Subway To Remove Ham And Bacon From Select Stores Due To Strong Islamic Demand

The submarine sandwich shop Subway is allegedly removing all ham and bacon from 185 of its UK and Ireland based shops.

The decision to remove all pork reportedly stems from the restaurants large volume base of Islamic customers in the region. Subway has been offering halal meat since 2007, however this is the first report of them choosing to completely remove the non-halal meats from the available options.

The Blaze reports that a spokeswoman has released a statement on Subway’s behalf, stating that:

“Due to the growing popularity of the Subway chain, with the diverse multicultural population across the U.K. and Ireland, we put a program in place in 2007 to ensure that the population demographic is taken into account when new store openings are considered in order that we meet consumer demands in each location,” adding that “all our suppliers comply with EU animal welfare legislation as a minimum and we require suppliers of halal products to adopt the stunning of animals prior to their slaughter. All halal meats are certified by the appropriate halal authorities.”

While the spokeswoman would not directly confirm that 185 stores had officially removed the non-halal options from their menus, she did say that “it is factually correct to say that the Subway brand have approximately 185 stores that serve halal food in the UK and Ireland.”

The Daily Mail reports that an “all meats are halal” sign has begun appearing on those stores where the ham and bacon are no longer present. However, there is no official confirmation from the sandwich chain regarding the claim.

Muslims are not allowed to eat any non-halal meats — meats that have not been slaughtered and prepared in line with Islamic law. The word halal itself means “permitted” or “lawful” in Arabic, and is typically used in reference to the meat and how it is prepared.

Going one step further, animal rights organization PETA chimes in and urges Subway customers to go all veggies to ensure the animals best interests.

“At the best of times, meat is a product of a bloody and violent industry with no respect for other living beings who value their lives in the same way that we do and experience the same pain and terror that Subways’ customers would if they were killed for a sandwich,” says PETA.

“Subway-goers, no matter what their religion, can eat with a clear conscience by opting for the veggie patty, the veggie delight or, heaven forbid, a salad,” they said.

What do you think of Subway’s decision to allegedly remove pork from 185 of its UK and Ireland based restaurants?