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Friday, April 5, 2013

No flying pigs in Australia

Imagine you own a pizza parlor.  You develop a customer base of hundreds over the years, and one day you get an order for pizza in the German part of town.  They don't eat pepperoni per cultural norms, and they tell you that they want bratwurst instead, which you happily give them, but they are also insulted you would be offering pepperoni which is against they're beliefs, and demand that you stop serving pepperoni or they will boycott, protest, whatever.  You give in, and claim that you just want to be "inclusive" and sensitive to your customers needs and wants.

Now stop imagining, and read the article below.

From the Daily Telegraph April 5 by Angela Saurine and Peter Holmes

Pigs can't fly - Qantas bans pork on in-flight menu to respect Islam

QANTAS has removed pork from its in-flight menu on flights to and from Europe as a result of its partnership with Middle Eastern airline Emirates.

No food containing pork or pork products will be served on those flights - which now has a stopover in Dubai - because it is strictly forbidden in Islam and is considered "unholy".

Not a direct flight, but Quantas still must bow to Islamic sensibilities.

All meals offered on the route in first, business and economy classes will also be prepared without alcohol in keeping with the Islamic religion. A note on the Qantas menus on flights in and out of Dubai states that the meals do not contain pork products or alcohol. The airline has also introduced a mezze plate offering traditional Middle Eastern fare in its upper classes and has Arabic translations after in-flight announcements.

A Qantas spokesman said the decision to remove pork, ham and other related food items had had minimal impact on its menu and it was still offering the same meal choices.
"Qantas in-flight catering often reflects the cultural and regional influences of the international destinations we fly to," he said.

So by Quantas definition, Islam is a culture.  I thought it was a religion only, not an ingrained part of a Muslims daily life. In this case, Quantas is giving the minority preference over the majority.  Mr. Spock must be spinning in his grave about now.

Read it all.

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