Horse thread( kind of sad)

[Shaun__]

The slaughter of horses for human consumption has been approved. I eat all kinds of tasty animals, but for some reason this just seems wrong to me. I even eat bacon without guilt, and pigs are really smart animals. Does anyone else feel the same way about this or am I just being a hypocrite?

 

[Nordling]

I wouldn't call you a hypocrite for not wanting to eat horse meat (or dog, cat or hamster meat) but rather a victim of cultural conditioning, of which I too am guilty.

I do ask that you question your own words: "seems just wrong." The key is "seems." I would suggest it seems so because you have been conditioned since childhood to not look hungrily at horses.

 

[SatanJonez]

I think because of how horses are portrayed in North America a lot of people will find this to be screwed up, but (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) in almost every other country they're fair game, especially a lot of European countries. If I had a pet horse, would I eat it? No. If I had a pet horse & a different horse was served to me at a restaurant & it tasted good would I feel bad? Maybe a tiny bit, but not enough to stop eating it.

 

[RogueWarrior]

They don't eat beef in India. To me that "seems" wrong. :lol:

 

[Nordling]

I think because of how horses are portrayed in North America a lot of people will find this to be screwed up, but (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) in almost every other country they're fair game, especially a lot of European countries. If I had a pet horse, would I eat it? No. If I had a pet horse & a different horse was served to me at a restaurant & it tasted good would I feel bad? Maybe a tiny bit, but not enough to stop eating it.

Sounds like a mixed bag in Europe, just like here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse_meat#Europe

As expected, it's taboo in the UK, to a similar degree to in the US.

 

[RogueWarrior]

Just read the link in the original post. Very slanted indeed.

In fact resuming horse slaughter in the US is actually the more humane course. Without that avenue, many horses have been going malnourished and neglected. The feelgood thing to do is oppose the slaughter of horses. But the reality is very different.

http://farmfutures.com/story.aspx/resto ... r-17/55107

For the opposing view.

 

[Shaun__]

I think because of how horses are portrayed in North America a lot of people will find this to be screwed up, but (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) in almost every other country they're fair game, especially a lot of European countries. If I had a pet horse, would I eat it? No. If I had a pet horse & a different horse was served to me at a restaurant & it tasted good would I feel bad? Maybe a tiny bit, but not enough to stop eating it.

It takes more than being a pet to ruin my appetite. I had a pet pig when I was two or three and learned pigs are mean, so I think I would eat the hell out of that pig if it was still alive. My mother had a pet male turkey a few years ago until she found someone to take the thing from her, and I think the domesticated turkey is of no use to the world. She also has adorable little chickens running all over the yard but I ate chicken for dinner tonight.

Maybe my feelings come from growing up in a culture that said eating horses is wrong. That answer seems unsatisfactory though.

Just read the link in the original post. Very slanted indeed.

In fact resuming horse slaughter in the US is actually the more humane course. Without that avenue, many horses have been going malnourished and neglected. The feelgood thing to do is oppose the slaughter of horses. But the reality is very different.

I am not objecting to the slaughter I am objecting to the eating. I do not want horses turned into an animal raised for food.


These are some of her chickens

One of these things is not like the others

Horrible lighting but he has cute head feathers

 

[Rose]

I don't know if I would be willing to eat horse, but I view eating them the same as any other animal. As long as the whole animal is used, it's killed as humanely as possible and it's not just for sport then I don't have any major qualms with it. If we ate dogs here in America and it was normal then I'd probably eat them (or horses) the same as I eat cows. Granted, I LOVE my furbaby and don't think I could ever eat her even if I was dying of starvation.

 

[Shaun__]

If we ate dogs here in America and it was normal then I'd probably eat them (or horses) the same as I eat cows. Granted, I LOVE my furbaby and don't think I could ever eat her even if I was dying of starvation.

This puppy is going to a slaughter house in China. Do you really think you could eat him?

 

[JoleneBrody]

My feelings on the subject are based around growing up with horses. I did barrel racing throughout my childhood and had a close relationship with my horses. They are highly intelligent animals that have been bred and raised (especially in the US) to work with humans. I also had a pet duck that was the awesomest little friend ever, I still wont eat duck (not a great example but the truth). Just like a dog, horses are domestic animals in the U.S. Meaning raised and bred for human companionship, not consumption.
I can think of so many occasions my horse expressed his love for me. (out of the gutter dammit!) It just does not feel right.

