Angry Shoppers Threaten To Boycott Supermarket That Only Sells Halal Meat

Shoppers in Barking, in East London, are protesting the policies of an Asda supermarket that sells only halal meat — that is, meat from animals slaughtered according to Muslim dietary law.Angry consumers have set up a Facebook page decrying the fact that the market doesn't offer them the choice of buying non-halal meat as well.

Many shoppers are concerned with animal welfare: halal slaughter, in common with its kashrut (kosher) counterpart, requires the animal's throat to be cut, severing the artery, vein, and windpipe, and stipulates that blood must be drained from the entire body.

"I am so angry as a British consumer, who has shopped and lived in Barking all my life, that my choice as a consumer has been compromised," Eileen Glover, 63, who set up the boycott Facebook page, told The Express. "I do not agree with the slaughtering process of halal meat, and the fact this has happened in a British store is outrageous.   I urge anyone who feels the same to firstly boycott the store, and secondly make a complaint to head office as I have already done so."

UK supermarket chains Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco, and Morrison's all sell meat from specialist Halal meat suppliers, according to The Daily Mail, but few of them do it exclusively.

The Daily Meal has reached out to Asda for comment.