Well,
#1 is from the Corinthians reference as posted above.
#2 is that I don’t want to support Moslem-owned businesses, e.g., Caribou Coffee.
#3 is that labeling is not apparent, either at Costco, or on the front of the packaging, or even in a halal section like there would be for ‘organic’ foodstuffs. It is a question of truth in advertising.
#4 I have studied ME culture for nearly 50 years. Subterfuge is their stock in trade. I do like ME food—when I know it’s ME food. I would not serve halal food to my family, though, and especially on a Christian holiday.
#5 I almost did serve ham, and was going to do so, but the intestinal sensitivity in my immediate family has become so touchy as to be very nearly absolute in its intolerance for such foods as ham, even though we like the taste.
#6 It just plain makes me mad, at myself for not inspecting the labels, for not realizing that everything is so intermingled even with respect for food that I can’t trust anything I buy to be what I assume it is. Next up, I suppose, will be halal Corn Flakes.
#7 I view this as subliminal. I remember the tapes used in stores with subliminal voices urging people to buy. They were outlawed.
#8 This makes commerce and the Department of Commerce look like it endorses a designation of halal as somehow more acceptable than kosher or just plain old American. That sneaky little symbol on the back down by the tiny ingredients listing, instead of being front and center, is not right.
The other half has said it’s OK and that maybe they were Muslim chickens.
I, on the other hand, was raised with the tradition of 7 sweets and 7 sours on the table, in the tradition of the Pennsylvania Dutch. Fish on Fridays. The whole tradition. Apparently, my mother in her youth could not cook on Sunday, so all preparation had to be done by Saturday night. I must maintain some of that.
Lastly, the intent of praying over food to dedicate it to a false god is not that conceptually different to me than the consecration of the Eucharist, enabling men to ingest and become part of Christ by material change and bloodline.
OK. I’m a Puritan, after all. Then again, I am honestly descended from them. /rant off
Thank you for your answer.
If you see it as an issue, then of course you should follow your heart and mind and do what you need to do for yourself and your family.
Our family has so many food-related issues as it is (a few allergies, but Celiac disease is the big one) that if we had to add any more restrictions, I’m not sure exactly what we’d eat :D
My husband and I hunt, so we don’t purchase a lot of meat to start with. The meat we do purchase comes from a CSA, and I don’t think they are Kosher or Halal. I’ll look next time I think of it.