.Horse meat.

[AuroraSprings]

Being a horse lover/trainer/and even rescuer, you'd think I wouldn't touch horse meat. But when I saw the chance while in Croatia, I ate it. The meat was overcooked, but otherwise great flavor. I don't think I could eat my own horse (course if I get irritated enough with his antics, just maybe), but I could eat an unknown horse. The lose of the horse slaughterhouses has caused as many problems as it's solved. As long as the process is humane, it's cool in my book. I'd try dog if I could find it for sale.

 

[Pops2]

Quote:
A friend of my husbands dad drove a big truck for McDonalds. Most of the meat for your quarter-pounder comes from DDD cattle. Dead. Diseased. Dying.


Obviously, ALL cattle are dead before becoming burger, but I mean dead in the truck BEFORE slaughter.

technically this is illegal. these animals are supposed to go into the pet food industry or renered into "natural flavor" that is they are skinned, gutted, chunked & boiled until everything dissolves including the bones. this is then cooked down into an oily liquid or solid for use as flavoring.

 

[Pops2]

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for liability reasons, industrial slaughter in the USA is very humane. dog is very tough unless it's cooked twice. brown it then stew it and it goes down fine.

 

[kstaven]

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You are basing your opinion on some pretty outdated information. Things have changed a lot and in many cases our regs are tighter now than a good part of the U.S.

 

[bock]

I really don't like eating any type of meat. I usually only eat meat for dinner three times a week, and it is always chicken, turkey, or fish. The only reason I am not 100% vegetarian is because my parents won't get off my back about the "lack of protein". Although I calculated it and I get more than enough. I also cut out all dairy, except for kefir and eggs from my own chickens.

It just sickens me how most food animals are treated. Factory farms are no place to live, and it just seems totally unfair to these innocent creatures. I prefer to eat only poultry and fish because these animals seem less intelligent than say pigs or cattle. However, I wouldn't hesitate to eat pork or beef if they were treated humanely, and given the best life possible until the last moment of their lives. Personally, I would never be able to eat dog. I respect the people who do, but all I can think about is my two dogs, Sugar and Sabrina. They are like my children, and I just couldn't bring myself to do it, unless I was starving. As far as horse meat, I have never had a close bond with a horse, so it wouldn't be as hard for me. In the end, I would still prefer to be a vegetarian. It's just my belief, all animals are my friends. It is up to the individual person though, whatever you choose to eat or not to eat, as long as the animals are not treated inhumanely.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I agree that animals are often treated poorly when profit is the leading motive, whether for meat or any other purpose.
Small holders who raise food for their own consumption tend to be kinder.
Whether it's ethical to eat horse meat is based on ones cultural background. Some cultures use horse for transportation, work, milk and food.
It isn't fair, appropriate or even important to judge other cultures because they developed different morays.
Some cultures diet consists almost entirely of insects and other invertibrates. One African groups diet is entirely milk and blood.
Is that wrong? No, it's how they evolved.
Some cultures(northern/western nation urbanites) diet consists almost entirely of products packaged in styrofoam or cardboard containers. I don't know which is more barbaric - turning a blind eye to having your food provided by multibillion dollar corporations and their sub-minimum wage employees or gleaning whatever nutrition you can find from wherever you can find it.
To survive we must eat, the more nutritious the food the better. If what is available is vegetative, caterpillars or horsemeat - so be it.

ETA The way most people in industrialized countries satisfy their hunger is an anomaly in human evolution. Travel just a little and you'll see many more disturbing things than horsemeat. Once we understand how our brothers and sisters worldwide live and survive, almost anything seems normal. Years ago I would have never considered any protein source other than fish, fowl or ungulates suitable fare; now anything that walks, swims, crawls or flies is more acceptable.

 

[llrumsey]

I can't say that I am really against or for slaughter of horses, I'm a real softy and we tried raising rabbits for food, couldn't have any killed, got way out of hand and gave them away or sold them, tried to raise goat for food same thing, couldn't have any killed. I love horses and the idea of them just being killed bothers the heck out of me.

I have been reading the post on Camelot and saw where a vet said that the bolt used to stun the horse only last 30 secs and the horse is awake when they start working on it. If I knew for sure that the animal did not know what was going on and was not scared to death I could deal with it better, I'm just having a hard time seeing pictures of beautiful 3 year old horses going to slaughter.

As far as cattle go, I do not know much about their slaughter. But I hope that they are dead before being worked on.

I guess that is why you dont name your food, and my companion says no more food animals, I just cant do it.

 

[dainerra]

chickencanoe, I would have to vote for the industrialized countries being more barbaric. The disconnect allows them to turn a blind eye and just say "oh, I'm sure that was some other cow. This one lived in the lap of luxury until he died of old age in his sleep." Of course, the other side of that is the people who don't even realize that the stuff in those styrofoam containers used to be living animals. Those people don't care HOW the food got there, as long as it is cheap and always available whenever they want it.

Of course, those last people are the driving force behind the big factory farms and their cost-cutting treatment anyway, so it's a vicious cycle

 

[al6517]

Quote:
So if it cost $40.00 a lb to deliver humanly treated ground beef to your table then it would be acceptable for you to eat ??? And you say you really don't have a problem eating dumb animals, what exactly is that all about.

I personaly do like veggetarians, they keep the supply and demand low thus making it $ cheaper $ for me to consume mass quantities of animal protiens.

 

[bock]

Quote:
So if it cost $40.00 a lb to deliver humanly treated ground beef to your table then it would be acceptable for you to eat ??? And you say you really don't have a problem eating dumb animals, what exactly is that all about.

I personaly do like veggetarians, they keep the supply and demand low thus making it $ cheaper $ for me to consume mass quantities of animal protiens.

Let me rephrase that, I don't like eating any type of meat. period. However, I would feel much better about eating a humanely treated animal than I would if I were to eat a factory farmed animal. Also, I never called any animal dumb. I have simply observed that some animals seem more conscious of their quality of life than others. Not suggesting they should not be treated equally as well. Unfortunately, I am still a child, so until I can convince my parents otherwise, I will continue to be an omnivore. Each person to his own I guess........

I also thought I would add, it is rather immature to say you don't like vegetarians. I could just as well say I don't like people who eat meat. But guess what, I do like people who eat meat, just as any other vegan, raw foodist, vegetarian, etc. All my friends and my extended family are omnivores (except for 1 vegan), I try not to judge people. In fact, many of them could practically be carnivores. I should be able to trust them to make their own decisions, it is really none of my business who eats what. It just bothers me that you just automatically don't like vegetarians. Maybe you disagree with one of their choices, doesn't mean you have to dislike them. I guess you get my point.

Anyway, sorry to take over the thread. Continue....