Halal meat onboard

[jeanlyon]

I am shocked as well, but when I mentioned it to my other half, he thought he had read it somewhere.

[Presto2]

Even the P&O Customer Services rep I spoke to was shocked. When I asked if it was true much of the meat was Halal and told her it had been bubbling around social media for a few months that she said she'd look into it. I waited quite a while before she came back and told me how to opt out of Halal (with difficulty) and also that I had raised something she didn't know and was very surprised. I wonder what the Daily Mail / Daily Express would make of it? You know what they're like for this sort of thing

 

I think that they need to address this. I am really quite upset by it and disappointed. I want to have a choice and feel like that has been taken away from me.

 

How can we opt out of it by the way - would be interested to know.

 

Not impressed at all

[tartanexile81]

I think that they need to address this. I am really quite upset by it and disappointed. I want to have a choice and feel like that has been taken away from me.

 

How can we opt out of it by the way - would be interested to know.

 

Not impressed at all

 

I was told that, to opt out of it, you tell your waiter and he will tell you which are the non-Halal items on the menu. It is a real problem for me: I cruise in just over a week and I cannot eat fish.

[tartanexile81]

Well said scriv. i reported Tura Lura's posts too.

Edited January 28, 2016 by tartanexile81

[Josy1953]

I would be interested to know the diversity statistics for P&O cruises. I feel that the number of Muslims on P&O cruises is very likely to be a small minority so they are they practising discrimination against the majority in order to avoid having to give a choice to the minority. I am concerned by to use of halal meat on the basis of animal treatment and would like a choice. If I go to one of our local curry restaurants I know that any meat I eat is likely to be halal so it is my choice whether or not I ego there and eat halal and this is all I want from P&O, the right to choose whether or not eat halal. If they would publish on their website and in their brochures we could all base our decisions on the facts and to choose whether or not we want to continue to cruise with them if they do serve mainly halal meat.

[Mr Piano]

I need to jump to the defence of Tura Lara a little but not wholeheartedly. I agree with her that large sections of society object to halal simply because of their islamophobic views and nothing to do with animal welfare, but it is entirely wrong to imply those discussing it are this board are so. As a person who has brought up my children and instilled into them the evils of racism and intolerance of all kind. I would take exception to being called islamophbic.

 

Tura Lura, you don't mind the P&O choose not to clearly inform that all meat is halal. others clearly wish to have the choice, please explain to what is your problem with being informed, by do you think it's not okay for these people to have an informed choice.

 

It's okay for customer services to fob passengers off with, oh just ask the waiter, the answer will be, the steak, lamb and chicken are Halal, the fish and pork are not. You simply will not get a non halal steak

Edited January 28, 2016 by Mr Piano

[wynnne]

I've been lurking on these boards for a while (I'm a reader rather than a writer), but this thread has made me angry so I feel the need to reply.

 

Myth 1: Christians can't eat halal meat.

 

They can. For Christians, food is food. It's simple.

 

Myth 2: Halal meat is less humane than non-halal meat.

 

According to a 2012 Food Standards Agency report cited by the RSPCA, 97% of cattle, 96% of poultry and 90% of sheep slaughtered using the halal method in UK abattoirs are stunned before being killed.

(reference : http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/may/07/halal-meat-restaurant-menus-humane-slaughter)

The minority will be more expensive so unlikely to be served on board.

 

Myth 3: P&O have been hiding the fact they're serving halal meat on-board.

 

They're not. If you ask them what dishes are non halal they'll tell you. Unless you think they've also been 'hiding' on their menu which dishes contain nuts, gluten, eggs or any other dietary need other than vegetarian.

[Tura Lura]

I've been lurking on these boards for a while (I'm a reader rather than a writer), but this thread has made me angry so I feel the need to reply.

 

Myth 1: Christians can't eat halal meat.

 

They can. For Christians, food is food. It's simple.

 

Myth 2: Halal meat is less humane than non-halal meat.

 

According to a 2012 Food Standards Agency report cited by the RSPCA, 97% of cattle, 96% of poultry and 90% of sheep slaughtered using the halal method in UK abattoirs are stunned before being killed.

(reference : http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/may/07/halal-meat-restaurant-menus-humane-slaughter)

The minority will be more expensive so unlikely to be served on board.

 

Myth 3: P&O have been hiding the fact they're serving halal meat on-board.

 

They're not. If you ask them what dishes are non halal they'll tell you. Unless you think they've also been 'hiding' on their menu which dishes contain nuts, gluten, eggs or any other dietary need other than vegetarian.

