To expect my daughter to have access to non halal meat

[Bushmillsbabe]

My daughters school now has only halal meat available for their school lunches.

I personally do not wish my child to have halal meat, I think its more cruel than other slaughter methods, however this thread is not intended to debate which is worse/better.

She is dairy and gluten intolerant, and her safe options tended to be things like roast chicken, the vegetarian options usually contain dairy. The pork sausages contain gluten so she would have the chicken sausages, she also eats burgers and meatballs but these are now also halal.

So if I don't give her halal meat, she is left with jacket potato with beans every day, which she does eat, but doesn't want to have every day.

I fully respect that Muslim parents wish their child to have halal meat, but am I wrong in thinking my dietary preferences for my daughter should also be respected and she should have access to non halal meat?

Nobody is forcing anyone to eat halal meat. It’s always possible to find something to eat that isn’t halal meat - any vegetarian / vegan options, for a start.

I personally do not wish my child to have halal meat, I think its more cruel than other slaughter methods,

Having watched both, they’re equally cruel imho. There isn’t any painless way to kill an animal for food. At least with the halal method the animals are taken one by one and do not witness another animal being slaughtered in front of them.

Your daughter’s nutrition and well-being is more important imho.

This, to be honest. Religious belief I can respect but I’m struggling to believe OP’s concern is coming from animal welfare concerns.

The majority do not need halal meat because the majority are not Muslim.

People might not care either way, but that is not the same as specifically needing or wanting it.

The information comes from statistics amd common sense.

If the majority of the country does not follow a religion that dictates meat must be a certain way, then the majority of the country does not need meat to be that way.

Given that other religions in the UK specifically forbid eating meat/halal meat they are not going to be asking for it. Many people in the UK are vegetarian or vegan. Many people in the UK, even athiests, specifically object to halal meat. As such, these groups do not want it.

Added together these groups, those who don't need it (everyone in the UK who is not Muslim) and those who don't want it, it is fair to say that the majority of UK residents either do not need or do not want halal meat. In fact the "do not need" group alone is the majority, before you even consider adding the "do not want" group into it.

Just send her in with a packed lunch, no need to buy school meals.

Halal = dead animal
Non halal = dead animal

If you're that bothered go vegetarian/vegan. Or send your child in with a pack lunch if school can't help.

YABU, sort of, if she has a gluten allergy/intolerance they should supply something just for her so it’s not really a halal issue or one you should have to figure out on your own. TBH I don’t want to be accusatory here but I’ve seen this talking point about halal meats on a few platforms over the past few days which makes me suspicious this isn’t a real query. If it though, talk to the school tell them your child’s needs, don’t worry about explaining your reasoning around not wanting halal meat, I’m sure the Muslim parents wouldn’t be asked why they want it so there is no way anyone is going to challenge you on why you don’t want it.

Yes, 100% this.

I do eat meat but learning how ALL animals are kept before slaughter (non halal too) has made me seriously consider my choices.

I honestly don't believe the concern over halal meat is about cruelty. It's really just a ridiculous attempt to disguise views that are essentially islamophobic.

Commercial halal meat in this country (ie not from a small specialist butcher) is slaughtered in exactly the same way as all other meat. The bigslaughter houses just play the prayers on the loudspeaker.
Slaughter houses are not pleasant places. Animals usually line up and may be aware of the other animals being slaughtered.
If meat comes from a specialist slaughter house then halal (and kosher) might be considered better for animal welfare as animals are slaughtered singularly so are less stressed

I don’t think schools should serve meat at all. It’s expensive and livestock is a large driver in global pollution. Why not suggest to the heads teacher they go meat free? Would be progressive and likely save money.

Exactly this!

Oh dear - do you think animals killed for non-halal meat had a nice death?

Yep.

OPs DDs school offer a non-halal meat option too. It's a shame she can't have it because it contains gluten, but that is the reality of life when you have allergies/intolerances. I have food allergies and there's often only one thing on the menu I can have. Adding in a preference for the way meat is killed with inevitably further restrict her options.

OP, why not ask the school if they can get GF sausages?

You could say that to the people who want halal

I eat meat so I’m not coming from a veggie or vegan standpoint, but don’t be under the illusion that stun guns or any of the other non halal slaughter methods aren’t as traumatic. It’s all horrific, even as a meat eater I’ll admit it.

I agree. There is nothing nice about a slaughterhouse, at least halal is a quick, clean kill, likewise kosher. It's also very clean.

I doubt the chicken is free range. If they serve any fish products, are they from responsibly sourced, line caught fish. I wouldn't think so.

You don't have to serve your daughter halal meat at home, and you can buy free range, farm assured, meat products; at school let her choose what she wants and don't make a thing out of it.

I don't think people eating halal pretend that that is less cruel than other ways to kill animals so it's not really the same.

Halal meat in schools will not be slaughtered the halal way. Too time consuming. An Imam will simply say a prayer in the slaughter house and the meat will be acceptable to Muslims.
About 65% of halal meat in the UK is stunned first.

This. Pretending it's about welfare is silly. Like you're OK with a small amount of horrible cruelty but not a little bit more.

In the UK the chickens are just as likely to be stunned as non-halal. Which doesn't always work for non-halal BTW since you care so much about animal welfare.

Packed lunches?

I voted YANBU as halal should not be the standard - but it is already in McDonalds, KFC etc already. I don’t eat any meat btw.

Most meat (except pork) in UK supermarkets is halal even if it’s not labelled as such. It would cost too much to set up a separate supply chain. “Halal” means that a recording of a Muslim prayer is played when the animal is slaughtered. The animal is pre-stunned.

The budget for school lunches is tiny. ANY meat will be the cheapest mass-catering quality. Halal or not, it will have been reared and slaughtered in terrible conditions.

I’m a meat-eater but I think the moral
outrage from meat-eaters about halal meat is really odd and often disingenuous. No method of slaughter is humane, and if you disagree, visit an abattoir. It’s truly grim.

I agree but schools kitchens aren't going to make the same meal with halal and non halal meat. The best option is to not eat meat at all.

There's honestly nothing wrong with halal meat, it's just meat.. same as kosher meat.. when you go to Turkey, the UAE, any other muslim country, or even fly airlines like Emirates and Etihad etc, all the meat served is halal in any case.. I'm sure you do eat it? Don't over think it and just allow your child to have it is my suggestion.. of course it's your decision at the end of the day, but that's my opinion :)