E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Bernd Thissen / AFP - Getty Images
A laboratory assistant prepares a sample of lasagna for a DNA test at a veterinary research facility in Germany Thursay.
LONDON -- When officials in Ireland made a routine check on a few hamburgers, what they found made them nervous: One burger was actually nearly one-third horse.
It was a discovery that has sent shock waves reverberating across Europe.
Since the disturbing DNA test results were disclosed last month, horse meat has been found masquerading as beef in countries including the U.K., France, Germany, Sweden and Norway.
A small amount of horse meat was also found by British officials to contain a banned drug that, in high enough doses, could be fatal, although U.K. Chief Medical Officer Sally Davies has stressed there is a "very low risk indeed" that eating contaminated meat would be harmful.
As supermarket shelves were cleared, meat suppliers in Ireland, the U.K., France, Cyprus, the Netherlands, Romania and elsewhere have come under scrutiny.
Jean-Philippe Arles / Reuters
A dump truck is filled up with blocks of meat at French meat processor Spanghero's factory in Castelnaudary near Toulouse, France, Friday.
Some in Western Europe have pointed the finger particularly at Romania, where a ban on horses in cities and the tough economic climate have been cited as reasons for a rise in exports of horse meat. The Romanians have insisted the meat was properly labeled as horse when it left the country, Reuters reported.
According to French investigators, one French firm alone made a profit of $733,800 over six months by selling cheaper horse meat as beef in a supply chain involving 28 companies in 13 countries, Reuters reported. The company, Spanghero, protested its innocence Friday.
Intelligence agency Europol -- normally tasked with combating the trafficking of guns, drugs and humans -- was brought in to investigate what one British lawmaker has described as an “international criminal conspiracy.” Three arrests -- the first over the scandal -- were made in the U.K. on Thursday.
Expert: Watch what you eat
Some officials believe only the “tip of the iceberg” has been revealed, and on Friday the European Union endorsed a major DNA-testing program to establish just how much unlabeled horse meat is being sold as beef or other foods.
For ManMohan Sodhi, a professor specializing in supply chains at London’s City University, the news has been a revelation.
“If you had talked to me a month ago, I would have said: ‘No, it would never happen; I completely believe in the [food supply] system,’” he said.
Now his message is “Watch out for what you eat.”
The U.K. has ordered thousands of beef products be tested - as companies recall ready-to-eat meals bought by millions after finding horsemeat in lasagna. ITV'S Chris Choy reports.
Sodhi compared the current situation to the first signs of the gross mismanagement of subprime mortgages that led to the banking crisis. “People began to uncover risks and suddenly there were too many problems,” he said.
He said large supermarkets like to deal with large suppliers who are in turn supplied by other firms and so on down to farmers and other actual food producers. At any point in the chain, someone could decide to cut costs by replacing a high-cost food with a cheap substitute.
Sodhi explained it was not in the interest of supermarkets to check their suppliers. This, he said, would be an added expense and would also make them legally liable if something went wrong.
Taking goods on trust meant they instead had “plausible deniability,” he said. “Then if something bad happens, all I do is put out an advertisement and say, ‘We really care about our customers, we’re doing everything we can … too bad somebody did something horrible.”
In a video message, Tim Smith, group technical director of supermarket giant Tesco, spoke of the firm's "unreserved apology" over the discovery of horse DNA in its frozen hamburgers and said it had dropped a supplier in Ireland.
But he also stressed the company was taking steps to ensure this never happened again.
Smith said Tesco planned to "launch a new program of activity which will test on a DNA fingerprinting basis all the meat and meat products that we source from our suppliers ... adding another layer of surveillance to help protect our customers."
On Thursday, a Tesco spokesman was unable to clarify exactly how extensive the DNA tests would be.
'Cynically and systematically duped'
Sodhi’s opinion that things could be far worse than they currently appear might be dismissed by some.
But a committee of British lawmakers that investigated the situation published a report Thursday that concluded the discoveries so far were “likely to be the tip of the iceberg” amid “suggestion of fraud on a massive scale.”
The committee concluded that it appeared consumers had been “cynically and systematically duped in pursuit of profit by elements within the food industry.”
“This scandal has also raised broader food policy questions about cheap food production, transparency, consumer confidence and pressures within the supply chain,” it added.
There are suggestions that traditional butcher’s stores have benefited from the furor.
Toby Melville / Reuters
Danny Lidgate hangs meat in the cold store area of Lidgates butchers in London Wednesday, as traditional butchers report a surge in demand from consumers.
Roger Kelsey, of the National Federation of Meat & Food Traders, estimated his members had seen an increase of up to 50 percent in demand for sausages, ground beef and burgers, according to the BBC. The British Retail Consortium, which represents supermarkets, has insisted their sales have not suffered.
Family-run store Aubrey Allen, of Leamington Spa, was named the U.K.’s Butcher’s Shop of the Year 2012 and was recently given a royal warrant to supply meat, poultry and game to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.
Russell Allen, who was born into the business, said supermarkets would “push and squeeze” and “bully their suppliers” to cut costs.
But he also said ordinary people shared some of the blame for the horse meat scandal by providing the demand for very cheap food.
“If you are buying five burgers for a pound ($1.55), I kind of think you get what you deserve," he said. "It suggests you don’t care, so why would you suddenly care?”
Allen said he thought people should eat better quality meat and have it less often.
He lamented the loss of a culture of cooking. Now, he said, people don't know what to do with cheaper cuts of meat and view him as strange for having homemade soup for lunch.
“Generally people say, ‘I don’t have time to cook’ and I say, ‘Well, you’ve got time to watch people cooking [on television],’” he said.
