Horse meat.

If you had to kill your own food, would you feel great remorse? I know I would.. I'd probably invent some way of appeasing the animal. I think certain tribes people ask for forgiveness when they kill an animal for food. Of course when a lion kills a human it just does it, there's no remorse to it, as the Lion has very little or no ability to be emotional or empathetic in that way... to be honest I'd probably shed a tear and just get on and eat it, if I'm deadly (excuse the pun again) honest

 

In my opinion imports should be stopped for good,people should be taught how to cook proper food there is too much "fast food" & "processed ready meals" what is wrong with good old fashioned ingredients and cooking.Local food in season and we might see a bit more food grown/reared in this country instead of fields full of oilseed rape or turned into housing developments or train tracks.
Ok people want cheap food I understand the need for that,so why do you see so much fast food thrown away,if someone had made it themselves they would be less likely to waste it.
Oh I forgot EU rules wont let us ban it,our farmers follow strict rules but we eat cheap rubbish reared any cruel unethical way but as long as the public dont know that is ok,it wont happen but I wish it would,that our politicians got the b*lls to do the right thing and looked after the common man and turned their back on rich business men and bankers.

 

We still need imports for when we have a bad year for growing food, we should only export our excess

One thing that should be stoped is unnessary transport of food, ie load of wheat form Bristol to London when there will be a load for wheat form London to Bristol which does happen and from one country to another

 

I have killed (some) of my own food, rabbit, pheasant, hare, duck, chicken etc. - did I think it was ethically or morally wrong and did I feel 'remorse'? In a word .... No. The animal was dispatched quickly, cleanly and humanely - one minute it was going about its life, the next ... it wasn't. There was no keeping it in over-crowded or cramped conditions in pens or cages whilst being fed an unnatural diet, or being transported hundreds of miles in a truck and undergoing some 'ritual' slaughter or the cruelty of some abattoirs.

Considering dairy cows are kept constantly pregnant to satisfy our desire for milk and it's products, that chickens are slaughtered at around 42 days old, pigs at around 5 months, lamb at 5-6 months, veal at 6-8 months and beef cattle around 2 years, I don't think killing something I'm going to eat in a couple of weeks (after it's dead) is such a bad thing.

Just about every part of what I've dispatched has been used - granted, I've not bothered to tan rabbit pelts, but paunching them in the field means the 'remains' are quickly 're-cycled' and, although you have to work your way through a heck of a lot of chicken and ducks, the feathers can be used. There's no denying that there is a great deal of wastage in the commercially produced meat food chain and why? Because by-and-large we, as consumers demand it - we want meat (usually with little or no fat) that comes on a plastic tray, covered in a bit of cling-wrap with cooking instructions and a 'serving suggestion' on the back. I've been in the buchers and bought ox cheek, shin or skirt and been asked by someone standing next to me 'What do you do with that?' mention a stew or casserole and the answer is nearly always 'Oh, that's too much faffing about'. And try buying neck of lamb or mutton, tripe or indeed pig's trotters in a UK supermarket and you'll get some very funny looks - you even have to be pretty determined to find any liver other than chicken.

One final point - the food I've killed has travelled practically zero food miles; as I understand it, this horsemeat was sold in the UK by a Swedish company who processed it in France by obtaining it from a Cypriot trader, who purchased it from a Dutch trader who got it from a Romanian abattoir - 'I danced with a man, who danced with a girl who danced with .....'?

 

I totally empathise with this!!

Val

 

It's a bit more complicated than that

And finally

 

I was under the impression certain (other?) tribes give thanks/appreciation/acknowledgement/due respect?

"Forgiveness" implies that a sin of some kind has been committed. Whereas, "thanks" (appreciation/acknowledgement/due respect) implies a different connotation? One which does not carry feelings of guilt/forgiveness, but of respect?

 

To put it into perspective, the price of food does not increase just because you use meat of a lesser value to supplement the "perceived" content.

It is known that horse/donkey meat is far cheaper than commercial beef. By undercutting the competition of (genuine) beef, by supplementing with non-beef actually lowers the price; not increases it.

Now, consider this: you can sell your horse/donkey meat at premium price (of beef) and many are too stupid/under regulated/takes things at face value e.g. trust/couldn't give a monkies, to tell the difference. At the very least, this is fraud. It wouldn't have an impact on the supply/demand market.

Now (today!) the knock-on effect is, that premium beef can now command a higher price! If it has a healthy cradle to grave passport, it will command a higher price because it can be proven to be what it claims to be Now it can charge a premium price through its authenticity.

This has a two fold attack: raise the profile of beef passports = it can command a higher price due to higher standards/demand.

Only unscrupulous traders will continue to endeavour to "hide" their sub-standard meat under the guise of beef.

Now, raising the price of certified commercial beef due to demand, now makes it a sort after "authentic" product. So, prices will now rise.

Being put under intense scrutiny, may (or may not) put greater pressure on those who have been freely passing off their products as pure beef. It is "their" profits which will now be compromised.

The end result will always fall to the consumer. If you want cheap beef products, you day has been (authentic beef producers can now command a higher price if their passport fits ) . If you want cheap beef like products, you will pay for the priviledge (Because to get these products through the system which will be set up to trap these less than scrupulous suppliers, will still add to the overall cost).

Any price hike will be as a result of these revelations; not because of the trade in them to date

 

I haven't eaten any animals other than fish for many years, but still shoot pigeons & rabbits as a last resort to stop them eating my veg (and fruit/flowers!) and they get used for dog food or by friends/family who eat meat which I'll remove myself and give the remainder to the local Red Kite population who are always about at my plot. They thank me by eating my offerings at the top of the tree I park my car under and dropping bones/pooing on it.

Even when sea fishing I try and gut/fillet on the beach so everything I'm not going to eat or save for bait goes back into the sea rather than the local landfill site when I get home.

 

In view of all these startling revelations can we believe that our organic food is really organic ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

 

You are complicating things, Cherub

You can believe: ... nothing; nada, zilch

Unless? You grow your own

 

I suppose it depends on the person, and how hungry they are.. in general though I would suspect a little bit of everything. Our empathetic nature might make us ask for forgiveness, because we value our live so highly, we attach our values to the animals. It's quite a complicated thing I'm sure.

If you're a seasoned killer, I suppose you don't feel that guilt.

 

I sometimes look at pictures on the TV of mass crowds at events.
It often goes though my mind, at the time, this is just a very small section of the world population, and how many animals are slaughtered each year just to support that amount of people.

It puts things into perspective, when you watch a wildlife programme, and they mention a species that is down to its last few thousand left in the wild.

 

I (respectfully) disagree.

How "hungry" a person is, is very subjective; how a person chooses to fulfil that hunger, is equally subjective.

I believe it is, fundamentally, a cultural/affluence issue; in more recent history, I would suggest 'empathy' towards animals is a modern phenomena due, primarily to affluence and percieved abundance.

What, precisely, is a "seasoned" killer?
What evidence is there to suggest that killing of animals produces no sense of remorse?

Empathy is born from the luxury of choice and abundance. Historically, that is has not been the priviledge of the majority of any society