Horsemeat. Is it really that bad?

Weathers58
Weathers58 Posts: 246 Member
in Food and Nutrition
So I get all this discussion on being told what we are eating....BUT. Findus have just land filled 350:000 Lasagne ready meals!

If they had sold them at a reduced price in UK supermarkets (if thats legal) then I'd have eaten them.

Either way surely its not right that we have binned all this stuff when people are dying of malnutrition?

I have eaten horsemeat its not that bad and it is much better than supermarket basic mince.

What do you all think?

Weathers

Replies

  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
    Black market horse meat typically goes for around $20 a pound so getting it cheaper would be a steal. Horses are usually pretty lean so it's probably a great source of lean protein. I'm a vegetarian and I used to ride horses so obviously I'd never eat it, but if you're willing to eat a cow I don't see why it would be such a big deal to eat a horse. What makes certain animals OK to eat and others not OK to eat?
  • Athena53
    Athena53 Posts: 717 Member
    I once saw a stall in a market in Munich selling horsemeat, so in some places it's in the mainstream. I think the biggest objection was that it wasn't labeled as such. I've never eaten it but I'd try it.
  • MsPudding
    MsPudding Posts: 562 Member
    IMO you've missed the point. The issue is not that meat that was labelled as beef was, in fact, horse - the issue is that the supply chain of that meat was totally uncontrolled.

    Horse meat is healthy, but horse reared specifically for the human food chain to be sold as horse meat is treated very differently to horses who have been reared to race, work or be someone's pet. The horse meat found in these meals had drugs in it that would NOT have been given to horses bred to supply meat.

    The food chain HAS to be traceable and accountable. It is not and that is the travesty.
  • freelancejouster
    freelancejouster Posts: 478 Member
    I think there's something taboo about eating horsemeat. The main problem is that it was labeled as something else in this case, however. There are places such as Italy and the Middle East where horsemeat is basically just like any other meat.
  • jst1986
    jst1986 Posts: 204 Member
    The food chain HAS to be traceable and accountable. It is not and that is the travesty.

    Exactly. I've probably eaten it before and never had cause for complaint but the real bugbear is having no control and being lied to as whats in the food.
  • LittleMissDover
    LittleMissDover Posts: 820 Member

    The horse meat found in these meals had drugs in it that would NOT have been given to horses bred to supply meat.

    This is the issue, as they can't trace WHERE the horse meat came from it may not have been fit for human consumption.
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    Given the number of people who've said, "I quite fancy trying horse-meat so long as it's not being fraudulently labelled as beef," the meat industry should take advantage and start selling it freely.

    I've eat horse abroad, and figure if you're going to eaten one ungulate mammal you might as well eat others. It's a little tougher and not as rich, but cheap is good!

    Remember the BSE crisis when the supermarkets started stocking alternative, affordable red meats like kangaroo, ostrich and crocodile? I wish we could get such variety again!
  • mazdauk
    mazdauk Posts: 1,380 Member
    Until relatively recently I used to work for DEFRA. There are several issues here which are getting confused:

    1. The first issue is misrepresentation - there may be nothing wrong with the meat but you are not buying what you thought you were. (Same problem if you bought beef meatballs which had pork in them and you could not eat pork for religious/health reasons)
    2. The horsemeat found was not licensed for human consumption, and in some cases was found to contain a substance potentialy harmful to human health.
    3. Potentially huge fraud perpetrated on the supermarkets/manufacturers by the providers of the raw materials.

    Finally, think about WHY it is possible to porduce 4 burgers for £1 - no-one is going to be mincing prime cuts for that, its basically the oddments you would not want to recognise plus MRM - mechanically recovered meat. Look at the price of premium pet foods and basic "people" food. You don't find many people connected with the food industry eating "value" meat products (or processed products at all).

    Buy the best raw materials you can afford and make stuff yourself. Make it in bulk and freeze it and voila - a ready meal!

    ETA If you're trying to lose weight venison is even better!
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
    they say that the horsemeat is safe to eat..nothing wrong with that..the problem is when it is passed off as beef..you should have a right to know what you are paying for is what it's supposed to be.

    that said, your comment about re-selling those lasagnes to people who would happily buy them knowing what they contain is fully valid..food wastage is simply unacceptable.
  • tillybeth72
    tillybeth72 Posts: 12 Member
    I would eat horse, if it came from my local butcher!! I have not eaten burgers, supermarket sausages, chicken nuggets etc for years and certainly wouldnt feed my dog the stuff the supermarkets sell. I have always supported my local butcher as he knows exactly which farm his stock comes from, and no eyeballs, toenails or eyelids goes in them. The fact that dangerous drugs that have been given to the horses not fit for human consumption have gone into burgers, sausages, pre packed meals doesnt suprise me.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    I'd have happily bought them by the van-load for the right price.