Allen said butcher’s shops were making something of a comeback after many were put out of business by supermarkets in the 1970s and 1980s.
But he admitted mass-produced food was probably here to stay. “I think it’s possibly a necessary evil on some levels. Not everyone can afford to, not everyone has the luxury of eating quality products all the time,” he said.
'Going on for years'
Frenchman Michel Roux Jr., whose restaurant Le Gavroche is one of Britain’s best, also criticized supermarkets for putting pressure on their suppliers and suggested the horse meat scandal was not a recent occurrence.
“I’m sure that it’s been going on for years, absolutely years,” he said. “It’s being done on a nod and a wink.”
Roux said he remembered as a child eating roast horse and horse burgers. And he suggested a legitimate market for horse meat might be a positive step.
Related: Horse slaughtering legal in US, but public won't bite
“Horse meat is a good meat … maybe in Britain we should embrace it, we should be eating more,” Roux said.
He said the flavor was “not too dissimilar to beef, slightly sweeter and richer,” admitting it wasn’t his favorite.
However, asked if he would put horse meat on his menu, he replied, “Not as yet.”
In Ireland, the officials who uncovered that first horse meat burger and several others with trace amounts can scarcely believe what has transpired since they went public on Jan. 15.
Ray Ellard, director of The Food Safety Authority of Ireland, said they had been “not expecting to find too much” when they carried out a small survey of beef products.
“We were kind of … I wouldn’t say taken aback, but that’s kind of the truth,” Ellard said. “We were wondering, ‘What’s going on here?’ and wanted to be absolutely sure of the science of what we were doing.”
“We set out to do something fairly simple. We didn’t know it was going to end up where it is,” Ellard added. “It’s been painful for a lot of the food industry, some people have had reputational damage.”
“We’re glad in one way. Systems will all improve and the potential for defrauding people will be a lot less. We’re glad that that’s happened, but we had a nervous few days, I can tell you.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
Related:
European horse meat scandal spreads amid fears harmful drug entered human food chain
'Criminal conspiracy' blamed for European horse-in-burger scandal
Hamburgers pulled from UK supermarket shelves after tests reveal horsemeat
Leave a Comment:
Shockwaves across Europe; a little melodramatic isn't it? That kind of stuff goes on worldwide. Of course the snooty Americans will immediately start blaming whichever political party they are not a member of; it's always someone else's fault!
Ummm... ok?
Zheng, eat me you c. has nothing to do with the U.S. R U a juicy girl? I'll eat you if you are.
Collapse by community coming here!
@Lou Leid----- You are talking about a horse arent you. Or are you a sick Europen? Just asking.
Hay Lou. ESAD you pimple face.
Zeng hehe; in American dialect; eat me.
Fraud? Wait until the world finds out the Fraud that has been perpotrated on them by the Wealth Cabal. We have only scratched the surface after 2007. Only a few were shown to us as the whipping boys to appease us. There are many more that should be in prison. The stock market is ticking again as high as it was because all the "Players" are back doing more crap similar to 2000-2007, SSDD. It is finances on crack, they cannot get enough
I'd make a good fisherman; I know how to bait & hook.
zheng hehehe Yes you make good fish...but you cook to long...all dried up...smell bad, but you get attention.
Horsemeat yuk...But ya know we are probably already eating it too...=( Well not me I quit the meat thing years ago...=)
Yet, in America we desire the "Pink Slime"!
I am a horse owner. Europe views ownership of horses very differently. They have limited space and when a horse no loner performs there is no "retirement" for that animal. Here in the US many keep horses around that are sick and in poor health. Keeping a horse in good health is costly. During this recession many breeders have quit since no market which frankly that is a good thing. There are way too many horses living in awful conditions which is inhumane. They have no food and are eating wood. I have see it even on a local level. I have called authorities to come help, but really help is very limited. Every year a local guy allows horses to come in for redistribution in the fall. Those horses are puny and in very poor health. It is painful to watch.
So my point is that horses do need to get slaughtered, or the number of horses bred needs to decline and only people with means can have them. They are NOT a pet. They cost a lot of money. Again, it is an education issue.
However, to pass on horse meat as regular beef is dishonest and those that did so need to go to jail.
Raising horses to slaughter would be awful. We simply do not have land to waste like that. Horses like cows/steer are destructive. They need lots and lots of grazing space that few can offer today.
Horses are a luxury. Get it.
Activities like this are never by accident, they are simply the direct result of one thing... greed!
What about the apolitical neigh-sayers?
If I had to chose between horse and pink slime, I'd pick horse any day.
I agree. You are especially good at the baiting part. In fact I'd go so far as to call you a master baiter.
stay away from my dogs.
I have no desire to eat Trigger.
ZHENG HE: The "snooty Americans"??? How does partisan American politics play into all this horsechit, by the way??? Oh, yeah, this one I liked: "melodramatic." Like all good con men you know how to "bait and hook." Oh, I'm sorry, that's "good fisherman."
You are missing the boat here, Zheng He. All the melodrama stems from the fact millions of people were being sold a fraudulent inferior product and the system charge with assuring quality, purity and healthfulness, initially failed. It is not about the dangers of consuming horse meat, which actually is a good source of protein. The melodrama is all about the fact the European food supply chain is vulnerable. This in turn places the entire population of the countries involved in the stressful position of no longer being able to trust their government's checks, oversight and security measures for maintaining food safety. Yes, the problem is worldwide, as China found out with the contamination of their food and especially the tainted milk and baby formula sold in China recently. The contaminated pet foods that originated in China and were sold worldwide causing causing the death and illness of peoples cherished pets is another example. Being an international problem does not lessen the seriousness of the situation. You, Zheng He, cannot see the forest for the trees.
