The Growing Appetite for Halal Food

A Unique Dietary Tradition

Founded in the 7th century by the prophet Muhammad, Islam is one of the most popular religions on Earth. Going by the numbers, 28 percent of the world's people — roughly 2.08 billion — identify themselves as Muslim. In fact, adherents of Islam make up almost one-third of the total population of Asia, and yet their particular customs may not be familiar to all. One of the most important aspects of Muslim culture is halal food.

Halal comes from Arabic and translates as “permitted.” The opposite, haram, connotes something “forbidden.” According to the Quran, the holy book of Islam, Muslims must abstain from consuming blood, intoxicants, pork products and animals not slaughtered in accordance with Islamic law. The list of haram foodstuff even includes snacks made of pork by-products, like Jell-O, marshmallows and gum. On the other hand, foods such as properly slaughtered animals, milk, honey, fish, fruit and nuts are all permissible.

Compared with other widespread religions, Islam's halal proscriptions stand out as unique. Some religions, like Christianity, have virtually no eating restrictions, while others, such as Buddhism, adhere to the general dietary guideline of vegetarianism. Only Judaism, with its kosher eating rules, has a comparable custom. The followers of Islam, however, dwarf those of Judaism in terms of numbers, leaving a vast market for halal-compliant products.

清真食品商機

獨一無二的飲食傳統
由先知穆罕莫德在七世紀創立的伊斯蘭教是世界上最多人信奉的宗教之一。依照數據顯示，世上 28% 的人──約 20.8 億人──自認為是伊斯蘭教徒。事實上，伊斯蘭教信眾佔亞洲總人口近三分之一，但其獨特的習俗卻不見得為眾人所熟知。伊斯蘭教文化中最重要的一環就是清真食品。

halal 這個詞來自阿拉伯文，譯意為「被允許的」。相反地，haram 這個字則意味著「被禁止的」。根據伊斯蘭教聖書《可蘭經》所示，伊斯蘭教徒必須避食血液、酒類製品、豬肉產品，以及未依照伊斯蘭教律宰殺的動物。被禁止的食物甚至包括豬肉副產品製成的零食，像是果凍、棉花糖和口香糖。另一方面，經過妥善屠宰的動物、牛奶、蜂蜜、魚、水果與堅果等則是被允許的食物。

跟其他廣為流傳的宗教信仰相比，伊斯蘭的清真禁令顯得獨一無二。有些宗教，像是基督教，實際上對於飲食幾無限制，而其他宗教如佛教，則遵循一般的素食飲食規範。只有猶太教的 kosher 飲食規範有能相比擬的習俗。不過伊斯蘭教在教徒人數上比猶太教多出許多，這因而促成符合清真規範產品的龐大市場。