Horsemeat has been found in burgers in UK on sale in many UK supermarkets. I appreciate that horsemeat is perfectly safe to eat but I prefer to know what species I'm eating.

Consumers in the Western world need to start realising 'cheap' comes at a price wether its foods or clothing producers/manufacturers cutting corners and ethics to meet demand... Isn't it sad we used to have quality garuanteed but now we seem to have regressed rather than progressed as a society.

Must admit though one of my earliest childhood memories was my grandmother telling me I'd eaten the reindeer.
*sobbed for hours*

So I assume from that, that you can't trust what is on the label.
I might have to go veggie !

> So I assume from that, that you can't trust what is on the label

All supermarkets have withdrawn the products whilst the meat processing plants are investigated.  Pig DNA might be a case of cross contamination BUT it sounds like the issue may be earlier in the chain as two of the processors don't knowingly handle horse meat...

Do all other meat based food specify what it is made of? (I honestly don't know as I've not eaten meat since 1979.) I remember buying a can of hot dogs (to use at dog training classes, of course!) and it said it was made of chicken when I read the smallprint.

I've never understood the differences between eating one type of meat or another -why some are accepted and others are not. I know at home in Sweden people eat horse and reindeer and elk as well as the more common types.

Must admit though one of my earliest childhood memories was my grandmother telling me I'd eaten the reindeer.
*sobbed for hours*

The main reason for why I became a vegetarian was that my favourite horse was sent for slaughter (he was too old to work more and the farm had invested in a tractor) and I did not want to end up eating him.

I've always wondered why you can't buy horse meat to feed to dogs. Not sure I would but if it was cheap enough, then why not - I wouldn't eat tripe myself but my dogs do.

Wasn't it once a tradition that a faithful old hunting horse went to feed the hounds it had run with?

That's terrible, it really does make you wonder what you are eating :(

Quote HuskyGal: "Consumers in the Western world need to start realising 'cheap' comes at a price wether its foods or clothing producers/manufacturers cutting corners and ethics to meet demand... Isn't it sad we used to have quality garuanteed but now we seem to have regressed rather than progressed as a society."

Unfortunately all too many people just want "cheap" and don't actually think about the meat they are eating - or the lives of the animals that it has come from :( Perhaps if people bought meat from their local butchers, farm shops or even farms ...

This is the very reason why I only buy meat from local home producers and cook all my own food....I know exactally what is in it, and if it means less meat and more veg then so be it. However I do not find it much more expensive, but I would not like to eat something that I did not know the content of. We have at least one meat free day a week. Better to eat a little less meat but be happy with its source than eat processed food with who knows what in it and wonder under what conditions or in which countries (Think factory farms in Poland) it has been produced. That way I can live with my contience clear.
It is not the fact of eating horse as opposed to cow, just how it has been produced and slaughtered that I worry about.
Aileen

We run a small, organic farm at the edge of Dartmoor, Aileen and have a pedigree herd of Dexter cattle and a pedigree flock of Hampshire Down sheep. My neighbour at the bottom of the lane raises pigs, kindly and outdoors on a small scale and feeds them organic food, so I can buy pork from her if I want.
But - because we don't have a shop, we have trouble selling our meat. I cannot deal with selling single joints - don't have the time to do it! - so we sell lamb by the 1/2 and beef by the 1/4 but we're still not making a significant (if any!) profit :(

> I've always wondered why you can't buy horse meat to feed to dogs.

Never mind the dogs I'm very partial myself.  With having native Ponies to preserve and little real use for the numbers that will keep populations most healthy why not eat the surplus.  Would encourage more landowners to keep them.  Much in the same way as Deer are farmed.

now theres an idea. And while we are at it why not solve the problem of too many unwanted dogs too. Plenty of meat on a Staffy....

I am not seriously suggesting we eat dogs at all. But I can't help but wonder why it is perfectly acceptable to eat cows and sheep but the thought of eating dogs fills us (well me anyway) with absolute horror.

I remember as a child the horrible smell of horse meat being boiled up for our dogs. I can't find it anywhere to purchase these days in this country what a shame! It would certainly save a lot of our horses/ponies being shipped abroad for slaughter if they slaughtered and sold the meat over here.

I would much rather have a horse or pony of mine was sent to the local Hunt kennels rather than be loaded up with loads of others and standing in yards waiting for slaughter. Why try to sell a good old faithfull friend for money when you have probably had loads of pleasure from the old buggar ! Just one quick journey and it's all over

Around here it still is the tradition for the horse that ran with the hounds to be fed to them. The hunt come out and shoot the horse and take it away to slaughter for the hounds.
Lea :-)

> but the thought of eating dogs fills us (well me anyway) with absolute horror.

Now I have no objection to other cultures choosing to eat dogs or whatever other animal, AS LONG AS THEY ARE TREATED WELL while alive, and slaughtered humanely.

