UK Parents Angry Over Proposed Halal-Only Meals In Schools

People in Harrow, England, are not very happy with the decision of their City Council when Harrow council members decided to hire a catering company to serve halal-only food in primary schools throughout the town. Although apparently the choice to opt in or out has been given to each school, parents are not pleased that it was even considered at all.

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RESIDENTS across Harrow have vented their anger about proposals to have halal-only menus in primary schools in the borough – following the revelation in the Observer last month.

The newspaper revealed exclusively how Harrow Council has employed a catering company to only prepare Halal meat – to serve youngsters in Harrow.

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Sheila Murphy, of Athelstone Road, Harrow Weald, said: “I am appalled at Harrow Council’s decision to serve only Halal meat in the borough’s schools.

Supposedly the local high schools have been serving halal-only meat for the past four years, but the choice was made by the schools and not the Council. They use the same catering company, Harrison's, that is being proposed for the middle schools.

And parents aren't the only ones who are hopping mad, animal welfare groups are also upset with the decision. According to Ms Murphy,

“The Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) has lobbied the government in the past to get the Kosher and Halal method of slaughter banned.

“The Halal method, in which animals are slaughtered by a single slit to the throat, is the only way of killing livestock allowed under Islam but this method is deemed cruel by some animal-lovers, who object to the slow death it involves.

“Harrow Council’s decision is also taking away the choice of children and their parents over what meat they eat and I urge Harrow residents to make their views known to Harrow Council and get this decision overturned.”

There is a major problem when you start catering to every person's dietary requirements. If every religious or non-religious group with dietary restrictions was to demand food be prepared their way in schools, it would become very problematic. What about vegetarians? Should schools be forced to only serve vegetarian food to their students? Or what about kosher food, or people who have certain allergies?

Allen Roff, who is part of a campaign group called the Indegenious Opression League, slammed the decision adding: “One of our campaigns is to see that the other various religions and Atheists are not compelled to eat Halal or any other religious meals in Harrow schools.

“We think if Muslims cannot eat other meat than Halal, then they should bring in packed lunches. “You cannot force ones religious ideals on others such as Christian’s, Hindus, Sikhs, Atheists and others.

“We will be campaigning to make all schools and parents aware.”

Of course there are people in the community who believe opponents of halal-only meals should think differently about the situation.

Chief co-ordinator of the Harrow Pakistani Society, Mohammad Rizvi, thinks the issue has been blown out of proportion.

He said: “For Muslim children the only option they have is to eat is Halal, it is part of their religion.

“Whereas it isn't a problem for children of other faiths to eat Halal.

“This isn't about Islamification or pandering to Muslim's it's just common sense.

“If you go into any restaurant you will find that a lot of the meat is Halal anyway, it doesn't taste any different or better it is just part of our religion.”

He's wrong, however. What about Orthodox Jewish children who only eat kosher foods? Or the Hindu vegetarian children who don't eat meat at all? Unless it's an all-Muslim school, the rest of the kids shouldn't have to eat halal-only foods. It's actually simpler for those with dietary restrictions to bring a pack lunch with all the foods they can eat. It is pandering, straight and simple, and the pandering has to stop.