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 05/20/2005 06:57:30 AM · #1
As I'm about to move back to the UK I was thinking over lunch today of how things would be different, one thing of course is what and how we eat.

Now, in Switzerland horsemeat is quite popular but I realise that this view is not shared in the UK. Taking advantage of the global community here on DPC I was wondering what your opinions are of horsemeat both morally and tastewise.
 05/20/2005 07:46:34 AM · #2
Society taboos are very interesting,
I personally have an open mind... seeing as I will eat Pigmeat, or Cowmeat, it seems hypocritical to feign disgust at eating certain animals. Ducks are a favourite animal of mine, and they taste good too.
 05/20/2005 07:50:02 AM · #3
I don't eat horse, but I would imageine that would have to be one of the healthiest meats out there to eat. That's gotta be naturally 99% fat free or something, huh?
 05/20/2005 07:50:31 AM · #4
I too am very open minded having eaten stuff like rabbit, alligator, frog legs, squid, and who knows what when I lived in Japan lol. I don't see why one animal shouldn't be eaten just because it is domesticated (sp?). I do however draw the line at cannibalism. Speaking of...these two cannibals were eating a circus clown and one says "hey does this taste funny to you?"

Message edited by author 2005-05-20 07:51:25.
 05/20/2005 08:29:40 AM · #5
Clearly you've been away too long....can you not remember the exotic (and animal origin indeterminable) taste of Doner Kebabs? After your last thread, where have you decided to settle?
 05/20/2005 08:33:34 AM · #6
Horsemeat? I say neigh-neigh. lol
 05/20/2005 08:39:32 AM · #7
Originally posted by bpickard:
Clearly you've been away too long....can you not remember the exotic (and animal origin indeterminable) taste of Doner Kebabs? After your last thread, where have you decided to settle?


We're looking at Worcester, but still not decided, have also started looking at areas in and around Yorkshire.

I know that the kebabs are going to be a culture shock, I'm used to having veal (real meat not processed unknown turning objects) and a beer from the kebab shops here :)
 05/20/2005 08:46:20 AM · #8
I prefer unicorn burgers with a side of bald eagle.
 05/20/2005 08:48:26 AM · #9
The major problem with horsemeat in the US is that there's a sorry history of wild horses captured for "adoption" being diverted to slaughterhouses, along with some which are poached/rustled. Americans seem to have a prejudice against eating horsemeat, although I ate it when I was a kid; we have no such problem feeding it to our dogs.
 05/20/2005 08:53:43 AM · #10
my only experience of horsemeat is from seeing it in french supermarkets, to me it just looked not very appetising, a very dark red (but not in a nice way like beef) and very fibrous looking. Other than that I'd have no problem, I've eaten plenty of cute wittle furry bunnies and squirrels in my time.
 05/20/2005 09:00:21 AM · #11
Originally posted by colda:
As I'm about to move back to the UK I was thinking over lunch today of how things would be different, one thing of course is what and how we eat.

Now, in Switzerland horsemeat is quite popular but I realise that this view is not shared in the UK. Taking advantage of the global community here on DPC I was wondering what your opinions are of horsemeat both morally and tastewise.


Absolutely no moral issues for me whatsoever. One man's horse is another man's beef is another man's dog is another man's snake is another man's mopane worm. Most cultures eat something which other cultures find abhorrent.

I think those who eat meat of any kind themselves but find it offensive that others eat a particular variety are hypocrites.

Whilst not a vegetarian I have sympathy with vegetarians who condemn the consumption of horse meat provided they condemn the consumption of other meats equally.

I also have sympathy with arguments that recommend not consuming a particular animal because of risks associated with doing so, either because of disease carried by it or because of issues to do with the food production and distribution cycle.

For me the issue is not about how cute an animal is, what emotional and/ or psychological relationship we have with that animal or even how it might taste.

I dislike hearing about cases where endangered species are being threatened with extinction through (usually, though not always) illicit consumption.

I dislike hearing about cases where the methods of farming or catching the animals (or fish) are causing damage to other life and/ or to the environment.

I dislike hearing about mistreatment of farmed or caught fish/ animals.

