VOX imposes a common menu in Castellón nurseries
VOX's spokesman in Castellón, Spain, defends a Mediterranean menu with no religious impositions in nurseries and opens a battle with the halal industry.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
VOX puts ham on the menu at Castellón nurseries
Can a city council put gastronomic tradition ahead of religious customs in a public service? Antonio Ortolá, deputy mayor and VOX spokesman in Castellón de la Plana, has no doubt: municipal nurseries are not an à la carte menu of other people's traditions. They must serve a common, healthy, Mediterranean menu, "typical of our land". Anyone who wants to trinc religious dietary rules, he says, is entitled to, but without turning their belief into an imposition on the council or its catering contractors.
A dispute with an economic backdrop
The canteen war is not just symbolic. Behind it lies catering for public services, halal certification and a meat industry that, in provinces like Lleida, supports a good chunk of GDP. Voices from the sector point out that in that Catalan province there is talk of wiping out companies and pig farms, a threat that goes beyond the plate and reaches the local economy.
The irony of halal paella
There is one detail that punctures the heroics: it is enough not to call it halal. Chicken, lamb, vegetables, and even Valencian paella are permitted foods if prepared according to the rite. In other words, VOX's measure is clashing with an enemy that is often already compatible with the recipe. The next battle, perhaps, will be fuet. Or the Ibérico ham that sparked the controversy.
Can a city council put gastronomic tradition ahead of religious customs in a public service? Antonio Ortolá, deputy mayor and VOX spokesman in Castellón de la Plana, has no doubt: municipal nurseries are not an à la carte menu of other people's traditions. They must serve a common, healthy, Mediterranean menu, "typical of our land". Anyone who wants to trinc religious dietary rules, he says, is entitled to, but without turning their belief into an imposition on the council or its catering contractors.
A dispute with an economic backdrop
The canteen war is not just symbolic. Behind it lies catering for public services, halal certification and a meat industry that, in provinces like Lleida, supports a good chunk of GDP. Voices from the sector point out that in that Catalan province there is talk of wiping out companies and pig farms, a threat that goes beyond the plate and reaches the local economy.
The irony of halal paella
There is one detail that punctures the heroics: it is enough not to call it halal. Chicken, lamb, vegetables, and even Valencian paella are permitted foods if prepared according to the rite. In other words, VOX's measure is clashing with an enemy that is often already compatible with the recipe. The next battle, perhaps, will be fuet. Or the Ibérico ham that sparked the controversy.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (48 replies).
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