I had horsemeat once in France while on a school trip - we were eating it before we were told what it was!! What can I say - it was tasty! Everyone was fine, eating away, thinking it was beef - but when we were a few forkfuls in we were told and most people's attitudes were complete abhorence! And I was frowned on for finishing mine!!

I've also eaten rabbit. Quite a few times actually, and it's lovely.

And what about chinese crispy duck? It's delicious wrapped in little pancakes with spring onions and hoisin sauce!!!

 

Just cos an animal's 'cute' doesn't make it unacceptable to eat! In fact the opposite should be true seeing as we all take such offence at witchety grubs and cockroaches on I'm A Celebrity!! :puke2:

 

I guess I see horsemeat as a similar meat to venison - the animal is of the same stature and build after all, both are majestic, powerful beasts. I can understand some people being squeamish about it as it's not a regular everyday occurence, but really it's just another farm animal! OK, it's not actually 'farmed', it's a working animal - but it could be.

Venison is a low-fat, highly nutritious meat so I can see why horsemeat would be too. And it would undoubtedly be cheaper to farm and produce - so why not?

 

There was a regional program on here the other night about farming and the farmers painted a truly bleak picture - between supermarket pressure and government red-tape and taxes it's becoming increasingly difficult for farmers to make much money on livestock. They showed calves of a dairy herd being killed because they were worthless - because of their breed they weren't suitable to raise for meat. Hardly fair on the innocent calves! They showed the tough and gorey side of farming life that 'townies' (as they called them on the program) don't see, or don't want to see! Like how to get the skin off a cow - the farmer spent a little time getting the skin around the head loosened, tied it with a rope and tied the other end to the tow-bar of his LandRover, then drove off - voila! - one skin removed!! A lot of footage could've put people off meat for life - but as they kept stating, it's part of life, part of the foodchain and it's about time people saw food for what it is. It's not just a slab of meat set in a polystyrene tray and wrapped with clingfilm, yes, they are often cute animals but they are there to serve a purpose - sustaining human life. In years gone-by (God, I sound like my granny!!! LOL) if a farm animal died the meat was put to good use - why so different now when it comes to considering different meats? Like I've just said, it's because people don't like to think about the gorey side of things - and not just in farming. Everything has to be pristine and pretty and wrapped in cotton wool.

 

Hear Hear Sharon... This ridiculous, romanticized view that people have of "nice, fluffy little animals on Farmer Giles' Farm" really has to be done away with... I've eaten venison, love it.... I've eaten rabbit, like that too... I'm under no illusions as to what goes into getting my dinner on my plate.. We're omnivores, we need to eat meat, simple as... It's hypocritical for us to suddenly have this emotional attachement to horses seeing as how we've been using them to our own ends for thousands of years.... So, it's okay for us to use them as transport, or to plough a field, or to pull a canal barge, have them jump over stupid fences or race them (and, Craig, I dont hear you bleat on about the blatant cruelty inherent in Horse Racing and making them jump over these stupidly high fences on Grand National day....) but as for eating them..??? Christ NO!!!!! That's cruel......

I could not eat a rabbit either :) couldn't do it would think of those fluffy ears and so on couldn't bring myself to eat a rabbit

 

 

:wub: - I never had you down as a softy :wub:

 

but the only reason rabbits were domesticated was for food - people only kept them in hutches in back yards to eat - not pets!!

 

rabbit meat is nice, have had it many times.

 

and horse meat in France (and other countires) comes from horses bred for food - they don't pinch little girls ponies ;)

 

I suppose we all have different views of food

 

maybe it was knowing that those lovely chickens I fed and named were destined for the table made me more realistic (and able at a young age to choose which one was for tea :blush: .... and at a not greater age do the neck snapping;) )

 

It is down to conditioning ...... but if we choose to eat meat we should accept that it starts out as a living creature (some uglier than others ;) )

 

 

Hear Hear Sharon... This ridiculous, romanticized view that people have of "nice, fluffy little animals on Farmer Giles' Farm" really has to be done away with... I've eaten venison, love it.... I've eaten rabbit, like that too... I'm under no illusions as to what goes into getting my dinner on my plate.. We're omnivores, we need to eat meat, simple as... It's hypocritical for us to suddenly have this emotional attachement to horses seeing as how we've been using them to our own ends for thousands of years.... So, it's okay for us to use them as transport, or to plough a field, or to pull a canal barge, have them jump over stupid fences or race them (and, Craig, I dont hear you bleat on about the blatant cruelty inherent in Horse Racing and making them jump over these stupidly high fences on Grand National day....) but as for eating them..??? Christ NO!!!!! That's cruel......

 

Wrong Scott I find the Grand National abhorrent and would like to see it banned as it is cruelty to animals as far as I am concerned, I am a fan of flat racing which provides much less danger to horses than the grand national which I think should be long since banned, the death total is unacceptable

 

Maybe I was over the top with my "cute" comment but the fact remains that it is pure human nature to freak out at the thought of eating certain animals it is not confined to me but applies to probably 99% of the population, if there was a survey done whether people would eat a dog or a cat I bet about 1% would say yes and the rest would be up in arms, replace dog and cat with horse with me as I have a far bigger fondness of horses than I do dogs and cats but then again I would still refuse to eat dog and cat meat.

