A call for clear labelling of halal and kosher meat in Highland schools has been passed despite being branded “silly” by one councillor.
The motion was called ‘silly’ by Cllr Ballance.
The motion put forward by Conservative councillor Ruraidh Stewart (Skye and Raasay) was passed by Highland Council at a meeting on Thursday (September 17).
It will require both clear labelling of meats and for suppliers to declare such information at the point of procurement so “the council can make informed purchasing decisions and provide accurate information to consumers”.
The motion was seconded by Cllr Stewart’s party colleague Cllr Isabelle MacKenzie (Inverness Millburn).
During a short debate on the motion, Cllr Chris Ballance (Aird and Loch Ness, Green) called it “silly”, pointing out how an impact assessment provided in response to the motion clearly stated: “The current core meat supplier does label Halal marketed products, and has advised that ‘all our Halal meats have been pre-stunned and compliant in the UK and EU’”.
It added: “The current meat supplier does not offer Kosher products.”
Cllr Ballance’s view was shared among others in the chamber as Cllr Christine Gillies (Skye and Raasay, Independent) asked “why on earth are we here” as she also pointed to the impact assessment.
Cllr Alasdair Christie (Inverness Ness side, Liberal Democrats) said: “There is a lot of misinformation about this, all animals are pre-stunned in the UK.”
He added that, in his opinion, the motion was “probably put forward for different reasons” but did not elaborate further.
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