French court rules school lunches may include pork; Muslims alarmed

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Son_of_Niall

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PARIS (RNS) A French court on Thursday (Aug. 13) upheld a local move to stop offering alternatives to pork in school cafeterias, sparking dismay on the part of Muslim leaders and possibly setting a precedent for municipalities elsewhere in the country.
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The court found in favor of the mayor of a town in eastern France who announced in March that students would no longer be guaranteed a nonpork option at lunchtime for the coming school year.
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religionnews.com/2015/08/13/french-court-rules-school-lunches-may-include-pork-muslims-alarmed/?utm_content=buffer3d5aa&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
 
I don’t eat pork, I am sure there are westerners who don’t eat pork who are neither Jew or muslim.
 
Doormouse said:
I don’t eat pork, I am sure there are westerners who don’t eat pork who are neither Jew or muslim.
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I was thinking about the tons of folks who don’t eat meat for reasons apart from religion. Yes, one could just skip the meat portion for that day (I don’t know what the rules are regarding utensils and being prepared in the same area) but that’s not a complete lunch (just eating sides). Why not just have a vegetarian option and a meat option every day?

I also wonder if any accommodations are made for allergies or health issues that prevent consumption of certain foods, or if such students just have to bring their own lunches. If they do make accommodations for health reasons, but refuse to take into account religious views, that seems very iffy to me. Then again, it’s the French, and they love their secularism.

It’s funny that they’re bringing up the cost factor, too. It seems to me that if you’re going to blatantly ignore what students eat, you’re going to waste a lot of money. I did not go to a Catholic college, but you bet they adjusted their ordering and preparation during Lent to accommodate more vegetarian (or fish) meals on Fridays. It’s just common sense to do that. 🤷
 
I was pointing out that myself or others who are neither Jew or musim are not/never complain about pork being on the menu anywhere. people eat things and they don’t.
 
Doormouse said:
I was pointing out that myself or others who are neither Jew or musim are not/never complain about pork being on the menu anywhere. people eat things and they don’t.
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It doesn’t seem to me, based on the article, that the problem is that pork is being served at all, but that it is presented as the only option on some days, which would be inappropriate for lots of people for religious and non-religious reasons.
 
pensmama87 said:
It doesn’t seem to me, based on the article, that the problem is that pork is being served at all, but that it is presented as the only option on some days, which would be inappropriate for lots of people for religious and non-religious reasons.
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I don’t understand the need for “options.”

When I was in school, the only two options were “take it” or “leave it.” We received a printed menu at the end of each month. It listed the meals for the next month. If you didn’t like what was being offered, you brought your lunch. If you didn’t like a portion of the meal, you either brought your lunch or you didn’t eat that portion.

My senior year, they started offering a tossed salad, every day. So you could always have that if you didn’t want the main meal.

On another note, a food allergy or health concern is very different than a food preference or religious requirement.
 
Im not too familiar with French society, but here in America, which is highly multicultural, multireligion, diverse, pork is also served in public schools. From my own experience going thru the system, there was usually always a choice other than the main entrée, such as a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I cannot see why France cannot do the same. Other than Muslims , Jews and Seventh Day Adventists cannot eat pork as well as any child being raised vegetarian.
 
maryjk said:
I don’t understand the need for “options.”

When I was in school, the only two options were “take it” or “leave it.” We received a printed menu at the end of each month. It listed the meals for the next month. If you didn’t like what was being offered, you brought your lunch. If you didn’t like a portion of the meal, you either brought your lunch or you didn’t eat that portion.

My senior year, they started offering a tossed salad, every day. So you could always have that if you didn’t want the main meal.

On another note, a food allergy or health concern is very different than a food preference or religious requirement.
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If “take it or leave it” is across the board, then I’m OK with that. It just seems to me, based on the article, that this issue is being pushed specifically to make a point of *not *accommodating religious dietary restrictions. A big “you know what” type of signal to a particular religious group. Which, knowing France’s approach to secularism, not surprising, but still a jerk move.

