BA to serve Halal only meals !

Alec Swan said:
Add to that, that I'm wealthy and considered by most to be incredibly good looking, and your comment would be entirely correct.
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Hey Alec Swan, will you be my boyfriend? :D (OH won't mind, he could do with a rest)

Personally, I don't have a very big objection to halal or kosha if done respectfully and correctly. I'm far more concerned with the quality of life beforehand.

When I lived in the Middle East I did used to be a bit peturbed by the big boats coming over from Australia/New Zealand with live animals to be slaughtered at destination. I could be wrong but I bet the conditions on the ships aren't something for the squeamish :(
 
The Ozzie "sheep ships" are a disgrace to anyone with any humanity at all.They are almost top heavy ,there are so many tiers,all stuffed with sheep off the outback. Deadies ..and there are many of them,are just thrown overboard to the sharks,who not being daft follow this food source the whole journey. At the end of their journey of Hell they are killed by throat slitting.How any Ozzie farmer who does this to his sheep can sleep at night defeats me..it`s an utterly vile trade for Australia to be ashamed of.:mad:
 
Alec Swan said:
brighteyes,

As well as being a "Pompous Twit", I'm also an arrogant, bombastic, self centred, self opinionated and an all-round general know-all. Add to that, that I'm wealthy and considered by most to be incredibly good looking, and your comment would be entirely correct. It's only my horses and dogs, who seem to accept me for what I am!

Actually, I agree with your post, in its entirety, which may surprise you. When I've been in the Middle East, I've always been acutely conscious of not causing offence, and also equally conscious of the fact that I have lived there, under THEIR conditions, laws and religious beliefs. It can't be right that we will bend, generally distort, or even break any of our laws, simply to accommodate those of different faiths.

When I've lived in foreign lands, I've been bound by their conditions of entry. It's a great shame that we don't insist upon a reciprocal adherence.

Mithras, excellent posts.

Alec.
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Another excellent post.
 
I fly BA quite often and instead of no longer doing so, I will refuse to order a vegetarian option (I'm not fond of vegetables) but instead take the meat option, refuse to eat it and complain, at length, to the inflight staff. I would rather BA removed the meals option if they cannot afford to use quality British sources of meat for their meals. I am uncomfortable with eating halal meat to the point that I cannot bring myself to eat it. I never eat takeways and I only eat meat once or twice a week. I only eat meat in quality restaurants and even then often send it back for not being of good enough quality. The thought of eating halal slaughtered meat makes me feel sick.

BA might think they will save money on using only halal meat but they have not reckoned on the nightmare scenario of dealing with the complaints of the fussy British female eater. I would rather they reduced the prices and didn't serve meals at all if thats all they can provide.[/QUOTE]


As someone who is cabin staff, could you tell me what you expect me to do at 40,000 feet! The only way to complain is before - write to them and tell them what you think and that yuo won't be flying BA. Then they may sort out the problem.

As for dealing with the nightmare scenarios, they already have them onboard already with people who won't eat non-halal meals. Its the cabin crew on the day that get the grief, and they're not the ones that have made the decisions! It won't change anything, just make the front line staff miserable.:( I'm mad enough that the meals will be halal myself - my blinkin crew meal will be too, so no food for me on a ten hour flight!
 
Honey08 said:
I fly BA quite often and instead of no longer doing so, I will refuse to order a vegetarian option (I'm not fond of vegetables) but instead take the meat option, refuse to eat it and complain, at length, to the inflight staff. I would rather BA removed the meals option if they cannot afford to use quality British sources of meat for their meals. I am uncomfortable with eating halal meat to the point that I cannot bring myself to eat it. I never eat takeways and I only eat meat once or twice a week. I only eat meat in quality restaurants and even then often send it back for not being of good enough quality. The thought of eating halal slaughtered meat makes me feel sick.

BA might think they will save money on using only halal meat but they have not reckoned on the nightmare scenario of dealing with the complaints of the fussy British female eater. I would rather they reduced the prices and didn't serve meals at all if thats all they can provide.
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As someone who is cabin staff, could you tell me what you expect me to do at 40,000 feet! The only way to complain is before - write to them and tell them what you think and that yuo won't be flying BA. Then they may sort out the problem.

As for dealing with the nightmare scenarios, they already have them onboard already with people who won't eat non-halal meals. Its the cabin crew on the day that get the grief, and they're not the ones that have made the decisions! It won't change anything, just make the front line staff miserable.:( I'm mad enough that the meals will be halal myself - my blinkin crew meal will be too, so no food for me on a ten hour flight![/QUOTE]

I feel your pain. Funny how us 'front line' staff take all the abuse and get paid the least. I work in a bank so I feel your pain. We get all the abuse for decisions made by those that do get paid lots and quite often we don't agree with the decisions. That and we generally hear about them via the press and/or forums rather than from the employer. It also annoys me that BA have been targetted in the press yet, actually, if the changes come into effect it will be the same on a awful lot more airlines. Don't gate gourmet cater for almost all the airlines at LHR? Shocking that you get hassle re having non-halal, it is BRITISH airways after all. Maybe next time I fly Emirates I'll ask for non-Halal, wonder what they'd say?

