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The Meat You Eat is HALAL but The USDA Won’t Label It
Pamela Geller ^ | Pamela Geller

Posted on 08/14/2016 4:08:18 AM PDT by HomerBohn

This is an outrage. If the roles were were reversed and it was Muslims being ignored, Muslims whose dietary religious traditions being violated, all hell would break loose.

Pamela Geller: USDA Ignores AFDI Petition to Require All Halal Meat Be Labeled as Such

A great deal of meat sold in this country is halal but is not labeled is such. It’s a scandal — but an established practice: meat packers generally do not separate halal meat from non-halal meat, and do not label halal meat as such. We attempted to right that wrong. But the U.S. Department of Agriculture has for four years now ignored, shelved, or just plain refused to rule on our petition.

As many Americans do not, for a variety of reasons, wish to eat halal meat, back in February 2012, my organization, the American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI), filed a citizen petition with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, asking that a regulation be enacted to ensure that all halal food be clearly labeled as halal. In April 2012, we agreed not to publicize our petition in order to give the agency some space to review the document without any pressure from the public.

On May 11, 2012, we had a face-to-face meeting in the USDA offices with top FSIS officials. We discussed this petition and the need for halal meat to be clearly labeled. Present at this meeting was Dan Engeljohn, a longtime USDA official who is now Assistant Administrator for the Office of Policy and Program Development (OPPD) in the FSIS. This position makes him responsible for FSIS regulations.

Engeljohn and company have now had four years to rule on our petition. They’ve done absolutely nothing.

As far back as October 2010, I reported on little-noted but explosive revelations that much of the meat in Europe and the United States was being processed as halal without the knowledge of the non-Muslim consumers who bought it.

Then in November 2011, I penned an article that caused a firestorm across the political spectrum, revealing that Butterball turkeys were all halal, but were not labeled as such. Heads exploded on the left – not over Butterball’s deception, but over my having the audacity to reveal it. And the clueless and compromised on the right were enraged as well: John Podhoretz tweeted, “I’d tell Pamela Geller to put a sock in it, but the sock might be halal.”

I was, of course, excoriated as a racist Islamophobic anti-Muslim bigot. In reality, however, we have no objection to halal meat being sold, as long as it is clearly labeled as such, and as long as non-halal meat is available. Meat that is halal must be labeled as such.

Our petition regarding ritual slaughter was posted on the FSIS website on February 14, 2012. It was a “ritual slaughter” petition that applied to all types of ritual slaughter: kosher, halal, etc. Every type of ritual slaughter holds some type of concern for some segment of the consuming public. We were not asking the USDA to single out a specific type of slaughter when dealing with this issue; our petition did not single out one type of ritual slaughter over another, nor did it wish to discriminate against a specific religious group.

We just wanted all meat that had been ritually slaughtered to be clearly labeled to that effect. Kosher meat is routinely marked accordingly; why not halal meat?

Our petition has since been taken down from the FSIS site, but here is a screenshot via the wayback machine.

This is strictly a false labeling and consumer choice issue. Religious people – Jews, Muslims, and others — should have the freedom to have meat and poultry products produced in a way that meets their needs. Conversely, consumers who don’t wish to consume ritually slaughtered products have a right to sufficient labeling information.

Under the current system, ritually slaughtered meat and poultry is not sufficiently labeled for consumers to be able to choose exactly what they want. Labeling can be misleading and untruthful in what it does not say if key facts are omitted. Consumers should have the ability to be able to choose for themselves if they want to eat ritually slaughtered products. Some Christians see the New Testament prohibiting the consumption of meat sacrificed to idols, and some would view halal meat as meeting that definition. But under current law, they have no way to avoid eating it.

Just as those who buy meat and poultry products labeled halal or kosher should have a reasonable expectation that the meat they’re buying was actually produced in that manner, so also those of us who don’t want to eat halal meat for whatever reason should also have a reasonable assurance that meat not labeled halal was not actually slaughtered in accordance with Sharia rules. As halal slaughter increases in the US, the likelihood of unknowingly buying meat sacrificed under the present system also increases.

This is a matter of simple justice and common sense. So why is the USDA stonewalling on our petition?


