“What we need to do is make sure Halal food is available for Muslim children right across Wales,” Wood said

CARDIFF, Wales, July 31 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The council of Cardiff , the capital of Wales, has passed an amended motion put forward by a political party, offering Muslim students across the British principality halal school lunches.

The Plaid Cymru motion stated the council “reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring appropriate school lunches were provided for all pupils in line with their dietary needs, cultural backgrounds or religious beliefs with regard to the cost implications”, reported the BBC News Online Friday, July 30.

“What we need to do is make sure Halal food is available for Muslim children right across Wales,” Leanne Wood, a party leader, told the BBC.

“We should be able to work with local authorities to provide the food that people need as a basic right,” added Wood, who is also memeber of the National Assembly for Wales and Shadow Social Justice Minister.

Halal is the description of food and drink allowed for Muslims under Islamic dietary laws.

Islamic rulings stipulate that other than seafood, Muslims may only eat meat that has been slaughtered in a specific manner, over which the name of Allah should be pronounced.

Halal meat is prepared by slaughtering the animal with a cut to the throat to allow the blood to drain from the animal.

This is the most painless method of slaughter that the sudden loss of blood from the head means the animals feel virtually nothing.

Other Welsh authorities, such as Swansea and Newport , operate similar schemes to Cardiff , where schools request certain amounts of halal food.

Western Foods

Mother Jacqueline Maria Haque told the BBC it was very important for Muslim children to have halal foods, as they can go hungry if they are not given a halal choice.

“They do give halal foods in school, but not every day - they give vegetables, which not all children like,” she said.

“They would like western foods - like burgers, sausages and nuggets.”

Halal food can vary between a total ban on pork in some schools to the option of halal burgers in others.

Several European and American cities have started offering halal food for their large Muslim customers.

McDonald's restaurants in Detroit, Michigan, offers halal Chicken McNuggets.

Local schools in the United States have also responded to Muslim parents' demands that halal food be served in school cafeterias.