Eat 'Mr. Ed'? Horse meat might be worth another look
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EUGENE, Ore. - First horse meat showed up in beef at a Burger King in Ireland.
Then Ikea reported horse meat was found in Swedish meatballs in Europe.
U.S. residents react with disgust, but for a lot of the world, eating horse meat isn't that unusual. The furor overseas appears more about mislabeling the meat than the meat itself.
So why is there a stigma about horse meat in the United States?
"People think of horses as more friendly than they do as a farm animal, so I think that's going to be a big problem at least in this country," said Dr. Skye Weintraub, a physician and nutritionist. "People are not going to find that appetizing."
Nicole King raises horses on a ranch outside Eugene. She loves the animals but said there should be a market for horse meat.
"I raise them and I love them, but I also see the other side of the picture," King said. "I see the practical side of the need for an outlet."
King said not all horses are sweet, social and majestic. Unruly and dangerous horses that are usually put down - and the meat goes to waste. With many people going hungry in Oregon, she wonders why that horse meat can't be put to good use as a food source.
"I think people love horses so much they don't want to consume what we're so connected to, and I understand that," King said, "but I also see and understand the need that if people are hungry, they must eat."
And while many Americans view horses as pets, the meat is popular in other countries.
"I imagine it's very lean," Weintraub said. "It's pretty easily accessible and it's not a rare animal, and for a lot of countries it's probably difficult to get adequate protein."
The U.S. Department of Agriculture hasn't inspected horse meat since 2007, so it can't be sold in the U.S.
But a New Mexico meat company has asked for that to change and said the USDA could grant them an inspection in as little as two months.
Horses are pets. Â They have not been bred to be slaughtered. Â They are highly reactive and sensitive--we have bred them to be this way. Â To slaughter an animal that we have bred and developed to be sensitive is a new kind of cruel that I can hardly see anyone allowing. Â People who advocate for making a buck off of a pet they no longer want to care for are akin to those in the dog fighting industry.Like any other pet owners horse owners should plan for end of life measures that do not terrify an animal we signed on to care for. Â To suggest otherwise is brutal Gomez. Â
anyone who can actually harm a horse in anyway should be shot thereself
No we have to draw a line some where
I say EWWWWWWWWWWW!!! I will stick with Cows, Chickens, Turkey and other animals our ancestors lived on. Hopefully horses weren't on their menu because I refuse to eat a PET!!! So that means no Cat or Dog for me either.
No way do I agree with this at all. I feel sorry for the horses she raises knowing that the slaughter house is an acceptable option for them to end up at. I think the position of if people are hungry they need to eat meet is a very poor excuse. People are already consuming to much red meat in this country and not enough green leafy vegetables promote healthy eating not the slaughtering of horses you claim to love!!!!!!!
eat horses insane!
Ms King suggests that the meat of the unruly horse that is 'put down' is going to waste when so many Oregonians are going hungry. Â Does she really think the meat would be 'free'? Â Does she think the horse meat would sell for that much less than beef? Â Does she understand 'toxic'? Â Does she not read the labels of the drugs she administers to her horses...assuming she is a responsible owner? Â Something is very wrong with this and the writer, Ms Gomez, should have done much more research rather than try to get her name out to the public for writing such a callous article.
Not once did this woman mention all the dangerous drugs horses are administered through out there life times. It always seems to be pro slaughter people that spurt on about how there are so many dangerous horses, I'm not seeing any tearing up our neighborhoods and attacking children that would warrant a slaughter plant. I'm also not seeing enough starving people in Oregon that are desperate enough to eat a companion animal. If horse meat was on the shelves in the stores you can bet it wont be cheaper than hamburger. No truth in anything this woman is saying.
Heck no. Horse meat here is just one of those rich people delicatessens. It's like steak tar tar and black caviar.
Raise some more that we can slaughter and sell to foreign markets. Let's poison other countries so those that are raising horses, state that they love them can send their misbred culls into the food supply.Â
This is so heartless, NO i want eat horses and IM against Slaughter !!!!!!
I do not see how you can say that you love horses and then raise them only to slaughter them!!!! I would not knowingly consume horse meat!!! The very thought sickens me!!!!!
Thank that lady need to eat her own dog cat I say no to this
how can you look a horse in the eye, see the trust...and butcher it? it's called souless and heartless.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST. How sleazy and self-serving.
she has a plan, that's why. She co-owns a ranch/farm specializing in organic beef/milk/ etc...raises beef with out chemicals of any kind; I do believe she and they want to start farming HORSES to slaughter just like beef. Here is the company information: http://www.lanefood.org/directory/lgd.php?entity=54
This is idiotic. People aren't going to be slaughtering only "unruly" and "bad" horses for free and giving the meat to the poor people. It's expensive to hire a butcher and if they are wanting to start producing horses for public consumption it won't be doing the horses any favors, have you see what they do to cows, pigs and chickens in mass production?- same thing will happen to horses. It will be much sadder than a starving or old horse in the field. It will be hundreds of thousands of horses purely bred to be on the feed lot. What next, mass produced dogs and cat?