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bhousda; cryptoislam; getislamoutofus; halal; halalmeat; islaminside; obama4islam; sharia4all; usda; ushalal; usjihad
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To: knarf

Beat me to this quote.

Islam is of the spirit of antichrist, and it’s prophet a false prophet: a doubly wicked man.... Still, the demons are also behind secularism ... do we get upset if one worldling packages our food and not another?

Halal doesn’t matter. It is part of a system of belief that will soon pass away along with all those who persist in it.


21 posted on 08/14/2016 5:11:05 AM PDT by Rurudyne (Standup Philosopher)
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To: Vaquero

I was gonna say...a few bacon bits sprinkled on any halal meat should solve that problem. That would be a win-win, I should think.


22 posted on 08/14/2016 5:15:42 AM PDT by moovova
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To: HomerBohn

I eat kosher picklesand bagels from a kosher deli.

The whole food thing is a man created thing.


23 posted on 08/14/2016 5:16:45 AM PDT by Vermont Lt
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To: Vermont Lt
picklesand bagels

sounds crunchy.

24 posted on 08/14/2016 5:33:15 AM PDT by NonValueAdded ("You can't fake good kids.")
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To: Blennos

[it is the particularly cruel method of slaughter]

Why is PETA not making HALAL an issue?

The Arabic word halal means permissible, and the rules of slaughter are based on Islamic law. The animal has to be alive and healthy, a Muslim has to perform the slaughter in the appropriate ritual manner, and the animal’s throat must be cut by a sharp knife severing the carotid artery, jugular vein and windpipe in a single swipe. Blood must be drained out of the carcass.


25 posted on 08/14/2016 5:45:59 AM PDT by stars & stripes forever (Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Psalm 33:12)
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To: knarf

The main thing here is the US govt appears to be promoting a false god to the world, which will lead to bad results for the world because it’s based on a lie. Of course this whole article may be lying propaganda.


26 posted on 08/14/2016 5:48:36 AM PDT by Carry me back (Cut the feds by 90%9)
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To: HomerBohn

Market Basket sells halal chicken, it is clearly marked on the packaging, they also sell “regular” chicken, (you know, the chicken from the US that is sent to China to be “processed” and then sent back to us, but, I digress). I have never seen anyone buy a package of halal chicken, maybe muslims aren’t up early in the morning when I shop?


27 posted on 08/14/2016 5:56:38 AM PDT by rockabyebaby (We are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo screwed!)
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To: Carry me back
From what my eyes and ears tell me, The Government of the United States of America is doing two things:1. Banishing and eradicating all vestiges of Christianity from our Nation, culture, and Heritage. In this endeavor, they were aided mightily by the voters in 2008 and 2012 as a majority of them demanded, via their votes, in 2008 and 2012 that a muslim have the rule over them. 2.Encouraging and advocating for an islamic system, including all that entails. Though that should not come as a surprise because that is what a majority of voters indicated, again by their votes, that they desired.So when obama floods the United States of America with muslims, he is merely doing what his voters demanded.

I had not thought of this along these lines until I wrote this. I have been vehemently opposed to the muslims being brought over here. I was going against the will of the voter. Upon further review, I am still against the muslims being brought over here. And I still despise an obama voter. Which means that I despise at least 51% of the voters. Well, so be it.

28 posted on 08/14/2016 6:04:45 AM PDT by sport
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To: rockabyebaby

Muslims typically get up around 11-12 and then watch the Islamic television channel for a while, then pray five times with their asses sticking up in the air. Then, time for ablutions. Take a crap, careful to use their left hand to wipe their bottom with, then eat a bowl of lamb with rice, careful to eat with their right hand.

Ever so often their check comes in from Uncle Whiskers that allows them all the time in the world for relaxation and studying how to make a dirty bomb. They curse the programs that have the white devils in them and cheer when a negro program is shown.

They pass the two photos in what passes for a living room of Mohammed and Obama. They smile fondly as they pass the photos of those they most admire.

Sawda gets on her head to heels burka, takes little Gaza by the hand and leads her to auto for a trip to the local supermarket. She parks in the handicapped slot as she has a bumper sticker that states ‘Hillary’.

