“Let’s talk about the other halal myth – the comforting lie that Muslims tell themselves about how they only eat halal meat, and that this equals ethical and Islamically-approved means of slaughter and animal welfare. We’ve already tackled the sorry state of affairs in terms of welfare for animals, but let’s look at meeting the bare minimum standards for “halal”, i.e, Islamic slaughter.
Recently, Mawlana Yunus Dudhwala, Chair of the Halal Monitoring Committee (HMC UK) stated that halal certification measures in the UK are so unregulated that anyone could print a halal sticker at home and paste it on a chicken. (A similar lack of regulation exists in the Australian halal industry as well). To be fair to him, he did say he didn’t want to give us any ideas. It’s too bad that he said it in a video uploaded on YouTube. “Halal” meat consumers in the UK, watch out. Although if you do get conned by the halal certifications (which you most likely will), it would be unfair to blame Shaykh Yunus. Months before his comments, the Asian Express reported that gassed chicken that was not halal-slaughtered had been passed off as halal in the UK, presumably for years, and that up to 75% of all chicken labelled halal was apparently not halal at all. Butchers aptly nicknamed “the haram boys” have been sourcing cheap chicken, much of which isn’t safe for human consumption, and pasting fake health labels and halal stickers on it. This is an open secret among halal retailers, wholesalers, and even van drivers. So who’s to blame? We are, apparently. Industry insiders say that this illegal business continues to prosper thanks to the “increased consumer demand for chicken”. Besides reconsidering our appetite for chicken, and other animals, this story also shows how difficult it is to implement halal regulations in modern-day marketplaces, driven purely by profit.”
Also be sure to read Shaykh Musa Furber’s paper where he explains how modern factory farming fails to fulfill the conditions laid down in Islamic texts, and how participating in this system as consumers is immoral.
space