 

 

:wub: - I never had you down as a softy :wub:

 

Only when it comes to animals :P I like animals more than people tbh, well most people :kink:

 

 

Well i think its up to us what we eat and if we think eating horse is a vile and evil thing to do then thats what we think.

I know i could never eat a rabbit because i see my rabbit as another member of the family, though i know that if she was in the wild

not kept as a pet the foxes in the forest behind my house would eat her. So tbh i can understand why people don't want to eat animals

like horses etc but its peoples choice whether they want to eat it or not.

Right now I can eat a whole horse

I obviously wouldn't because I don't eat meat anyway. But I couldn't imagine eating a horse. I'd feel really guilty.

I still don't get how some animals were put on this planet just for eating, surely every living creature was made originally (not like nowdays where they are bred purely for food) to just live?

I obviously wouldn't because I don't eat meat anyway. But I couldn't imagine eating a horse. I'd feel really guilty.

I still don't get how some animals were put on this planet just for eating, surely every living creature was made originally (not like nowdays where they are bred purely for food) to just live?

 

But Lucy, every animal is food for another animal, there is no "romantic" side to nature, it just is, and at the end of the day, that's all we really are when alls said and done, intelligent Apes.... We've removed ourselves from nature and I think that's our big undoing to be honest...

I don't eat meat, I think it's wrong on all accounts. I don't care if the human race were meant to be carnivores I can't stand the idea of eating the flesh of another living being for my benefit. Although I understand farming keeps the country going.

 

All animals are equal in my mind, people just regard them differently in society such as you'd never eat a cat or dog because you see it as a pet. But that's not how it is in China for example. The British eat cows but they're sacred in India and you wouldn't catch them on the table there.

 

I guess it's up to an individual what they feel comfortable eating meat wise and if Gordon Ramsay wants to serve horse then I guess it's his choice.

I don't eat meat, I think it's wrong on all accounts. I don't care if the human race were meant to be carnivores I can't stand the idea of eating the flesh of another living being for my benefit. Although I understand farming keeps the country going.

 

All animals are equal in my mind, people just regard them differently in society such as you'd never eat a cat or dog because you see it as a pet. But that's not how it is in China for example. The British eat cows but they're sacred in India and you wouldn't catch them on the table there.

 

I guess it's up to an individual what they feel comfortable eating meat wise and if Gordon Ramsay wants to serve horse then I guess it's his choice.

 

There are several health benefits in eating meat, I respect your decision not to it is all about personal choice at the end of the day :)

I obviously wouldn't because I don't eat meat anyway. But I couldn't imagine eating a horse. I'd feel really guilty.

I still don't get how some animals were put on this planet just for eating, surely every living creature was made originally (not like nowdays where they are bred purely for food) to just live?

 

 

interesting concept... i guess in a way you are right. animals didnt evolve as a food scource for us but as grazers of vegetation to keep plants in balance. however we evolved to be able to cross breed animals in order to create a food scource as we were designed by god or mother nature to meat meat and plants. if we didnt eat meat then many animal speciese would not now exist... no cows, no pigs, a very unappealing countryside!

There are several health benefits in eating meat

 

There are also benefits of not eating meat.

interesting concept... i guess in a way you are right. animals didnt evolve as a food scource for us but as grazers of vegetation to keep plants in balance. however we evolved to be able to cross breed animals in order to create a food scource as we were designed by god or mother nature to meat meat and plants. if we didnt eat meat then many animal speciese would not now exist... no cows, no pigs, a very unappealing countryside!

 

Well surely they would still exist, as the animals would still have babies. There just wouldn't be as many because humans wouldn't be overbreeding them.

There are also benefits of not eating meat.

 

What are the benefits ? :unsure:

 

I can think of stuff like no risk of getting mad cow disease and those sorta things but what others ?

http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/diet/vegetarian.htm

 

http://www.annecollins.com/vegetarian-diet...th-benefits.htm

 

http://www.weightlossresources.co.uk/diet/vegetarian.htm

 

http://www.annecollins.com/vegetarian-diet...th-benefits.htm

 

Aah interesting, never knew about those :blush:

 

I could never come vegetarian have been eating meat for 40 years and too addicted to stop now but that made interesting reading, there are side effects though like the anaemia you have had etc and I think I read in another thread NatalieMT has had some health problems too

Aah interesting, never knew about those :blush:

 

I could never come vegetarian have been eating meat for 40 years and too addicted to stop now but that made interesting reading, there are side effects though like the anaemia you have had etc and I think I read in another thread NatalieMT has had some health problems too

 

I make sure I get enough iron now. I had anaemia for months before I even realised which is why I didn't think to eat stuff with iron in at the time.

I make sure I get enough iron now. I had anaemia for months before I even realised which is why I didn't think to eat stuff with iron in at the time.

 

Glad you ok now ^_^

^Thanks

I'd try. Eat any old $h!te, me. :)