Harry's Place

The fast food chain KFC has decided to trial using halal meat in 8 of its London restaurants, and explains this move on its website:

Feedback from consumers has indicated that there is significant demand for a halal offer from KFC. After conducting further research, we have decided to carry out a trial in a small number of stores in London.

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We have chosen a small number of stores in London that are located within areas which we anticipate will have a high demand for a halal offer from KFC. However we are committed to offering our customers choice and there is a non-trial restaurant in close proximity.

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[W]e insist that all of our poultry is stunned before slaughter. The only difference is that for us to achieve halal accreditation, a blessing must be read by an authorised person at the time of slaughter and we need to ensure that the poultry does not come into contact with non-halal meat at any point in the supply chain. These are small changes that do not compromise our current welfare standards in any way.

The usual suspects immediately offered the following deranged commentary:

Here is yet another indication of how pleas by Muslim minorities for pluralism and tolerance all too quickly turn into Islamic supremacist assertions that non-Muslims must abide by Islamic norms. And in this case, as in so many others, the non-Muslims in question willingly take on their subservient role, in pursuit of the bottom line.

Notice the way an issue like this is blown out of proportion by the so-called ‘anti-Jihad movement’. KFC is responding to customer demand by trialling halal meat in a handful of London stores. For Robert Spencer and his disciples, however, this masks ‘Islamic supremacism’ and non-Muslims adopting a ’subservient’ position. At the same time, Spencer can also see that KFC is, in fact, pursuing the bottom line – i.e. profit. I would have thought a conservative like Spencer would be all for that, but, no, because for him this is a case of a company profiting from pandering to ‘Islamic supremacists’ – making profits from Muslims just isn’t the done thing.

Naturally, following the likes of Spencer, the BNP has used this minor issue as justification for making the absurd claim that ‘British culture is being crushed under the wave of immigrant colonisation’. Under the heading ‘Islamification of Britain Speeds Up‘, we read:

The definition of colonisation is when a foreign people settle in a nation and force the locals to take on the ways, norms and customs of the invading force. History is replete with examples, and the end result has always been the extinction of the indigenous culture and very often of the indigenous people themselves.

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Anyone looking for a practical example of how British culture is being crushed under the wave of immigrant colonisation need look no further than the announcement this week that Kentucky Fried Chicken is to launch a halal-only menu in eight of its London stores.

Now firstly, KFC is an American company and its restaurants are famous for serving Southern fried chicken. I’m not wanting to come over all Naomi Klein on the issue, but if there is any kind of ‘colonisation’ going on here it’s colonisation by American culture, given the fact there are now 720 KFC stores nationwide, all of which are no doubt contributing to the ‘crushing’ of our ‘indigenous’ fish and chip shops and greasy spoon cafes by ‘invading’ the British market with their foreign chicken dishes. How ironic that an insular minded political party that professes a hatred of globalisation should be so upset about what happens to American fast food chains in this country.

Secondly, what a load of nonsense anyway. Businesses, last time I checked, work on the basis of making a profit from serving their customers with a desired product. It is quite obvious why KFC is trialling halal meat and it has nothing to do with ‘colonisation’ by a Muslim conspiracy and everything to do with making more money. If you go into any urban area in Britain with a significant Muslim presence you will find that almost all independent outlets selling fried chicken are halal certified. There is a good financial reason for doing this – it means more customers. And, despite ethical issues surrounding ritual slaughter, I never saw any shortage of non-Muslim customers frequenting such fast food businesses in my time living in Cardiff, London, and Birmingham. After all, let’s face it, if you don’t care about the birds having to live their entire lives shut away in factory farms, it’s hard to see why you should suddenly be so filled with compassion for them at their moment of death.

Given the fact that numerous independent restaurants and smaller chains already sell halal chicken wings and chicken burgers, it is clearly counterproductive for KFC not to. By failing to meet customer demand, KFC has been losing out in many urban areas to smaller businesses that do serve halal meat. KFC’s halal trial is what is known as good business sense, and it has nothing to do with the shadowy machinations of ‘Islamic supremacists’ or ‘dhimmitude’.

What the KFC halal hysteria demonstrates is not yet more evidence of a Protocols of Zionesque silent takeover of Britain by Muslim hoards but rather that it is catering to its customers. If you don’t want your greasy factory farmed American junk food to have been ‘blessed’ by a Muslim, don’t buy it. Just go somewhere else. Start your own ‘British’ Southern fried chicken chain if you want, but don’t sit behind your computer screen foaming at the mouth about trivial issues like this. Welcome to the real world. Times change, businesses respond, and that’s that.