Horsemeat? No neigh!

Attachment 40235

Horsemeat: The ongoing saga

I apologise for the HIDEOUS pun I made there, but it's for a serious point. Basically, if your not from Europe, which the majority of you aren't, basically processed foods from companies such as Findus, and supermarket own brand items, have had horse-meat contamination in them, in some sampling, between 60% - 100%. This has resulted in everyone in England and there being a media storm over the whole thing. Now, poor Romania is being flogged for some of it's food distribution factories apparently being involved.

It's a omni-shambles essentially. What are you opinions on it? If you Google "horse-meat scandal" you'll get a literal f**kton of news content.

Our fast food in America is made from pure grade A pink slime! :quina:

Honestly, my only beef with this is that it was wrong of them to advertise it as cow meat.

But uh, aside from that... I don't care. If I ate any horsemeat, I couldn't tell the difference and it's all food in the end. :p Don't understand the stigma against eating horse.

I have no issues with eating horse meat. Also, this thread needs a Quina.

I've actually had horse-meat before; it's actually quite nice!

For me, it's the false labelling involved. It's being advertised as beef, but is something else.

I'd try some Mr. Ed.

The issue is, aside from the false labelling, whether or not the horse meat involved was from horses suitable for human consumption. i.e. were they actually from horses bred for eating or for example from horses used for something else that may have been pumped full of steroids etc

Horse meat is indeed sweet and quite delicious, but any kind of false labelling is wrong.

Horse meat is fine, but when you pay for not-horsemeat, you should get not-horsemeat as well.

I'm not even bothered or even shocked by this story in the news. Lets face it ever since the movie Demolition Man where Sly Stallone eats a "rat burger" we knew that what we paid for was not what we got, last time I checked that film was what? 90s? 15 years ago already.

I'm not even pissed that it was sold on as beef, I'm not sure I see what this massive big deal is about it. I mean, it's just another animal to cross off the list of ones I'm yet to eat. One day when I'm dying of old age, just for sheer trouts and giggles I want to eat me a polar bear steak.

I'd eat rat meat no problem if it tasted good and was "produced" in an all right way. I wouldn't want rats that had been feeding on the most toxic trout that could be found down in the sewers :p.

But again, I'd only want rat if I ordered rat :p

It's interesting how developed countries have arbitrarily distinguished between animals fit for consumption and those that aren't. Though just because I recognize it as arbitrary doesn't mean I'm overly eager to eat dog.

My line isn't that arbitrary. I generally do not eat carnivorous mammals.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Raistlin

It's interesting how developed countries have arbitrarily distinguished between animals fit for consumption and those that aren't. Though just because I recognize it as arbitrary doesn't mean I'm overly eager to eat dog.

---

There are some interesting anthropology articles regarding this. I once read one where it drew parallels with food taboos and sexual taboos in culture.

I find it disgusting, the whole thing.

Because what about people who are allergic to anything from horses, and they're eating this 'beef' that isn't actually beef! I don't even buy any kind of frozen burgers anyway, but I did used to have the occasional Burger King and I simply won't anymore because that's gross.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lockharted

I find it disgusting, the whole thing.

Because what about people who are allergic to anything from horses, and they're eating this 'beef' that isn't actually beef! I don't even buy any kind of frozen burgers anyway, but I did used to have the occasional Burger King and I simply won't anymore because that's gross.

---

First of all, correct me if I'm wrong someone but I pretty much have never heard of someone being allergic to one type of meat and not another. I mean sure; people being allergic to fish or people being allergic to poultry but being able to eat red meat I could get. Yet that is not the same as being allergic to a certain type of red meat when not allergic to other red meat types.

I guess you could be referring more to perhaps something to do with feed, Tara? Or chemicals present in the meat? Again I may be wrong but cooking meat until properly cooked in an oven at around 200 degrees celcius would destroy the chemicals in it. It's kind of why we cook most meat instead of just eating it raw. Diet wise, I'm fairly certain the average horse is fed better than the average pig. We don't hear people (non muslims at least) complaining about pork or the diet the pig has before it is slaughtered which can include the offal.

The fact that people find it wrong to eat one type of animal and not another is quite amusing, how is eating horse meat more disgusting or wrong than eating lamb, pork or beef? I can understand, why you wouldn't eat endangered species or animals with a toxic flesh to us but we aren't talking bout an animal in either of those categories, we're talking about an animal that for almost the entirety of human history has been farmed, bred and used for everything from transport and war to food. It's not like this is something new and unusual even within the realms of British History, in fact it's probably only in the past 100 - 150 years that the consumption of horses in the UK has become something uncommon or even disapproved of. Why was this? I don't have the answer I certainly don't agree with it on principle of if a pig is good enough to eat, why not a horse? Why not a dog or a cat? Certainly scientists seem to believe that the growing population of Earth will see us eating a diet with more insects and diversified meat sources in. When you consider what animals are easily raised, farmed and kept? I can easily see those "diversified meat sources" being dogs, cats, rodents of various forms.

The law however has been broken and I agree this is wrong. Our laws since at least the 1970s have been there to protect innocent consumers from being mis-informed and unfortunately in this situation we've all been duped. However this is something which can easily be resolved by forcing food production companies to do one of two things: Only use approved beef (maybe harder to achieve than state since it appears the food companies in some instances were duped by vets being paid off/intimidated in to approving the meat as beef) or to remove the term beef from their packaging substituting it for meat instead. I know "Findus meat crispy pancakes" does not have the same impact in advertising as "Findus beef crispy pancakes" but as I've outlined previously; I don't agree that the eating of horse meat is harmful in any way, shape or form. I certainly believe that most of the crap we see in the papers is your usual Daily Mail fear-mongering bulltrout we see every day about video games, the internet and so forth it's sensationalized and designed to do nothing more than sell papers.

