so 50 across one bourough and 70 across another borough it is all adding up?

Even the farmers were urged to farm halal "meats" back in 2002

British farmers are being urged to consider diversifying into the thriving halal meat sector.
Research from the Meat and Livestock Commission has suggested there is a growing and as yet unfulfilled demand for halal meat - meat which has been ritually slaughtered according to Muslim tradition.

The figures suggest that more than half of school caterers have requirements for halal meat, and hospitals are struggling to meet the demand.

What is halal?
'Halal' means permitted or lawful
The meat must be ritually slaughtered according to Muslim tradition

The research was ordered eighteen months ago, following the commission's publication of a booklet which aimed to provide information and recipes for non-Muslims who had to prepare halal meat.

It was deluged with thousands of requests, particularly from staff in the public sector.

Under the NHS Food Programme, for example, hospitals are required to provide meals that meet patients' religious dietary requirements.

One NHS Trust now employs two full-time halal chefs.

A spokesman for the Commission said halal meat production could be an ideal opportunity for farmers wishing to diversify into one of the few growing sectors of the agricultural economy.

Although Muslim families represent just 5% of the population, they consume an estimated 20% of all British lamb and mutton.

Global trade in halal products is estimated to be worth more than £30bn annually.


link WWW Link

70 out of how many? How many are state schools? How many schools are there in England, would you say?

Regardless, not one person so far is really dealing with WHY IT EVEN MATTERS. Unless your religion has something against Halal meats, I fail to understand how the other people are being put out by it.

If some people care, and the rest don't, and there's no difference in taste or quality, then what does it matter? If you open the system up to the bleeding heart, "I Wuv Animals" lobby then you won't have any meat there at all.

In other words if the only reason people care is they don't want Muslims to get their way, they they are bigots. Period.

it would appear as if there are far more similarities between kosher and halal meat requirements than differences--altho kosher is more restrictive. more lobsters for the rest of us

If Halal meat is an issue for people, then they are told, nobody is forcing you to eat it. It's not hurting you to eat it.

So then If prayer in school is an issue, don't force anyone to pray. If you don't want to learn intelligent design or darwinism, offer a choice, dont' "force" the kids to choose one over the other. That would solve the issue wouldn't it?

After all the problem people are having is not just about how the steak is obtained but by the fact some groups are being catered too while others are being shunned.

You don't want to say Merry Christmas? Then don't. Don't demand that the Airport remove all Christmas trees.....give them a freaking menorah or an inflatable santa....because after all, It's not hurting you right?

It all boils down to discrimination for or against a certian special interest group.

I suppose nobody's ever considered the sanest, cheapest solution, hmm? If you don't like what the schools serve, PACK YOUR OWN DAMNED LUNCH.

Yup...and if I lived in Britain right now, and if my kids went to the public schools there, I'd be sending them with ham sandwiches and BLT's.

Could someone, please, just take a moment and tell me what is wrong with Halal meat. Don't start with the PETA crap, because that slippery slope has no meat at all at the bottom. What is the problem with meat killed in this way, does it taste different?

Nothing's wrong with Halal meat, Baker, just with schools mandating it. It's no more right for schools to cater exclusively to Muslims or Jews than it is for them to cater exclusively to Christians.

I realize this isn't as widespread as the OP indicated, but still, the fact that it exists at all is puzzling. Aren't we pounded daily with the idea that religion has NO PLACE in public schools?

One problem with Halal meals is that pork products are not an option. If I was a pig farmer, I'd be more than a little offended. But, not being a pig farmer, I'm offended by the lessons that this teaches: that personal choice (ie, eating bacon) takes a back seat to political correctness.

What you aren't seeing, though Gid, is that they ARE catering to Christians. Christians have NO MANDATE as to how their meat should be killed. So there's nothing being taken away from one to cater to the other.

I went to a school that provided meat for Islamic students, and we still had pork as an option. Is there anything saying they no longer serve pork in these schools? No ham, no bacon, nothing? I'd be surprised.

More likely they just make sure that the meat the Islamic kids CAN eat can be eaten by all, instead of having "special" beef for Muslims at taxpayer expense. Since Christians have no bones to pick with how something is killed, I still don't understand how Halal meat is an offense.

What if someone in your school could only eat beef from white cows? Would you be harmed from eating meat from white cows? Is there a difference?

Unless someone can show me how this is a detriment to non-Muslim students, I don't see how this is an offense. Imagine the problems of kids mixing up Halal meat with their regular and the school getting sued for defiling people's kids once a week. Why take that risk when you can cater to Muslims and Christians have no preference?

Why take that chance when you can serve meat that would be fine for anyone?

I am not totally up on Halal practices, Baker, but if it's anything like Kosher practices (and I believe, as indicated by earlier responses, they are), pork products cannot even be in the same KITCHEN as other products...meaning, yes, serving all-Halal meals would pretty much require the complete eradication of pork. I could be wrong on this, but I know it's true of kosher foods at the very least.

Is this an outrage? No, because it's being practiced in school districts with a large Muslim population, and, as you indicated, it doesn't for the most part unduly influence most students. But it seems to me odd that in a world that's banning Bibles in the classroom, we're embracing the Qu'Ran (metaphorically speaking, on BOTH parts, of course).

Unless someone can show me how this is a detriment to non-Muslim students, I don't see how this is an offense. Imagine the problems of kids mixing up Halal meat with their regular and the school getting sued for defiling people's kids once a week. Why take that risk when you can cater to Muslims and Christians have no preference? Why take that chance when you can serve meat that would be fine for anyone?

Maybe state sponsored institutional schools aren't the best choices for our kids for precisely these sorts of reasons.

But that's another topic entirely...

but if it's anything like Kosher practices (and I believe, as indicated by earlier responses, they are), pork products cannot even be in the same KITCHEN as other products...meaning, yes, serving all-Halal meals would pretty much require the complete eradication of pork. I could be wrong on this, but I know it's true of kosher foods at the very least.

I am man enough to admit when I stand corrected:


2.2.1 halal food can be prepared, processed or stored in different sections or lines within the same premises where non-halal foods are produced, provided that necessary measures are taken to prevent any contact between halal and non-halal foods;

(source: WWW Link)

While there are likely more conservative schools of thought that would disagree even with this particular interpretation (as the article acknowledges), it's probably safe to say most of those wouldn't be in public schools anyway.

I would say IF the schools respected the dietary preferences of the nonMuslim students, there shouldn't be a problem with this. After all, if you object to the inhumane slaughter of animals, let's face it, a slaughterhouse is pretty durned inhumane, and you're probably a vegetarian anyway.