to not know if this offensive?

[Catnary]

Colleague in canteen queue today, I comment that the food looks tasty. She makes a face, points to the label and says “Yeah but look, I’m not eating that!”

Label says “Halal beef casserole”.

I say “but it’s just a different way of slaughtering the cow”

”Yeah I know, that’s what I mean, it’s SO cruel. I can’t have that on my conscience.”

This was all very loud and other people overheard. Neither colleague nor I are Muslim but many other colleagues are. I felt very uncomfortable, didn’t engage, and ordered the beef.

Is this just no different to a vegetarian declaring loudly that they couldn’t possibly be so cruel as to eat meat, or is it a slur on Muslims? It felt inappropriate, especially at work.

Um, what? I can assure you, that isn’t accurate.

I was referring to your first statement here, I should have clarified.

You're going to need to provide a source for that.

I presume you're talking, however, almost exclusively about animals like invertebrates inevitably killed when the soil is ploughed and mice poisoned by food factories as is a legal requirement.

Any food that farm animals are eating (except grass) has also been farmed, and so insect deaths also occur there. Animals aren't a very efficient way of turning one type of food into another type of food - think in terms of trophic levels from your GCSE biology.

For instance, it takes 2.5lb of grain to produce 1lb chicken (and that's more efficient than either pork or beef; US figures but British chickens aren't built differently, Source). If you use that arable land to produce grain for direct human consumption you'll have a much more efficient system (and fewer invertebrates killed per human fed...).

I'm not a vegan, and I do get irritated by the ones who take it to the nth degree ("what's the source of the vitamin D in my fortified cereal because if it's sheep's wool I cannot possibly eat it" and "what if the lemons that made the lemon juice in that sauce were polished with beeswax" being two I've seen a few times) but meat production is an inherently inefficient way of producing food.

Ever been to a British abattoir?

😂😂😂
You know all those animals eaten by human omnivores are raised & fattened on ... plant foods, right?

Did you point out to her that there is no humane way to kill an innocent animal?

@PayMoreAttention please can we have a source for your first statement?

Even if it is correct, over 75 billion land animals (last time I checked) are killed each year for meat. That doesn't include fish. So 75 - 35 = 40. That's 40 billion less than omnivores. I say omnivores, because most people I know also eat plants. In fact, I don't know anyone who only eats meat. Therefore, for arguments sake, we'll just say that vegetarians and vegans aren't involved in the slaughter of over 75 billion land animals each year.

Nobody said that plant-based was perfect and 100% cruelty free, but looking at figures based on animal slaughter, it's a better option imo.

@CarolDunne I was wondering if you could explain to us what Halal slaughter involves? Happy for you to google.

Hallelujah! Honestly sometimes I really do wonder whether the militant vegetarian’s actually care about animals at all the way some of them on!

Sorry this was in response to @sHREDDIES19 post

Please tell me you have or intend to have children because they, like their parents, are EXACTLY what we need in this country right now.

Well, luckily not everyone is as close minded as you.

The massive British company I work for has a halal option for its Muslim staff EVERY DAY. GASP.

Hope you enjoyed your halal chicken bhuna this weekend.

I don't eat meat as I just don't like it, so veggie but not militant about it. I do find it bizarre, however, when meat eaters get so worked up over halal meat. If you honestly care that much about how animals are killed for food then become vegetarian. It seems bizarre to me to be so concerned about animal slaughter methods when you're, er, eating animals that have been slaughtered. It's not as if animals slaughtered by non-halal methods are licked to death by kittens is it?

I agree with all of this. Also, fwiw, the main differences between halal and non-halal slaughter in the UK are (i) for halal, the animal is turned to face Mecca and (ii) a prayer is says as the deed is done - though, at least over here, this usually comprises someone playing the prayer on a CD player (I'm not kidding).

It's almost as if people (almost universally carnivores) like to complain about halal because they won't get away with using the 'p' word any more.

Many militants support PETA who as an organisation are pretty vile to animals.