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Default Hungry for horse meat

Hungry for horse meat

By Michael Johnson

International Herald Tribune

BORDEAUX, France: 'I'm so hungry I could eat a horse," I thought to
myself as I sat down to dinner the other night. If I hadn't picked out
the steak myself I would have assumed it was a cut of beef. But in fact
a horse somewhere, probably in East Europe, had to die for this meal.

Having never eaten horse meat, I needed all my willpower to swallow the
sizzling flesh. The smell and taste were decidedly different, a bit
sweet, but it went down and it stayed down. To tell you the truth, I
didn't like it at all. Maybe it's an acquired taste; I might try it
again some day.

If I do, I won't be alone. Horse meat is once again a big thing in
France, increasingly considered an alternative to expensive beef as food
costs rise and people look for cheaper substitutes.

To be sure, the French patronized their boucheries chevelalines (horse
meat butcher shops) throughout the 19th century, when horses were
ubiquitous in the streets. (About 62,000 were slaughtered for food in
1911, a record that still stands.)

With the increase in motorized transportation after World War I, the
horse population dwindled, and so did consumption. But today, horse meat
sales in France are running about 6 percent ahead of last year, and the
past three years have shown steady growth.

I decided to give it a try at that recent dinner after noticing a buzz
at the horse meat stand at the Sunday outdoor market here. Matrons were
snapping up filet mignon, beautifully strung roasts, entrecotes,
horseburger patties and even liver at prices up to 35 percent less than
equivalent cuts of beef. I joined in.

In other European and Asian countries - including Japan, China, Belgium,
Germany and Switzerland - horse meat is a dietary staple. Breeders in
East Europe are finding a ready export market for all these
destinations. In Siberia, the Yakut horse, bred mainly for its fatty
flesh and its high caloric content, is an important part of the local
diet.

"The Italians have recently become the biggest consumers in Europe,"
says the national vice president of the French Fédération de la
Boucherie Hippophagique (horse meat butchers). Even classic Italian
Mortadella sausage can be had in a horse meat variety.

I met the vice president, Eric Vigoureux, behind his refrigerated
trailer at the market. His job, besides selling the meat, is to overcome
the remaining taboos against human consumption. Monsieur Vigoureux was
cheerful and eager to communicate his message - horse meat is lower in
fat, higher in protein and cheaper than beef, and the French are queuing
up for it, he said. "It used to be red meat for the poor, but it has
become democratized since the acceptance of exotic meats - ostrich,
bison, that kind of thing. The main drivers are economic."

The contrasts between French and U.S. culture are endless but I can't
think of an instance quite as stark as attitudes toward horse meat. The
French consumed 25,380 metric tons in 2006 versus the official U.S.
figure of zero. Just last year the final three U.S. horse abattoirs were
closed in Texas and Illinois under pressure from animal rights groups.
They had been exporting to Europe.

The mythic image of the noble horse in American history has weighed most
heavily in the anti-horse meat campaign in the United States.
Celebrities like the singer Willie Nelson have campaigned to stop the
slaughter of horses - in the 1990s, about 100,000 a year were killed,
processed and shipped to Europe.

Vigoureux defends modern European slaughterhouse practices, pointing out
that horses are rendered unconscious by electroshock, then dispatched by
controlled bleeding. "The animal feels no fear, no suffering," he said.

Some people can't tell the difference between horse and beef. I once
overheard an American couple complain in a Paris restaurant that they
could not find a decent hamburger in the French capital. When a waiter
came by to take their order, he pointed to the "Steak haché (chevaline)"
listed on the menu. He did not mention that "chevaline" means horse
meat. They ordered it.

Ten minutes later they were all happily munching their horse burgers. If
they had known the truth, they would probably have run screaming into
the street.

Michael Johnson is a journalist based in Bordeaux.
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Default Hungry for horse meat

Victor submitted for our attention:

> I met the vice president, Eric Vigoureux, behind his refrigerated
> trailer at the market.


Did anybody else find that a bit odd? "Meet me behind the trailer; we'll
have a colloquy."



> Some people can't tell the difference between horse and beef. I once
> overheard an American couple complain in a Paris restaurant that they
> could not find a decent hamburger in the French capital. When a waiter
> came by to take their order, he pointed to the "Steak haché (chevaline)"
> listed on the menu. He did not mention that "chevaline" means horse
> meat. They ordered it.
>
> Ten minutes later they were all happily munching their horse burgers. If
> they had known the truth, they would probably have run screaming into
> the street.


I had a horse cheeseburger in Italy. As noted in the article, the meat is a
bit sweeter than beef, but quite well-flavored.

