Once discovering the quality, they remained with halal. However, neither EU statistical office Eurostat nor market researcher Euromonitor International possess figures on the proportion of halal meat sold in Europe, but Euromonitor figures show meat consumption (and thus the amount of halal meat sold) varies significantly country by country.įrance consumes 824,200 tonnes of beef and veal and 85,400 tonnes of lamb, mutton and goat and Italy (725,700 tonnes of beef and veal and 54,200 tonnes of lamb, mutton and goat), effectively topping the table.Įldin insisted halal was “a quality label and quality concept” and large French families often tried halal butchers, for poultry predominantly, as the meat was cheaper. Belgium Muslims account for less than 500,000 people out of the country’s 11.6 million population and 10% of the EU and eastern Europe populations.Īccording to data from USA -based think tank Pew Research Centre cited by, among the Western European countries, France (7.5%), Netherlands (6%) and Belgium (5.9%) had the greatest share of Muslims in their population in 2010. The matter only affected a small number of customers and would not influence the market, he told Salaam Gateway. Meanwhile, Mohammed Salah Eldin, halal administrator at the Brussels-based Halal Federation of Belgium (HFB), said more butchers selling halal meat should not be an issue for Christians and non-Muslims. “However, an increasing number of consumers from all religions want to feel the animals have been treated well, including minimising suffering at slaughter, and the large quantity of halal meat coming from pre-stunned animals perhaps reflects that preference,” he said. ![]() He said typically religion did not enter people’s thoughts when deciding what to have for a family meal, and there would be crossover with some Muslims buying non-halal and some non-Muslims buying halal. As for consumers, many simply want the nearest convenient and affordable food,” he said. “Some will choose to sell all kinds of meat others will specialise either for ethical or religious reasons, or simply a commercial judgement that one market is more profitable. However, he had not heard that butchers found the issue unmanageable. Palmer said a butcher deciding to only sell meat from pre-stunned animals may gain customers concerned about the issue while losing others. Slaughter without stunning was banned in the Belgian provinces Wallonia and Flanders in 20 respectively. This accommodated religious slaughter in slaughterhouses.įragkos said despite mounting pressure to stop this practice, on 18 June the Brussels regional parliament voted against a bill to ban halal and kosher slaughter in the Belgian capital. However, Brussels still allowed slaughter without stunning, justified under the EU 2009 Council regulation on the protection of animals at the time of killing. There was no animal welfare-related reason to object to halal if pre-stunning had happened, as was often the case. Palmer told Salaam Gateway the issue for animal welfare was not really halal meat, but meat from properly stunned animals. The official said it was up to consumers to decide whether or not they wanted to consume halal or non-halal food. EU member state regulators, religious authorities and non-governmental organisations have competence in this matter. ![]() ![]() However, there was no European Union (EU) legislation on meat labelling corresponding to religious practices to avoid this situation, a European Commission official told Salaam Gateway. He claimed “Christians living in largely or primarily Muslim communities within which Islamic butchers operate, unfortunately find themselves obliged to consume halal meat against their will”. In a written parliamentary question, Greek European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) MEP Emmanouil Fragkos asked about the “increasing number of Islamic butchers selling halal meat” in Greece. His comments come as the labelling issue was raised in the European Parliament. He said it was undesirable for non-pre-stunned meat to be accidentally purchased by consumers who preferred to avoid it. “It would be helpful if all meat was labelled pre-stunned or not so people can make informed choices,” Nick Palmer, head of Compassion in World Farming UK, an animal welfare campaign and lobbying group, told Salaam Gateway. Consumers have the right to know if meat has been pre-stunned or not.īrussels: European consumers need to be offered clear labelling so they only buy halal meat, especially from animals not pre-stunned before slaughter, if they choose, animal rights organisations and halal groups say.
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