Growing trend for halal meat

[SouthernFashionista]

I’m seeing this and it concerns me. I have noticed that Five Guys is now advertising that all its meat is halal and the restaurant in my workplace serves only halal meat. Who is pushing for this and why do the rest of us have no say? For what it’s worth, I am a Black woman, a practising Catholic with many Muslim friends and acquaintances. I don’t believe they are out there demanding halal meat everywhere they go.

What's the issue? You can definitely choose what meat you eat? Chicken, lamb, fish, pork, beef etc.

When you go to a restaurant do you ask for chicken from a certain farm, killed in a certain way?

I don't want to get into a religious debate. But one of the prophet's wives also helped with writing the Qur'an and starting the religion. Why is it so bad if a man did it?

I would prefer to be stunned (like most halal meat). But most of all, I would prefer not to be bred for someone to eat

I was under the impression there was some debate about her role. Even allowing for this, whether it be Christianity or Islam, religion has been weaponised to restrict women's freedom, bodily autonomy and even education under the guise of cherishing and protecting them. Women are as capable of blind faith as men, even it is goes against what is right.

So, yes, it matters.

Most (all?) mainstream religions are profoundly sexist and homophobic.

Also 'one of the prophet's wives'??!! Is this really not an automatic red flag? In Islam, men can have up to 4 wives. A woman may only have one husband. But Muhammad had 9 wives at one time. And 11 over his lifetime. So he didn't obey the requirement he demanded of others.

Religions are predominantly man-made (not woman-made) and unsurprisingly are designed to benefit those who created it. So senior members - always men - generally benefit from:

• power/influence/control over others (and over all women)
• protection from being criticised or challenged
• rights to receive large amounts of money and property from believers
• access to young women and children

The three core requirements for an organisation to be a cult:

• Authoritarian control: Cultism hinges on encouraging maximum dependency.
• Extremist beliefs: Cult members hold to very dogmatic and extreme beliefs.
• Isolation from wider society: Members are required to isolate themselves from anyone outside the religion.

A religion started by a woman would (hopefully) be very different to the three Abrahamic religions, which currently account for roughly half (54%) of the global population.

But YES! Many men are lovely and do wonderful things. Starting a religion has never been one of these wonderful things historically.

(Edited: Spelling matters. Sorry!)

I do think that all animal slaughter is pretty grim. I’m not offended by Halal meat generally of which 88% is stunned according to FSA. I do find unstunned animals being killed objectionable.

Its just particularly strict Jewish and Muslim sects which have stricter rules and the practice of killing unstunned animals is banned in other European countries. It’s been held it’s not a breach of human rights to ban killing of unstunned animals as animal welfare as public policy can override religious freedoms under ECHR.

This was recently debated in parliament. So perhaps we might see religious exclusion removed in time.

https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025-06-09/debates/27E94862-93C7-4D29-B0DA-F77F92D14161/Non-StunSlaughterOfAnimals

They are not always stunned.

I would, we are supposed to be a nation of animal lovers. Denmark / Switzerland banned the killing of unstunned animals years ago so it can be done.

I don’t to eat meat, Odd bit of wild venison, as I think it’s had a good life and needs culling anyway. Fish but not farmed so don’t feel like I’ve got much skin in the game to be fair.

When I stand on my bridge, blessing the trucks that pass beneath me, how is Ugg suffering from being drawn into my spiritual beliefs?

Fine. How about I baptise your child behind your back? I know people that did this - offered to babysit small babies and toddlers, and they would baptise them in the sink at home while their parents were out to ‘save them from damnation’.

If a ‘my neighbour baptised my child behind my back, AIBU’ literally nobody would reply ‘aww, no harm done’. It’s the forced participation in the belief even if it has no tangible effect.

But seriously no harm is done...

The baby got a bit wet.

Go and start an AIBU under a different username and see how the replies go.

To what extent are you participating in my standing on a bridge?

What if I kneel before my home altar, and say, "dear Lord, forgive the barmy people and let them change their ways?"

Exactly. The fact that it would be full on no contact from me thereafter would be theirs to own, but it would not change the course of my baby's life one bit.

It won't usually state its halal, it will have a code which will align an abattoir. The abattoir will either be halal or not. Halal is stealthy hidden across Tesco, Sainsbury, Waitrose, Aldi, M&S. There is a legal challenge being prepared by Catherine Blaiklock et al as it's against the law. Halal & Kosher must be intended for Muslims & Jews. NOT hidden by codes for the majority of non Muslim/Jewish people.

You must stun all animals before you slaughter them unless an animal is being slaughtered in accordance with religious rites, for halal or kosher meat.
To meet the requirements for slaughter without stunning:
it must take place in a slaughterhouse (abattoir) approved by the Food
Standards Agency (FSA)
it must be done by someone who has a certificate of competence (CoC)
the slaughter must be done in a way that follows Jewish or Islamic religious practice
the meat must be intended for consumption by Jewish or Muslim people

I don't believe any religion is inherently sexist. As someone who has spent time learning about Islam I've come to realise how many rights islam actually gave to women. One of Muhammad's wife was a businesswoman as well

I realise how in Islam the thing about having multiple wives was to prevent women from suffering in poverty.

The ruling of "4 wives max" came after Muhammad had been in his marriages. I learnt how in islam a man is obligated by his creator to provide for all of his wife's needs and expenses. It's up to him to pay the bills and house and look after his wife.

My great aunt did that in a taxi as she wasn’t having her grandchild going to hell. Honestly baby got a bit wet (holy water) it makes no difference in grand scheme of things surely?

So if I were to sneakily baptise the young child of a Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu, Buddhist or confirmed Atheist close friend, that I very kindly offered to babysit for?

That would be absolutely fine? No problems at all ethically?

My understanding is that there is a bit more to halal than just the method of slaughter. For meat to be truly halal those raising the meat need to have more regard to the welfare of the beast during its life than those rearing non-halal meat. As a meat eater I find myself much more concerned with what happens throughout the creature's life - does it get fresh air, room to move etc - than I am about the very last few seconds of its life.

How is baptism anything like eating halal meat at all? What is this?

I have two young children. I am not depriving them of a meat dinner due to my moral ideas. But yes it annoys me to support this industry and I do grit my teeth when picking it off the shelf.

You can raise your kids veggie

If you’re Muslim, someone baptising your baby won’t affect your baby’s religion.

Muslims believe everyone is born Muslim.

So it would be a bit of tinkled water on your baby’s head. Hopefully not cold water, that would piss off the parents and harm baby.

Well no because I don’t believe in that. We eat meat. And thankfully most of the time we can afford ethically killed meat. But on occasion where we can’t I do buy halal as it’s cheaper. I am just saying it annoys me. But to my children it’s just the same.

I’m atheist, I personally don’t think declaring words over a baby makes any difference whatsoever. I would however think you were bonkers and not leave you alone with my child again. Just in case I came back and found them circumcised or something.