Bob


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Default Hungry for horse meat

On Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:37:28 -0700, Leonard Blaisdell
> wrote:

>In article >,
> (Victor Sack) wrote:
>
>> The mythic image of the noble horse in American history has weighed most
>> heavily in the anti-horse meat campaign in the United States.
>> Celebrities like the singer Willie Nelson have campaigned to stop the
>> slaughter of horses - in the 1990s, about 100,000 a year were killed,
>> processed and shipped to Europe.

>
>Nevada alone could supply twenty thousand stringy wild nags for
>immediate consumption worldwide. They are a waterhole stomping, habitat
>destroying, alien species in our wilds with no useful reason to be here.
>Real mustangs are long gone, and they were only a romantic construct in
>the first place.
>I crave wild horse steak and hunger for an open year around season. I'd
>even be open to the idea of airfreighting them back to the Asian steppe
>as an American exercise in showing the world how we do it right because
>we care and we're brainless.
>Now, I'm not talking about Nelly or Dobbin. I'm talking about the half
>ton rats infesting our state without human support other than the
>government and the politics of no-horse destruction.


Yeah, I love deer when they aren't decimating my vegetable garden,
squirrels when they aren't eating my plums, skunks when they don't
stink, blue jays when they aren't attacking my cat, and neighbors cats
when they aren't caterwauling under my window.

But I try to keep it all in perspective.



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Default Hungry for horse meat

In article >,
Jed > wrote:

> Yeah, I love deer when they aren't decimating my vegetable garden,
> squirrels when they aren't eating my plums, skunks when they don't
> stink, blue jays when they aren't attacking my cat, and neighbors cats
> when they aren't caterwauling under my window.
>
> But I try to keep it all in perspective.


Housecats are the only non-native species you mentioned and feral cats
are a real problem. I try to keep it all in perspective, as you do. I'm
all for a genetically altered horse that eats a hundred feral cats a
day. That'll make me popular around here.

leo
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+--------------------------------+
| Just Say Neigh To Horse Meat |
+--------------------------------+


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Default Hungry for horse meat

Bob Terwilliger wrote:
> Victor submitted for our attention:
>
>> I met the vice president, Eric Vigoureux, behind his refrigerated
>> trailer at the market.

>
> Did anybody else find that a bit odd? "Meet me behind the trailer; we'll
> have a colloquy."
>
>
>
>> Some people can't tell the difference between horse and beef. I once
>> overheard an American couple complain in a Paris restaurant that they
>> could not find a decent hamburger in the French capital. When a waiter
>> came by to take their order, he pointed to the "Steak haché (chevaline)"
>> listed on the menu. He did not mention that "chevaline" means horse
>> meat. They ordered it.
>>
>> Ten minutes later they were all happily munching their horse burgers. If
>> they had known the truth, they would probably have run screaming into
>> the street.

>
> I had a horse cheeseburger in Italy. As noted in the article, the meat is a
> bit sweeter than beef, but quite well-flavored.


There was an episode of All McBeal about eating horse. The following is
copied from the alt.tv.ally-mcbeal NG:



25. "They Eat Horses, Don't They" #2M02 [AM202] (aired September 21, 1998)
(rerun December 28, 1998, May 31, 1999 & January 29, 2001)
Written by: David E. Kelley
Directed by: Mel Damski

John and Ally defend the owner (Pankin) of a restaurant which serves
horse meat as a delicacy. John is troubled by the case because he must go
against his own convictions in order to defend the client. Nelle
represents a client (Liu - who is joining the series) who is suing a
radio shock jock - a la Howard Stern (Newton), for causing sexual
harrassment by the men in her factory.

Guest stars: James Sutorius - Daley's Lawyer
Albert Hall - Judge Seymore Walsh
Mark Metcalf - Wicks' Lawyer, Walden
Tim Thomerson - Daley
Stuart Pankin - Paul Handy
J. Karen Thomas - TV Reporter Karen Martin-Gray
Marty Levy - TV Announcer
Wayne Newton - Harold Wick
David Ogden Steirs - Judge Andrew Peters
Singers - Renee Goldsberry
Vatrina King
Sy Smith
David E. Wells - Michael
Mijanou van der Woude - Reporter #1
Kevin Farrell - MakeUp Person
Paul Hayes - Foreman

source-- alt.tv.ally-mcbeal, 22 Oct 2001
>
> Bob
>
>


--Bryan
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Default Hungry for horse meat

On Fri, 20 Jun 2008 19:36:43 -0700, "Bob Terwilliger"
> wrote:

>Victor submitted for our attention:
>
>> I met the vice president, Eric Vigoureux, behind his refrigerated
>> trailer at the market.

