During today’s class discussion, I was intrigued by the mention of cases regarding Halal food being brought into U.S. courts. I feel that such a situation is completely justified in the case of a wrongful advertisement of food as “Halal” or when failing to meet the standards of the consumer’s requests for Halal food. If we were to look at this issue from the perspective of a person with allergies, celiac’s disease, or a vegetarian diet, few people would object to bringing the case to court. Failing to provide food that is for example cooked separately from any food that may contain allergens is likely the strongest argument for bringing the law into the industry, but there is still relevance when considering gluten free and meat free diets. Customers with Celiacs disease can expect that their food will be cooked separately from the food that contains gluten if the restaurant advertises its compliance with such dietary restrictions. Similarly, restaurants that feature a vegetarian or vegan menu are expected to comply with the standards of such a diet, even if it may seem extreme to some. In my opinion, these dietary restrictions prove just as relevant when it comes to people who practice their religious values. Those who eat Kosher and Halal have every right to expect their dietary restrictions to be accepted and complied with in the same way that a vegetarian diet may be.
In my opinion, these dietary restrictions prove just as relevant when it comes to people who practice their religious values. Those who eat Kosher and Halal have every right to expect their dietary restrictions to be accepted and complied with in the same way that a vegetarian diet may be, but that’s not to say that all restaurants are expected to be able to do so. In my opinion, restaurants should have the option of serving Kosher and/or Halal food to their customers, but if they choose to do so they need to be held accountable for accommodating all restrictions of those diets or at least giving clear information about what is in the food and how it is prepared. Liability for restaurant owners would lie in the failure of presenting information accurately to consumers, therefore by being upfront about the food that is served, owners can avoid any legal issues. If problems do arise regarding the improper preparation of food according to the regulations of the Halal and/or Kosher diets, I believe it is justifiable to take the case to court and make an argument against the restaurant owners who were negligent in the matter.
I don’t know. I still think that foods that are Halal or Kosher and foods that are gluten free or allergen free are different. I mean, one is a personal choice and another is a life-or-death situation. Maybe this is because I am neither Muslim or Jewish and love eating all sorts of food. I can see the case where you could argue that a restaurant that advertises to be gluten free but is not and someone with Celiac’s disease becomes really ill but not eating kosher won’t hurt anyone, at least physically. I know that it have a lot of religious meaning but I do not see the case where a religious and spiritual damage could be equated to a real and physical damage. Another reason why I think it would be hard to prosecute cases with falsely advertised Halal restaurants is because it would be difficult to calculate damages. In a case where a person gets really ill from eating gluten, the damages might be the cost of the hospital bills. With kosher and Halal violations it’s not so easy.
I agree with Will that this isn’t a clear-cut issue. While I definitely respect one’s choice to eat only halal or kosher food, there is a difference between this and one’s need to stay away from certain allergens for safety reasons. Although, vegetarianism/veganism are choices too, and I don’t think society would frown upon a court case in which a vegan feels demeaned for being served animal by-products. However, I the main difference between these dietary choices are that one is purely choice, and the other is religious choice. In a polarized society, the latter can have a stigma associated with it. Nonetheless, why would a restaurant willingly advertise its food as something that it knows it is not? At this point, it would hover in the “fraud” area. The most prevalent defense in these types of cases would be not knowing what the dietary choice entails. Many people don’t know the difference between being vegan or vegetarian, for example, but if a restaurant uses these terms, it should be held to a higher standard of responsibility.
Hi Katherine!
I really like your blog post. I also never really considered the immense legal issues that can arise when it comes to the preparation of Halal and Kosher foods. In addition, I didn’t realize how strict the religious requirements for Halal and Kosher food were, as far as the preparation of these foods is concerned. I considered Halal food to be a nationalistic type of food, comparable to that of Chinese food or Italian food. Perhaps this is because I do not eat much Halal food, nor do I know much about its religious significance. However, after reading your blog post and listening to our class discussion, I have come to realize how important Halal and Kosher foods are to the followers of the Islamic and Jewish religions. For this reason, I do agree that the preparation of these foods should comply with the standards of the religion which requires them. Those carts or restaurants which do not uphold these standards when they advertise that they do, should be punished, especially since food is so important to one’s culture and religion. I also believe that people who lie about the way in which food is cooked, such as when advertising gluten-free food and food for those with allergies, should be viewed in the same way as people who say that their food is Kosher or Halal, when it is not. Although eating food that is not actually Kosher or Halal would not cause physical harm to a person, it would have profound spiritual consequences for those who eat it. Also, lying about the way that one prepares a particular type of food is extremely deceiving. Thus, people who partake in this type of deception should be punished.