Excuse me a moment, I got something in my eye.

 

[Rose]

If we ate dogs here in America and it was normal then I'd probably eat them (or horses) the same as I eat cows. Granted, I LOVE my furbaby and don't think I could ever eat her even if I was dying of starvation.

This puppy is going to a slaughter house in China. Do you really think you could eat him?

No, but if I had been raised where it was normal, accepted and humane then I might. Seeing as I wasn't raised that way, then no. Just because the horse slaughter was approved doesn't mean I'm going to run out and eat horse. As it is, I'm generally only ok with eating cows, pigs, deer and certain fish. Most days I only eat cows because I get skeeved out thinking about eating animals. I was just providing an example.

 

[LadyLuna]

If we ate dogs here in America and it was normal then I'd probably eat them (or horses) the same as I eat cows. Granted, I LOVE my furbaby and don't think I could ever eat her even if I was dying of starvation.

This puppy is going to a slaughter house in China. Do you really think you could eat him?

There's a difference between killing something before it's gotten a chance to live, and killing an adult... If you had shown me a full-grown dog about to be killed, it wouldn't pull at my heart-strings nearly as much as a puppy would.

also, saying that it's okay to eat horses is quite possibly the only way to save the horses right now. Who rides them in America anymore? Only enthusiasts.

Animals are meat. If they've lived a good life, why not kill and eat them before they get old and hurty?

Edited to add: This also doesn't mean that I would approve of slaughtering someone's pet for food against the owner's wishes. That would be unnecessarily cruel.

 

[Shaun__]

There's a difference between killing something before it's gotten a chance to live, and killing an adult... If you had shown me a full-grown dog about to be killed, it wouldn't pull at my heart-strings nearly as much as a puppy would.

also, saying that it's okay to eat horses is quite possibly the only way to save the horses right now. Who rides them in America anymore? Only enthusiasts.

Animals are meat. If they've lived a good life, why not kill and eat them before they get old and hurty?

Edited to add: This also doesn't mean that I would approve of slaughtering someone's pet for food against the owner's wishes. That would be unnecessarily cruel.

Younger animals tend to be more tender than old and hurty animals. Also you have to look at the food cost over the life of the animal and decide at which point your profits starts to fall. Cattle are slaughtered around 12 to 26 months, I think, for these reasons. If it did catch on in this country I do not think it would be any different for the horses.

This is from a study from several years ago.

What types of horses are being slaughtered? Aren't these old, sick horses?
According to 2001 field studies conducted by Temple Grandin, 70% of all horses at the slaughter plant were in good, fat, or obese condition; 72% were considered to be “sound” of limb; 84% were of average age; and 96% had no behavioral issues. Slaughter plants do not want old, sick horses for obvious reasons.

 

[LacieLaPlante]

Well, to me.. I'm a vegetarian and the only reason I don't really eat meat is becauuuse.. it's muscle? It just weirds me out to eat muscle and I don't judge anyone who does, I just get a weird image in my head while I do.

My point is: if you're going to eat meat, I'm not sure what the issue with eating a horse vs a cow vs a sheep vs a fish vs a pig vs a moose. It's all essentially the same thing!!

 

[LailaBaise]

Horse is used (apparently) in a lot of dog/cat food. Is it the idea of eating it that is so unsavoury, or the idea of killing a horse to be eaten full stop?

If I was in France, and horse was on the menu in a restaurant, I would be intrigued to try it, make my dad order it and then have a nibble...maybe.

 

[BCamden]

Animals are meat. If they've lived a good life, why not kill and eat them before they get old and hurty?

Were you ever an executive with the Soylent Corporation? :lol:

 

[Jessi]

Just wondering, do zoo animals still go to the glue/gelatin factory like farm animal remains?

 

[Mork]

IDK.. I've eaten dog and cat when I was in other parts of the world. Wasn't bad actually. You will almost always find goat [or dog since its close to the same torso] on a spit over a fire in Mexico and central/south America - Iguana . Horse isn't that big of a deal even tho I have ridden and relied on them most of my life. Think of all the FFA kids that raise their pet cow/sheep treat it like family and then sell it off to be slaughtered for a few $$. I guess I'm just a bit more casual about the source if I'm hungry.

