The Random Comic Strip

The Random Comic Strip

Words to live by...

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and to rest afterward."

[Spanish Proverb]

Ius luxuriae publice datum est

(The right to looseness has been officially given)

"Everyone carries a part of society on his shoulders," wrote Ludwig von Mises, "no one is relieved of his share of responsibility by others. And no one can find a safe way for himself if society is sweeping towards destruction. Therefore everyone, in his own interest, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle."

Apparently, the crossword puzzle that disappeared from the blog, came back.


Thursday, December 13, 2012

Belmont Steaks, anyone?


From time to time, we in the U.S. are told of concerns and outrages concerning our food supply. The e.coli outbreaks, the issues of various food additives for preservation and processing, and even concerns about the packaging (see BPA concerns).

And now.... horsemeat.

Yes, horsemeat. We do not consume it here in the States, of course (though we feed it to our dogs, I think), but I was surprised to learn that Europe does. And that they are processed in Canada and Mexico.

It isn't the horsemeat itself that's the outrage (though it is, I am sure, to some), it's that some of the meat comes from racehorses and these animals receive a number of drugs during their careers.  There are safeguards, regulations, in place to minimize the problem but some tainted meat gets through from time to time. As we all know, the percentage caught is often a small percentage of the actual number affected.  Let me give you a quote from a NY Times article:


Despite the fact that racehorses make up only a fraction of the trade in horse meat, the European officials have indicated that they may nonetheless require lifetime medication records for slaughter-bound horses from Canada and Mexico, and perhaps require them to be held on feedlots or some other holding area for six months before they are slaughtered.

I had no idea...

2 comments:

Inspector Clouseau said...

If one checks out every culture in the Universe, nothing would surprise you. A couple of years ago, it was reported that Chinese restaurants in China were mixing cardboard with their meat to "stretch it." As many things in life, "human ingenuity" is a dual edge sword, really depending on what you've been exposed to.

Douglas said...

One of the interesting tidbits I learned was that horsemeat gained a foothold in Europe during WWII... which makes perfect sense when you think about it. From the article:
Jerome Paviet, a horse-meat wholesaler, said about 30,000 tons of horse meat was consumed annually in France. He said most consumers are older than 45, because during and after World War II, doctors promoted horse meat as a healthy alternative to other meats that had become scarce.

Ahhhhh... French cooking! :)