This woman is obviously unaware and uneducated on several critical issues. If horses are to be consumed as meat, they need to be raised appropriately. Unlike all domesticated horses in the US, which are routinely and often daily given pharmaceutical substances (pain relievers, dewormers, supplements) which are appropriate for equines but which remain in the tissues and have been shown to be toxic or carcinogenic in humans. It is not financially feasible to raise horses for their meat, since it requires several years for maturity. In addition, equine slaughter facilities are an economic and ecological disaster (please see comments by Paula Bacon, Mayor of Kaufman Texas against the Crown plant - and this is only one of several examples). The vast majority of Americans do not support eating horsemeat as they do not for eating dogs or cats. And, of course, the process of equine slaughter is horrifically barbaric. Next time, please ask for an opinion from someone who has an understanding of the critical issues, or acknowledge that this is merely an anecdotal opinion without credence.
Maybe someone should let Nicole (and everyone else for that matter) know that all of those meds, rabies vaccines and Bute she uses to keep her horse healthy, is toxic to humans. There are over 90 medications that are given to horses that cannot be used in animals intended for food. We do not track and regulate pets like we do food animals. That is a far bigger issue than any other part of this "idea". http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691510001225
For the people who say no to horse meat. Ur 100% beef party from fast food is 27% horse meat. McDonald's!!!
Kill them and eat them,what's the difference between cows and horses?
That is not right.
Not a chance I would eat any!!!
The only reason some people in the horse industry support horse slaughter is due to two factors. One they are constantly breeding more horses for that next prized horse and this gives them a way to dispose of the unwanted ones while making some cash back. This girl, she is not a woman as a woman takes responsibility for her decisions not pushing it off to slaughter, even says its an outlet. Secondly the more horses that are slaughtered the less there are so the more the value of horses goes up. It's a win win for greedy people without morals and honor. I couldn't have said it any better than Gab Rie L. Imagine if we applied this logic to humans. We're not a rare animal and not all parents are able to feed their children. Every horse I have bought or rescued I have kept as a dear companion until they died of natural causes. Why don't we take responsibility for our actions and fix the economy and issues that come with it properly instead of quick fixes.
The problem with horses in this country is that they are raised as pets. They are different from cattle because they are not raised as a food source, nor are they regulated. Why is this a problem? Horses are given medications that are toxic to humans. Phenylbutazone or Bute (horse aspirin) which is used frequently in horses has been directly linked to aplastic anemia (blood cancer) in children and the elderly. There are approximately 90 horse medications that say directly on the label "not to be used in animals intended for food".  There is a reason for this, it causes health issues in humans. The list is extensive, everything from blood cancer to erectile dysfunction. There is absolutley no way to tack the history of any animal not raised for food. The reason horse meat was banned for use in dog food is because it was proven to give dogs cancer.
We have been sending animals across our border to be slaughtered in Canada and Mexico that are toxic. The people consuming these items abroad, have no idea that the horse meat they are eating today was actually racing in the U.S. the week before. The people trying to make slaughter legal again, will have you believe that these medications are not a problem and that they have withdrawal times. If fact, there have been NO tests that report that to be true. All testing that has been done reveals the exact opposite, extreme health concerns Guess when you stand to make money off of something you will say anything. Here is a link to just one study. There are many You have to put the tripple "w"s in front of this link to get there:
.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691510001225
@LazyWRanch  You are absolutely right on!!!  why is it so hard for people to understand horse meat is toxic to humans and other animals!!!   some people will always be stuck on STUPID!! THEIR IS NO CURE FOR THEM!
we probably already eat horse meat and dont even know it. And ive seen mean and dangerous horses. I have seen many and they have been put down
Maybe if vets lowered their over inflated prices people could take care of their animals and be able to eat.
There are no dangerous horses?Guess there is no dangerous gun either?
