Horsemeat
There, apparently, is a huge debate going on the use of horsemeat in the human food chain. I’ve eaten horse meat and it’s rather tasty.
I always loved Jeffrey Steingartens’ response a few years ago to some angry flack he received from Vogue readers when he mentioned the use of horse fat in cooking France. I’m going to quote it directly as I found it an astonishing response.:
From Jeffrey Steingarten’s The Man Who Ate Everything.
‘When this article appeared, an avid horsewoman organized a campaign against Vogue for verbal cruelty to horses. Vogue mollified her by publishing, unedited, a letter abusing the author.
I replied “ The United States is the largest horse-meat exporter in the world (as many as 400,000 animals a year are sent to slaughter) because it has the largest recreational horse population. These animals become ‘surplus’ when horse lovers unnecessarily breed their pets, owners sell their racehorse after only a few years, and recreational riders trade up. Slaughter and export become inevitable when this surplus drives down the resale prices below about $600 an animal. The object of Ms. __’s rage should be the inhumane practices of a good part of the horse-slaughtering industry. And the unwillingness of most horse owners to care for their discarded pets until they die a natural death.”’
I always loved Jeffrey Steingartens’ response a few years ago to some angry flack he received from Vogue readers when he mentioned the use of horse fat in cooking France. I’m going to quote it directly as I found it an astonishing response.:
From Jeffrey Steingarten’s The Man Who Ate Everything.
‘When this article appeared, an avid horsewoman organized a campaign against Vogue for verbal cruelty to horses. Vogue mollified her by publishing, unedited, a letter abusing the author.
I replied “ The United States is the largest horse-meat exporter in the world (as many as 400,000 animals a year are sent to slaughter) because it has the largest recreational horse population. These animals become ‘surplus’ when horse lovers unnecessarily breed their pets, owners sell their racehorse after only a few years, and recreational riders trade up. Slaughter and export become inevitable when this surplus drives down the resale prices below about $600 an animal. The object of Ms. __’s rage should be the inhumane practices of a good part of the horse-slaughtering industry. And the unwillingness of most horse owners to care for their discarded pets until they die a natural death.”’
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