Horse meat was widely accepted in French cuisine in the last years of the Second French Empire. The high cost of living in Paris prevented many working-class citizens from buying meat such as pork or beef; In 1866, the French government legalized the consumption of horse meat, and the first butcher shop specializing in horse meat was opened in eastern Paris, offering quality meat at low prices. During the siege of Paris (1870-1871), horse meat was eaten with donkey and mule meat by anyone who could afford it,[13] partly because of a lack of fresh meat in the blocked city and also, because horses ate the grain needed by the human population. Although a large number of horses were in Paris (it is estimated that between 65,000 and 70,000 were slaughtered and eaten during the siege), supply was ultimately limited. Even champion racehorses were not spared (two horses given to Napoleon III by Alexander II of Russia were slaughtered), but meat became scarce. Many Parisians developed a taste for horse meat during the siege, and horse meat remained popular after the war. Similarly, in other places and times of siege or starvation, horses are considered a source of food of last resort. Although we may consider lean meat healthier, food was rarer in the Middle Ages than it is today. Many countries therefore preferred beef on the table, as it filled them rather than horse meat. This idea could influence horse meat consumption to date.
In 2007, the Illinois General Assembly signed into law Public Act 95-02, which amended Chapter 225, Section 635 of the Compiled State Acts[127] to prohibit both the slaughter of horses for human consumption and the trade in horse meat similar to Chapter 149 of the Texas Agricultural Code. While most of our fifteen participants (66%) were able to correctly identify which meat was which, the taste of beef jerky received only slightly higher marks than horse. Some participants even preferred the horse. The top 10 producers of horse meat are China, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Mongolia, Russia, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Australia and Kyrgyzstan. Horse meat may be consumed without the consumer`s knowledge as a result of accidental or fraudulent introduction of horsemeat into human consumption. A 2003 investigation by the Food Standards Agency found that some sausages, salami and similar products such as chorizo and pastrami sometimes contained horse meat without it being listed,[113] although required by law. [114] In the 2013 horse meat scandal, several products were recalled from the shelves due to unlabelled horse meat in amounts up to 100% of the meat content. [115] Horse meat has a slightly sweet taste reminiscent of beef. Many consumers claim to be unable to tell the difference between beef and horsemeat. [18] Horse meat is available in butcher shops and meat shops, but can sometimes be found in supermarkets, especially in ground form. The most common way to eat horse meat is in the form of sausage, especially Meetwursti (Mettwurst), a dried and smoked sausage that often contains pork, beef, and horse meat. Finns consume about 400 g of horse meat per person per year and the country produces about 300 to 400,000 tons of meat per year, while importing about 1.5 million kilograms per year from countries such as Canada, Mexico or Argentina.
[86] No horses are bred for meat production, and there are strict laws against the use of meat from horses that have received injected drugs or antibiotics. The use of meat from a horse that has been treated with non-equine medicinal products or has not been examined by a veterinarian is completely prohibited. [87] State laws on this can change quickly, so it`s important to take a look at the latest rules and regulations in your area to see whether or not you`re allowed to eat horse meat. According to anthropologist Marvin Harris,[10] some cultures classify horse meat as taboo because horses process grass into meat less efficiently than ruminants. Popular European dishes include Austrian Leberkäse, served in rolls or with dumplings, the smoked and sliced cold cuts from Belgium known as paardenrookvlees, horse steaks, a stew called schep and sausages. Bulgarians prefer horse in steak and burgers, and Finns are partly to horse sausages, especially Meetwursti, a sausage with pork, beef and horse meat. Hungarians love horse salami and sausages mixed with pork, goulash and horse stews. Italians also enjoy horse and donkey meat, while Spaniards are known to eat foal meat or carne de porto. In 2005, the eight main horse-producing countries produced more than 700,000 tonnes. In 2005, the top five horse-consuming countries were China (421,000 tonnes), Mexico, Russia, Italy and Kazakhstan (54,000 tonnes). [25] In 2010, Mexico produced 140,000 tonnes, China 126,000 tonnes and Kazakhstan 114,000 tonnes. As a co-sponsor of legislation banning the sale or transport of horses for human consumption, I will continue the fight to end #HorseSlaughter.
No, there are no more slaughterhouses for horses. In the past, it was not uncommon for people to eat horse meat, but now slaughterhouses are no longer open. The USDA has also banned the import of horse meat from other countries. While Mexico and Canada continue to sell horsemeat, the United States does not. In 2005, animal rights activists began making a lot of noise about the sale of horsemeat, and the last slaughterhouses closed in 2007. There are no more abattoirs open to the sale of horse meat. Two of them were in Texas and one in Illinois. Now they are closed, so it is almost impossible for anyone to buy horse meat.
According to the New York Times, inflation put horsemeat back on the regular American menu in 1973. Carlson`s, a butcher shop in Westbrook, Connecticut, said it sells £6,000 a day. Although it`s no longer printed, you can still find Carlson`s Horsemeat CookBook on Amazon. Until 1985, horsemeat was on the menu of the Harvard Faculty Club. Countries that consume horsemeat include China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, Germany, France and Iceland.
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