In an op-ed for Brietbart, anti-Islam activist Pamela Geller revealed that President Barack Obama’s U.S. Department of Agriculture has refused to label meat processed as halal as such, despite a petition asking the USDA to separate and label the meats.

The issue was not just one of straight-out Islamophobia — halal meat is ritually slaughtered in such a way that is more painful for animals and that many consumers might find cruel.

Kosher meat, which has a similar ritual slaughtering regimen, is labeled as such.

“As many Americans do not, for a variety of reasons, wish to eat halal meat, back in February 2012, my organization, the American Freedom Defense Initiative, filed a citizen petition with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service, asking that a regulation be enacted to ensure that all halal food be clearly labeled as halal,” Geller wrote.

“In April 2012, we agreed not to publicize our petition in order to give the agency some space to review the document without any pressure from the public.”

“On May 11, 2012, we had a face-to-face meeting in the USDA offices with top FSIS officials. We discussed this petition and the need for halal meat to be clearly labeled. Present at this meeting was Dan Engeljohn, a longtime USDA official who is now assistant administrator for the Office of Policy and Program Development in the FSIS. This position makes him responsible for FSIS regulations,” Geller continued.

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