Should shops now sell horse and would you buy it?

Cycloslalomeur

TGOTB wrote:

Suggestions that the cost of producing horse meat is similar to beef/venison aren't correct; I looked into this a while ago, as I was curious about the economics.

Turns out that horse meat in other parts of Europe (Italy was the example I looked at) is generally a by-product of the large number of horses reared for other purposes including leisure. Horses are quite big, and expensive to look after, and a lot of them are owned by commercial outfits (eg riding stables) who can't afford to be sentimental. When a horse stops paying its way, you don't take it to the vet for an injection and then bury it under the rose bush; you send it to an abbatoir. If the horse was old (as opposed to diseased) the meat will be perfectly edible, and in many countries it will end up in the butchers.

I believe (but haven't actually checked) that exactly the same thing happens in this country, but because we don't like eating dobbin it ends up in pet food instead. I also wouldn't be at all surprised if some British horses aren't exported to other countries for slaughter and human consumption.

This. Somebody here mentioned salami. I daresay many a Briton already eats equids in the form of cured sausages. Here in Belgium smoked horse fillet is widely available and it is cheap and yummy. I believe the Belgii also happily devour raw horse fillet.

sketchley

When you go to Zoo and watch them feed the lions and tigers, that is normally horse meat that they are being given.....
It would not surprise me if a lot of cat and dog food was horse

Cycloslalomeur

CiB wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

That'd be a whole new twist to attending the Quorn Hunt

Good, v good.

Rabbit's good, so is pheasant, goose, reindeer (had it in Finland - a bit chewy but nice) so any opposition to horse is based on sentimentality rather than physiological reasons.

It must have been the norm once anyway - where does the phrase "I'm so hungry I could..." come from?

Santa's beasts of burden are indeed tasty, although I fear you may have had a reindeer fry-up (poronkäristys) made with cheap cuts that may indeed be chewy if improperly stewed. This reindeer herder's lunch is ironically served up to tourists as a high-brow delicacy at a premium price. Choicest reindeer cuts are as tender as beef fillet but obviously staggeringly dear.

Speaking of Nordic meat, elk is delicious as well. Intense flavour, no need for seasoning or even much in the way of salt. Serve with the murkiest red wine you can find.

walkingbootweather

I wonder if some of these stories are exaggerated. I had some horseradish sauce with my dinner last night and I don't believe there was a single horse in it! My wife tells me she has been reading a book called Donkey Oaty and she assures me there are very few references to animals of the equidae family, and none at all to do with donkeys. Perhaps some of these mad cows just think they are horses?

rolf_f

walkingbootweather wrote:

My wife tells me she has been reading a book called Donkey Oaty and she assures me there are very few references to animals of the equidae family, and none at all to do with donkeys.

She can't be reading it right then! A third of the main characters in that book is a horse

Piggin' terrible book though.......

edhornby

on this thread there is an embedded advert for

'Black Horse Loan Refunds'

someone's an advertising genius

simon_e

DonDaddyD wrote:

Whose to blame - everyone from points 1 - 3.

Consumers - despite needing to be wiser - IMO are the victims as they were properly duped.

I agree, DDD. As in all walks of life, there are always people who want to cheat.

If you buy cheap processed food, whether it's burgers or Findus or any other ready-meals, you're getting cheap junk. There are enough people in the food industry who are only doing it for $$$, integrity and your health count for nothing. My rule of thumb is: the less processing that has been done the more of the original ingredients' qualities remain, and the less crap has been added in.

And the "too expensive" excuse won't wash. Everyone can eat healthily, it just takes a bit more thought than spending your time in the microwave ready-meal aisle and 6 minutes @ 850w.

DonDaddyD

Simon E wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

Whose to blame - everyone from points 1 - 3.

Consumers - despite needing to be wiser - IMO are the victims as they were properly duped.

I agree, DDD. As in all walks of life, there are always people who want to cheat.

If you buy cheap processed food, whether it's burgers or Findus or any other ready-meals, you're getting cheap junk. There are enough people in the food industry who are only doing it for $$$, integrity and your health count for nothing. My rule of thumb is: the less processing that has been done the more of the original ingredients' qualities remain, and the less crap has been added in.

And the "too expensive" excuse won't wash. Everyone can eat healthily, it just takes a bit more thought than spending your time in the microwave ready-meal aisle and 6 minutes @ 850w.

Yeppers, the worry for me now is, 'how do I know my sirloin and lamb chop is actually beef and lamb?'

Kieran_Burns

Simon E wrote:

DonDaddyD wrote:

Whose to blame - everyone from points 1 - 3.

Consumers - despite needing to be wiser - IMO are the victims as they were properly duped.

I agree, DDD. <snip>.

Well, this thread just took a whole new twist....

rolf_f

DonDaddyD wrote:

Yeppers, the worry for me now is, 'how do I know my sirloin and lamb chop is actually beef and lamb?'

If all else fails, you can always resort to the old fashioned solution of tasting it rather than just relying on the label.

Coriander

Sketchley wrote:

When you go to Zoo and watch them feed the lions and tigers, that is normally horse meat that they are being given.....
It would not surprise me if a lot of cat and dog food was horse

Any reason why it shouldn't be?

prawny

I saw this the other day in my local tesco's, made me chuckle. I couldn't help thinking that somewhere there's a load of them cakes that are just decorated actual horse heads.

simon_e

Sketchley wrote:

It would not surprise me if a lot of cat and dog food was horse

Quite likely. Laws governing food labelling (and contents) are different for pet food from that for human consumption.

And don't forget that feeding meat and bonemeal to herbivores gave us BSE.