I can't pretend that I do all I should in this regard. I don't restrict myself to organic only and I don't invest as much time as I should to find out the provenance of what I eat. I do try and buy from producers who I trust in the ethical arena (such as Waitrose) and I do try and stay informed about the issue in general but I also succumb frequently to the temptation of meals from favourite suppliers such as Chinese takeaways, kebab shops and so on where I have no idea about the provenance.

Message edited by author 2005-05-20 09:02:26.
 05/20/2005 09:00:56 AM · #12
Originally posted by cbonsall:
my only experience of horsemeat is from seeing it in french supermarkets, to me it just looked not very appetising, a very dark red (but not in a nice way like beef) and very fibrous looking.

From what I remember, it's very tender, low-fat, and mild-tasting. As kids we referred to it as "Filly Mignon."
 05/20/2005 09:16:17 AM · #13
I've tried all kinds of things that I never thought of as food (though not horsemeat). At one Chinese wedding, I tried sea cucumber and jellyfish. I don't recommend them. :-P
 05/20/2005 09:19:04 AM · #14
To my knowledge, I have never knowingly eaten horse meat. However, there were a couple of suspicious meals when I was in Moscow a few years ago . . .

To me, personally, I don't like the thought of eating horses (or cats or dogs) simply because of the roles such animals have played in my life. But, if you want to eat Mr. Ed, have at it. :) I don't think wild vs. domestic plays a large part in it for me. I don't consider cows to be wild, and I eat those. Deer and bear are wild, but I don't particularly like the way it tastes.

I thought at one time about going vegetarian, but I like so few veggies, I would starve to death in a matter of days. Now, if I could be a chocolatarian, things would be different! :)
 05/20/2005 09:19:14 AM · #15
I'm from the UK originally and we would often have school trips to France, as I think most UK kids do. One time it was a week-long trip at a camp of sorts in the south of France and we were given burgers. It wasnt until we thought it tasted weird that we asked and found out it was horse meat. That still haunts me to this day!

I'm a vegetarian so it should be obvious what my opinion on horse meat is. I can accept, in some small way, that people feel the need to eat beef and chicken but horse seems to be purely based on taste(?). I also feel the same about lambs, veal, and deer meat.

Is that because of the cuteness factor? Maybe. I was out on the weekend and the car was surrounded by cows for at least 40 minutes (open range) and I just sat/stood there and watched them and I have to say in a different kind of way that cows are cute too.

Cows, baby lambs, calves weaned on milk, and horses are animals just like cougars, chimps, and tigers. Chickens are birds just like the bald eagle who is a symbol of the US and is almost guaranteed a high score on DPC. I choose to not see the difference.

That said I'm not the type who forces people to not eat meat and I will eat dinner with someone who does. I will often quip and ask how their several day old rotting meat carcass is but then they usually quip back about my rotting vegetation. It all balances out :)
05/20/2005 09:30:25 AM · #16
I have tried a horse burger when I was a teenager. I did it to upset my sister (who likes horses). It was nothing to write home about.

I was going to write a long spiel about psychological relationships being founded in the home, and shrinkwrapped society. But then I recalled that the French had a Horse-Eating Society founded when Paris was under siege in 1870 and thought the following about siege food might be slightly more interesting.

"The first substitute for the regular meat diet was horse. Parisians disdained it, at first, and it took the Horse-Eating Society to inform the public of the advantages to eating horse. When it finally came down to eating them, all breeds were included, from thoroughbred to mules. With time even this type of nourishment became rare, so other meats were introduced into the diet. Dogs, cats, and rats (14) were frequently eaten. The animals of the zoo were added to this diet, including Castor and Pollux, the two elephants that were the pride of Paris. Only the lions, tigers, and monkeys were spared; the big cats for the difficulty of approaching them, the monkeys because of "some vague Darwinian notion that they were the relatives of the people of Paris and eating them would be tantamount to cannibalism." (15)"

05/20/2005 09:34:08 AM · #17
One of my favorite TV commercials of all time was for BBQ sauce. It started out with soft, heartwarming descriptions of various farm animals ("the pig: one of the most intelligent creatures on earth..., the lamb: a symbol of peace and fragility...") then ends with a regular guy in a chef's hat saying, "Hey, here's an idea...let's EAT em'!" The jarring contrast is hilarious.
 05/20/2005 09:41:47 AM · #18
My thoughts are these..