I think it's disgusting because it was sold as beef. I still wouldn't eat a horse though. I don't know why, don't even have a rational reason tbh I just wouldn't.

Also, people can be allergic to the meat. My housemates Mother in Law can't eat anything with beef because of something in it. I don't know what exactly but she can't. It might not be the meat itself but something in it.

Also, how do you know it's actually just horse meat? Not ground up horse hooves and eyeballs and all sorts?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lockharted

I think it's disgusting because it was sold as beef. I still wouldn't eat a horse though. I don't know why, don't even have a rational reason tbh I just wouldn't.

Also, people can be allergic to the meat. My housemates Mother in Law can't eat anything with beef because of something in it. I don't know what exactly but she can't. It might not be the meat itself but something in it.

Also, how do you know it's actually just horse meat? Not ground up horse hooves and eyeballs and all sorts?

---

Well personally I'd be interested to know if the allergy is something akin to my sisters "allergy" to tomatoes...

As for the "actually horse meat" line red meat when sold is not pre-ground up as far as I am aware, though if includes hooves and so forth I'd expect it to taste a fair bit grittier since hooves are essentially bone. That's done by the factory however when you get lamb, beef and horse steaks side by side it can be pretty hard to tell the difference between the different meats.

Tesco burger walks into a pub and orders a drink. Barman says "Could you speak up?" Tesco burger says "Sorry, I'm a little hoarse".

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lockharted

Also, how do you know it's actually just horse meat? Not ground up horse hooves and eyeballs and all sorts?

---

If you don't know what's commonly found in hot dogs, you should probably stop asking questions right now.

Native Americans!?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mirage

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Lockharted

Also, how do you know it's actually just horse meat? Not ground up horse hooves and eyeballs and all sorts?

---

If you don't know what's commonly found in hot dogs, you should probably stop asking questions right now.

---

I do know what's in them. Which is why I don't eat them.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Psychotic

Tesco burger walks into a pub and orders a drink. Barman says "Could you speak up?" Tesco burger says "Sorry, I'm a little hoarse".

---

This Ascot out of hand now.

Though to be fair I checked the Tesco burgers in my freezer earlier "and they're off!" I did eat one though not realising it could've given me the trots but thankfully my condition is still stable.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Aulayna

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Psychotic

Tesco burger walks into a pub and orders a drink. Barman says "Could you speak up?" Tesco burger says "Sorry, I'm a little hoarse".

---

This Ascot out of hand now.

Though to be fair I checked the Tesco burgers in my freezer earlier "and they're off!" I did eat one though not realising it could've given me the trots but thankfully my condition is still stable.

---

So dinner at yours can really send them galloping on down the straight to the water...

Some how eating a cow is okay, but a horse isn't? I fail to see the reasoning behind that. Yes, it's false advertising which is bad, but why should it change your decision to keep eating it if it's a different animal?

With that said, I don't eat fast food burgers anyway.

Probably because the fact that it has been called horse meat has made people think of the burger as having been at one point alive.

which they normally don't

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Shiny

Some how eating a cow is okay, but a horse isn't? I fail to see the reasoning behind that. Yes, it's false advertising which is bad, but why should it change your decision to keep eating it if it's a different animal?

With that said, I don't eat fast food burgers anyway.

---

I agree with what you're saying, I don't even know myself. Maybe because it's not.... 'usual' to eat it. Like, eating beef and chicken and pork is fine because you can buy it at the supermarkets and butchers here, but horse.... I've never seen horse available to buy as a food.

Horse meats are often available from specialist butchers, though yeah, their not 'common' in England and the UK.

I went to France once on a trip and had horse. Quite nice actually.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Araciel

Probably because the fact that it has been called horse meat has made people think of the burger as having been at one point alive.

which they normally don't

---

Where do people think meat comes from? o_O

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NorthernChaosGod

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Araciel

Probably because the fact that it has been called horse meat has made people think of the burger as having been at one point alive.

which they normally don't

---

Where do people think meat comes from? o_O

---

I'm thinking that's the point of the post. That we don't normally thinking of cow/chicken etc. meat as at one point being alive, but since horses arent usual for us as a delicacy, we think we're eating a beautiful majestic horse that had its life unjustly taken from it!
That sorta thing. Maybe I missed the point though. :sweat:

No, you got it.

Also, Black Beauty. :(

seabuiscits!

So because we don't give cows cute nicknames we can eat them. Gotcha.

i nickname every burger i eat
usually i nickname it wesly

Hidalgo!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TrollHunter

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NorthernChaosGod

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Araciel

Probably because the fact that it has been called horse meat has made people think of the burger as having been at one point alive.

which they normally don't

---

Where do people think meat comes from? o_O

---

I'm thinking that's the point of the post. That we don't normally thinking of cow/chicken etc. meat as at one point being alive, but since horses arent usual for us as a delicacy, we think we're eating a beautiful majestic horse that had its life unjustly taken from it!
That sorta thing. Maybe I missed the point though. :sweat:

---

That's just stupid. I would eat all the animals. Except for my dog, because he's mine. I'd eat another person's dog though.

Horses are one of those animals that are considered 'pets' to a lot of people. I'm pretty sure that would be the foremost reason behind some people not liking the idea of eating them. I would never eat a cat or a dog, just like someone who owned a horse would probably never eat horse.

Jesus people, nobody cares that the meat is horse, the scandal isn't about that. The scandal is that it's managed to find its way into different food sold at many different retailers without anybody knowing. What else are they putting in there?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Old Manus

Jesus people, nobody cares that the meat is horse, the scandal isn't about that. The scandal is that it's managed to find its way into different food sold at many different retailers without anybody knowing. What else are they putting in there?

---

Er, you might not want to eat that new product, Soylent Green.