I mentioned college because that’s when I began noticing it more since I did restrict my diet for religious reasons then, but in high school (in the US) you could get a vegetarian entree any day of the week. But I went to a very large high school with a religiously diverse student body, and not a few people who elected to be vegetarian for reasons completely unrelated to religion.
 
pensmama87 said:
I was thinking about the tons of folks who don’t eat meat for reasons apart from religion. Yes, one could just skip the meat portion for that day (I don’t know what the rules are regarding utensils and being prepared in the same area) but that’s not a complete lunch (just eating sides). Why not just have a vegetarian option and a meat option every day?

I also wonder if any accommodations are made for allergies or health issues that prevent consumption of certain foods, or if such students just have to bring their own lunches. If they do make accommodations for health reasons, but refuse to take into account religious views, that seems very iffy to me. Then again, it’s the French, and they love their secularism.

It’s funny that they’re bringing up the cost factor, too. It seems to me that if you’re going to blatantly ignore what students eat, you’re going to waste a lot of money. I did not go to a Catholic college, but you bet they adjusted their ordering and preparation during Lent to accommodate more vegetarian (or fish) meals on Fridays. It’s just common sense to do that. 🤷
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If they make “accommodations” for everything, they will go crazy trying to figure out who to accommodate. What ever happened to ‘bring your own lunch’??? God bless, Memaw
 
I’m glad that the Muslims are being targeted by the secular world, as it might affirm my belief that the religions of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are closest to the truth, and therefore, are more dangerous to Satan and his goals.

Thus, Satan would order the secular world, his playground, to restrict the freedoms of the three aforementioned religions and their respective advocates.
 
Memaw said:
If they make “accommodations” for everything, they will go crazy trying to figure out who to accommodate. What ever happened to ‘bring your own lunch’??? God bless, Memaw
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I understand the point that you are making. But I don’t think that’s what’s happening here.

I think people are being jerks on purpose to make a point promoting secularism. 🤷
 
maryjk said:
I don’t understand the need for “options.”

When I was in school, the only two options were “take it” or “leave it.” We received a printed menu at the end of each month. It listed the meals for the next month. If you didn’t like what was being offered, you brought your lunch. If you didn’t like a portion of the meal, you either brought your lunch or you didn’t eat that portion.

My senior year, they started offering a tossed salad, every day. So you could always have that if you didn’t want the main meal.

On another note, a food allergy or health concern is very different than a food preference or religious requirement.
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Memaw said:
If they make “accommodations” for everything, they will go crazy trying to figure out who to accommodate. What ever happened to ‘bring your own lunch’??? God bless, Memaw
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Did you two read the article? :mad:

snippet → third line break
“A first victory for secularity,” tweeted the mayor, Gilles Platret of Chalon-sur-Saone, after the court ruling."

key word: secularity!

The agenda has been revealed!
 
jediliz said:
Jews also don’t eat pork, are they complaining?
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Not only that but the non-pork items are also most probably not prepared according to kosher guidelines, for example, chicken. That is why the parents of most children who come from religious homes generally pack their lunch for school. That said, there also should be at least one alternative option, not necessarily on religious grounds, but just for the sake of variety since some children may not like the taste of pork. IOW, schools should have at least two main courses from which to choose rather than a pork day, a chicken day, a fish day, etc.
 
meltzerboy said:
Not only that but the non-pork items are also most probably not prepared according to kosher guidelines, for example, chicken. That is why the parents of most children who come from religious homes generally pack their lunch for school. That said, there also should be at least one alternative option, not necessarily on religious grounds, but just for the sake of variety since some children may not like the taste of pork. IOW, schools should have at least two main courses from which to choose rather than a pork day, a chicken day, a fish day, etc.
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When I was in grade school, they never had choices. You can bet on liver and onion day, a lot of us brought sandwiches.
 
sallybutler said:
When I was in grade school, they never had choices. You can bet on liver and onion day, a lot of us brought sandwiches.
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LOL.

I remember when those school lunches were actually cooked on site by women who could really cook.
The local Catholic school serves trucked in, cold hamburgers and cold fries.
Yuck.
 
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