Conclusion

In focusing on the consequences of globalising kosher and halal markets this book has demonstrated that similarities and differences between kosher and halal consumption, production and regulation in different national contexts are not well understood, and that to better understand global kosher and halal markets they must be explored at different levels of the social scale. This conclusion is organised around three keywords from the book’s title: religion, regulation and consumption. We conclude on these themes by bringing in a few examples from preceding chapters and by reflecting on the ‘bigger picture’ these conclusions evoke.

Introduction: global kosher and halal markets

This chapter explains what modern kosher and halal production, trade and consumption are. More specifically the chapter introduces religious consumers as well as the relationship between globalised markets, production, regulation and audit culture. The chapter ends with reflections on methodology and organisation of the book.

Halal consumers

In this chapter we explore how Muslim consumers in the UK and Denmark understand and practice halal consumption in their everyday lives. The specific focus is how consumers make sense of buying/eating meat and non-meat products. Another important theme explored is how Muslim consumers understand and practice everyday (halal) food consumption in the UK and Denmark.

Kosher consumers

In this chapter we explore how Jewish consumers in the UK and Denmark understand and practice kosher consumption in their everyday lives. Many Jewish groups are fastidious about their everyday kosher consumption and this point has reinforced regulation of global kosher production and regulation. A specific focus in this chapter is how consumers make sense of the issues raised in previous chapters, that is, buying/eating meat and non-meat products in a changing global context. Another important theme explored is how Jewish consumers understand and practice their everyday (kosher) food consumption in our two case countries.

Manufacturing and selling meat

This chapter explores the manufacture and production of kosher and halal meat (both red meat and poultry) in London and Manchester in the UK and also Denmark with specific reference to audits/inspections, legislation, networking, product innovation and certification. The reason for focusing on the UK in particular is, firstly, the UK has large Jewish and expanding Muslim communities as well as some well-known kosher and halal certification bodies. At the same time this market is far more complex than the market in Denmark.

Beyond meat

Within the last couple of decades, the trend in both kosher and halal production is that these globalising religious markets have moved beyond meat to include enzyme production, for example, as enzymes are part of a wide range of types of foods and drinks. This chapter explores how multinational companies that are both kosher and halal certified understand and comply with rising requirements in respect to issues such as certification, staff policies, science and innovation, for example – and how non-meat products such as enzymes are produced and qualified as kosher and halal.

Kosher and halal in the UK and Denmark

This chapter serves as an introduction to Judaism/kosher and Islam/halal in the UK and Denmark respectively. The main function of these discussions is to give the reader a broader historical and societal context for exploring kosher and halal in greater empirical detail in subsequent chapters; we also discuss broader similarities and differences between kosher and halal in the UK and Denmark.