Totally off topic, but, 10hr flights, do you fly 777's? I used to fly and instruct (on gliders and light aircraft) and my dream was to fly them. Unfortunately, it requires a lot of money to do so :-(.
 
Thanks Suzysparkle. Yes I fly on 777s and 747s (which I prefer by miles!) Yes Gate Gourmet do cater most aircraft at LHR, so it will be a problem for everyone - even the foreign airlines. Its quite interesting that many people still fly BA when they want halal of kosher, even if there is an alternative airline that would be totally kosher or halal meals.
 
I would have thought that as well about meal choice and which airline people choose. I'm actually amazed at the level of choice offered on airlines. I'm sure all these dietary problems (ie allergies and intolerences) have only appeared in the last 10 years or so. That, coupled with religious demands, must make it tough.

**off topic** Arghh....no no no, 777 = much nicer :-). Funnily I was chatting to the (777) crew last time I was on BA and they all said they prefered the jumbo. They were nice to me and gave me lots of sparkling wine :-). I expect because I took the time to go and have a chat. Nothing will convince me they are better though! I tend to choose my airlines by aircraft on the route!!
 
Perhaps some facts could help.......
On BBC Farming Today radio prog (podcast available on BBC.co.uk) on 21 Sep 2010 it was stared that ' all beef and lamb from New Zealand is slaughtered by an accepted halal method'....NZ has high welfare standards at home and this does involve stunning. The question was re labelling, as it's not widely known that NZ slaughtered meat is halal. Here is a BBC news story from 2004 re the possibility of acceptance of the NZ method by both religious and welfare bodies.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3604675.stm
 
See, that's another thing I don't understand. Why do we have to stock supermarkets with Lamb (and beef?) from New Zealand when there's plenty sheep here? Isn't there enough? Excuse my ignorance on this if there's an obvious reason! Is it cost? But how can it be when it has to travel so far? Confused.com!
 
brighteyes said:
I think Mithras has excelled herself with her posts, too. We need a 'Like' button!
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There you are, brighteyes, just for you, *****!!

Farming Today, isn't always the most reliable of reports, however, if it's actually true, then can you imagine the pressure which could be brought to bear upon the Supermarkets?!

Alec.
 
Don't believe all the bunny hugger propaganda about the live sheep trade to the Mid East...
The trade is strictly regulated, there are vets on board the ships and the mortality rate is actually much LOWER during the voyage that it is in the paddock! The sailings are restricted during certain times of the year to avoid high temperatures and all sheep being loaded have to meet very strict health criteria and pass vet inspection before they even run up the gang plank... Personally I'd rather see them slaughtered here and shipped cold, but thats on an economic basis, because the $ and processing jobs would stay here... That said, Meat And Livestock Australia, the producers group, has built holding feedlots and slaughter facilities in the ME to high standards and trained the local staff to use humane methods (which most Halal IS) Infact I'd say the feedlots are better designed and set up than most on farms here! Lots of shade and higher staff numbers than Aussie farmers could ever afford!

Ummmm you DO realise that organic waste is disposed overboard from ships all the time? Theres rules about plastic and toxics but adding a sheep to the marine food chain is not exactly an issue.... and they ARE dead, what would you want done with them? Any deaths that occurr close to land are frozen for later disposal, but at sea, why NOT feed the fish?

Why does the UK import sheep? Cos theres a bloody lot of you on a piddly little island that has exceeded it's carrying capacity, you might think you have a "lot" of sheep...but it's not enough to meet demand!

Honestly this whole issue is total BS, Halal is NO different than Non Halal as far as non muslims are concerned so why not do all all meals in a manner that suits all...The cruelty claims are a racist beat up in 99% of this argument...Halal is as humane as any other slaughter method! Exanguination is accepted as a rapid and humane slaughter method by those with the proper knowledge to make such judgements. and nothing prevents stunning before hand. It still ends up dead and tastes the same!
I just can't get over the number of idiots who don't realise ALL meat is bled out, stunned first or otherwise!
 
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gekko said:
Halal is as humane as any other slaughter method! Exanguination is accepted as a rapid and humane slaughter method by those with the proper knowledge to make such judgements. and nothing prevents stunning before hand. It still ends up dead and tastes the same!
I just can't get over the number of idiots who don't realise ALL meat is bled out, stunned first or otherwise!
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No it isn;t as humane as the animal being dead first. Have you actually witnessed it first hand? I have. It takes the animal about 3 minutes to fully die and be brain dead. In this time the animal is still writhing and distressed. In non-halal/kosher meat the animal is stunned and then killed with a bolt before exanguination. Exanguination is done purely to maintain the quality of the meat, not to kill the animal (livor mortice is not pretty).

I wish to this day that I had not volunteered at a halal abertoir during my vet-met work experience - it was a horrific experience. Something that didn't bother me at all with the traditional British slaughterhouse I worked for.

As an aside I kill my own chickens by breaking their necks, but before doing so I ensure they are in catatonic stupor be turning them on their back with their head lower than their bodies (if you have a bunny try it - it really works). This isn't how chickens are slaughtered when in mass production - have a look at that and you will be horrified.

