http://halalfocus.net/2010/09/01/eu-european-parliament-aims-to-make-halal-meat-%E2%80%98second-class%E2%80%99/
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By Abdalhamid Evans, Senior Analyst, Imarat Consultants
In June 2010, the European Parliament introduced an amendment that, if passed into law, will effectively force Halal – and Kosher – meat products to be labelled in a way that implies that unethical and inhumane practices have been used.
The amendment would require that all meat from un-stunned slaughter would have to be labelled accordingly, ie “Meat from slaughter without stunning”.
Opponents of un-stunned animals have previously tried to force this issue on the basis of animal welfare, but there is no credible evidence that stunning is any less traumatic than slaughter without stunning according to religious guidelines. In the absence of any scientific evidence, the pro-stunning lobby within the EU have changed tack, now claiming that this labelling is necessary for ‘consumer information’.
The implication is clearly that people with ethical concerns should be warned that animals from religious slaughter have been killed without prior stunning, ie in a less than ethical manner.
The effect of this would be to single out and pejoratively label meat products derived from religious slaughter, thereby creating a second class of ‘less humane’ meat products.
If the concern for keeping the consumers fully aware of how their meat has been slaughtered, then surely it would be fair to legislate that all meat products should be labelled accordingly.
To single out religious slaughter for mandatory labelling is a clear case of religious discrimination by endorsing the unproven view that religious slaughter is less ethical than normal slaughter.
In addition to being a case of discrimination, this proposed legislation would also be inconsistent with the WTO regulations affecting international trade, according to the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). Pejorative labelling of Halal or Kosher meat products would effectively act as a barrier to trade.
Article 2.2 of the TBT states that ‘technical regulations shall not be more trade-restrictive than necessary to fulfil a legitimate objective…’ Legitimate objectives are clearly defined as including national security, preventing deceptive practices, protecting human health and safety, animal plant life and health, and the environment.
Consumer information is therefore not a legitimate objective, especially on the basis of a one-sided view of what constitutes ethical practices of animal slaughter.
Even if consumer information were to be considered a legitimate objective, then it would have to be done without being more trade restrictive than necessary. Forcing mandatory labelling on one method of slaughter and not the other would be trade restrictive, and it would therefore only be fair to require all methods of slaughter to be clearly described on the product label. If consumer information is deemed a legitimate objective (which it currently is not) then go ahead and inform the consumer fully…not just partially.
Indeed, the use of voluntary labelling would seem far more appropriate in this case. If the pro-stunning lobby are so convinced of their ethical superiority, let them label their products accordingly, in the same way as non-GMO, organic, fair trade or non-cruelty products voluntarily label their products.
This would be a less trade-restrictive way of keeping consumers informed. Voluntarily labelling products as ‘stunned before slaughter would keep consumers informed without singling out Halal and Kosher products for discriminatory treatment that would have an adverse effect on their trade access.
This regulation, were it to become law, would have a knock-on effect that would be a concern to any meat producer that exports to the EU. The difficulty of determining – and then labelling – all downstream and further processed Halal and Kosher meat products would certainly create an unnecessary layer of regulatory control and expense. Not what is needed in today’s economic climate.
On the basis of its discriminatory nature and non-compliance with WTO guidelines, this proposed EU provision on stunning should be removed.
NB. These issues will be brought to the attention of the delegates attending the World Halal Forum Europe in Earls Court, London, on 10-11 November 2010, where it will be addressed in some detail
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