Whilst the demand being so low for horsemeat most anywhere, the meat you'll get is mostly from older horses which were relieved from the pain of growing old.. Not using this gift of nature would be a waste.

Still I grew up with horses and love them! We also had sheep. Now I have experienced eating some of these sheep that we had at home and that was very weird!

But I don't think I could ever eat the meat of the horses we had.. But that is because when you develop a friendship with any animal the thoughts of your friend dieing.. someone eating you friend?!!

But horsemeat does taste great! Imho the best meat I've ever had. Still if I knew that the horsemeat that I ate came from animals that had suffered etc I would not eat it.

I have only had it a few times, many years ago, it is not like I miss it, because I still had a little weird feeling about eating horsemeat because of my bond with them.. But still I have to say it was the best meat I ever had. Just my 2C...
 05/20/2005 10:07:15 AM · #19
I've got to chime in.

Being a memeber of the Oglala band of the Lakota Nation, I tried horse when I was a kid visiting kin on the rez. I don't remember what it tasted like. I've also had rattle snake, deer, antelope, and buffalo.

When talking to my tukunshula (grand father), he told me stories of how tough it is on the rez. How government help wasn't really help, but just a way to keep our people under control, and drunk.

It was not uncommon to eat things on the rez that the normal city dwelling american would never buy at the grocers. Not because there was not a Piggly Wiggly to go to on the rez, but because alot of the Lakota people could not afford to eat ground beef, or pork chops, or even chicken. Alot of the Lakota in the day were alcoholics, living a dismal life on a land that used to be ours. Even today, the Rosebud Rez is considered the killing fields of indian folk. Indian vs Indian, Indian vs White, Indian vs Himself.

Today, most reservations have casinos, and the cost of living, and the value of life has increased. But again, greed plays into the hands of the people, and instead of alcohol, drugs have replaced vices among the young.

Ever since the slaughter of the buffalo in the 19th century, and the taking of lands, and the introduction of alcohol, horsemeat is the differance of life and death to some familys struggling to make ends meet.

I am one of the lucky ones. My great grandmother married a white man, moved to a farm in Tennassee, and the rest is history.

But for those that are still on the rez, I would never put them down for eating horsemeat. It would dishonor them, and make me hypocrytacol.

Just a thought, and there will be no rebutle.
 05/20/2005 10:33:11 AM · #20
Forget Horsemeat....go vegetarian! go cannibalism! EAT HUFU!

The human flesh alternative....yup...that's right...ToFu engineered to have the taste and texture of real human flesh. Let your deviancy feast without guilt!



Message edited by author 2005-05-20 10:33:26.
 05/20/2005 11:32:11 AM · #21
Yay, HUFU! Something new for our school cantina :)

I don't have any moral problems with eating horse meat, but I don't think it's taste is spectacular. I can do with a beefsteak just as well. But I do love duck. Ah, there's nothing better than a good, roasted duck with honey sauce...
 05/20/2005 11:34:38 AM · #22
Originally posted by gloda:
But I do love duck. Ah, there's nothing better than a good, roasted duck with honey sauce...

I'm SO with you on that one!
Also love Crispy Aromatic Duck with pancakes and hoisin sauce! MmmmMmM!
 05/20/2005 11:36:15 AM · #23
Originally posted by Kavey:
Crispy Aromatic Duck with pancakes and hoisin sauce! MmmmMmM!


The only way to eat duck :)
 05/20/2005 11:48:33 AM · #24
"Angered when he received the bill for his lunch, the patron
demaded to know why the bill for for his quarter horse burger was $4.00"

Message edited by author 2005-05-20 11:49:14.
 05/20/2005 11:52:37 AM · #25
Originally posted by theSaj:
Forget Horsemeat....go vegetarian! go cannibalism! EAT HUFU!

The human flesh alternative....yup...that's right...ToFu engineered to have the taste and texture of real human flesh. Let your deviancy feast without guilt!

A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift
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