I now only eat meat that I know where it has come from and how it has been slaughtered. And believe it or not, meat sourced from farm shops is far cheaper than supermarket meat!
 
NO it is not humane..and no I am NOT just believing PETA info.I have seen those appalling sheep ships loading up in Freemantle;it is a remains a disgrace to humanity of which Australia should be ashamed,there is no defence.:mad:
 
We do have a choice, we can "vote with our feet". I support local butcher/farmshop. Went shopping yesterday and DID look at the pre-cooked meals - and in fact the ones I picked up clearly stated "british chicken" etc etc on it. Mind you, nothing to say humanely reared ones.

I appreciate I am in a position whereby I can - literally - afford to be picky about my meat, also vaguely aware of being hypocritical as am a meat eater, but do not under any circumstances want to visit a slaughterhouse. I do however, follow the precept that if I choose to eat meat, then I must support the farmers who follow animal care guidelines, and offer a good quality of life to their livestock.

And I am not in a position to clearly state how Halal works but guys.. if you just read this thread, talk about conflicting arguments! Googled and got the same. So - not convinced about the bleed out to die business. Will support stunning and not halal..

and btw - was brought up to be polite to everyone which includes cabin staff, bank staff etc etc. Also like to think I have the intelligence to realise that they are not responsible for the decisions we all have to adhere to. So if you cross my path on BA - I will be the veggie one, near the front, who will be over purchasing the duty free "bargains"!
 
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You've seen a ship in Freemantle! WooHoo! Guess that means you know all the ins and outs of the regulations and inspections and what goes on onboard.... The asthetics of floating feedlot design offend you, so you JUST know it's a welfare disgrace....

As I said, mortality is lower than in the paddock, sheep arrive in M.E. in BETTER condition than loading (They fatten on the trip! Something stressed stock don't do...)

Personally I have not skippered a live sheep transport to the M.E., just live cattle transport to Indonesia, so obviously I know nothing at all about the regulations and conduct of live export..... ;-p


Some of you don't want to know facts or the truth, your too busy being offended and outraged!
 
Interesting isn't it...one very factual video providing lots of information and verifyable images.... One making emotive claims with no verifyable evidence as the the sheep REALLY being from where they say and infact dealing with only a TINY number of sheep out of a huge number... Of course some sheep sold live from a market may end up in a place that doesn't play by the rules that most do....but thats the case everywhere! We all have cases of cruelty in our own countries, but some of us are smart enough to realise they ARE the exceptions!
 
Silverspring said:
As a veggie this doesn't really concern me but it would seem everyone is getting rather excited about the so called cruelty when 90% of halal meat is slaughtered in the exact same way as all the other animals you eat.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2010/sep/20/halal-meat-the-truth
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I wouldnt trust anything you read in the guardian it has the most destructive and disgusting agenda. and is the rag of choice for the people who have done so much to damage this country
and its people...
 
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So the Guardian was the paper that said that the Jews trying to escape Hitler and Germany were really criminals, wanting to latch on to Britain was it? Or was that the Daily Mail?
 
suzysparkle said:
Google 'British Airways Halal'
It's on many websites. Yes the Daily Mail is one of them but it's also on places like the BNP website, Financial Times, various forums, facebook, and pro-Halal websites.
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Seriously?! Seriously?! Did you just quote the BNP website as a source of news...?! :eek:

*head explodes*
 
Gingerwitch said:
Why dont we all just lobby the fat cats and ask them to explain why we are being taken over a forigen race - are we not just celebrating the battle of britain - well i bet most of those poor lads are spinning in there graves - and at this rate we will all be wishing we had been invaded by the Germans - at least we knew whom we were fighting and at least we were able to fight back! It makes me sick to the core - the last 4/5 pariliments have THROWN this country away - they should be ashamed !
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WTF?! Better off taken over by Nazis than showing tolerance to other races and religions......???!!! :eek::eek: Mind you, I guess that was Hitler's thinking when he decided to get rid of the Jews! :rolleyes:
 
trundle said:
Funny how the vast majority of reports of this outrage are from "fear the Muslims"-type sites. There's one called creepingsharia.com, FFS! And the BNP is hardly a reputable source of news.

The actual quote from the FT, whose readers have some semblance of an education, often even KNOW brown-skinned people, and generally see the Daily mail for the rag it is, says;

"BA told the Financial Times it had not yet discussed the move with Gate Gourmet and had no plans to change its menus."

Not quite the same as the story on the BNP and Mail websites...but then you wouldn't expect it to be.
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:D Awesome post!! :D
 
perfect11s said:
rights to women!!!!!LOL.. like stoning to death for minor adultry and being second class citizens not being allowed education or to drive, the list is enless and other religions are the infidel and christans are persicuted attacked and killed in moslem countys and forced to convert and as for planting bombs in warrington not yet!!!but countless suicide bombs against there fellow citicens and two planes were flown into the twin towers which killed100s of inocent people in the name of islam and the london bombings and other atempts .... please....... its a barbaric religion stuck in the middle ages....
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And you are a disgusting racist! :mad:
 
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