02 May, 2008

 

Chicken feed

According to a report on Radio 4's Farming Today, the EU is considering relaxing the rules, imposed after the BSE pandemic, which forbid the feeding of animal-derived protein to livestock. They are clearly proceeding with due caution, for the proposed relaxation allows processed chickenfeed to contain pig-derived bonemeal and offal. Cattle and sheep are for the time being kept out of the loop.

Muslims, much of whose meat diet is made up of supposedly halal chicken, are up in arms and complaining that they will all starve to death for lack of religiously acceptable food. Why do I feel the warm glow of Schadenfreude at this development?

(Question: If the ovine form of BSE is called "scrapie", shouldn't the porcine equivalent be "scratchie"?)

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