 

Thank you for this rational response.

[Tura Lura]

Yes my concern would always be animal welfare and wherever possible I eat free range, grass fed humanely raised animals, including veal from Cornwall which is raised humanely just like lambs and pigs. however, I am not big for meat and would rather eat fish any day. Having said that, i buy my fish from a small place also in Cornwall where they are line caught and not on big trawlers shipped in a week old or more.

 

I respect that as a former veggie and current animal lover/rescuer (i have 7 rescue cats, don't judge :>), but i think it's misplaced here. Kosher and Halal are not any more inhumane than other methods as stated by the previous poster.

[Presto2]

Thank you for this rational response.

 

We opt in to / request Kosher food, vegetarian food, allergy foods, but have to opt out of Halal food. Without entering in to the debate re which religion this affects (which is not my issue at all) I just don't get it...

 

Choice

 

Where is my choice?

[CCFC]

I shouldn't have to opt-in, I should have to op-out when its a minority situation.

 

If all the food on the ship was Kosher I'm sure the Muslims would consider themselves offended by such discrimination and lack of choice.

 

It seems to me to work one way but not the other...

[Tura Lura]

I shouldn't have to opt-in, I should have to op-out when its a minority situation.

 

If all the food on the ship was Kosher I'm sure the Muslims would consider themselves offended by such discrimination and lack of choice.

 

It seems to me to work one way but not the other...

 

Most Muslims can work with kosher food, since the rules are similar, and vice versa, though jews would avoid the goat etc that are ok with Halal.

 

I think folks would object if they were made to follow kosher rules for example, not eating kosher meat. Kosher rules would mean no cheese on your burger, no icecream after your steak, no butter on your bread that you had with your steak etc. Also probably a dairy restaurant and a meat restaurant (separate kitchens, separate plates etc.) but just eating meat that happens to be kosher or halal, honestly, you wouldn't know the difference.

 

so assuming its not an animal welfare issue, and assuming its not a matter of prejudice against Muslims, why would it need to be spelled out on the menu? It's just a matter of serving something everyone can eat rather than having to have to have separate meat for different groups.

[Scriv]

so assuming its not an animal welfare issue, and assuming its not a matter of prejudice against Muslims, why would it need to be spelled out on the menu? It's just a matter of serving something everyone can eat rather than having to have to have separate meat for different groups.

 

Which brings us back to the beginning and OP's post that this issue is all about choice and knowing what is on offer.

 

In the real world it will never ever be possible to serve something that everyone can eat, so informing people about what's what so they can choose what they can and want to eat is the next best thing.

 

On this note, folks, I am now exercising my choice and am opting out of following this thread as I have no interest in the direction it seems to be going.

 

Happy cruising :)

Edited January 29, 2016 by Scriv

[brillo]

This is about personnel choice and not about religious bigotry even if certain people are trying to make it so.

 

I would prefer to have been informed as to if my meat was halal, kosha, or any religious variation.

 

I am not over religious but I do object to having my meat blessed by priests of a religion that I do not follow.

 

I am certain there would be an outcry if the meat had been blessed by a Christion minister.

 

This is my personnel opinion and I stick by it.

[balf]

It's not just P&O but food outlets worldwide. Of course the information could easily be added to the menus alongside the warning about not eating rare meat but it's very possible that Halal meat is sold by individual butchers and thousands of resteraunts.

 

asking the waiter is usually a waste of time. Apparently McDonalds does not use Halal And meat but some Subway outlets do and Pizza Express use it in all chicken menus.

[balf]

Sorry didn't finish above post.

 

The fact is that outlets like McDonalds and cruise ships don't really want two separate lines cooking identical meals so it's easier to just opt out like McDonalds or serve Halal and hope no one notices like I suspect most of the others.

 

So it's highly likely that any meat eater has eaten Halal meat regularly, like also horse meat.

 

For anyone who is really concerned vegetarianism seems to be the only answer.....except for the herbicides!!!

 

David.

[insanemagnet]

Many people missing the point.

 

P&O don't specifically want to sell Halal food, and even if the meat was "Halal" many Muslims would not trust that it was (is it contaminated with non Halal items, is it stunned or non stunned).

 

P&O, like most catering firms and processed food producers buy the ingredients at the lowest prices.

 

Meat producers find it cheaper to run a single supply chain rather than two for (stunned) Halal and non Halal - A repeating tape of a prayer is not expensive.

