{"id":4866,"date":"2010-10-10T22:02:53","date_gmt":"2010-10-10T22:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/secularright.org\/SR\/wordpress\/?p=4866"},"modified":"2010-10-10T22:02:53","modified_gmt":"2010-10-10T22:02:53","slug":"a-storm-in-a-soup-can","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/secularright.org\/SR\/wordpress\/a-storm-in-a-soup-can\/","title":{"rendered":"A Storm in a Soup Can?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Cross-posted over at the Corner<\/a>:<\/p>\n

TPM Muckraker has a rising-tide-of-intolerance type story over on its site.<\/a> The topic? Soup.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Campbell Canada introduced a line of halal-certified soups. The 15 soups comply with Islamic dietary regulations which, much like kosher regulations, prohibit certain foods and define the right way to slaughter animals. The line, which includes low fat cream of broccoli and vegetarian vegetable, was certified by the Islamic Society of North America, which has been certifying halal foods since 1988. To some people, that\u2019s just more evidence that Sharia is coming to North America \u2014 this time, via the grocery store. <\/p>\n

\u201cM-m-good for the Islamists. Not so yummy for the rest of us,\u201d reads the blog of Scaramouche, which broke the news Tuesday, some eight months after Campbell\u2019s launched the line.
\nRobert Spencer, who writes Jihadwatch.org and has been saying for years that ISNA is tied to Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood,* quickly echoed the alarm. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo why is Campbell\u2019s Soup rushing to do its bidding?\u201d Spencer wrote on Tuesday. \u201c\u2019M-M-Muslim Brotherhood Good?\u2019\u201d <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

If the problem here is ISNA (and for some it seems to be), that\u2019s something worth discussing, but Campbell\u2019s should not be attacked on \u201chalal\u201d grounds alone. The company\u2019s decision to offer a line of halal soups is, in principle, shrewd niche marketing and no bad thing (in its own small way it may even help integration along). It ought to be as uncontroversial as, say, selling kosher products or vegan snacks. Incidentally, Campbell\u2019s halal soups<\/a> are vegetable soups, but generally not described as vegetarian (I suspect the mysterious \u201cfat\u201d that features in the ingredients of most of them is to blame), but the animal rights discussion that revolves round halal food is a separate one. <\/p>\n

If you are looking for a more genuine halal controversy, cross the Atlantic to Blighty, where there\u2019s been a row<\/a> over supermarkets and other distributors selling halal meat without informing their customers: <\/p>\n

Britain\u2019s biggest supermarket chains are selling halal lamb and chicken without telling unsuspecting shoppers.Those stocking meat slaughtered according to Islamic law include Waitrose, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury\u2019s, Tesco, Somerfield and the Co-op. And a Mail on Sunday investigation has found that fast-food chains including Domino\u2019s Pizza, Pizza Hut, KFC, \u00adNando\u2019s and Subway are also using halal meat without \u00adtelling customers. But the UK\u2019s second-biggest supermarket, Asda, has refused to confirm or deny whether it sells halal meat. The Mail on Sunday contacted Asda on Tuesday, but by yesterday it had failed to answer any of our questions. <\/p>\n

Initially, Waitrose, Sainsbury\u2019s and Tesco were reluctant to admit they sold halal meat. But later they confessed to selling Islamically slaughtered lamb. Tesco also admitted selling some halal chicken without labelling it as such. Most lamb imported from New Zealand by British supermarkets has been slaughtered according to Muslim law, but this is not mentioned on packaging. Some lamb from British abattoirs is also halal.<\/p>\n

Last night, Agriculture Minister Jim Paice said: \u2018People should know what they\u2019re buying in the shops or when they\u2019re eating out and I will be discussing with the food industry the role labelling can play in giving consumers a choice.\u2019 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mr. Paice\u2019s view seems reasonable, but read the whole (slightly overwrought) thing, and decide for yourself. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cross-posted over at the Corner: TPM Muckraker has a rising-tide-of-intolerance type story over on its site. The topic? Soup. Earlier this year, Campbell Canada introduced a line of halal-certified soups. The 15 soups comply with Islamic dietary regulations which, much … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[9],"tags":[646,645,50],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/secularright.org\/SR\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4866"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/secularright.org\/SR\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/secularright.org\/SR\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/secularright.org\/SR\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/secularright.org\/SR\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4866"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/secularright.org\/SR\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4877,"href":"https:\/\/secularright.org\/SR\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4866\/revisions\/4877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/secularright.org\/SR\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/secularright.org\/SR\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/secularright.org\/SR\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}