To think the new halal and kosher labelling bill is a great idea?

[thisismetryingijustwantedyoutoknow]

https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2026-02-24/debates/8FDB8A16-AE50-4246-ADC9-70191907499B/FoodLabelling(HalalAndKosherMeat)

personally I’m not bothered that meat is killed in certain ways, I think if you eat meat you need to make peace with the entire process being pretty horrible for the animals.

But if you’re going to have issues with halal slaughter, you also need to have an issue with kosher slaughter. It’s the exact same process, just with different prayers said. The slaughter process is the same in both methods - the animal has its throat slit and they are left to have the blood drain out.

I find it really annoying how much of our meat supply has ended up being slaughtered in what I see a religious "cult". And that it's happened by stealth.

The origin of these sorts of practices is not only religious but economic and means that a certain religious culture gets to make a premium tariff on everything that's "blessed".

I can't believe we have to pander to this imaginary friend nonsense in the 21st century, when the vast majority find it to be nonsense.

If I chose to move to an Islamic country, or even if I was forced to, say by war, I'd recognise that they have their rules. Their rules include ritual slaughter, and sharia law, and other stuff that I dont like or agree with. That's the compromise I would have to make for seeking the safety or economic benefits of that country.

I genuinely resent the fact that we have eroded our boundaries so much in favour of someone else's bullsh*t.

Abattoirs are privately owned businesses, so I can only assume that they have made the informed choice (based on financial interest?) to allow halal/kosher meat to be slaughtered in their premises. I imagine kosher is much more financially lucrative because the criteria is much higher than halal. I read something about one of the milk factories in Scotland getting a kosher certificate and this was very valuable for the company. There is no obligation to "pander" at all, it's a choice the businesses are making.

I didn’t know that about the hindquarters thing (and I’m Jewish!). I don’t each much meat - mainly chicken - I was veggie for years.

We all know why. It’s because it’s more acceptable to criticise a Muslim practice than it is to criticise a Jewish one.

People are unknowingly being "taxed" by a minority religion which they neither subscribe to nor support.

Labelling rules need to catch up with the reality of living in a multicultural country.

Be default we as a society, mainly driven by the public sector, are ending up all pandering to the most awkward minority.

I'm not being difficult but I am an atheist, and I believe i should be able to choose to eat meat that is untainted by someone else's magic, for which my supplier has paid a price. 🙄

I'm not narrow minded, nor bigoted, nor racist, nor anti-immigration. I see this as an essential part of an equitable society where there is freedom of religious belief, including atheism.

Guess you also have a black friend right?

You mean minority religions, or is it just halal meat that is tainted for you? I'm very interested in how atheists hold the belief that a dead animal assumes religious qualities and is therefore spiritually tainted due to words being uttered at the time of death.

I don’t think it’s a surprise they are motivated by profit and I’m sure other labelling has an impact on that too. It’s still imposed for clarity.

The actual numbers are shocking

6% of the UK population are Muslim but in 2024 21% of all UK slaughtered poultry and 82% of sheep in the UK were Halal slaughtered.

29% of all sheep slaughtered in the UK were unstunned for a 6% population.

The numbers of animals slaughtered using Kosher methods are significantly smaller and more in line with the population. So much smaller that species specific records aren’t kept but 62,103 animals across all species in 2024 is tiny compared to the 27.7 million non stun chickens overall in the same year.

No atheist on this thread said that. You are making things up. I am not going to repeat myselt, but you need to read and try to understand another viewpoint than yours.

🤣🤣🤣 No, but loads of Muslim ones, and actually no problem whatsoever with the existence of Halal meat, Kosher meat. But I have no problem with challenging archaic beliefs that were decided in a more primitive era.

You need to look at the reasons why these practices existed in the first place, essentially to do with control and probably hygiene. Also economic control within tribal groups.

I found retrospectively that my work (hospital) canteen had been serving halal meat as it was "easier" than having separated food. That meant the patients had also all been fed halal meat. Somewhere along the line, a lazy and probably pragmatic decision had been made to switch. This was not made with anyone's consent, and I now feel it needs rectifying.

It's not only for UK consumption though, it will be imported to other countries.

I would feel exactly the same about kosher meat, but the supply chain wasn't changed at source in favour of Judaism.

Or in fact if the druids decided that they wanted to go and bless all the abbatoirs in the name of King Arthur, but their priests were going to charge a fee for doing so. 🙄

Every day is a school day 🤣🤣

I think the % of kosher consumers in the UK is tiny compared to that of halal ones, and as a Jewish poster pointed out, kosher food is much more expensive so it most certainly would not be in any businesses interest to make meat kosher at source.

The issue with hindquarter meat is that in order to be kosher the sciatic nerve needs to be removed. This is difficult and skilled and damages certain cuts. In the UK it’s not economic to do, so they sell off the hindquarters.

i would like to point out that in Europe generally there’s a history of religious slaughter bans that have antisemitic origins.

Also yes in the UK I bought my meat at a kosher butcher. I think the London Board for Shechita actually has a policy that they will only sell kosher-certified meat to kosher shops. The only times I ever saw any kosher meat products in a regular supermarket they were imported.

And once labelling catches up with consumer opinion, none of this will be a problem any more.

And I'm intrigued by your angle amd why you hold this position. No Muslim wants this all to kick off and cause further resentment.

They didn't ask for this, it's landed on them as a result of poor recognition of the need for integration. There has been an extremely lazy and "laissez faire" approach to the challenges moving around populations of people with radically different cultures. Which is fine, because most of it sorts itself out.

This is a fairly small example of a tweak in legislation that is needed to correct an imbalance that probably shouldn't have happened, but hey, that's life.

What i dont understand is the "objection to the objection". Telling people they have no right to have an opinion. That's essentially what you are saying to atheists like me, that I have no right to care that I was unknowingly fed someone's religiously slaughtered meat that is against my beliefs. Because deep down, I feel very sad about animal slaughter methods. I'm just as entitled to have beliefs about the slaughter process of the meat in the food chain as anyone else, and to request that that is respected.

If my canteen had clearly displayed a sign saying "all meat is halal" and I had the choice, then fine. I never realised I needed to ask. 😔 Why is that any different to a religious person being fed something against their beliefs, (eg being given pork mislabelled as beef)?

I don't care how my meat is commercially slaughtered, as I think the transport and queueing to die is much more traumatic for the animal than the lack of stunning (having worked in an abattoir) however if they're going to change labeling then it needs stone stunned or not stunned (then the usual religious labeling in addition) because over 80% of halal meat is stunned prior to slaughter.

I haven’t seen anyone say that - who has said that?

I would assume it is because people don't know it is essentially the same thing. I hear about Kosher salt a lot in (american) recipes, never really hear about Kosher meat.

To add, no YANBU, it should be labelled. If nothing else it would make my life at work so much easier when people ask me if something is Halal.

I don’t understand why so many people, who I imagine are generally against animal cruelty, are happy that we disregard animal cruelty law for millions of animals because some religions demand it.

Religion should have no influence over animal cruelty.

Maybe the same sort of people who are ‘anti racist’ but are fine with anti white racism?

I'm not sure what your talking about? I have no problem with it being labelled, said on the first page it's a good idea. I have no objection to you or anyone else objecting, just think it's odd that people who don't believe in God think their meat possesses religious qualities once it undergoes slaughter.
What I really don't like though is people objecting under the initial guise of welfare, then go on to talk about lack of integration. If you don't like Muslims just come out and say it.

lol lol..some WORDS in Hebrew / Arabic were spoken before the animal was killed, and the situation needs rectifying? But the meats still the meat..how's it any different from the meat from a normal butcher?!