Senate inquiry into Halal certification.

[daydream**believer]

Brilliant.

Whether people support halal certification or not, there are lots of people with lots of concerns so its time to investigate it all.

http://www.3aw.com.au/news/bernardis-inquiry-into-food-certification-schemes-20150514-gh1c32.html

Here are the reasons i am against halal certification and the questions i want answered.
1. Why are the fees paid by businesses for halal certification kept secret? Why do the businesss have to sign non disclosure agreements?

2. Why are there 20+ privately run halal certification companies in Australia, all charging whatever amounts they want, when Indonesia only has 1 Government run halal certifier? If foods need to be halal certified, then let the Government run it and let the money go back into the whole Australian community.

3. For meat to be halal, the animal needs to be slaughtered a certain way, throat slit while animal is conscious by a Muslim. Yes, there are some abattoirs that use a reverse stun but, from what i have researched, there are at least 15 abattoirs in Australia that slaughter animals using no stun. It is barbaric. This video is very graphic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAQJ-FZo1cA

4. Australia is a predominantly Christian country, so why are we being forced to eat meat that has been prayed over to a "god" that we dont even recognise?

5. If halal certification is supposed to help Muslims recognise what they can and cant eat, then why do so many companies that pay for the certification stamp choose not to display it on their products?

6. Why are abattoirs paying a certification fee and then packing all the meat in one truck and delivering it to butchers and supermarkets who then put it all in the one fridge and display it all in the one display fridge. Once pork products are shelved, stored or transported with other meats, the other meats immediately become non halal anyway. So Aussie Muslims cant eat it anyway.

7. We are told halal certification monies goes towards to building of more mosques and Islamic schools. We know that there are quite a few mosques where the hatred of Australia is preached. As for Islamic schools, the same schools where a principal has said that girls are forbidden to run in races because it will cause them to lose their virginity. Do we need schools like that here?

8. In Canada halal certification money was found to be used to fund organisations linked to extremist organisations. I have no doubt that would be happening here as well.

9. Halal is a part of sharia law and we DO NOT want any part of Sharia law in Australia.

So, what would i like to see? Id like halal certification to be a Government run organisation. Id like every business who pays for halal certification to have to display the stamp on their products. I want all Australian abattoirs to stun before killing. That would be a nice start

[debra9275]

Can it be used for mozzie bites Polks?

[polksaladallie]

If they are itchy, I suppose.   I have seen tea tree oil used effectively for those, and Stingose is super effective for green ant etc. bites, provided it is applied immediately.  When I used to garden, I had the Stingose with me.   Even if you take three minutes to go inside and find the Stingose, the bite will continue to hurt. The trick is to apply it straight away.

Medical tips for the day.

In keeping with the topic, halal certified or not. 

[debra9275]

I find that with Stingoes too and my aloe vera plant died, which used to be good for burns and itches. I have some apple cider vinegar in the cupboard. So might try that next time my daughter gets attacked by mozzies.
Thanks Polks
Not sure if any of those are halal certified or not either

[iapetus_rocks]

Oils from a plant extract should be halal, so long as there is no alcohol in them. (and so long as those oils aren't of the hallucinogen variety. 😉

It does seem strange to me that some of those people living in our 21st century society should still feel the need to be bound by ancient religious-inspired food restrictions.

It needs to be remembered that an halal food is only ritually clean (and an haram food is only unclean in a ritual sense).

[azureline**]

I suppose there are many things everyone does that others might think strange.

[daydream**believer]

There have been quite a few times when ive written that i boycott halal certified products, that some idiot has responded with "Well, you better not drink water then cause its halal."

I remind them that i am against halal certification and that to me, water is not halal, because halal is a made up word from a religion i dont believe in.

One has to wonder why "The purest bottled  water on the planet" needs to pay for halal and kosher certification? http://capegrim.com.au/waterlogos.php#water

Just ridiculous

[the_great_she_elephant]

I remind them that i am against halal certification and that to me, water is not halal, because halal is a made up word from a religion i dont believe in.

Halal  is an Islamic Arabic term meaning "permissible." If water is not eprmissable to you, then I suggest you have a rather severe dietary problem

[moonflyte]

Not to cast aspersions on any lifestyle choice or religion I believe products that have this certification is garnering  money that goes to support a religion that a lot of people do not adhere to and do not want to support.

If the  certification is so important to the Muslim religion then why are producers being charged for it? it should carry no charge.

[iapetus_rocks]

After doing some research I discovered that while there are reports that halal certification actually began in the 1960s it didn’t take off until the 1980s.

IFANCA (Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America) has been established since 1982, IDCP (Islamic Da’Wah Council of the Philippines) since 1987, ICCV (Islamic Co-ordinating Council of Victoria) 1992 and Halal Australia since 2004.

In The Australian newspaper a while back Mr Ikabel Patel of the  Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) said, "Australia has had legislation on halal since 1983 -- so we are already dealing with aspects of Sharia for the benefit of the country.”

I believe the key to the rise of these schemes is related to the 1979 siege of Mecca.

http://pickeringpost.com/story/the-origins-of-halal-certification-schemes/4011

I was wondering about just when halal certification became popular in Australia, and although it seems to have become newsworthy only of late, it has been here for quite a bit longer than I realised.

[daydream**believer]

---

@the_great_she_elephant wrote:

I remind them that i am against halal certification and that to me, water is not halal, because halal is a made up word from a religion i dont believe in.

Halal  is an Islamic Arabic term meaning "permissible." If water is not eprmissable to you, then I suggest you have a rather severe dietary problem

---

what on earth are you talking about?

I drink water, but not because it is "halal" or permissable.

I will try to put it in simple terms for you. To Muslims, water is naturally halal. So why on earth is a business that has "The purest bottled  water on the planet" needing to pay a certification fee for an halal or kosher certification stamp?

Its a scam