November 29, 2017
In Britain, the percentage of Halal meat that is produced rapidly outsizes the Muslim population.
It is believed by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) that from a total of 16m animals that are killed per week; 51% of the lamb, 31% of chicken, and 7% of beef is now religiously killed.
So why is it that such a larger proportion of Halal meat is being produced, when it accounts for more food than the Muslim population of Britain could possibly eat?
Whilst it is true that 51% of lamb produced in the UK outweighs the 4.1% Muslim population, the statistics raise a few issues. Islamic people generally eat a disproportionate amount of lamb, accounting for 20% of England’s lamb consumption.
The Halal meat market is a multi-million pound industry that contributes to the British economy. So it makes sense that supermarket chains will attempt to expand into that market. Many feel as though it is inevitable that supermarkets will become a huge part of the Halal meat industry in the future; others suggest that supermarkets will not be able to secure a strong foothold in the market due to the Muslim consumers tendencies to use small, local, Muslim owned butcher shops.
Most consumers state that the most important factor in making sure their meat is Halal is that they buy it from a Muslim butcher. It is rare, though, that butchers sacrifice the animals themselves; abattoirs being the most common place for animal slaughter.
With the increasing demand for Halal meat it has become much more simpler and cost effective for industries across the UK to have all their animals religiously slaughtered. Commercially it makes little sense to have halal and non-halal production lines when one side of the customer base cares so little about the meat being slaughtered or not.
Royal Nawaab’s halal restaurant London prides itself on using the finest halal ingredients in all of its dishes.