@Denver Bill:
Whoa, Nellie!
lol
Just say neigh to horsemeat. At least change it up with a little meow mix or kibbles and bits!!!
I am leaning toward doing what someone once told me: They wouldn't eat anything that had a face. There is so much fraud in the meat industry today it's really pathetic Then they add hormones and other things to increase production and these things are not good for human consumption. This is done to increase profits. No wonder there are more cases of weird diseases and mental problems, i.e. autism, than ever before. The FDA is practically useless as well.
The produce industry isn't much better. The use of GMO food is out of control in the USA, but it is banned in many other countries. Why? Because companies like Monsanto has deep pockets and it is that company that is developing GMO seeds and making millions in the process. Pesticides and herbicides are so over used and they get in your system when you eat the produce.
Here's a good article for you to read: It's in Mother Earth News and called "The Threats From Genetically Modified Foods". Do a search on their website under April/May 2012 issue. What you read will shock the hell out of you.
I think I can give up everything but hormone free chicken and certain types of fish. To hell with the rest of the meat industry. The whole industry sucks. I am going organic on produce as well.
Big deal. Horses were originally domesticated for meat, milk and as beasts of burden. They are actually less intelligent than cows and far less intelligent than pigs.
It's only since they became a pet species that there's been all this anguish over the fact that some people still use them for meat, milk, and beasts of burden.
7Billion+ AND COUNTING, While The Animals, AKA God's Innocent Children AND Who have Been THE EXCELLENT CareTakers of Planet Earth for Over 400Million Years, march toward extinction BECAUSE of InHumane Humanity which keeps Ballooning, ESP 3RD World $H!TH0LE Countries. When MomNature Steps In with H5N1 and Ebola Viruses mutated with Others AND the Very SCARY Zombie Fungi Spreading in the Brazilian Rain Forest Coming OUR Way.. Look The F*%K Out!!! Now, PLEASE Leave the Horses Alone. Before long we will see Human DNA in the Food Chain If it is not there already..Anybody see the movie "Soylent Green"?
This is all about GREED and lot's of people/companies do this type of cheating all around the world. I use to be in jewelry manufacturing for over 20 years and finally got out of it. There are "PLENTY" of manufacturers out there who mix their gold 12k or 11K or even lower and sell it for 14K and they make a killing on it. I have reported this to the authorities and believe me when I say they don't give a shi$ and this is in CA.
"Hey man, these tacos are GREAT....gimme some more!" - "ummm, it's horse meat" - "Where's my lawyer!"
Phantom Beast- You are such a copycat! It was either yesterday or the day before I said, "Soylent Green is people". I'm too lazy to look it up but you can.
I SAID IT FIRST!! ;)
You get what you've paid for.
People should really stop eating meat. It's such a gross idea biting into flesh and it's not good for you anyway.
Everyone as their own idea of what is gross. If horse meat was included in anything, it needs to be listed. You're missing the point.
Where's the Beef? Clara Peller must be rolling in her grave!
Siobhan; lay off the radishes, they're making you bitter and judgemental. Ask not what your food can do for you, ask what you can do for your food......oh, and lay off the cabbage, oh smelly one!
Be happy that other people eat meat so you can afford food products that are not. If everyone did not eat meat there would not be enough land to feed everyone,you would have mass starvation.
The only reason we dont have enough land is over population and over breeding of animals...Duh......
Why waste perfectly good canine teeth? "Vegetarian" is derived from an ancient word that means "bad hunter."
Siobhan-2863563
You know there are people out there that believe plants have feelings! And they would deride you for eating all them vegetables, call you a sick plant killer.
Actually, it's the other way around. A pound of beef takes way more resources to grow than a similar amount of corn/wheat/rice. We would have more food if we dropped meat altogether.
Don't you people know balance? Why must it be all black or all white?
Saying that eating meat is bad for us is as absurd as saying we are carnivores, we are not.
We are omnivores, it is the consumption of meat that developed humans to the point they are today. But it is also true we are now eating too much meat compared to previous generations and compared to what our planet can sustain.
Nonetheless, I reckon it would be very problematic to find the amount of proteins we need if we dropped meat altogether as AG99 simplistically suggested, except perhaps if we took to eating insects.
But when I see how people are already squeamish about horse-meat, I don't see that happening.
We will have to change though, we do not need to stop completely eating meat but we need to slow down because our present consumption is not natural and probably not healthy.
Anyway, most of the comments on this page are off-topic, this is not about the righteousness of eating meat, this is not even about the horse-meat taboo, this is about the failure of the EU to track meat provenance and the potential that could have. I consider we were lucky it was only horse meat in those lasagna.
The Bible gave clealiness Laws to mankind thousands of years ago--long before mircoscopes exposed germs and bacteria. For instance, the Bible told man to distance himself from camp, dig a hole, do his business, recover the excrement and peg the spot--then, wash his hands. Biblical Law taught humane, Kosher killing, how to bled animals then, which parts were eatable, which were not. And then, discard the animal FAT. (Not save it for cooking) Horses are just one of many animals considered unclean and unfit for human consumption. Take crabs, shrimp, clams, to name a few: All eat rotten, decaying flesh. They're also the culprits for hepititis outbreaks that kill thousands of people every year. Still today, cholera kills millions of people. SIX-THOUSAND OR SO YEARS-AGO, mankind was told through the Bible to keep themselves clear and clean of human and animal waste. Mankind didn't know about germs, but God did, and He instructed His people giving them Laws and because they followed this Scriptual advise towards cleanliness, they stayed healthy. Horse meat is off limits for a reason. The Hebrews didn't know why they had to obey these laws, but we living today know why. I wonder how many people died back then for refusing to heed God's commands? Today, Millions are still dying because they either believe in a false god who doesn't care about their health, or they aren't being taught what any school child should know. The Bible is filled with information on health, cleanliness, and other truths not being taught to them--not even taught by their own religious leaders. Horse's serve a purpose, but it is not as a human food source.
