HALAL CONTROL (HC), Rüsselsheim am Main, 27th May 2021:
HC applauds the ban by the German Federal Parliament on the unethical industrial killing of baby chicks by 2022. Worrying: While chicks have been officially gassed and shredded alive over decades (approx. 45 million per year in Germany alone), religious slaughter practices and thus entire religions were and are being denounced as inhumane and unethical by western courts. This, despite the fact that those religions have provided clear directives, guidelines & norms on animal welfare and environmental care. Once more, the impression arises that a double standard is being applied. I believe, whatsoever religion, have ethical fundaments; however not necessarily human practices do. HC therefore highlights the necessity of a transparent, factual and open discourse among experts to address the existing prejudices. Having serviced the industry with an impeccable track record over the last two decades, the industry role players have acknowledged, understood and embraced our ethical values and have thus been implementing halal compliance and additional quality requirements. Let the facts speak for themselves and improve practices instead of denying the religious communities animal welfare. The development of Halal standards is also giving rise to completely new benchmarks, new branches of industry and innovative solutions.
We further emphasize the fact that open, effective and sustainable participation and interaction with the growing global halal ecosystem presumes credibility and certainly confidence building among the various stakeholders and interested parties. Confidence through integrity is key. If the EU wants to participate successfully in the global halal ecosystem, it must above of all be one thing; credible.
In terms of related Consumer Protection regulations, we believe that there is always room for improvement especially in the areas of transparency and fairness. This open interaction and dialogue will also facilitate an additional opportunity to recognize the beauty & diversity of an open society and encourage mutual respect among people.
HC does not condone and endorse inhumane slaughter processes and egg products produced by the cruel caged poultry farming industry. The problem: Even industrial organic egg production has thus far not been spared from inhumane chick-killing practices. It is more than overdue for this unethical practice to be immediately abolished. Background: Male chicks of so-called “turbo hen”-breeding industry are being gas killed just after birth as they are not economical enough for letting them live (applies to 50% of all commercial chicken breeding). This undeniable fact is a widespread practice throughout the global commercial poultry breeding industry. It is reported that a new method to identify the gender of the animal, while unhatched, has been invented.
Halal foods are products that are produced in accordance with the Islamic dietary and purity laws and norms. Thanks to the Tay-yib attribute, halal certified foods also meet high integrity, compliance and quality requirements in which ethical and ecological standards are upheld.