Food I ate horse. HORSE!!!!!
- Thread starter Cal
- Start date
I do eat meat on occasion, but I have my limits. They are: I dont eat baby animals. No veal, no lamb, no piglets, etc. Im sure they can be deliciously prepared (my mom always tries to get me to eat lamb) but that's not the point with me. I tell her "Have you ever gone to the zoo in the spring and seen the lamb there? They are so cute, they even say MAAAAAA" I shudder at the thought of them being slaughtered.
I know this is a very debated issue, and I will add here my 2p. This is what I think about the issue, then no pun intended.
I love animals, I feel really bad when i hear about any animal mistreated or "modified" to fit our standards (like ear clipping for dogs and so), because I think it is essential to respect any form of life on Earth. I'm an ecologist, I support many campaigns and I have three cats adopted from the rubbish bin, literally. I do not wear fur I'm absolutely against hunting, BUT I am not vegetarian. Now, I know that there are many considerations pro and contra vegetarianism and veganism, and I'm not against that, but I belong to the camp of those who think that the human being is supposed to be somewhere on the upper parts of the food chain, so even if it is regrettable that we must survive killing other living beings, I still think that is part of a natural scenario that would be no good to subvert.
I also must add that I have travelled a lot, and during my wanderings I have really tasted many different animals. In Australia, for example, I tasted kangaroo, shark, crocodile, emu, ecc. And I even liked them! Now, I can perfectly understand the "double standard" issue, because, for example, here in Italy we eat rabbit, whereas bunnies are beloved companions for many. But so are even chicken, so how can we trace a line? I think it is merely a cultural issue, so that is not something I can judge. I would be horrified to eat cat, as I so love my three babies, but I can understand that there are places on Earth where cats are eaten.
Anyway, the point I wanted to raise is another. I am not against eating meat, but I would gladly accept to eat less meat. Like, say, once a week or so. The "meat-industry" is a giant that is difficult to fight in any way, they are interested in producing more and more and the final product is not even good. I mean, we have chickens that cannot move their entire life, or calves that are not even fed properly so that their meat is whiter (all to meet some kind of higher consumer standards..!) and so on. The way these animals are treated is inhuman and absolutely unacceptable. I think that if everybody gave up a little of their meat, eating less - which is even good for health! - slowly, very slowly, there could be a shift in the industry as well. My dream would be to get back to a substainable economy, in which Earth and its animals are not enslaved and mistreated. Even 50-60 yrs ago, farmers were almost self-sufficient, raised their kettle and pigs and chickens with care and killed them only when necessary. What is really irritating is that western countries live in a overdose of unnecessary meat abundance, and to achieve this, poor animal are treated in a horrible way.
So, yes, I eat meat. But I try to avoid the mass-produced meat, to consume it in moderation, and to find reliable sources that can somhow grant me that the animal, during its life, was well treated. I know this is not a solution, but is the best way I could find for myself. I hope I have not offended anybody. As I said in the beginning, this is jus my 2p...
I love animals, I feel really bad when i hear about any animal mistreated or "modified" to fit our standards (like ear clipping for dogs and so), because I think it is essential to respect any form of life on Earth. I'm an ecologist, I support many campaigns and I have three cats adopted from the rubbish bin, literally. I do not wear fur I'm absolutely against hunting, BUT I am not vegetarian. Now, I know that there are many considerations pro and contra vegetarianism and veganism, and I'm not against that, but I belong to the camp of those who think that the human being is supposed to be somewhere on the upper parts of the food chain, so even if it is regrettable that we must survive killing other living beings, I still think that is part of a natural scenario that would be no good to subvert.
I also must add that I have travelled a lot, and during my wanderings I have really tasted many different animals. In Australia, for example, I tasted kangaroo, shark, crocodile, emu, ecc. And I even liked them! Now, I can perfectly understand the "double standard" issue, because, for example, here in Italy we eat rabbit, whereas bunnies are beloved companions for many. But so are even chicken, so how can we trace a line? I think it is merely a cultural issue, so that is not something I can judge. I would be horrified to eat cat, as I so love my three babies, but I can understand that there are places on Earth where cats are eaten.
Anyway, the point I wanted to raise is another. I am not against eating meat, but I would gladly accept to eat less meat. Like, say, once a week or so. The "meat-industry" is a giant that is difficult to fight in any way, they are interested in producing more and more and the final product is not even good. I mean, we have chickens that cannot move their entire life, or calves that are not even fed properly so that their meat is whiter (all to meet some kind of higher consumer standards..!) and so on. The way these animals are treated is inhuman and absolutely unacceptable. I think that if everybody gave up a little of their meat, eating less - which is even good for health! - slowly, very slowly, there could be a shift in the industry as well. My dream would be to get back to a substainable economy, in which Earth and its animals are not enslaved and mistreated. Even 50-60 yrs ago, farmers were almost self-sufficient, raised their kettle and pigs and chickens with care and killed them only when necessary. What is really irritating is that western countries live in a overdose of unnecessary meat abundance, and to achieve this, poor animal are treated in a horrible way.