Eating horse is not so bad. I'm sure some of you remember the cook book, " My Fried Flicka" ...
oh, no, wait, that was not a cook book, it was a book about a boy and his horse, and it was named,
"My Friend Flicka",...my bad.
And the EC has the AUDACITY to restrict American meat imports under the pretext that it is not fit for them..due to hormones / antibiotics etc. as if they don't use the same techniques to raise their meat supply? Apart from horse meat there is a significant quantity of culled asian buffalo meat that makes it into their meat supply and the lap it all up ! Bon Apetit !
I wonder how much of this stufff made it on the airline meals originating from Europe ?
Kandie if came down between horse meat and starvation I'd bet you'd take the horsemeat or any other "gross" out food you could hunt down!!!!!
@Kandie Rosales-7769621
I'm not sure I will listen to the advice of a moron who has not the slightest clue of when the Bible was written.
Six thousands years ago was Prehistory, do you know what Prehistory is? It was the time before writing.
Can you explain to me how God could have given instructions through the Bible when nobody could read?
Not to say that the Bible could not have technically existed at that time because none of the main characters in it had been born (if you exclude the great Wizard of course).
Nay, I didn't think you could. Anyway it is time to grow up. All that the Bible contains are a collection of health precaution of the time. Some were probably founded, some were pseudo-science that proved untrue. Most of it is outdated.
Eating horse won't kill you, nor wont mussels and shrimps, and cleanliness or purity are relative notions.
Your post is totally off-topic but I bid you a good day, eat what you want but don't try to scare people when there is no reason.
the problem is that the supply system is already vastly overcomplicated there. the initial finding in those frozen lasagnas....the frozen "beef" went though nearly half a dozen middlemen before the factory that made the lasagna got it. now the DNA testing makes it even more ridiculously complicated. NO WONDER food prices are so high. how many food suppliers in the world are really just commodity speculators who unnecessarily leveraged themselves into the supply chain to artificially induce higher prices?
i have a solution. if you want to buy beef, find someone who owns cows. go look at the cows to confirm they are in fact cows. buy the cows. GUARANTEED TO BE BEEF! and people that are basically useless in the supply chain can get a real job, prices go down, and NOBODY EATS HORSE disguised as beef. it's so crazy it just might work.
wonder if the horse meat came from the U.S.? Don't we slaughter horses here and ship the meat over seas ,seems like I read that we did.
I am Belgian and remember as a kid we had a horse butcher in town, selling exclusively horse meat, considered as the most healthy meat and recommended by doctors for heart patients.
Consumers have been "hosed."
ekrols
i know that's right. it is purely asinine for someone to complain about eating a horse when they eat cows and pigs and chickens.
I know some people in Iowa that eat deer meat, horse meat and I wouldn't even consider it. I eat less meat today than I did 20 years ago when I was forced to eat meat by parents.
I think and believe there are many other alternatives to eating a healthy meal without piling your plate up with steaks, pork, or other meats.
Yes, I still eat some meat, but very little of it. I prefer veggies, salads, fruits, nuts and grains in my diet more than I do meats or any processed meats, and I never eat at fast food places. I suggest others to stop eating that garbage as well.
If English was good enough for the Lord Jesus, it's good enough for me.
From the article: "...But he also said ordinary people shared some of the blame for the horse meat scandal by providing the demand for very cheap food..."
Articles in the corporate media always try to blame "ordinary people" for big scandals like this. They did it when the Sub-prime mortgagees melted down too and we had the crash.
They tried to blame it on "dead beats" who couldn't pay their mortgages.
Can you think of any obvious, common sense reason why "ordinary people" would try to buy cheaper meat (or cheaper mortgages)?
Like for instance they aren't making as much money at work (or can't find work because it's been downsized or our sourced) or they don't have the benefits that used to go with a job so have to use money to pay for those lowering the amount of money they have to buy other things?
This is the "personal responsibility" scam.
While some things are a matter of personal responsibility many other situations in which they bring it up are just meant to distract the public and get them to blame the themselves or other "ordinary people", in other words, the victim, rather than the perpetrators: Like corporations and so-called "free-market capitalism (deregulation).
So, basically, Europeans have been eating horse for years, possibly even for decades, without any discernible ill-effect.
What exactly is the problem? That we should be eating horse too?
Kind of funny; that is exactly the logic used by Muslims to explain why the Quran is so wonderful. Why don't you religionists all get your story straight before preaching to the rest of us?
Boy there are some real "winners" posting some really STUPID AND IGNORANT belief's. One was "relaying" God's commands to people. Those "religious" "believers" were the first to be taken by crooks and thieves. All this righteous indignation over some horse meat shoved down the throats of "unsuspecting" people. THIS IS NOT JUST A PROBLEM IN EUROPE, THIS IS A PROBLEM RIGHT HERE IN THE US ALSO. The government reduces the herds of horses on public lands RIGHT HERE IN AMERICA every year, and those horses are almost given away to just a handful of "big ranchers". There was an article in the newspapers a while back regarding a specific rancher that gets thousands of horses every year and NO ONE CAN FIND WHERE THESE HORSES LIVE OR ARE SOLD. Can it be that thousands of GOVERNMENT horses are meeting the same fate as the horses in Europe, I THINK SO. The Bureau of Land Management should be REQUIRED to find out where these "free" GOVERNMENT SUPPLIED animals are housed and stored along with the needed veterinary records proving these animals are alive and doing well, NOT IN SOMEONE'S HAMBURGER PATTY'S. The fraud in Europe is happening right here also!