    Or at least a few a week if we're not talking paying per tonne.

    Though never thought the Findus ready meals were that great - do quite like the Bisto ones, however.

    But; yes, the horses could have been pumped full of all sorts of things.

    Amusingly rather than the public thinking "maybe we shouldn't expect to pay £1 for a complete ready made meal", surveys showed that in general people 'blame' the supermarkets, but still want really cheap food.
  • ShaunMc1968
    ShaunMc1968 Posts: 204
    Findus also recalled their Fish pies!!!




    They had Sea Horse in them!!
  • icyeyes317
    icyeyes317 Posts: 226 Member
    I think it is so taboo, at least here in the US, because it's a 'pet', not a source of food.
  • rhall9058
    rhall9058 Posts: 270 Member
    IMO you've missed the point. The issue is not that meat that was labelled as beef was, in fact, horse - the issue is that the supply chain of that meat was totally uncontrolled.

    Horse meat is healthy, but horse reared specifically for the human food chain to be sold as horse meat is treated very differently to horses who have been reared to race, work or be someone's pet. The horse meat found in these meals had drugs in it that would NOT have been given to horses bred to supply meat.

    The food chain HAS to be traceable and accountable. It is not and that is the travesty.

    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^EXACTLY!!! Well said!!!
  • drchimpanzee
    drchimpanzee Posts: 892 Member
    I prefer dog but eaches own.
  • TheVimFuego
    TheVimFuego Posts: 2,412 Member
    I've eaten Icelandic Pony and Puffin.

    Tastes like human, no big deal.
  • PinkNinjaKitty
    PinkNinjaKitty Posts: 32 Member
    I agree 100% with this :-) If you are ok eating cows that live in concentration like conditions and are pumped up with soy/antibiotics and spend their entire lives in suffering I don't understand why you would have a problem eating a horse.

    I don't eat meat anymore but if I did, I would rather eat a lean animal like a horse or a deer over a cow...just saying.
  • jivitasa
    jivitasa Posts: 150 Member
    IMO you've missed the point. The issue is not that meat that was labelled as beef was, in fact, horse - the issue is that the supply chain of that meat was totally uncontrolled.

    Horse meat is healthy, but horse reared specifically for the human food chain to be sold as horse meat is treated very differently to horses who have been reared to race, work or be someone's pet. The horse meat found in these meals had drugs in it that would NOT have been given to horses bred to supply meat.

    The food chain HAS to be traceable and accountable. It is not and that is the travesty.

    ^^This. Best response I have seen on the topic that hits all the points of what the issue really is.
  • now_or_never13
    now_or_never13 Posts: 1,575 Member
    Black market horse meat typically goes for around $20 a pound so getting it cheaper would be a steal. Horses are usually pretty lean so it's probably a great source of lean protein. I'm a vegetarian and I used to ride horses so obviously I'd never eat it, but if you're willing to eat a cow I don't see why it would be such a big deal to eat a horse. What makes certain animals OK to eat and others not OK to eat?

    This.

    If it's ok to eat a cow or a pig why is it not ok to not eat another animal provided they are not an endangered species?

    I don't eat any meat as I am a vegetarian. One reason I became vegetarian was because if I'm not going to eat a certain animal I shouldn't eat any animal..but that's just me. I would never eat it but if people do, knock yourselves out.

    I think the issue with all the stuff happening is that the products do not have the horse meat listed in the ingredients. If it's legal to sell they could of just changed the label and sold it for those who wouldn't of cared. I'm sure people would of purchased those meals instead of them going to waste. There are two restaurants by me that sell different meats and do really well (crocodile, ostrich, kangaroo, buffalo, moose, etc).

    Another poster pointed out a horse can be classified as a pet instead of actually a food source like a cow or a pig. However, there are places in the world that eat dogs and cats even though we keep them as pets.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
    I think the biggest objection was that it wasn't labeled as such.

    Here is the issue. I expect to be truthfully told what I am purchasing/eating. If I am told a product is 100% beef, then it better be 100% beef.
  • breeshabebe
    breeshabebe Posts: 580
    When I was in Peru, I ate Guinea Pig.... twas pretty yummy.
  • littleblackcar
    littleblackcar Posts: 24
    The biggest objection in the U.S. to eating horsemeat is cultural. We view them as pets more than as livestock; it would be like eating your dog. Provided it hasn't been tainted with drugs, there is nothing inherently bad about horsemeat as a food.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    IMO you've missed the point. The issue is not that meat that was labelled as beef was, in fact, horse - the issue is that the supply chain of that meat was totally uncontrolled.

