Labelling Meat And Poultry As 'halal'.

[hc4361]

Assuming you are neither Muslim nor vegetarian, would you be put off buying meat if you knew it was slaughtered the Halal way?

I have had this email from Tesco.
"For example, all our New Zealand lamb meets Halal standards."

I know for a fact that this isn't labelled on the product nor sold in the Halal section - I would expect some sort of label or symbol to indicate to Muslims that the product is suitable for them.

Could it be that Tesco believe they would sell less it the meat was labelled as Halal?

[LazyGun]

@Zeuhl "That works on the assumption that their processes are applied consistently and achieve what they are supposed to do in terms of stunning etc

I doubt if that is the case in any of the large, industrialised slaughterhouses"

But is that a fair assumption? i have no experience of large slaughterhouses, although i have worked in a small one for a time as a teenager. Industrialisation and large scale processes lend themselves to standardisation of approach, since that tends to be the most efficient and cost effective method, consistent with the various rules and regulations surrounding the operation.

Given that stunning of animals is a pre-condition of slaughterhouses, legislated by statute and enforced by inspection from Vets etc - why is your assumption a fair one?

Or should we just assume that any large scale process automatically circumvents the rules and procedures, and that this is the way it is and we just have to live with it?

I understand the arguments of the kosher/halal proponents wrt suffering or lack of it to the animals - but I do not accept it. I simply do not believe it, and meat produced from slaughter without stunning should be clearly labelled as such. What concerns me more is that there appears to be a disparity between most muslim understanding of halal meat - ie the animal is not pre-stunned - and official reports which say the majority of animals slaughtered in that fashion are stunned. But other links and comments suggest that even when stunning is carried out in a halal environment, it may be stunning as the average consumer might understand it.

There is confusion here, and a kind of complicity about the labelling or lack of it that i dislike.

[Zeuhl]

/Or should we just assume that any large scale process automatically circumvents the rules and procedures, and that this is the way it is and we just have to live with it? /

My view is that large scale processes are prone to 'slippage' at times due to mechanical or (more often) human failure.

I think that the likes of PETA have plenty of video footage of production line failings such as animals going into slaughter having missed the stunning process

[naomi24]

So if processes that ensure the humane slaughter of animals sometimes fail - IF they do - are you saying that because of that they should be abandoned altogether?

[Zeuhl]

No

but if we accuse halal of not being humane we should acknowledge that the mainstream processes are also cruel because their mechanical processes fail or their operators fail in their responsibility to ensure it all works properly.

My wife's friend believes she has found a preferable alternative for her animals that doesn't rely on those mechanised processes or people who might 'cut corners'

It happens to be a halal process

[hc4361]

For those who have shown an interest, I emailed Tesco and asked why their NZ lamb was not labelled as being Halal.

This is the reply:

Thank you for your reply and for querying the labelling of New Zealand lamb. I welcome the opportunity to respond to the concerns you have raised.

We receive lots of requests from customers asking us to add labels, and lots from others asking for fewer labels. We try to balance the two to enable our customers to make an informed choice, based on adequate information, which is clearly presented.

Your valued feedback is important to us and we appreciate you taking the time to contact us with your views.

Kind regards

Thomas Goetze
Tesco Customer Service


:(

[LazyGun]

@hc - bit of a nothing answer to get back for your troubles, really.

As to which method of slaughter represents the most humane- I can only speak to the studies and reports I have seen, which suggest that to slaughter without a stun is less humane.

[ladybirder]

Well if somebody was going to slit my throat, I'd rather they stunned me good and proper first!

[naomi24]

I can't see how halal slaughter is more humane, but using such methods would obviously offer a meal supplier a greater market in which to ply their wares, so I would question true motives.

[Janice22]

"Could it be that Tesco believe they would sell less it the meat was labelled as Halal? "
I am sure they do and I am sure they would !
This is stopping shoppers having freedom of choice. You need to complain to Tesco's about it and also to your MP.