Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Daily Telegraph reports "Haringey Council bans bangers"
Hot on the heels of the apparent vote for the quality of Haringey school dinners last week comes the news that Haringey Council has issued "best practice" advice to all schools in its area to “ban all pork products in order to cater for the needs of staff and pupils who are not permitted contact with these for religious reasons”.
The guidance does not specify what proportion of a school’s intake should object to the meat - which is not eaten by devout Muslims or Jews - before it is dropped.
The policy was criticised last night by MPs and farmers’ leaders, who accused head teachers of depriving other children of a choice and pointed out that all schools already offer vegetarian options.
John Benjamin, chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said it was simply not an issue, adding that Jews of a certain level would choose not to eat in non-kosher environments.
"Children who are comfortable with using the same cutlery and crockery as everyone else would choose their dishes from the options available. It is live and let live, we are certainly not calling for this," the Daily Mail quoted Benjamin as saying.
Muslim leaders have only asked that halal and non-halal meat be handled separately in an effort to avoid any cross contamination and for clear labelling when serving school dinners.
Figures revealed by school caterer Pabulum, in the south-east England, showed that around 20 of the 48 schools it supplied chose non-pork options.
Conservative MP for Shipley in West Yorkshire, Philip Davies, who has campaigned for clearer labelling on meat products, said the bans were 'misguided political correctness'.
Stewart Houston, chief executive of the National Pig Association, said the decision by schools was disappointing, adding that sausages and roast pork were a staple of British diets. (ANI)
Original lead on this story was from Newstrack India (ain't the web wonderful - our local news, via India!), which I think sourced its info from a Daily Telegraph story. The above is a mix of the two.
Tags for Forum Posts: education, school dinners, schools
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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This is not new news. As far as I'm aware, pork has always been off the menu at Haringey schools and, in general, parents are encouraged not to provide pork products for school events, nor anything containing nuts or shellfish or beef. Can't say my kids have ever complained of a lack of processed products in their school dinners and if we have a hankering for sausages we can have some of Baldwin's finest on the weekends. Also doubt schools could afford to provide roast pork, as suggested by Mr Houston, when the dinners are £2.10 a head , most of which is not spent on ingredients.
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Just looks like an excuse to stir their 'Look out the PC brigade are invading our Schools' readership up. There's nothing misguided or politically correct about the lack of pork sausages on a school menu. I'd rather they increased their range of veggie options, to be honest, even though we are not a veggie family as its much healthier to eat meat only occasionally.
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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"Best practice" in this context should refer to food safety, only. I don't like the taste of kiwifruit, but it wouldn't be "best practice" to ban it. IMO if "Best Practice" was indeed used in this context, it is a term that is falling further into disrepute.
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Permalink Reply by Pressdesk at Haringey Council on
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Unfortunately despite our best efforts to explain to the Sunday Telegraph, the article in the weekend’s newspaper was inaccurate.
There is no ban on pork products in Haringey schools. The aim of the document which the Sunday Telegraph referred to, was agreed in 2004 with all major faith leaders in the borough and was written to provide much needed information to school staff about the food traditions and practices observed by different religions.
Schools with their governing bodies decide for themselves the specific food policy and school meal menus based on the requirements of the school’s students and the options provided by the supplier.
All pupils and parents will be made aware of a school’s meals policy from the outset and we strongly recommend that schools consult with parents and carers if any change was being considered by a school.We hope this explains the current situation.
Haringey Council
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Permalink Reply by Alan Stanton on
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As the record is now straight, Hugh, how about changing the title to: "Telegraph invents news of Haringey ban on pork bangers"
Which might prompt people to ask themselves why an eight-year-old non-story was resuscitated and printed despite explanation from Haringey's Press Desk. And how this sort of spinning/narrative/distortion poisons public discussion.
Spinning which is equally corrosive whether engaged in by the praise-all blockheads or blame-all blockheads criticised by Benjamin Franklin.
And no the web ain't always wonderful. It is simultaneously a virtual library of useful information; and a lasting echo chamber of untruths, partial truths, amplified rudeness and vilification. And it rarely allows second chances.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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I wonder if the press office issued a denial at the time the DT ran the story? If they did, I wish they'd sent it to me. As I'm sure you understand, I don't have the resources to verify every story and can only report that it was reported and leave people to decode that for themselves.
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Hugh, I appreciate that you can't check every story. And I'm not pointing the finger at anyone.
Except of course, the Telegraph which does have resources to check stories. As we saw when they exhaustively checked and publicised details in the MPs expenses scandal.
I've made the point about "echo chambers" before. It's taken from Cass Sunstein. And similar to the observation attributed to Mark Twain: "A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes". But lies now circle the entire globe in seconds. They're also picked-up and repeated - churnalised. And on the net they are recorded - possibly indefinitely.
Even more insidious is where groups of people - often with money and influence with media outlets - pour out lies or partial truths. I'm also dismayed when people in every political party skip the work of finding the shoes of truth. Instead they seem to think it's okay if the other lot's spin and half-truths are countered by "our" spin, narratives, and bias.
What's wrong with doing our best to tell the truth? It may take time to dig out and check. Perhaps it is complex, with shades of grey. Possibly a bit dull. "Council to advise schools" is not as headline-grabbing as, say, "Town Hall Slammed for Ban".
Even so, let's try.
(Labour councillor Tottenham Hale)
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P.S. And did you notice that the Telegraph story quoted a school caterer called "Pabulum"?
Which the OED says simply means food or nourishment. But sometimes: "Now more usually with unfavourable connotations"; as: "Bland intellectual fare, pap; a sample of this; an insipid or undemanding diet of words, entertainment, etc."
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