"why is it a hate crime to ask for non halal meat?"
that is a good point.
If a case can be accepted that one religious group requires a blessing on the slaughter of its meat.
Then the case that someones meat does not have that blessing is equally valid.
coles and woollies have said it is about making their meat available to a wider market.
So let the market decide. The only way this can happen is for those against it to boycott halal meat.
Therefore it should be a requirement for meat to be branded as such.