They have already arrested 3 people. That's 3 more than have been arrested in the US banking scandal.
"If English was good enough for the Lord Jesus, it's good enough for me."
=============
the English language did not exist in the time of Jesus....it was developed in England following the collapse of Rome nearly 500 years later
I can hardly wait for Alton Brown to revitalize Good Eats with a titled segment 'Horsing Around'.
I've probably eaten worse stuff than horse meat and just didn't know it. Oh well.
I probably have too. This is like the pink slime thing here... Consumers want to know what they are buying.
If you've ever eaten at a fast food restaurant, you definitely have eaten worse than horse meat.
I don't know hwat the Europeans are complaining about. Lots of dishes they eat are nastier than horsemeat.
Haggis, black pudding, kidney pie, etc.
they are complaining about the deception. also, for some reason, many seem to think that eating horses is cruel, but for some reason eating a cow is not. the crazies only want to save the cute animals
Yeah, turthhurtssttimes, I'm gonna toss a little hurtful truth your way now - the reason for all the furor is because horses are not food animals in the US where a LOT of your horse meat comes from, whether you are aware of it or not.
Because they are not food animals here, they are not bred, raised, medicated or regulated like food animals. 70% of equine veterinary medications and a like number of over-the-counter products as well contain banned substances which prohibit our horses from EVER entering the human food chain.
Unfortunately, the "kill buyers" who contract with the slaughter plants in Mexico and Canada don't give a rat's ass about food safety. They are ruthless petty criminals and thugs who acquire our horses any way they can - theft, fraud, rigged auctions - whatever it takes. They forge whatever documentation is needed and sell the horses across the borders to slaughter plants in Mexico and Canada.
Since the EU has found forged documentation for our horses in both Canada and Mexico in 2010 and 2012, the 2013 EU regulations for "3rd country suppliers" state that the EU will no longer accept horses from countries that don't have a traceability system comparable to the passport system. As we see, the passport system is far from perfect, but it's better than nothing at all - which we have in the US.
Horse slaughter however IS cruel because horses have NOT been bred to be food animals. Food animals have been bred for - among many other things - docility and non-reactiveness. This not only makes their slaughter safer for personnel and more humane for the animals, it also keeps the stress hormones within acceptable levels. If the animals become excited, the stress hormones will be too high. This is called a "dark kill" and the meat cannot be used as human food.
Horses, on the other hand, have been carefully bred to retain the "spirit" and "brilliance" that enables them to do the spectacular things they do. It also makes humanely slaughtering them in the fast paced assembly line structure of modern commercial slaughter plants impossible. Plus, they have a flight reflex not shared by food animals. When that kicks in as it always does, they pump out the stress hormones so hard you can see the arteries bulging. They are flight animals, and this rush of cortisol, adrenalin and the others gives them the strength and speed to get away from predators. It also makes their meat even more dangerous for humans to consume.
As for my personal opinion as a horse owner for over 35 years, yes, I am against slaughtering horses. It's a horrible death for them, and after all the things they have done for mankind for untold generations, I think they deserve better. In my book, they earn it. Every horse that goes to slaughter has had a working career whether short or long. They have EARNED their keep.
Horses and humans DO have a unique relationship that has been documented many times. Just because YOU are not familiar enough with horses to know this doesn't mean it doesn't exist. We train these gentle, intelligent creatures to do all manner of things for us that are totally against equine nature - yet, they still do these tasks, trusting us to lead them. To then send them to the most horrific death imaginable for a horse is - to me - the ultimate betrayal.
" If the animals become excited, the stress hormones will be too high. This is called a "dark kill" and the meat cannot be used as human food" This is a B.S. statement as I have personally loaded hogs into a semi trailer. Some turn a dark purple and shake violently due to stress. As a result it is common to have one or two die on it's trip to slaughter. The same is for many animals. I am doubting they separate the animals appearing to be stressed and sell only as "dog food" You have a personal love for horses and it is clouding your thinking, which makes you conjure up facts to support your stance.
Personally, I wouldn't care what it is as long as it's safe to eat, and tastes good. Just have it priced as horse meat if it is indeed horse meat.
Shame on people in the middle of a financial crisis wanting cheap food!
Processed food products are not cheap and are full of fats and sodium to hide the garbage product they are putting into these boxes.
If you're hunting for Ohio, look to the left of Pennsylvania. Isn't that where the polluted Cuyahoga River caught on fire in Cleveland a few years ago? Very nice, proud Buckeye.
Few years ago, yeah like 40 years ago. All the corrupt liberals in Cuyahoga county government are cleaning it up so don't you worry. I live no where near that river and hunt in prime farmland and old growth forest.
demand for very cheap food. that is an interesting take considering that meat was purchased and resold for profit 7 or 8 times before it was cooked and eaten.
Right this time, truthhurts.
Well driving a friend of mine to his daily burger king lunch, i couldnt help but notice he stamped his foot 3 times when asked, how many burgers he wanted!