She buys only meat labeled Halal and some fresh vegetables and rice paying for her purchases with her food stamps.

Then home and more praying before Mohammed comes home from a hard day’s work at the abattoir. He grunts at little Gaza and then slaps the snot out of Sawda which is the only exercise Mohammed gets daily.

He falls on his prayer rug and shoving his ass up in the air faces east and prays.

Another day in Dearborn, Michgan. Blessings to the prophet for leading them here to the promised land.

After supper, Mohammed goes out into the streets searching for a young girl to rape. If he doesn’t find one he’ll snatch a hairless boy.


29 posted on 08/14/2016 6:13:58 AM PDT by HomerBohn (Liberals and Slinkys: Good for nothing but make you smile as you shove them down the stairs.)
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To: HomerBohn

Easy solution. Eat pork.

(If you order the Kosher meal on your overseas flight, you will probably end up with the exact same food as someone who orders the Halal meal).


30 posted on 08/14/2016 6:21:50 AM PDT by PAR35
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To: PAR35

I’m pretty sure Muslims accept kosher as halal, but halal is almost certainly never kosher.


31 posted on 08/14/2016 6:24:24 AM PDT by jjotto ("Ya could look it up!")
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To: Vaquero
The meat I eat is Halal? I had pork chops for supper yesterday.

Was it US pork or Chinese "pork"?

32 posted on 08/14/2016 6:35:58 AM PDT by KarlInOhio (Shut up, Bob Costas. Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!)
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To: outofsalt

What if halal sacrifice is cruel to the animal? Muslums hate animals and pets—they appear to hate all of creation.


33 posted on 08/14/2016 6:39:11 AM PDT by Mamzelle
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To: HomerBohn

Someday people will get it. Bam is paving the way for our replacements. He wants to make life easy for our new masters.


34 posted on 08/14/2016 6:47:45 AM PDT by I want the USA back (Lying Media: willing and eager allies of the hate-America left.)
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To: KarlInOhio

I believe my local supermarket uses US pork but me use SA beef.


35 posted on 08/14/2016 6:47:51 AM PDT by Vaquero ( Don't pick a fight with an old guy. If he is too old to fight, he'll just kill you.)
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To: HomerBohn

Eat more pork. As for “meat sacrificed to idols,” St. Paul wrote about that in ICorinthians 8:1 - 11:1. Christians are not commanded in the New Testament to avoid eating and drinking anything in moderation, but for the sake of weak Christians, who are not strong in the freedom of the Gospel, we should refrain from exercising those freedoms that may further weaken their faith. Christians depend on the perfect life and the atoning death of Jesus for their salvation, not in their obedience to the laws of the Old Testament.


36 posted on 08/14/2016 6:47:52 AM PDT by txrefugee
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To: Mamzelle

Fish must flop to death of asphyxiation to be halal, I think.


37 posted on 08/14/2016 6:52:16 AM PDT by rhoda_penmark
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To: originalbuckeye

A Subway nearby has “ham” made from turkey.

While people may be bothered by this, in some cases it may have already been done with kosher preparation anyway.


38 posted on 08/14/2016 7:02:50 AM PDT by kearnyirish2 (Affirmative action is economic warfare against white males (and therefore white families).)
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To: rockabyebaby

Tyson, Perdue, and Sanderson Farms said clearly they don’t send any chicken outside the US for processing. What brands are you speaking of when you referred to “the chicken from the US that is sent to China to be “processed” and then sent back to us”?


39 posted on 08/14/2016 7:10:05 AM PDT by coop71
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To: HomerBohn

why not just say your own blessing over your meat/meal and include words to indicate God is above all else and you pray He will use what you eat for good not evil inside you. Essentially negate or cast out any possible evil/bacteria etc with your stronger faith in God Almighty.

I agree i would not knowingly monetarily support halal products, just as i try to not shop in stores that blatantly support causes I don’t agree with.


40 posted on 08/14/2016 7:22:35 AM PDT by b4me (Idolatry is rampant in thoughts and actions. Choose whom you will serve....)
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