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.

I don't think it offensive but I would find her personality annoying as she sounds very self righteous and opinionated so I might be weary of her....

Curious. What are you basing this on? Why is this so cruel and should be banned? What are you comparing this to? Do you eat meat? Wear leather shoes?

Well she's just spitting straight facts tbf. Maybe she has more of a conscience than you 🤷

Fuck Halal meat.

we frequently use 4 Indian restaurants and they’re all run by Muslims

Yes this. Halal meat is now served in so many places in the UK by the back door and we don't even realise it. We should know before we eat if the meat is halal or not and then make our choice.
A well known high street Pizza chain serves halal for example. (I asked them)
I find it abhorrent that this has crept in the way that it has.
I thought I still lived in a predominantly christian country where the Animal is not slaughtered according to the muslim religion.
I would like to have a choice.

Yes, pizza express serves halal chicken but non of their dishes are halal which makes me wonder what they’re trying to achieve here.

I’m not sure why you think organic/free range meat can’t be halal.

In answer to your post OP I don’t think she was being offensive towards Muslims.

Some people feel the same about other meats such as veal. Or don’t like the potentially dodgy content of burgers or sausages

Personally I don't think a humane way to slaughter an animal exists. I find it very odd when people who eat meat try to impose morality on the different levels of cruelty involved in slaughter or animal farming. You can't be an animal lover and eat them - it's just cognitive dissonance.

It’s perfectly reasonable for her to hold an opinion and make menu choices based on how the animals were killed. She thinks it’s cruel, possibly she’s muddling halal with Khoser

It’s not anti Muslim, I know vets who eat meat but will not eat halal due to the practice being particularly cruel.

I think even if it wasn't about cruelty (and obviously there are differences in cruelty of slaughter - although I don't know enough, and I'm sure there's plenty of places where regs aren't followed anyway) - I wouldn't want to eat meat that had been intentionally slow-killed vs. killed quickly, and I don't think there's anything wrong with that, nor do I think it's moralising to say it.

But also, if I were religious, I can see that I might not want to eat food blessed for another religion - I can see that that could be offensive.

Do they also refuse to eat kosher meat?

It’s not offensive. She can have an opinion on how meat is slaughtered. Is she generally very outspoken?

My response would have been that all meat comes from a slaughter, no method is particularly pleasant and if it upsets her that much become vegetarian.

@Catnary you do realise not all Asians are Muslims and therefore no all curry’s use halal meat?

You were given the information to make a choice, which is good in my opinion.

This is from the RSPCA website (to make sure the right information is being passed on)

Around 95% of animals slaughtered in the UK for Halal are stunned first.
All animals slaughtered under the Shechita (for Kosher) are non-stunned.

Source: www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/campaign/slaughter

Stop eating meat if you really care about animal welfare and get off your high horse about which slaughtering method is the best, they are all bad.

She means not marked halal

Stop eating meat if you really care about animal welfare and get off your high horse about which slaughtering method is the best, they are all bad.

What a callous way to think about it. Of course some ways of killing animals are better than others. Quickly, without fear is better than slowly, hearing other animals crying.

Do you think that all death is bad so it makes no difference for a pet to die slowly in pain rather than be put to sleep?

Why would the motivation for the death make a difference to whether the animal should suffer excess pain?

If a place wants to offer halal meat, they should do it as an extra, not just make it the default for everyone. I don't want to eat it, don't care if anyone else is, but it kind of annoys me that mine are the principles thrown out the window.

What about the principles of the restaurant?

…… there will also always be a vegetarian option anyway!

It doesn't bother me that much, but pretending questioning religious/cultural practices is offensive is a thin line where do you stop, do we not question what certain religions and cultures do to women like FGM in case it offends people after all it's part of the culture.

@QuinkWashable Whooooosh~~~~