    Horse meat is healthy, but horse reared specifically for the human food chain to be sold as horse meat is treated very differently to horses who have been reared to race, work or be someone's pet. The horse meat found in these meals had drugs in it that would NOT have been given to horses bred to supply meat.

    The food chain HAS to be traceable and accountable. It is not and that is the travesty.

    ^^^ I agree. I'd eat horse that's fit for human consumption. It's no different to eating cow or sheep, or camel for that matter (which I ate on quite a regular basis when I lived in Saudi). Horses that are not for the human food chain may be given drugs that are unsafe if the meat is consumed by humans. If a horse is given any of these drugs, then they have to be taken out of the human food chain, and all horse meat sold in the UK has to have complete traceability because of this. This is why the issue of black market and/or untraceable horse meat in human food is so bad. that supermarket had no choice but to landfill all those horse meat meals, because they don't know whether the horses in question were fit to be in the human food chain in the first place. You can't, ethically or legally, have something on sale in a shop, when there's doubts about whether it's fit for human consumption and could make someone ill.
  • Athena53
    Athena53 Posts: 717 Member
    The food chain HAS to be traceable and accountable. It is not and that is the travesty.

    Yeah, it's gotten crazy. The German news (tagesschau.de) showed a typical trail for an order, fulfillment and shippment of "beef" ordered by a UK-based food porcessor, from the UK to Luxemboug to Cyprus to Romania and with a few other points I've forgotten. Everyone can point fingers at everybody else. You have to give credit ot the Romanians, though- they were processing horse meat and they said so.
  • bmqbonnie
    bmqbonnie Posts: 836 Member
    IMO you've missed the point. The issue is not that meat that was labelled as beef was, in fact, horse - the issue is that the supply chain of that meat was totally uncontrolled.

    Horse meat is healthy, but horse reared specifically for the human food chain to be sold as horse meat is treated very differently to horses who have been reared to race, work or be someone's pet. The horse meat found in these meals had drugs in it that would NOT have been given to horses bred to supply meat.

    The food chain HAS to be traceable and accountable. It is not and that is the travesty.
    Horses aren't really raised for meat. They are typically low quality horses that are no longer wanted, which means the ban in the US along with a bad economy resulted in a surplus of unwanted horses, not too different from the general pet overpopulation. Sometimes they are no longer sound for riding or breeding. Which is part of the drug concern- many dewormers and such that are given to working horses without a second thought are not okay to be given to food animals and therefore wouldn't be given to things like beef cattle. But horsemeat typically comes from a horse that is a pet or work animal one day and is hauled off to the slaughterhouse the next.

    Horsemeat is also somewhat of a luxury, so it's not cheap. It's also rather sweet due to the amount of glycogen in horse muscles, which is why a horse can take off a lot faster than, say, a cow.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,328 Member

    Horse meat is healthy, but horse reared specifically for the human food chain to be sold as horse meat is treated very differently to horses who have been reared to race, work or be someone's pet. The horse meat found in these meals had drugs in it that would NOT have been given to horses bred to supply meat.

    More precisely, it could have drugs in it that are not approved for human consumption.

    As others have said, it is a matter of knowing what is in your food. I have eaten horse meat and it is quite good, although very lean.
  • Magenta15
    Magenta15 Posts: 850 Member
    I have been learning a lot about this lately as one of my best friends often saves horses from the feedlots here in canada

    the problem is not in eating horse meat itselft (it's quite common overseas, but in 1) not telling people and 2) not knowing where the meat is coming from/ not regulated.
    .
    often times the horses slaughtered for meat come mainly from auctions (feedlots etc.), where they are sold by private sellers and breeders... these horses can be sick and/or injured and have been pumped full of (cancer causing) drugs not fit for human consumption. Because horses are not "intended" for the human food chain, throughout their lives they will often have received medications that are banned by the FDA for use at any time during the life of food animals

    "American horse meat raises a number of potential health concerns, mainly due to the routine usage of medications in horses banned in food animals, and the lack of tracking of this usage in horses. Unlike livestock raised for food, where all potential medications are tested for withdrawal times; approved or banned for usage, and vigilantly tracked for each animal, there is no way to guarantee which medications have or have not been used in a particular horse"

    and also much of our horse meat is shipped overseas... so they need to be careful too.

    I dunno... I am pretty open minded about diff eating practices - i've even tried horse meat in holland ( I didn't want to be rude lol) but I at least would like to know where my food is coming from and what's in it... same with my beef or eggs or whatever I am ingesting :)

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