Oh come on...lol
Did he stamp his foot (with some sort of marker), or did he stomp his foot, as horses sometimes do?
pto
feel superior now
Not all of Europe is shocked by this news, Italy is the largest consumer of horse meat in Europe with more than 48,000 metric tons eaten every year and it is a common dish among youngsters because of its high iron content. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation 213,000 horses are slaughtered in Italy every year.
One day while waiting at the checkout in an Italian supermarket I found myself looking at the baby food jars and noticed one with a cute smiling colt along with the other smiling baby animals. It was then that I realized that what was in those jars was horse meat! Can you imagine any American mom buying horse meat and deliberately feeding it to her child? In Italy it is considered to be the best thing to feed your child especially if they are ill.
Personally I am not a big meat eater and there are some meats I won't eat at all because of my own feelings about the animal but I do realize it is just my own prejudice. We all have those prejudices about what meat is OK to eat and needless to say many people chose not to eat any.
While I understand the shock that a cow beef dish would contain unmarked horse meat, I do not understand why a company would throw tons of that meat in the garbage. If the meat was inspected - and safe for human consumption - ship it to a country where it is culturally acceptable to eat horse meat. Ship it to the homeless shelters there - don't lie, say a horse meat burger will be served for dinner. There are plenty of hungry people in the world who do not mind eating horse meat.
I'm personally not a fan of any type of stew, but in France my boyfriend's mother made one. It tasted like stew - again, not my favorite dish... I assumed in was beef and chicken until I saw the whole kidney on my spoon - it was not a beef or chicken kidney... I asked, we were eating rabbit stew. I was a bit shocked, but (with the exception of that kidney), I ate the stew - it would have been rude for me to say that my cultural norms of not eating rabbit is better than France's norm of rabbit stew... The animal was already dead - same with these horses (and I love horses - alive that is) ... but "shock" - like the man said, what do you think is in 5 burgers that you can buy for $1.55.
Read the FDA food guidelines for how much rat hair, feces, animal eyes, insects, etc.... are allowed in the meat we eat in the US... let me tell you, we are not ONLY eating meat (for those who eat meat)...move on....
yeah read the FDA food guidelines about what can go into flour...
Go to Korea where you can get some dog on your plate. They raise them special there for the high priced restaurants.
Thank you Black, I was certainly thinking something quite similar.
And where are the folks who believe government regulations are over burdensome and businesses should be left alone? And what were our friends and neighbors who work for these companies and saw horses being slaughtered and butchered as part of the process? Horse meat just doesn't show up. A whole lot of people knew what was happening and drank the company kool aid.
You are what you eat
Remember the saying from the 60's; "you are what you eat"? Horserump anyone? Pardon me, if I seem to be running in circles....
The favorite foods of Californians are fruits and nuts.
The food in England sucks. What did they think they were eating?
Gee, I dunno. I ate the food in England for over 20 years and somehow, I'm still here. I assume you have a similar background that allows you to post such a (*cough cough silly*) statement?
Which part of England?
I lived there six months and was never so glad to get out of that place in my life, lol.
I wouldn't be surprised if this isn't happening in the US too. Lack of regulations and oversight allows this to happen to consumers.
Yeah, a hundred regulations a day keeps the doctor away.
This is absolutely happening in the U.S. If there is a profit to be made, you know it! Horses are slaughtered in Canada and Mexico (and illegally by Cubans in Florida) and then added to meat products sold here.
For all the folks out there who are saying eating horse is okay, I would like to remind you that ALL domestic horses (and most of the rounded up wild ones) get the carcinogenic drug BUTE. They get it any time they are injured or have inflammation. All my horses get it on a regular basis. This drug never leaves the horse's system. Also, since 70% of race horses go to slaughter, there are also steroids and other drugs in the carcasses.
Unlike cattle, sheep, etc., horses are not RAISED for human consumption - they are race horses, little girls' ponies, dressage horses, trail buddies, therapy horses for disabled soldiers and children and so on. Some horses get stolen from their fields by greedy kill buyers and the owner never sees her horse again. Her horse has gone to a brutal death.
People think old horses go to slaughter. That is not so much the case. Meat buyers want young, healthy, fat horses. Many of the horses on feedlots are two year olds who the breeder was unable to sell because of the recession. Pregnant mares go to slaughter. Some have their babies in the trucks as they are hauled. Horses are mixed in with stallions who injure other horses in the truck. Some workers poke out the eyes of aggressive horses to calm them. Once at the slaughter plant, skittish horses can take as many as a dozen shots from the gun before they go down (watch Canadian videos on youtube). Some horses wake up as they are strung up by one leg - this is a horse who was someone's adored pet who lived a life of comfort until it was stolen from the pasture. Imagine its terror.
I could go on...
Yeah, please don't go on... your delusions are quite clear. I'm willing to bet your are a liberal, you know... twist and exaggerate the truth to portray the good of your twisted cause, type of deal. Is your 'cause' really more important than your credibility?
Let's see if I can untwist some of the knots out of your fiction.
The BUTE argument; did you not read the part in the article that says, "U.K. Chief Medical Officer Sally Davies has stressed there is a "very low risk indeed" that eating contaminated meat would be harmful." That's pretty much the case with most things.
You really can make it up, can't you? I recommend you write fiction for a living. Let's help you out a little. First, horses have been hard to sell in previous years not because of a 'recession' but because crying liberals passed laws making it difficult to slaughter horses. Thus, people are stuck with old frail horses with no way to get rid of them. Horse value plummeted and many horses simply had nothing more than to get old, sick, and die.
Second, nice young two year old horses sell for many times more than old frail horses. In fact, the slaughterers usually use the old frail ones for dog food or, when it comes to human consumption, it is mixed in with hamburger. They want the cheap horses, not the expensive ones.