 

So the end result is stunned Halal is what P&O and the rest buy.

[Bruce62]

Am I the only one who doesn't care whether the meat is hala / kosher / normal?

 

As long as it tastes good....I'll eat it

[Mostonian]

My thoughts exactly. A lot of hot air about nothing. Animals have to be slaughtered so that we can eat meat and some would argue that the captive bolt mechanism currently employed at abattoirs does not always stun the animal the first time and animals do sometimes suffer. All slaughter of animals is messy. If you eat meat, as I do, you have to live with this.

[clare_g]

I don't quite understand why people have a problem eating halal meat, what do you think will happen?

 

P.s fish is halal

 

 

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Edited January 7, 2017 by clare_g

[tartanexile81]

I don't quite understand why people have a problem eating halal meat, what do you think will happen?

 

P.s fish is halal

 

 

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This thread is a year old Claire but if I remember rightly the objection was not what would happen to the person who ate it but how the animal might have been treated at the point of dispatch

[Teddy123]

This thread is a year old Claire but if I remember rightly the objection was not what would happen to the person who ate it but how the animal might have been treated at the point of dispatch

Yes, some people care deeply about how much an animal has suffered before it lands up on somebody's plate - although clearly some couldn't care less. It is undeniable that some slaughter methods involve more suffering than others, and some caring people wish to know how the animal was slaughtered so as to avoid meat produced inhumanely. Personally, I think animals suffer unnecessarily whatever the slaughter method and am vegetarian, but avoiding animals slaughtered in the worst ways does help some people.

[claudiniusmaximus]

I've been lurking on these boards for a while (I'm a reader rather than a writer), but this thread has made me angry so I feel the need to reply.

 

 

 

Myth 1: Christians can't eat halal meat.

 

 

 

They can. For Christians, food is food. It's simple.

 

 

 

Myth 2: Halal meat is less humane than non-halal meat.

 

 

 

According to a 2012 Food Standards Agency report cited by the RSPCA, 97% of cattle, 96% of poultry and 90% of sheep slaughtered using the halal method in UK abattoirs are stunned before being killed.

 

(reference : http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/may/07/halal-meat-restaurant-menus-humane-slaughter)

 

The minority will be more expensive so unlikely to be served on board.

 

 

 

Myth 3: P&O have been hiding the fact they're serving halal meat on-board.

 

 

 

They're not. If you ask them what dishes are non halal they'll tell you. Unless you think they've also been 'hiding' on their menu which dishes contain nuts, gluten, eggs or any other dietary need other than vegetarian.

 

 

Thanks for this. It's good to get some facts. I think the problem is just a knee jerk reaction by people who find out they are eating 'Muslim meat' lol.

 

People are travelling all over the world when they cruise, and as they travel the globe to supposedly experience different cultures will experience a myriad number of ways of food production. I just find it odd that travellers would expect to know the method of slaughter of meat in one situation but not another. Do the people objecting check the method of slaughter everywhere they eat? Doubt it.

 

Most meat sold in U.K. supermarkets and served in mass market pubs and chain restaurants and fast food joints is from factory farmed animals from all over the world with awful welfare standards. The idea that suddenly when on a P&O ship the suddenly get a conscience or an interest in animal welfare is suspicious to me.

 

Are people asking p&o to confirm if the pigs that produced their pork were confined to cages their whole lives? Or whether the eggs served at breakfast were laid by chicken 8 to a cage? Or whether the beef was from cows that have ever seen the outdoors? Whether the lamb were live transported hundreds of miles without access to water etc?

 

That's certainly not what I'm reading here from some. But an apparent interest in whether they were stunned seconds before their slaughter purely on animal welfare grounds and absolutely nothing to do with prejudice? Sure. Ok. I believe you. Thousands wouldn't.

 

 

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Edited January 11, 2017 by claudiniusmaximus

[clare_g]

I absolutely love that last reply by wynnne.

 

 

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[Teddy123]

I absolutely love that last reply by wynne

As I've said, I'm vegetarian and don't eat any meat because I believe animals suffer in the food process and don't want that on my conscience - although I am very clearly in a minority worrying about it. However, to argue that because an animal might, or might not, have suffered in some way before it is slaughtered means it doesn't matter how it's slaughtered is clearly not sensible. It is indeed impossible, in practice, to know everything about an animal's life but that doesn't mean knowing about its death is irrelevant. And to suggest those who do care about the slaughtering are prejudiced is even more nonsensical. So I think wynne's reply is far from lovely.