Pork industry angry over no-pork rule in Ohio prison

Agencies

COLUMBUS (Ohio), Oct 7: A decision by Ohio officials to remove all pork products from prison menus in response to a lawsuit by Muslim inmates is not sitting well with the state's pork producers and processors. Both promise action of their own, including a possible counter lawsuit, to address what they consider an unfair and illogical decision. "We really think it's not in the best interest, frankly, of the whole prison system," said Dick Isler, executive director of the Ohio Pork Producers Council. "It seems like we're letting a small group make the rules when it really isn't in the best interest of the rest of prisoners." Pork is inexpensive and nutritious and compares well to other lean meats, he said. Ironically, the inmates' lawsuit doesn't involve pork at all; it demands that non-pork meats like beef come from animals slaughtered according to Islamic law. But the prisons system responded by simply removing pork as an option altogether. If Ohio would provide Muslim inmates with pre-packaged meals similar to those given to Jewish inmates, as the lawsuit requests, it wouldn't be necessary to remove pork from menus, said David Singleton, executive director of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center, which is suing on behalf of the two inmates. Ohio joins California, Florida, Maryland and Massachusetts among states that don't serve pork in prisons. Massachusetts stopped serving pork more than a decade ago to satisfy religious preferences, said prisons spokeswoman Diane Wiffin. Ohio first took pork off the menu in 2009 after, in a money-saving attempt, it closed the pig farm and processing facility it operated to provide meat for inmates. Last year, after lobbying by pork producers, the system added pork rib patties back to the menu once a week, at a cost of about $27,000 a week. The pork was provided by a Michigan company, and so Ohio producers aren't affected, Smith said. "This issue seems to be blown out of proportion based on a misunderstanding," she said. Pork is big business in Ohio, the country's eighth-largest producer, with 3,700 farms raising 4 million pigs a year. In a federal lawsuit, death row inmate Abdul Awkal complains that the state is restraining his religious freedoms by not providing meals prepared according to Islamic law, known as halal, while at the same time supplying Jewish prisoners with kosher meals. The Quran prohibits Muslims from eating pork. Awkal, joined by a second inmate not on death row, says the vegetarian and non-pork options aren't good enough. The inmates say food must be prepared in specific fashion, such as ensuring that an animal is butchered by slitting its throat and draining its blood, to conform to Islamic beliefs. Prison guidelines for Muslim inmates already provided that meals will be "free of all pork and products containing or derived from pork." A judge has given lawyers and inmates for the state until next month to finish filing documents bolstering their arguments, ahead of an expected January trial.