Sunday 10 February 2013

CONSUMMATE EQUINIMITY

The horsemeat in beefburger scandal is growing.  I imagine there are many countries on mainland Europe who wonder what all the fuss is about.  It's only here that eating horse could cause this much fuss.  In much of Africa and the Far East, 'beef' is often a term used to mean ''meat'.  And if you eat things called, 'hamburgers', why should you suddenly be worried what's in them?

On the radio the other day, they were less scare-mongering and invited listeners, aware of the horsemeat issue, to request 'appropriate' tunes to be played on the programme.  One that amused me was the request for Paul Simon's 'The Boxer'.  Remember the line ' . . . just a come-one from the HORSE on Second Avenue'?!

There were several other suggestions - for songs from Foals, The Mane Attraction, etc.  But I was surprised that no one suggested 'GeeGee' by Maurice Cheval-ier.

8 comments:

  1. It's a big thing here in the USA too. I'm a horse owner (6 horses) but I am not against the humane slaughter of horses or for their use as a legal meat source or the export to other countries for meat. But I do strongly believe in the labeling of meat and other food items as to what is actually in them.

    The USA is over run with horses. Horses are being turned out on other folks property, public lands, etc. Left at auction places without ID of ownership. The market is really bad unless you have a really nice horse. Lots of neglect and abuse because many can't afford to feed them with the price of feed and hay going up in $$$$.

    I don't want to eat a horse but if starving, not going to say I wouldn't. I don't want someone telling me I can't eat beef or pork, so I'm not going to tell someone of another culture they can't eat horse meat. Many cultures eat dogs, cats, and other animals too that I don't want to eat.

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    1. I've eaten it too and would be hard pushed to tell the difference between horse and beef. But, you're right of course, correct labeling is important.

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  2. Actually' The Boxer' works on another level too, if you remember Orwell's 'Animal Farm'.

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  3. I am probably one of those that wonder what the fuss is about. If the meat is contaminated and wrongly declared, that is another case. I have often eaten horse meat, quite like it. We have horse meat butchers, restaurants that serve horse meat in Switzerland and sometimes our local supermarket might be offering it as a special offer. It is quite lean, just as good as beef. If I eat pork, beef, chicken, Larry lamb, veal than why not horse. In Switzerland the horses are not bred for their meat, more like "road kill" sort of thing, but I do not mind it and just cannot understand this stupid fuss the english are making about eating horse meat. It is an animal like any other that we eat and humans are carnivores. There are some that do not eat any sort of meat, but that is their problem. I am also a bit tired of the stupid jokes about this horse meat thing, especially in fb.

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    1. I think the problem is that horses are often vaccinated in UK with medicines that wouldn't do you any good if eaten. There is no suggestion actually that there is any problem with eating horse. Maybe we've got used to the idea at last. But there is a labeling problem (what else is incorrectly labelled?) and it's worrying that organised crime seems to be involved in the fake beef market.

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  4. You won't like this then, Pat.
    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151246050501650&set=a.404821246649.194198.592266649&type=1&relevant_count=1&ref=nf

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  5. At least it is honest. Wouldn't it be a good idea if people started to cook their own food. I find that England is becoming a land of ready made meals. I always make my own lasagne, I know what is in it.

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    1. I hope that this might make people think more about home cooking.

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