So, yes, I eat meat. But I try to avoid the mass-produced meat, to consume it in moderation, and to find reliable sources that can somhow grant me that the animal, during its life, was well treated. I know this is not a solution, but is the best way I could find for myself. I hope I have not offended anybody. As I said in the beginning, this is jus my 2p...
life's full of compromises, isn't it? i have leather shoes and bags and tack for the horses. i figure a handbag will last me for years -- but if i eat a steak tonight i'll still have to eat again tomorrow. and i will eat fish and game that's been hunted. no fur for me, but shearling is OK because it's a by-product of the meat industry and i don't see that wasting the skin is better than using it. if i'm at a restaurant and they forget to leave the bacon bits off my salad i'll still eat it -- again, how is wasting good? go figure.
i don't meant to sound like i'm on a soapbox -- i'm not trying to convert the world or making judgments about those who eat meat. but i DO think that the industry needs to be responsible for humane treatment of the animals and i'm trying to help in one niche of that industry.
interesting fraublucher -- i'll eat dear hunted here because they have no natural preditors (any more) and have become so overpopulated that the state has even tried deer birth control to keep the numbers down. hunting culls the herds and i'm comfortable that the deer has lived a good life and died quickly in its own environment.
this is all a very debatable subject and by nature controversial. i begin to think that the moral value is not in the conclusions themselves, but in the fact that we take time to consider our impact on the world -- even if we arrive in the end at conclusions as to what we are comfortable with.
You got the point, dressage queen! I think that one of our society's main problems is that people do not "ask questions" enough. Many people just take for granted what they experience in their "milieu", in the "world" they know, and stop there.
For example, what you say about your personal experience with hunting is totally different from the one I have here. In Italy there is not anymore a wildlife like you have probably where you live, so that in many cases woods and fields are force-populated with animals that are then used only to entertain hunters. It is different if the animals are killed for a necessity.
In the end, I think that in some measure it is unavoidable that animals get killed (this is too rooted in our society), but it is not indifferent *how* and *why* they get killed. DW, when you say "don't meant to sound like i'm on a soapbox -- i'm not trying to convert the world or making judgments about those who eat meat. but i DO think that the industry needs to be responsible for humane treatment of the animals and i'm trying to help in one niche of that industry." I am 150% with you! And again, I would do my best to ensure an ethical treatment of animals... In some point of our evolution as humans, we forgot that Earth was here before us and that we were not created to destroy what we got. Am I sounding too Biblical? I'm talking exclusively from a purely ethical, not religious point of view. I think we must "think holistic", and remember that Earth, in the end, might "fight back" if we piss "her" off too much!
I don't eat veal or lobster. I don't like the idea of eating any animal that has suffered unnecessarily. You could argue I could get rid of the suffering by not eating meat.
The thing is, I'm a carnivore. I eat meat.
I understand that in America, horses are put on the list of animals that are 'not okay' to eat. In Europe, horse meat is a delicacy.
I, personally wouldn't eat it, but I don't judge the people who do. I do have a problem with people stealing American horses, killing them and sending the meat to Europe. There was a whole thing in People Magazine about that. If the people in Europe are going to eat horse, they should only get their meat from the horses in Europe.
Cal, if I were in your postition, I wouldve been upset over the fact that I wasn't given a choice on whether or not I wanted to eat horse meat. (Meaning, I'd want to know exactly what's in it).
The thing is, I'm a carnivore. I eat meat.
I understand that in America, horses are put on the list of animals that are 'not okay' to eat. In Europe, horse meat is a delicacy.
I, personally wouldn't eat it, but I don't judge the people who do. I do have a problem with people stealing American horses, killing them and sending the meat to Europe. There was a whole thing in People Magazine about that. If the people in Europe are going to eat horse, they should only get their meat from the horses in Europe.
Cal, if I were in your postition, I wouldve been upset over the fact that I wasn't given a choice on whether or not I wanted to eat horse meat. (Meaning, I'd want to know exactly what's in it).
Ugh, I thnk may have had it too if it is usually found in frikadels. I went to high school in the Netherlands and they had those in our lunch line all the time. I had them on a few occasions, but prefered their hard ham and cheeses. Something else disgusting that I may have eaten was cat food on a pizza. This was Russia in the early 90's. I had this pizza with some weird, mushy, strong-tasting meat. When I described it to one of my instructors she said it was probably canned cat food as restaurants had been known to use it.
Great post, Fraublucher. My point of my earlier post is this: We choose our own morals and where we personally want to draw the line. For anyone else to question that is comparable to questioning why one believes in a certain religion. It's a personal decision and others should respect that. 