Last week I posted about the recent reinstatement of federal funding for horse slaughter inspection. As a a member of the horse industry, I can attest to the fact that many horse owners are very excited about this development. For more of my thoughts and the facts behind this issue, read last week’s post by clicking here.
A lot of people have said, “We don’t eat horsemeat in the U.S. so why slaughter it here?” My question is, “Why don’t we eat it here?” A 100 gram serving is a good source of iron and protein and it has less fat per 100 gram serving of beef sirloin.
I am expecting the run of the mill responses; horses are pets, my religion prohibits it, horses are majestic, it’s wrong etc etc. Who are we to judge what others should eat? Aren’t we as consumers constantly saying how much we appreciate having food choices? This is just another choice that American agriculture can provide to a struggling economy. Furthermore, the U.S. is small percentage of the world population and what we eat doesn’t dictate the eating habits of the rest of the world. For example: you’d think things like bacon or grape jelly were pretty run of the mill products, right? Wrong. The U.S. should not condemn those who choose to investigate alternative sources of protein due to income, religion, morals or taste preferences.
For the record, I have NOT tried horse meat but in my defense I’ve only been presented with the opportunity once while in Germany. Mark my words, I’ll try it the next time I have a chance.
If you too would like to try horse meat here is a simple chart that gives a breakdown of the meat cuts.
