Oxford college vote to ban halal and kosher

THE Oxford college that cut octopus from its menu in the name of inclusivity has now voted to ban halal and kosher meat, citing animal welfare concerns.

Students at Somerville initially set out to “ensure that different groups of people can eat in hall more”, after the college president’s decision to ban octopus from the freshers’ welcome dinner.

But undergraduates argued that serving halal and kosher meat was problematic due to “animal welfare concerns” on the basis that animals are not stunned before being killed.

Somerville’s Junior Common Room ruled that halal and kosher food should be provided, but with conditions.

Eventually, a motion was passed to “demand that college provide lactose-free, gluten-free, kosher and halal food in hall upon the condition that any meat purchased is pre-stunned”.

Some forms of pre-stunning are allowed, said the Halal Food Authority. But Jewish laws forbid all forms of mechanical stunning.

Nicole Jacobus, Oxford’s Jewish Society president, told the student paper Cherwell: “The vote to ban kosher food only makes the diversity issue worse, as it shows that Jewish students are not only poorly provided for, but that they cannot actively practise as Jews at Somerville.”

Last month, Baroness Jan Royall, head of Somerville, demanded that octopus be removed from the menu as part of a drive to make disadvantaged students feel more “comfortable”.