place in many ways... healthier, greener, no farm animals would suffer needlessly etc.).

thanks for the link, hackmum
I think I may be a Sikh what a sensible idea about cooking food everyone can eat!

There would be no farm animals. Except sheep.

A proper vegetarian menu in schools would be good, not quorn substitutes.

Some Muslims may eat kosher but it is not universally accepted as allowed. We can't eat kosher meat the same as standard tesco meat products.

Hate to break it to you folks, but if you eat out at numerous restaurants and/or your dc go to school in London and several other counties in the UK, you have probably eaten halal a lot of times !

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1313458/Halal-Britain-Famous-institutions-routinely-serve-public-ritually-slaughtered-meat.html

Pumpkinsweetie - not all non halal /non kosher meat is processed sh*t.

Also, by referring to it as 'our', you are implying that halal and kosher produce is 'theirs' and therefore alien. So you could be seen as insulting every one!

And chickens...

Apart from Jewish schools I cant see any schools managing kosher. There's the seperation of meat and dairy to contend with too. No plates/utensils/cooking stuff can be used for meat and dairy. you need two lots of everything.

oh and for those saying ooh i would never eat halal - you probably already have in your Indian takeout. If you don't like animals being killed for meat, be a vegetarian.

Anywhere where meat is likely to be Halal we go veggie even Subway since their chicken is Halal. I won't knowingly eat it as I don't agree with it. Not every Halal slaughter house stuns their animals so how do you know if you get a stunned slab of meat or a non stunned slab? Same as not every slaughter house treats their animals in a way that I feel an animal should be treated prior to death, it's why I'm very picky about where I source our meat.

I do not need my meat to be slaughtered in the name of a god. I am not religious and the idea of eating meat meant for members of a religion when I myself do not believe in any religious deity is odd. It's like accepting that one persons faith is more important than my desire to not worship anyone.