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Post by Yaezakura on Nov 29, 2011 23:26:14 GMT -5
Far as I'm concerned, the problem is ensuring the safety of the meat and the decent treatment of the animal while still alive. I don't particularly care what animal it came from. Horses don't get a pass because we think they're pretty. They're walking bags of yummy just like deer and cows.
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Post by N. De Plume on Nov 29, 2011 23:35:40 GMT -5
I never understood the knee-jerk reaction a lot of people (who are not otherwise vegetarians) have against eating horses. The problem is that horsemeat is no longer a common commodity, but horses are commonly thought of as a pet-type animal. Therefore, you are supposed to love and cuddle and ride the horse, but not eat it. |
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Post by Admiral Lithp on Nov 29, 2011 23:47:45 GMT -5
Attention animal lovers: Your cat will eat you when you die. It does not give a fuck.
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Post by Shane for Wax on Nov 30, 2011 1:50:38 GMT -5
Far as I'm concerned, the problem is ensuring the safety of the meat and the decent treatment of the animal while still alive. I don't particularly care what animal it came from. Horses don't get a pass because we think they're pretty. They're walking bags of yummy just like deer and cows. I have no problem with eating horse itself so long as the animal was treated properly and I'm not ingesting medications that will make my body go 'urk'. It seems people have mistaken my arguments for not liking that the horses are killed at all with not liking that the practice isn't safe for the consumer. |
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Post by sylvana on Nov 30, 2011 2:50:51 GMT -5
It seems people have mistaken my arguments for not liking that the horses are killed at all with not liking that the practice isn't safe for the consumer. I pretty much agree. All meat can potentially come from cruel animal farms, and be filled with enough medication to be really dangerous to humans. This can happen pretty much irrespective of type of meat. Horse meat should be no different. As long as the horse meat is kept to the same standards as all other meat there should be no issue. Now I will admit, that taking say a horse that had been bred for riding or something, and then shipping it off to be eaten when it gets too old, I think that opens a lot of doorways for possible problems with the meat to arise such as unintended parasites. Of course, if it all checks out and passes heath and safety inspections, then they can go for it. Meat is meat, you and I are also meat. |
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Post by cestlefun17 on Nov 30, 2011 3:47:56 GMT -5
I don't understand the motivation behind this...is there really a burgeoning market for horse meat in the United States that is being stymied by oppressive, evil guvmint regulation? It was my understanding that horse meat is incredibly tough, has bad flavor, and is eaten only by the extremely poor.
I agree: there is nothing wrong or "hypocritical" about considering certain animals acceptable for consumption and others not. It's not so much that they're "cute" (rabbits are cute, as are deer and some pigs), it's that we have a certain cultural mindset when it comes to horses, among other animals like dogs and cats. I can't say exactly where this mindset comes from, although I would assume that it has something to do with horses being a beast of burden: we do not typically eat donkeys, mules, or oxen either.
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Post by askold on Nov 30, 2011 6:22:52 GMT -5
In Finland we have no taboo against eating horses. There is this type of sausage called "Meetvursti" which is made from horse meat. (similarly named Dutch 'Metworst' and German 'Mettwurst' are made from pork.)
Besides one would assume that horse meat must meet the same regulations as any other meat product.
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Post by Armand Tanzarian on Nov 30, 2011 7:59:24 GMT -5
In Finland we have no taboo against eating horses. There is this type of sausage called "Meetvursti" which is made from horse meat. (similarly named Dutch 'Metworst' and German 'Mettwurst' are made from pork.) The Chinese ancestry in me, for whom we proudly boast we eat everything "with its back facing the sky", is very curious about how it tastes now. I've had donkey before. Good stuff, though the liver is not one of my favorites. I can't imagine horses might taste somewhat similar. |
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Post by N. De Plume on Nov 30, 2011 10:55:19 GMT -5
I don't understand the motivation behind this...is there really a burgeoning market for horse meat in the United States that is being stymied by oppressive, evil guvmint regulation? It was my understanding that horse meat is incredibly tough, has bad flavor, and is eaten only by the extremely poor. The Extremely Poor? There’s your burgeoning market. |
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Post by Admiral Lithp on Nov 30, 2011 12:30:47 GMT -5
That's...that's pretty much the textbook definition of a "double standard."
I would imagine some people want to eat horses, & others want to make money by selling horse meat to them.
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Post by SCarpelan on Nov 30, 2011 12:34:17 GMT -5
In Finland we have no taboo against eating horses. There is this type of sausage called "Meetvursti" which is made from horse meat. (similarly named Dutch 'Metworst' and German 'Mettwurst' are made from pork.) Besides one would assume that horse meat must meet the same regulations as any other meat product. Nowadays it really depends on the brand if there is any horse meat in it. Despite its reputation as a horse meat sausage it can be made purely of pork which you only notice if you pay attention to the ingredient list on the package. Some brands have not only horse meat and pork but also beef and/or reindeer meat. |
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Post by cestlefun17 on Nov 30, 2011 13:05:58 GMT -5
Perhaps, but it's not a double standard that harms anyone or infringes on anybody's rights. Every culture has practices it considers taboo for no immediately identifiable explanation. In the United States we simply have a certain affection for horses, like we do dogs and cats, just like in India they consider cows to be sacred. It seems bizarre to me that there would be a large enough market of people in our country willing to engage in this practice.
So long as the meat is safe and the horses are treated humanely, I'm not exactly up in arms with legalizing the slaughter of horses in the same manner that other animals are slaughtered for meat. On the other hand, I wouldn't mind keeping the law and if the decision were up to me I would probably go this way.
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Post by Yaezakura on Nov 30, 2011 13:21:32 GMT -5
So long as the meat is safe and the horses are treated humanely, I'm not exactly up in arms with legalizing the slaughter of horses in the same manner that other animals are slaughtered for meat. On the other hand, I wouldn't mind keeping the law and if the decision were up to me I would probably go this way. Emotions or personal beliefs are terrible reasons for laws. A law with no rational basis serves no legitimate purpose. |
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Post by cestlefun17 on Nov 30, 2011 13:26:57 GMT -5
I disagree, mostly. Personal beliefs may be terrible reasons for laws, however I see nothing wrong with the government upholding generally held cultural standards, provided that these standards do not infringe upon other rights. The American people have elected representatives who have decided that it is now culturally acceptable in the United States to raise horses for slaughter. This is perfectly their right. Now we'll just have to see how successful this industry is.  |
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Post by Yaezakura on Nov 30, 2011 13:30:34 GMT -5
I disagree, mostly. Personal beliefs may be terrible reasons for laws, however I see nothing wrong with the government upholding generally held cultural standards, provided that these standards do not infringe upon other rights. The American people have elected representatives who have decided that it is now culturally acceptable in the United States to raise horses for slaughter. This is perfectly their right. Now we'll just have to see how successful this industry is. Like how some governments "uphold the generally held cultural standard" that people not of a certain religion be killed? Law is a tool of reason. Creating laws with no basis in reason generates a legal system that is, shockingly, unreasonable. |
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