What most Americans and other spoiled "civilized" places tend to forget is that the USA is land of plenty. You can have almost any food from anywhere in the world at any time. Many folks elsewhere eat only once a day [if that] and don't really have much choice if they want calories and protein. I've seen poor folks eating Alpo dog food from a can and treating it like a full Thanksgiving meal they were so happy to have it. I've been places where even a silly thing like a potato would be a feast of something different.
Not to condemn anyones eating choices or anything but we need to remember not all are as fortunate when it comes to food variety and availability.....

 

[Jaydenrainey]

that makes me sad.. but so does eating pigs i think they are so freaking cute (sorry just my opinion) honestly im gonna be blunt.. if you cant stomach eating dog cat horse whatever animal you shouldn't eat any animals.. i know thats a really controversial opinion but i really believe if you have empathy for your dog or cat or horse you can find it for other animals.. its just not something we are in touch with as people.. i dont hate meat eaters or anything i just feel like people are so out of touch with the common animals we eat as food that they don't even remember where food comes from. i love eating animals by Johnathan Safran Foer it has a whole chapter entitled "a case for eating dogs" and is one of the most brilliant and factual non sentimental pieces of literature on speciesism ive ever encountered.

 

[Bocefish]

There are major wild horse problems in certain areas, so this may actually help horses in the long run. Cultural conditioning is predominantly why some people have issues about what is considered palatable. How can you shoot/kill Bambi, Thumper, Wilbur, Mr. Ed... much less eat them.

That said, I would only eat a former life-long pet if it was a life or death survival circumstance.

 

[MadisonLeigh]

I respect that opinion but all animals are not created equally to me...we had chickens when I was growing up and they were really stupid and mean, and it's hard for me to have empathy for them on the same level as I would for my sweet and loving pets. Or to give another example, I'm not going to have an emotional bond with a fish. I'm not really even a big meat eater but I'm not going to feel the same way about having sushi as I would feel about being presented with a plate of cat. I don't think it's hypocritical as long as you are aware of where your food is coming from.

 

[Rosemary]

This is definitely a cultural thing.

Personally? I'll try almost anything once, but I would not be able to eat kitties. It does give me a pang to know that cats are used for consumption (and even that dog made me whimper!), but I don't think I'd go out of my way to eat companion animals. I'm okay with this! I don't know how I'd feel if cats went on the 'consumable' list. Probably icky? But I do recognize that if someone wants to eat a cat then it is none of my business to tell them no.

I am hoping for a replicator like on Star Trek. Just beam me down some sushi assembled from random collected molecules and I'll be Jam.

 

[BullFrogBlues]

Just to balance out the emotive foal pics.... lamb is yummy.

 

[MadisonLeigh]

I'm waiting for lab grown meat to become affordable and widely available. I'm interested to see if they can ever perfect it.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/ ... economics/

 

[Jaydenrainey]

I'm waiting for lab grown meat to become affordable and widely available. I'm interested to see if they can ever perfect it.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/ ... economics/

they did an article on this in the vegnews its cool i still dont think id eat meat but then it would just be a taste issue.

 

[Rosemary]

I'm waiting for lab grown meat to become affordable and widely available. I'm interested to see if they can ever perfect it.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/ ... economics/

they did an article on this in the vegnews its cool i still dont think id eat meat but then it would just be a taste issue.

If/when meat is grown in the lab I will probably stop buying slaughtered animals. I can't wait!

 

[BullFrogBlues]

Hmmm... a couple novel/movie/TV series have explored the lab grown meat theme, but they always ended up being sentient and living a life of torture. :whistle:

 

[Jessi]

Id love to see lab grown meat become a reality. It would save a lot of resources and space and hopefully it could be done in a more-efficient-less-environmentally-damaging way than the current meat industry. Plus if we could grow muscles, presumably we could grow new body parts for people who need them too. For now, Im happy with my bean-based meats. Maybe I have a weak sense of taste but I can find basically any meat dish I enjoy in an equally tasty non-meat version. *content*

 

[Bocefish]

Id love to see lab grown meat become a reality. It would save a lot of resources and space and hopefully it could be done in a more-efficient-less-environmentally-damaging way than the current meat industry.

Good point, I'd also like to see organizations like the PETArds concentrate their efforts more on similar, common sense ideas than the stoopid shit they currently do.

 

[SophiaLocke]

I'm waiting for lab grown meat to become affordable and widely available. I'm interested to see if they can ever perfect it.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/ ... economics/

i originally read "lab" as in "labrador retriever" and was like :shock:

i was quite relieved after re-reading it.