Friday, February 8, 2013

Mid-term and Horses

Just a quick few thoughts and news.

I'm feeling much better now, and went back to yoga tonight, which was really lovely.
We're on mid-term now, which means no school for a whole week! I do have some admin work to do, but that won't be too taxing. Must get back to knitting too.

A huge controversy has broken here over the use of horsemeat in some burgers and frozen lasagne. Apart from the obvious issues such as that suppliers and the public were conned,  and the fact that we still don't know if there was any of the banned veterinary drug “bute” in the horsemeat, I fail to see what the big deal is. I would love to know where they got the horses from and the logistics of how they disguised the meat, but I do not agree with using the word "contaminated". People must have eaten these products and not noticed any difference; I'm with AA Gill, who thinks that rather than concentrating on the 70% horsemeat, we should try to find out what the remaining 30% was.
ugh, the 30% doesn't bear thinking about!  I know in chicken products it can include toenails, skin, feathers etc.and still be called "chicken" (which, technically, it is).Ugh, ugh and ugh!
For me, I like to know where my meat came from, have it unprocessed and naturally reared, and I don't mind eating less meat and paying a bit more to achieve this. Good farmers work very hard and they deserve to be properly paid. I think our drive for constantly cheaper food (much of which is wasted), processed by multinationals, far removed from its source, is causing these problems.
Let's get back to basics. 
What do you think?

16 comments:

  1. Well, I'm thankful that I don't eat red meat at all. However the thought of eating horses is to me, equivalent to eating a dog or cat (or rabbit.) I think of them as intelligent pets (the first 3, anyway.)

    Contaminated is the wrong word but I do feel that the contents of any food should meet the description on the packet.
    We are having a similar thing here too and people either don't care if they've eaten horse meat or they feel quite appalled. There doesn't seem to be a middle of the road opinion.

    Glad you are feeling better.
    Maggie x

    Nuts in May

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    1. Maggie, lol at "the first 3, anyway"! Couldn't imagine eating the 4th one either!
      I agree that the contents should match the description.

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  2. I'm so glad you're feeling better! And that you get a week off. I'm so looking forward to ours- but it's not until the first week of April. We eat very little meat and, when we do, it comes from a local farm with grass fed, pasture cows and free range chickens and turkeys. We eat nothing processed because you just never know what you're going to get in there. Horse meat? No thank you. I'd think of Wendell (Patrice's horse)...just like I would think of Bambi if someone gave me venison. LOL We're trying to get to the point where we eliminate meat altogether. It's getting too risky lately.

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    1. Empty Nester- April seems a long time to wait for a break. You're right about not knowing what got into processed stuff. Lol re Wendell, though I have eaten and enjoyed venison. Sometimes I imagine eliminating meat, but haven't achieved it yet, even though I don't eat a lot of it.

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  3. Of course it's how you regard the animals. Most people think nothing about eating beef but I've known some 4-H kids who think of calves as their pets. I don't eat meat at all so it is difficult for me to say.
    Have a wonderful, warm weekend.

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    1. Manzanita, you summed it up nicely, it's very personal, isn't it?
      enjoy your weekend too!

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  4. It's no more revolting to eat horse meat than cow meat. Or pig meat. As you say, Mimi, it's the other 30 per cent I'd be concerned about.

    I'm a bit out of condition right now. I need to get back to the yoga myself.

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    1. Maria, didn't know you practised yoga, but shouldn't be surprised, should I?!
      My yoga teacher has been to India several times, with the Hope Foundation.
      Enjoy your weekend!

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  5. Happy to hear you're feeling better.

    I'm just now hearing about this story about the horse meat. It's a bit disgusting to think about that 30%.

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    1. Absolutely agree Rudee, and the 70% is shocking, so between the two it would put you right off.

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  6. Processed food is a huge area of questions......and it's the latest food scare we seem to get them on a regular basis.

    Yoga........hmmmmmmmm I keep thinking about giving it a go.

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  7. Coincidentally, I just finished reading a book which concerned the introduction of horsemeat into the UK where it has not been a traditional menu item. It has long been eaten in some European countries and the EU has created a market where there formerly was none. Personally, I can't see the difference in eating any animal. As you say it's the 'by-products' and 'safe' drugs that make the problems. Oh, and the unethical animal husbandry - if you can call it that. Multi-nationals are creating these concerns but I don't think we can blame anyone but ourselves for creating that monster. As the need to stretch the penny increases, so does our dependance on these cheap producers. Of course, that is assuming that you still have a penny which Canada does not any more.

    Glad that you'r feeling better so that you can enjoy that vacation. Happy knitting.

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  8. Re the horse meat thing... I find it interesting that the investigation didn't happen because people were complaining and saying 'oh this tastes awful' or product sales were going down! I don't eat any of those products so am a bit of a bystander, really.

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  9. Totally agree with you about getting back to basics. We would all be a lot healthier too! Glad you are getting over the nasty bugs. Enjoy your break x

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  10. Yes, you hit the nail on the head - so much cheap awful food and so much wasted. Something has to be wrong.
    I don't eat much meat and when things like this happen I'm rather glad. It's the horse antibiotics that worry me, although I understand that many of the horses came from poor families in Romania and so the poor things probably didn't get treated when they were ill. Still, it doesn't really bear thinking about.

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  11. Regardless of how people feel about horses, we'd like to know just what we're eating. Truth in labeling... and that includes that other 30% you mentioned. Plus people connect with horses in a far more personal way than most do with cows. It's all just very wrong.

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