I'd vote "no" on the passage of that bill. My reasons for not liking it are based on emotions, not hard facts, and I know different cultures/societies have different values, but I'm glad horse is not an accepted product in most markets in the U.S.

I think the term "Noble Beast" about sums it up for me.

I could never back a business like that.

Karen

Although horse is eaten in continental Europe, interestingly, most of it is supplied these days from the USA. Shipped overseas: out of sight, out of mind.
I have eaten horse, cured and dried like capicola, which a friend bought in Italy. It was tasty, and I can see the logic of eating an animal which is past its useful life, which is how it came about culturally in those markets. As I understand it, horses are not raised to be meat, as other meat animals are: it is old horses, which will otherwise be put down as being no longer useful, which are slaughtered and shipped.

Is it, arguably, any different from our predecessors eating oxen, that were bred to haul carts, pull ploughs and so on, and when they were past their working usefulness, were slaughtered and eaten? Logic says it's just the same. I know the heart says differently, which is why I think we should always endeavour to understand the entire life cycle of what we eat, so that we can make choices we are comfortable with. I bet if most of us saw modern feed lots we might not be as comfortable with eating beef.

It's an emotional issue with me too. I never had horses but had horse friends. There was the horse which pulled the milk waggon, the horses stabled during market days at the inn, the farmhorses in the extended family, they were all my friends. As intertwined the human history is with horses, it just goes against the grain.

The same feeling that Gandle expresses is how I feel. Horses have been an integral part of society for a long time.

I agree with Pam

"I think the term "Noble Beast" about sums it up for me."

This is a link from the web site at the bottom...

Confused about Horse Slaughter? Here are the answers.

This is a quote from the web site below...

"Is a collection of articles, correspondence and photographs related to the slaughter of America's majestic horses.
Mary Nash passed away in 2005 at her home, a few hundred yards away from Dallas Crown horse
slaughter plant in Kaufman, Texas. It was her life's dream to see the end of horse slaughter.
This site will be continued in her honor by those who believe as she did.
(warning- some pictures and video on this website are distrubing)"

Here is a link that might be useful: Mary Nash's Horse Meat Website

Yes, I have eaten horse meat. No, I would not choose to buy it or consume it. I ate it out of ignorance and found out after the fact what it was. Once you have eaten it, you could never mistake it for anything else and it is not an unpleasant meat. At one time this country ran on horse by-products, hides, hair, renderings you name it. So, I suspect it was once not an uncommon item in the American diet as well.

I've eaten horse meat. At some point it was about the only "store bought" meat we could get during WW11 in Norway. It was desperation time. We did not ask many questions at that time.
I don't think it is desperation time in Europe at this time, so someone has found a market for horse meat and must be making money out of it.

sara_the_brit_"I can see the logic of eating an animal which is past its useful life,".
I can see that in times of need, but in these times both in the us and europe it is not a times of need. I'm not interested in eating any animal past it's prime.

But although I don't eat horse, I have to say I'd feel better about eating an animal that has had a good life and been well cared for. Which is more than I can say about, for example, factory farmed meat. I'd rather eat a horse that's had happy life than a chicken that's been de-beaked and spent it's life unable to scratch, penned in a wire cage, pumped full of growth hormones and antibiotics, and fed feed with protein derived from chicken excrement.
The longer you think about it, the more you (well, I) question society's values about animal welfare.
But the fact remains, horse owners in the US are sending their 'no longer useful' horses for slaughter for meat export. So, what's the alternative? They're still going to slaughter those horses. Isn't it better that the carcasses are eaten so someone benefits? Or do we bury them, as though they're humans?

I'm not meaning to get at anyone, because I know this is a difficult thing to think about, but I'm just exploring the inconsistencies in our approaches to animal welfare.

I completely agree with Sara,but then I usually do. We attach all these emotions to some species of animals depending on our connection to them and view others as almost inanimate objects to be thrown away.In India no one would dream of killing a cow much less set up a slaughter house. Are Indians more humane than we are? If you are a meat eater,then what difference does it make what kind of meat you eat? If someone wants to eat puppy meat,how is that any different from someone who likes venison? You can't have it both ways. What we eat is our personal choice but the manner and conditions under which animals are killed to fill our stomachs is what needs the attention.Good thread Gandle,thanks for starting it.

mwoods, I agree with your statement.
"What we eat is our personal choice but the manner and conditions under which animals are killed to fill our stomachs is what needs the attention."
I'll add that I also pay attention to what kind of meat/poultry I buy and how it is grown.

mwoods, you have so many good points in your post. Re the "puppy" issue that you brought up. When I was in China, I went to a "farmer's" market where puppies were housed in tiny little cages and they were for sale. The black puppies cost more than the light colored puppies, because it was thought that dark meat was better tasting than white meat.

Option; don't eat meat.
Not meant to be sarcastic, either! :o)

Once in quite a while, I'll eat a litle meat, but after being around vegetarian daughters for so long, I've gotten used to not eating meat.
There is a chocolate rendering plant just down the road, though.....

Was a vegetarian for a few years back in the '80s and felt better, slimmer and had more energy/focus. Leaning that way again to improve and heal from the latest set back.

Our food supply is not what it was and I feel the meat industry as a whole has become lower in standards. Eating meat from animals that are raised with proper care and thought is nearly impossible. Good sustenance is something we should all strive for.

There is a chocolate rendering plant just down the road, though.....

LOLOL KJ!

I just surprised a friend of mine who didn't realise I am not much of a meat eater. I cook it, but can live without it and it's mostly for my husband's sake who is a retired butcher and thinks it's the staff of life. I am blessed that our meat for the most part comes from our own family animals, or those processed ourselves. No hormones. No crap feed, no cruelty and raised out in real pastures and not feedlots.

"Eating an animal that's past its prime working life" could apply to service dogs, too...

I've read about slaughtering plants & wouldn't want to go anywhere near one.

If I had to kill what I ate, I'd have a nice salad every time.

but I agree, there's something emotionally repugnant about slaughtering horses;
there was (is?) one near Dallas, & the neighbors, horse lovers or not, object to the screams & the smells.