AN OPEN LETTER TO TILLAMOOK
@Tillamook,
I have purchased and enjoyed your products for years, which is why I was extremely disappointed to learn that the majority of your cheeses are now Halal certified.
As a Christian, I have deeply held religious convictions about the food I purchase and bring into my home. I respect that Muslim consumers may want Halal-certified products available to them, and I have absolutely no objection to grocery stores carrying Halal products or having dedicated Halal sections. People should be able to purchase food that aligns with their religious beliefs.
But my faith matters too. Because of my Christian convictions, I will not knowingly consume food that I believe has been prayed over, blessed in the name of another faith, or offered or sacrificed in connection with worship of any god other than the Lord and Savior I believe in.
I should have the same freedom to make that choice.
When a major mainstream brand chooses to place religious certification across a large portion of its regular product line, my choice becomes whether to accept that certification or stop purchasing those products. For me, the answer is simple. I will choose another brand.
I would encourage Tillamook to consider consumers of other faiths when making decisions like this and to make religious certification clear and transparent so every customer can make an informed choice according to his or her own conscience.
AND THIS IS ALSO A MESSAGE TO EVERY OTHER MAJOR FOOD BRAND WATCHING THIS TREND: If you choose to put Halal certification across your regular product lines rather than offering Halal-certified alternatives, understand that some Christian consumers will respond by no longer purchasing those products. If you put it across your entire brand, I WILL BOYCOTT the entire brand.
I also encourage major grocery stores to consider dedicated Halal sections, just as they have Kosher and international sections, rather than integrating Halal-certified products throughout the store. Give everyone a clear choice.
Muslim consumers have the right to choose Halal.
Christian consumers have the right to choose not to.
That choice deserves respect too!
Community note
Not only are the majority of Tillamook’s cheeses Halal, but the majority of ALL hard cheeses sold in the US and UK are Halal. Around 80-90% of cheeses are made with fermentation-produced rennet, which is inherently Kosher, Halal, and vegetarian.
tillamook.com/faq/cheese/wha…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennet
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HEY COMMUNITY NOTES….
and to everyone in my comments that disagree…..
HALAL CERTIFICATION IS NOT SECULAR. It exists specifically to determine whether food complies with requirements derived from SHARIA ISLAMIC LAW.
HALAL certification is based on SHARIA LAW, Islamic religious law. And as a Christian, I cannot separate that certification from the religious system behind it. Islam explicitly rejects foundational truths of my Christian faith, including that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He is divine, and the doctrine of the Trinity. Those are not minor differences to me. They are at the very heart of whom I worship and what I believe.
So when I say this matters to me as a Christian, I mean exactly that. I will not treat an Islamic religious certification as though it were nothing more than a secular food-safety label. It is not.
And please don’t deliberately misunderstand what I mean when I talk about prayer. I am NOT claiming that someone stands over every individual block of cheese and recites a prayer.
I am saying that IFANCA is an ISLAMIC organization engaged in work that exists because of its Islamic faith. Muslims pray as part of the practice of Islam, just as Christians pray over our lives, our families and our work. I believe it is entirely reasonable to view the religious work of an Islamic organization as connected to the faith it exists to serve.
I do not need someone to physically pray over each block of cheese for that Halal stamp to have religious significance to me. THE STAMP ITSELF CERTIFIES COMPLIANCE WITH REQUIREMENTS DERIVED FROM SHARIA ISLAMIC LAW.
That is the issue.
You may look at that symbol and see nothing that troubles your conscience. I look at it through my Christian faith and reach a different conclusion.
Muslims have the freedom to seek Halal certification according to their religious convictions.
And as a Christian, I have the freedom to reject it according to mine.
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