Now here is a question.  For me Rabbits were always livestock, primarily for eating.  Yet they seem to have shifted since the 1970's when I could happily buy diced Rabbit in Bejam/Iceland, to status of primarily Pet, and you even have Rabbits being 'rescued'.  For me a Rabbit surplus to requirement is dinner, more than happily give one a temporary home in the freezer ;)  Yet I had Rabbits who were Pets and show animals.  Some of their offsspring were destined for the pot some as show/pet. 

Guiniea Pigs/Cavies were domesticated for food, yet we have always treated them as Pets in the UK.

It's conditioning- I'd be happy to eat dog if I was Korean or from parts of China. I couldn't eat any sort of insect but can eat frogs legs if they are skinned because they look like mini chicken drumsticks. I also think we are more willing to eat herbivores than carnivores- though pigs are both. I couldn't kill any higher animal and eat it...just couldn't do it, not even a chicken.

I'd probably be able to eat horse, but not if I knew the horse and not if I owned one....what a bundle of contradictions we are.

My major objection to this story is if there was a breach in terms of description, we have a right to know what we are eating or we mght get to a soylent green scenario. However, burgers can be made of venison, ostrich, alligator.....

Totally agree, knowing what is in our food is key, and this particular thing is based on dishonesty in the chain.

>My major objection to this story is if there was a breach in terms of description, we have a right to know what we are eating

I agree this is the scandal in this case.

(I won't eat frogs' legs because the frogs aren't killed before their legs are cut off - in fact that's the method of slaughter. :-( The top half is discarded and left to die. )

Oh no, definitely off the menu for me then. Actually I've only tried them and manged to eat them because of how they looked- not a regular feaster.

I do hope this food that has been called back isnt destroyed. Such a waste.

> Totally agree, knowing what is in our food is key, and this particular thing is based on dishonesty in the chain.

This is the real issue here.  Worrying about what animal it is is rather irrelevent, even those that have accidentally eaten pork when their religion does not allow it can be forgiven if they did it unknowingly.
The really worrying thing is the failure of food security.  Even if it was all beef if it is not the cow we thought it was there has to be concerns for the consumers well being and not just their squeamishness about just what, as a meat eater anyway, has passed their lips.

> I do hope this food that has been called back isnt destroyed. Such a waste.

It has to be if it has no provenence as it represents a health and bio security risk.

> It has to be if it has no provenence as it represents a health and bio security risk

Although the BBC were saying this morning that anyone who had these burgers in their freezers could either throw them away or eat them as they didn't represent any health risk :) :) :)

Haven't bought cheap burgers for years myself - not since the days of mad cow disease :) :) (Maybe I am suffering still ........ :D)

> Although the BBC were saying this morning that anyone who had these burgers in their freezers could either throw them away or eat them as they didn't represent any health risk

Think I wouldn't :)

I don't like the idea of eating horse because I would hate to eat an animal that had once been loved as a pet.  When I was 6 I started having lessons at my local riding stables and used to ride the most lovely gentle brown mare called Gypsy, she loved kids and was so gentle and kind.  One week she wasn't there and they had no trouble telling my 6 year old self that they had sent her for dog meat.  I don't think I ever got over it.  Wild horse that needs to be culled I have no problem with but how do you tell the source.

As for the pig meat, I can understand cross contamination as the amounts are small, but no consolation to those that don't eat pork for religous reasons.

I love meat but don't eat so much these days as I like to buy organic/free range and in large enough pieces that it looks like meat.  I haven't eaten 'formed' meat for years, ever since I watched a program where it showed them blasting the last traces of meat of a carcass onto the floor where it was then scooped up, had the water squished out of it and was left as a pale pink sludge to be made into goodness knows what. I'm all for not wasting any part but surely this is the stuff that should go into dog food not be made into little crumbed things that are a favourite with children.

>It has to be if it has no provenence as it represents a health and bio security risk.

I'm sure anyone taken ill will soon be in a stable condition.

(Don't blame me for that, I heard it on the radio!)

I'm with Lunamoona re eating horse meat, it's not that I think horses are " better " than the usual meat animal, but the thought of an animal that has been a pet being sent to slaughter doesn't sit we'll with me, I see it as a betrayal of sorts.
( when I say slaughter I'm referring to the knackers yard, not a quick clean death in the stable or field )

> but the thought of an animal that has been a pet being sent to slaughter doesn't sit we'll with me

Life is different now to what it has been in the past. We are, mostly, so well off - comparatively - that we can choose what we eat. My OH remember his family keeping rabbits after WWII which were for the pot as food rationing was still in effect and there was little food around. I missed that by a couple of years, but,as a child, we were still not allowed to leave any food or be fussy what we ate.

I've eaten kid in France, just a few days after stroking it, and also horse. It didn't bother me, but I don't think I would choose to eat a pet unless circumstances were that desperate that I had no choice :(

Disclaimer: The following post is courtesy of my partner...
Our beef is healthy with no added sugar because ... wait for it ....
It's Shergar free :)

Ho ho ho.