And third, do you really believe that people are going to believe your fiction that despite your 'recession' and low valued 'horses' that there is an epidemic of horse rustlers out there trying to steal little girl's show ponies for the purpose of bringing them to the slaughter house for a few dollars?
Fourth, with your fiction showing in all other points, you now want us to believe that all those horse slaughterers, every single one, are just evil animal abusers, right? I'm willing to bet most of this 'abuse' is actually taking place in Mexico or somewhere similar.
Once again, the lies of the liberal demonstrate their credibility.
j70141 in Colorado
Can you please tell me what facts your comments are based on? The fact that you are relying on what U.K. Chief Medical Officer Sally Davies says about bute shows your lack of knowledge. I bet you also believe that President Clinton did not sleep with that woman, President Nixon knew nothing about Watergate, Enron excecutives did not know the facts were falsified etc. People in public office say what they need to to protect themselves, they do not say what will cause them to lose their job which is the truth. Bute is banned from human food consumption for a reason! Do you not think if it could be approved the drug companies would not do that! It would mean millions if not billions if they could get it approved for meat animals!
I work in horse rescue and have personally dealt with kill buyers, they are in it for the money, not the humane treatment of the animal.
And Mexico turns back any old, sick thin horses! That is a proven fact!
Many thousands of lb's of horse meat is sold in the EU every year that originates in Canada and Mexico by way of United States. US horses are not raised for food as are beef and other animals and poultry. Horses here are considered pets, working horses such as on ranches, racing etc. There is no passport system in place, nor will there ever be, for tracing the medications all US horses receive some on a daily basis such as racehorses. There is not one US horse that has not received Bute in its lifetime. Bute is a known carcinogen that renders the horse unfit for human consumption ever, once the horse is given just one dose. No matter how long the horse is kept in a feedlot Bute does not disappear from its system. Horses from North America are given numerous drugs including Rabies Vaccines.
Since horse meat is considered cheap meat it may well be found or mixed with beef in snacks such as meat sticks, jerky etc. This should also be checked. Canada has been shipping contaminated horse meat to Europe for years because they also do not have any passport system for the checking of drugs the horses might have been given that is just like what the US does.
Eat at your own risk.
Kads
Over the past few years I (my family) have purchased very little beef product from supermarket shelves, it just tastes funny to me now. 90% of the red meat we eat in our household is venison I hunt and butcher. I know where the deer have been living, I know the animal hasn't been pumped full of growth hormones or powerful antibiotics and I know where it's processed. Raised on a steady diet of corn, soy beans and acorns. The venison we eat is MORE tender and has LESS fat than any beef product we could buy and we can use it just like beef in any dish. Plus on years when hunting is good, I donate meat to local shelters to feed the less fortunate. Funny that I feed my kids something that most city folks can only find in the finest restaurants at $30+ per plate.
Now that said, I suspect that there is a legitimate market for horse meat and I also suspect it's better meat than most would give credit. I bet in the coming months/years we will see this source of protein legitimately enter our food chain (maybe not in the US but in other parts of the world). Horses are an ancient creature that have been used for food before, its just that they were easily domesticated and hence became more important than just a food source (Hey something has to pull the plow).
Now, anyone interested in quality, wild caught, Ohio venison? I'll gladly sell you some at $20/lb.
Oh, you so smart! No doubt live long time in perfect health and able to pull the plow yourself, oh strong and wise one!
They say horse meat is better than beef but I cannot wrap my mind around it...=/
Rich69, wtf does your comment even mean? Another typical response from the uneducated possibly?
@ Ohiohunter - I can't figure out the new NV to send you a note but are you within 1-2 hours of Cincinnati? If you know how to send a note, send me one... I'll buy venison. I live in the City - yet with the parks deer are all over the neighborhoods. I like deer, but it is so unsafe for them with large herds and no natural habitat left...they run on the interstate, inner city roads... unsafe for the deer & the drivers sometimes.
I'd like some of that fine meat Ohio, but $20/lb is a little steep for me. Let me know when there is a sale going on.
Serving cat and dog meat is perfectly acceptable in many countries around the world. Americans are just oh so precious and finicky -- and spoiled rich. Get over yourselves.
Never heard of selling beef and getting cat, dog or horse meat instead is acceptable. Who brain washed you into thinking everyone is rich in America? Plus you should get what you pay for. Sorry to say but you are "off your rocker."
Were not spoiled we have freedoms most dont...=)
It's not being "spoiled" to expect that food is properly labelled. The fact that it isn't is completely unacceptable, and you know that. You sound jealous that you don't live in the U.S. People are not being "finicky," and Americans are definitely not all "rich!"
Alan...dog and cat are eaten in Asian countries...and dog was regularly eaten by the New World Indians.
Again, missing the point. If there's horse meat in it, it needs to be listed.
Bill H
Your missing the WHOLE point. I know people eat those other meats. The point is it's labeled BEEF and they are getting HORSE MEAT! The sellers are cheating and making a fast buck off of consumers buying horse meat at half the price and selling it as SOMETHING else. Get the point? Hello.........
If your burger sings "I am Mister Ed" it's horsemeat. If it hops off the plate and starts hopping around it ain't horsemeat.
Eat me Wilbur.
some of these products are sold at ALDI Food Stores!!!
The problem as I see it is the fact that the meat was not labeled as containing horse meat. Horse meat is not bad for you, think about it. They are right in going after the people/companies who sell it without proper discovery or labeling. Obviously, those eating the combination of beef and horse meat couldn't tell the difference.
