Eating together and differently: Halal between standardization and segmentation

This chapter looks at the concepts of "eating together" and "eating differently" in the halal meat market through the dynamics of standardization versus differentiation, both in terms of purchasing practices and offers, as well as in terms of meat production methods and guarantees of their halal nature. The halal market illustrates the problem of eating together AND differently and reflects the coexistence of these two strategic dynamics of standardization-differentiation of offer, responding to an increasingly complex demand. The study of the phenomena of standardization-segmentation will shed light on the economic, regulatory and productive issues underlying the "transformation" of the living animal into a halal meat product identifiable by consumers. The chapter also examines the main specificities of halal meat consumption. Some trends are consistent with what is generally observed in food supply and demand practices; others are more specific to the halal meat market.