>
>Did anybody else find that a bit odd? "Meet me behind the trailer; we'll
>have a colloquy."
>


maybe they smoked a joint or something.

your pal,
blake
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Default Hungry for horse meat

On Fri, 20 Jun 2008 20:34:02 -0700, Leonard Blaisdell
> wrote:

>In article >,
> Jed > wrote:
>
>> Yeah, I love deer when they aren't decimating my vegetable garden,
>> squirrels when they aren't eating my plums, skunks when they don't
>> stink, blue jays when they aren't attacking my cat, and neighbors cats
>> when they aren't caterwauling under my window.
>>
>> But I try to keep it all in perspective.

>
>Housecats are the only non-native species you mentioned and feral cats
>are a real problem. I try to keep it all in perspective, as you do. I'm
>all for a genetically altered horse that eats a hundred feral cats a
>day. That'll make me popular around here.
>
>leo


perhaps you can import some dingoes.

your pal,
blake


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Default Hungry for horse meat

Bob Terwilliger > wrote:

> Victor submitted for our attention:
>
> > I met the vice president, Eric Vigoureux, behind his refrigerated
> > trailer at the market.

>
> Did anybody else find that a bit odd? "Meet me behind the trailer; we'll
> have a colloquy."


The really odd bit is contained in this part:
"In other European and Asian countries - including Japan, China,
Belgium, Germany and Switzerland - horse meat is a dietary staple."

To proclaim that horse meat is at present a staple in Germany is beyond
ridiculous. For example, in Düsseldorf it can now be found only at two
market stalls at two different markets (real markets, not supermarkets,
BTW) and, to the best of my knowledge, nowhere else. There was a time
when horsemeat was indeed commonplace in Germany, with, for example,
Sauerbraten having been traditionally made with horse meat in the
Rhineland and some other regions, but this is fairly rarely encountered
nowadays, which is perhaps unfortunate, and many people would recoil at
the mere mention of it, just like in the USA.

> I had a horse cheeseburger in Italy. As noted in the article, the meat is a
> bit sweeter than beef, but quite well-flavored.


Years ago, some horse meat products could be found for a very short time
at one of the Costco-like establishments here. I once bought some
Bratwürste there, which just happened to be some of the best I have ever
had, before or since. I have also eaten smoked salame-like sausages
ostensibly prepared according to a Russian recipe, which I purchased at
one of the branches of the local Russian supermarket chain (which is not
really Russian, as most products are actually produced in Germany or
imported from Poland and some other East-European countries).

Victor
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Victor provided:

> Hungry for horse meat
>
> By Michael Johnson
>
> International Herald Tribune
>
> BORDEAUX, France: 'I'm so hungry I could eat a horse," I thought to
> myself as I sat down to dinner the other night. If I hadn't picked out
> the steak myself I would have assumed it was a cut of beef. But in fact
> a horse somewhere, probably in East Europe, had to die for this meal.


Just read this today:

Lions hungry enough to eat a horse ... that is, if zoo officials can
afford it

http://newsok.com/article/3260319/

By Carrie Coppernoll
Staff Writer

Feeding the lions is getting expensive.

The price of horse meat used to feed lions and other carnivores at the
Oklahoma City Zoo has increased 50 percent in one year, and zoos
throughout the country also are dealing with higher red meat prices.

"It's a supply-and-demand sort of thing,” said Jennifer D'Agostino,
director of veterinary services at the Oklahoma City Zoo. "It affects
us the same as it would affect you at the grocery store.”

But unlike grocery store foods, the horse meat price increase can be
traced to the recent closure of American horse slaughterhouses.

During the past several years, many states have banned the processing
of horse meat for human consumption. Federal money to inspect horse
slaughterhouses was omitted from a 2006 agriculture spending bill
after a longtime push to end U.S. exports of horse meat. After a year
of legal battles, the country's three remaining slaughterhouses — two
in Texas and one in Illinois — closed.

The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday it will not hear an appeal by
owners of the Illinois plant challenging that state's ban on killing
horses for human consumption.

"That was kind of the last chapter in horse processing in the United
States,” said Lloyd Woodward, general manager of Central Nebraska
Packing.

Woodward's company sells meat to about 150 zoos nationwide, including
the Oklahoma City Zoo. For the past year, they've been importing horse
meat from Canada for resale.

Horses are slaughtered in Canada, and processors send the meat to
America, Woodward said. Packers grind the meat, add supplements,
package it, freeze it and ship it to buyers.

Meat that isn't sent to America is sold to human consumers in Europe
and Asia.