That they can't taste the difference is 100% irrelevant. Stop making excuses for this inexcusable fraud.
WTH, redmoth? Where did you see "making excuses" in a statement like "They are right in going after the people/companies who sell it without proper discovery or labeling." ?
Anytime when there is money involved someone will try and cheat you out of it. These people should be in jail selling you horse meat when believing it is real beef. Sort of like that old commercial "Where's The Beef!". If they can get away with it they will do it. That is the way of the World forever. Scary thought when your thinking your getting that corn feed beef and your eating a horse that broke down in the 5th race a month ago.
"It was a discovery that has sent shock waves reverberating across Europe."
Oh please, get over the drama, NBC News. Just another case of cheap filler being put in meat products.
Is anyone sick? Did anyone die? Didn't think so. The biggest thing here has been that some London academic who was paid to study supply chains lost faith in the system. Yawn...
Actually, you don't know that no one had an allergic reaction and died without the cause being known. And people have every right to have properly labelled food. It's pretty sad that you don't care if your food is completely mislabeled.
Wow, big fan of corrupt business eh? In that case, YOU get what you pay for. As for me and mine, we'll demand better. Got no problem with what other people in the world eat, but I DO have problems with lies and deceit from company's pretending to sell me one thing when it's another.
So if you bought a car thinking it had 20,000 miles on it and it really had 100,000 miles on it and you paid twice as much for it, would that make you happy? Or someone selling orange juice and it was really Tang instead and you paid twice as much? It's not who is dead, it's the people getting ripped off and the business making more money cheating you, that's the point here! Fraud!!
"Sodhi explained it was not in the interest of supermarkets to check their suppliers."
I wouldn't be surprised if some of the cattle culled over Mad Cow by the UK a few years ago made it back into the food chain in the EU.
That's propaganda. It takes two to do business. Three if the alert and nosy government officials turn their heads to look elsewhere for trouble until they get caught. And, FOUR if the catholic Pope gave his blessing in europe.
horsemeat! yummy? but anyway that's like saying that "very cheap food" should be profitable due to demand, SO, anyway, why does a greedy catholic food supplier want to share credit for a high demand business opportunity that is making headline news? Because he feels a sin in daylight that he cannot feel in church light? tsk tsk.
How does one supply for cheat horse meat anyway? steal them horses, label them cows and even EUROPOL can't find them looking for horses! Sweet jesus. It doesn't take four to do business; govenrment agents turning their heads the other way and bless by the Pope count to four. duh.
huh? pope's blessing?
Let me say this. Before he gave blessing, he ask and inquirer the public personally. He ask rich catholics working for him. He ask local people of germanic tribe descent. He did not ask mexicans. He did not ask locals people like americans in UK, netherlands, france, etc. That's just my guess.
The only issue is the deception. - - PERIOD!
Label the food honestly. Charge what the market will bear, or what the nation dictates. Its a matter of fairness. Other than that, food is food is food.
Millions die of starvation annually. Billions are malnourished. I'm sure there are those that would happily eat horse, dog, cat, rat, mouse, squirrel, rabbit, raccoon, muskrat, beaver, alligator, hippopotamus, snake, elephant, lion, etc., etc., etc. In some cultures insect consumption is routine. Though most would not kill a human, if a starving person came upon a dead human, cannibalism is not unheard of. In history, there have been some that have killed a human with the express intention of eating that person. How's that for disgusting? ?
Given the aforementioned, if priced just right, horse meat may be the meat of choice.
Well stated. It really is just that simple.
Then God said, "Look! I have given you every seed-bearing plant throughout the earth and all the fruit trees for your food. Genesis 1, 29.
Maguire-2299124,
your name make me wanna give shoutout for: jerry maguire @1996 starring tom cruise. Awesome moview.
Anyway, fruits blossoms and rot after blossoms on fruit trees. You need other seeds for other dinners.
Why not call tomato a fruit? etc.
If this so-called 'sequester' goes down - like Owe'Bama is basically getting the American public ready to simply know that it is - That will cut a lot of funding to our own FDA and there could easily be a lot of 'horsing around' with our food here in the U.S. with an upcoming major lack of inspectors and oversight.
One statement in the article really bothers me by that 'Royalty-approved' grocery chain owner: "But he also said ordinary people shared some of the blame for the horse meat scandal by providing the demand for very cheap food..." REALLY?!! Are the people NEVER to expect to find any bargains/sales on anything again? I distinctly remember grocery stores, just like gas stations, would have price wars and the big store ads would tout the best meat at the lowest price - and if you get the people coming into your store for a bargain from their meat counter - they'll buy everything else (usually) while they're there...so it's a good marketing strategy to provide some good discounts from what everyone else is gouging the consumer. And the consumer APPRECIATES good value - not should be CRITICIZED and SHARE BLAME because they're trying to save a little money so they can afford to keep paying all the other rising costs by the greedy WGAF corporations!
Lips and toes in a nice tomato sauce. Too bad it was not from cattle.
Europe is so much better than we are. Free healthcare. No guns. Everyone loves one another. 20-hour work weeks. France getting 80% of their power from nuclear. And horse meat in your burger without paying extra. Oh, Willlllllbur. LOL
horse eat grass. Goat eat grass and vegetation. Cow eat grass. Lamb eat grass.
deer eat grass. Kabobs galore + horse meat kabobs!
juju, if you eat vegetables, there must be a juju-kabob as well.
Jujubefruit, try the decaf.
Ya Know, they should have horsemeat available @ $1.55 ib. and see how many people Buy It! Because We're All Buying FAT @ $3.55 LB.!