Lleida City Council Backtracks on Halal Menu for the Social Dining Hall

The municipal government of Lérida has reversed its decision regarding the social dining hall menus, which in the previous tender required halal meat. The new set of conditions, published this week, will allow pork to be served in the menus and will not require the meat to have halal certification.

This change comes after criticism received for the previous measure. In the past tender, it was explicitly requested that pork not be included in the menus, and that all meat products be certified as halal. The users of the social dining hall had to receive food that complied with the requirements of Islamic law.

The new tender's conditions state that pork can be served, as long as it comes from local companies located less than 62 miles (100 kilometers) away. This option will be positively valued in the awarding process, with a maximum of six points for offering locally sourced pork. Additionally, preference will be given to producers who use Lérida's Marca Horta, encouraging local products.

A Thorny Controversy

The reversal has sparked a debate in the city. In the previous tender's conditions, the city council argued that the inclusion of halal meat was necessary to respect the cultural diversity of the population. Additionally, it aimed to prevent the dining hall from having to resort to multiple suppliers to meet all the users' needs.

The previous measure also specified that the meat had to be slaughtered following the halal ritual, which involves a series of conditions that do not align with local dietary practices. The decision to offer only halal meat had been criticized by pork producers, who felt that a diet without local products was being favored. Likewise, halal slaughter doesn't conform to European animal welfare standards.

The City Council (PSC) defended its stance by arguing that the menu had to adapt to the needs of the users, who were mostly people from different cultural backgrounds. However, the measure sparked widespread rejection among the political opposition and some productive sectors of the city. The change in approach in this new tender is considered a response to those criticisms.

The reversal also highlights the tension between cultural inclusion policies and respect for local traditions. In many cities in Catalonia, a debate is underway on how to adapt the menus in social dining halls to meet the needs of the diverse groups of the population.