In this article, our objective is to explore the socio-political
construction of food. Using the national dialog around the halal
hamburger that occurred in France in 2009e2010, we explore how
meanings of halal foods are contested in media discourse. The
debate began when the fast-food chain Quick launched an experiment
to add hamburgers processed according to halal standards to
its restaurant menu. Halal foods are those permitted for consumption
by followers of the Islamic faith (Bergeaud-Blackler,
2006). Public response to the halal menu was varied, but most
was oppositional. Resistance to the Quick experiment was scripted
in national and international newspapers. “Les hamburgers halal de
Quick passent mal” (Quick Halal Burgers are Hard to Swallow)
(Seelow, 2010) read one newspaper headline, while another proclaimed,
“Burqas?: No, Bacon Burgers are France’s New Cultural
Battleground” (Marquand, 2010). Such interpretative disputes hold
valuable insights for furthering our understanding of food boundaries
and the ‘othering’ of populations as a strategy to reinforce
national identities. They contribute to the recent call made by
Campbell et al. (2011, p. 68) for a more rigorous investigation of the
“contested cultural politics of food legitimacy.”
In this article, our objective is to explore the socio-politicalconstruction of food. Using the national dialog around the halalhamburger that occurred in France in 2009e2010, we explore howmeanings of halal foods are contested in media discourse. Thedebate began when the fast-food chain Quick launched an experimentto add hamburgers processed according to halal standards toits restaurant menu. Halal foods are those permitted for consumptionby followers of the Islamic faith (Bergeaud-Blackler,2006). Public response to the halal menu was varied, but mostwas oppositional. Resistance to the Quick experiment was scriptedin national and international newspapers. “Les hamburgers halal deQuick passent mal” (Quick Halal Burgers are Hard to Swallow)(Seelow, 2010) read one newspaper headline, while another proclaimed,“Burqas?: No, Bacon Burgers are France’s New CulturalBattleground” (Marquand, 2010). Such interpretative disputes holdvaluable insights for furthering our understanding of food boundariesand the ‘othering’ of populations as a strategy to reinforcenational identities. They contribute to the recent call made byCampbell et al. (2011, p. 68) for a more rigorous investigation of the“contested cultural politics of food legitimacy.”
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