Horse meat from Canada is more expensive per pound, and shipping also
adds to the cost, Woodward said.

Zoos nationwide are absorbing the higher prices, said Steven Feldman,
spokesman for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the national
accrediting agency for zoos.

"Just like any business, zoos have to manage costs, and they're
dealing with a variety of the same things that other businesses deal
with,” he said.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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Victor Sack wrote:
> Bob Terwilliger > wrote:
>
>> Victor submitted for our attention:
>>
>>> I met the vice president, Eric Vigoureux, behind his refrigerated
>>> trailer at the market.

>> Did anybody else find that a bit odd? "Meet me behind the trailer; we'll
>> have a colloquy."

>
> The really odd bit is contained in this part:
> "In other European and Asian countries - including Japan, China,
> Belgium, Germany and Switzerland - horse meat is a dietary staple."
>
> To proclaim that horse meat is at present a staple in Germany is beyond
> ridiculous. For example, in Düsseldorf it can now be found only at two
> market stalls at two different markets (real markets, not supermarkets,
> BTW) and, to the best of my knowledge, nowhere else. There was a time
> when horsemeat was indeed commonplace in Germany, with, for example,
> Sauerbraten having been traditionally made with horse meat in the
> Rhineland and some other regions, but this is fairly rarely encountered
> nowadays, which is perhaps unfortunate, and many people would recoil at
> the mere mention of it, just like in the USA.
>
>> I had a horse cheeseburger in Italy. As noted in the article, the meat is a
>> bit sweeter than beef, but quite well-flavored.

>
> Years ago, some horse meat products could be found for a very short time
> at one of the Costco-like establishments here. I once bought some
> Bratwürste there, which just happened to be some of the best I have ever
> had, before or since. I have also eaten smoked salame-like sausages
> ostensibly prepared according to a Russian recipe, which I purchased at
> one of the branches of the local Russian supermarket chain (which is not
> really Russian, as most products are actually produced in Germany or
> imported from Poland and some other East-European countries).
>
> Victor

As late as the mid-t0-late fifties horsemeat was a commonplace staple in
the diets of US servicemen. I don't know when they stopped it but
probably about the time the movie "Flicka" came out.

George
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On Sat, 21 Jun 2008 15:16:23 -0700 (PDT), Lin
> wrote:

>Victor provided:
>
>> Hungry for horse meat
>>
>> By Michael Johnson
>>
>> International Herald Tribune
>>
>> BORDEAUX, France: 'I'm so hungry I could eat a horse," I thought to
>> myself as I sat down to dinner the other night. If I hadn't picked out
>> the steak myself I would have assumed it was a cut of beef. But in fact
>> a horse somewhere, probably in East Europe, had to die for this meal.

>
>Just read this today:
>
>Lions hungry enough to eat a horse ... that is, if zoo officials can
>afford it
>
>http://newsok.com/article/3260319/
>
>By Carrie Coppernoll
>Staff Writer
>
>Feeding the lions is getting expensive.
>
>The price of horse meat used to feed lions and other carnivores at the
>Oklahoma City Zoo has increased 50 percent in one year, and zoos
>throughout the country also are dealing with higher red meat prices.
>


they should just be glad they don't have to buy zebra meant.

your pal,
blake
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Default Hungry for horse meat

On Sat, 21 Jun 2008 18:40:07 -0500, George Shirley
> wrote:

>Victor Sack wrote:


snippage

>>
>> Years ago, some horse meat products could be found for a very short time
>> at one of the Costco-like establishments here. I once bought some
>> Bratwürste there, which just happened to be some of the best I have ever
>> had, before or since. I have also eaten smoked salame-like sausages
>> ostensibly prepared according to a Russian recipe, which I purchased at
>> one of the branches of the local Russian supermarket chain (which is not
>> really Russian, as most products are actually produced in Germany or
>> imported from Poland and some other East-European countries).
>>
>> Victor

>As late as the mid-t0-late fifties horsemeat was a commonplace staple in
>the diets of US servicemen. I don't know when they stopped it but
>probably about the time the movie "Flicka" came out.
>
>George


DH says he used to buy horsemeat at a little butcher shop in San Diego
in the 50's

koko
There is no love more sincere than the love of food.
George Bernard Shaw


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> wrote:

> DH says he used to buy horsemeat at a little butcher shop in San Diego
> in the 50's


You used to be able to buy it at the Asian grocers in San Jose up
until 1999 or so. They also made a vietanmese style jerky out of it
for sale in 6oz bags. I ate a lot of that stuff. I didn't know it
was horse at first, but I still kept buying it.

-sw
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