The Aldi horse burgers were ok but I do prefer my Lidl pony !.............. Anyway, being serious, I simply cannot believe that companies import meat like this without testing every batch. It's pretty well known that our standards are way higher than many other countries - which is why these supermarkets obviously buy from abroad, the low price. About time out farmers were supported 100% - I'd far rather by a local bred and slaughtered animal. Luckily I can get most of our meat from a local butcher but I can understand completeley why many families have to buy value products, but these should still be of good quality.
I hope this has taught some greedy supermarkets an expensive lesson.

This is scandalous because it underlines the fact that the meat industry cannot be trusted, despite its claims of traceability.

However,the thought of eating a horse horrifies me. The thought of eating a cow horrifies me. Or a sheep, hen, dog, duck...etc. etc.
If the thought of eating horse troubles you, please spare a thought for the 958 million other animals killed for the British dinner table last year.

If you care about animals - all animals - then the best way to show that is to simply stop eating them. They are all sentient, and I really don't see the difference between eating a cow and a horse.

> I really don't see the difference between eating a cow and a horse.

Nor do I, and find both very tasty.

> I really don't see the difference between eating a cow and a horse.
> Nor do I, and find both very tasty. <IMG class=qButton title="Quote selected text" alt="Quote selected text" src="/images/mi_quote.gif">

That's fine. Personally I could eat neither, but if you are clear about finding both tasty that is up to you. It's the hypocrisy of people who get upset at the thought of eating dog or horse but happily eat cows and pigs that I just don't understand.

>If you care about animals - all animals - then the best way to show that is to simply stop eating them.

If everybody did that then they'd become extinct; they're only bred because they're eaten. In fact the best way to preserve the rare breeds of farm animals is to eat them!

> If you care about animals - all animals - then the best way to show that is to simply stop eating them.

Eating them is not a question of not caring.  It is perfectly natural for one animal to eat another and if we did not eat these animals most would probably cease to exist. 
Caring is about ensuring that the lives they live gives them the most contentment and that their end is conducted with the least stress possible, certainly a lot kinder than mother nature would give to them and better than not getting to live at all.

I think the problem is around the animal husbandry that is going on around the world that is causing people's opinions to be made.

If all countries around the world had a common approach alot of the hypocracy I think would be reduced.

> I think the problem is around the animal husbandry that is going on around the world that is causing people's opinions to be made.

Definately and food safety.

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Around here it still is the tradition for the horse that ran with the hounds to be fed to them. The hunt come out and shoot the horse and take it away to slaughter for the hounds.

Good grief, this is the 21stC we're talking about?

Not that I am a horsey person but I would rather have a horse PTS like a pet, then at least I would know it wasn't going to get chopped up.  I am so glad I am a vegetarian.

You don't need to look around the world to find horrible husbandry methods and horrifying slaughter practices--it's is comforting and cosy to think that all is well in the UK but I'm afraid it is not the case.
Even if really good husbandry was the norm, no animal wants to be killed at an early age, and in this mechanised and mass produced age, even organically , "welfare friendly" reared animals have a bad time in the slaughter house. Humans are not obligate carnivores and can live perfectly well without meat or animal products-- arguabley even healthier-- so in the end an animal dies purely for the taste experience of the humans eating it. Do you all really want an animal to die simply because you enjoy the taste of its flesh? Could you kill it yourself?
Eating flesh is also a disgraceful waste of resources-- so much land grows grain to feed animals which would be better used to feed people directly. I'm speaking globally here-- the Amazonian rain forest is being raised to the ground to raise beef cattle and to grow GM soya to feed to farm animals.
I don't want to evangelise here, so should probably bow out now, but you should all do your own research, and really think about what you are eating. Make your own choices, but make sure they are informed choices

> no animal wants to be killed at an early age

They have no idea they are dying at an early age.  Do you think nature is kinder?

> Make your own choices, but make sure they are informed choices

I was a vegetarian for several years until I became more informed :) I agree about resources and we should eat an awful lot less meat but I think it would do domesticated animals no good if we stopped farming them for meat all together.

Totally agree with you Zan, I am by far the healthiest person I know and have been vegetarian since a teenager.

Look at what the methane produced by cows is doing to the ozone layer!   

Christine I think Lea has made it sound a bit more rough and ready than it is.

The horses are loved and looked after throughout their lives and if they need to be euthanised then they are shot in a humane way then what I think it right is being in a food chain where the horse is eaten rather than disposed.

Have you watched Lion King as that is the way this is working albeit not in a wild way.

> xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Have you watched Lion King as that is the way this is working albeit not in a wild way.

I guess you are not talking about the cartoon film?

If it's on TV, I don't have one, I threw it out long ago because of the utter dross that was on it.

The film touched the subject about the circle of life which it what this is.

Interesting fact - while we think of the French as traditionally eating horse meat, they have only done so legally since 1866!

Christine, if there was no meat reared for humans there would be none for dogs or cats either.