There is no people hungry because there is a lack of food, nobody is starving because there is not enough food, they are starving because they DON'T HAVE MONEY. If you are concerned about starving people in Oregon, then you should give them money, or jobs so they can BUY their food. A person can be hungry in the entrance of a restaurant and still not be able to eat, not because the restaurant is lacking of food, but because this person CAN'T BUY IT. Who do you think you are fooling with this "people are hungry, we need to kill horses to feed them"? These people will continue to starve even if you produce more food, because the real problem here, is not the quantity of food. There are no mean horses, there are no dangerous horses, horses react to the way you treat them, if you really treat them well, they will be lovely friends. A horse breeder telling us that we need to slaughter horses? That's very suspicious don't you think? First of course horse breeders will say that, that's because they don't want any changes in their "way of life", they still think the best way to breed horses is to "produce" as many foals as they can, so they can select those they consider to be the best and try to sell it at high prices; they don't really love horses, they love money, and it's about time to change for better, to respect horses, to put some changes in this industry, do you know you can PREDICT the genetic characteristics and results of many generations of horses WITHOUT the need to breed them? You can improove your genetic bank WITHOUT the need of breeding horses, and I'm saying that as a vet. So don't try to fool people. We are not idiots.
That's discusting: /
There is no people hungry because there is a lack of food, nobody is starving because there is not enough food, they are starving because they DON'T HAVE MONEY. If you are concerned about starving people in Oregon, then you should give them money, or jobs so they can BUY their food.
A person can be hungry in the entrance of a restaurant and still not be able to eat, not because the restaurant is lacking of food, but because this person CAN'T BUY IT.
Who do you think you are fooling with this "people are hungry, we need to kill horses to feed them"? These people will continue to starve even if you produce more food, because the real problem here, is not the quantity of food.
There are no mean horses, there are no dangerous horses, horses react to the way you treat them, if you really treat them well, they will be lovely friends.
A horse breeder telling us that we need to slaughter horses? That's very suspicious don't you think? First of course horse breeders will say that, that's because they don't want any changes in their "way of life", they still think the best way to breed horses is to "produce" as many foals as they can, so they can select those they consider to be the best and try to sell it at high prices; they don't really love horses, they love money, and it's about time to change for better, to respect horses, to put some changes in this industry, do you know you can PREDICT the genetic characteristics and results of many generations of horses WITHOUT the need to breed them? You can improove your genetic bank WITHOUT the need of breeding horses, and I'm saying that as a vet.
So don't try to fool people. We are not idiots.
I suspect King is one of the people who is overbreeding, which has contributed to the problem of too many horses. Breeders should be licensed and only allowed to breed a certain number per year. The Fort MacLeod slaughterhouse kills at least 300 horses per day. I know, I live one hour's drive from their door. Over 50% of those horses are quarter horses under the age of 7, completely healthy and sound. They often come in with shoes and halters. And many of the mares are in foal. That is irresponsible breeding. Stop punishing horses for the problems that humans cause. And this author is incorrect when she says 'for a lot of the world'. If she had done her homework she would have discovered that the consumption of horsemeat in places like France and parts of Europe is on the decreaseÂ
You can speculate all you want on what is done with horse meat. You can say just don't eat it if you don't like the idea. Truth is you won't know when you get a burger or steak at a restaurant if it is horse meat or not. They refuse to tell us if there are ingredients in the food we buy that have GMO's in them, this won't be any different. IMO the first place to start with this is truth in packaging.
i think itsa bad idea...keep this outta the U. S. bad enough our cats and dogs have to eat it. WERE NOT ANIMALS !!! take the lotterly money and feed the hungry !!!
I haven't bought buffalo, elk, nor deer meat, If horse meat was included in the grocery store, butcher, or as a sample of how it tastes...I might try it. What is done with horse meat? Is it sent to the zoos or animal parks for the lions, tigers, and bears?
No no what is next cats and dogs? Of they do it just don't buy it.
As far as I know, there aren't any meat horse farms in the US. All slaughterhouse horses are bought at auction and sent to Mexico or Canada to be processed. I can't see horsemeat being a wise economical choice for farmers. It takes ALOT of feed to put weight on a horse even slightly underweight. They'd go bankrupt in a short period of time.
Absolutely not!! I'm appauld by it!
let us hunt more deer and elk! Yum yum yum
absolutely not! leviticus:11:3-4-5 whatsoever parteth the hoof,and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
NONONONONO send the thoughtless owners to slaughter starting with congress
EVERYONE has their own choice to eat or not to eat the horse meet....As a horse owner I see both sides and I know I wouldnt but if I was hungry enough or MY kid was it would be A LOT different...No one can say what they will or wont eat until they are absolutey starving and have nothing else to eat...
The majority of horses sent to slaughter auctions are abandoned by their owners that cannot care for them. The rescues can only take in so many. Rather than have them rot and starve in a field or stall of their own feces... I'd rather see them feed people
Absolutely AGREE with this...there should be a market for horse meat. Especially for those with allergies to common foods it would open up a new avenue for them...you figure EVERY OTHER animal on a farm is used for food heck even rabbits are used for food...so why can't a horse?
No. They are already slaughtered for dog food.
That is really rude.
i would never eat a horse and i think that is crule to eat them they are not food they are someones loved pet would you eat your dog or cat.
That is disgusting ........
Gross =\