Yes, I imagine that all of the extra public speaking the supermarket and now Ikea bosses have been doing recently over the horse meat in our food scandal has left them feeling a little horse.

What gets me is – why hasn’t some bright marketing spark from the food or supermarket industries, turned this into a commercial hit by actively marketing horse meat as a ‘new’ food? Many of the ‘horse-gate’ conversations I’ve had recently, have concluded with someone expressing an interest in trying it. Surly some good PR could work wonders out of this situation. There are however some people making a go of it, like ExoticMeat.co.uk who are selling two juicy looking horse fillet steaks for £11.99. Tempted. At the time of writing, they  Many of their horse lines are currently out of stock – a sign of increased public demand?

I’m wondering if our horse eating French, Southern Spanish and indeed many other national cousins make of all this hoo haa. It’s perhaps mostly due to the domestication going from ‘working / stock’ animal to ‘pet’ animal that’s done it. Up until the 1930s horsemeat was eaten in the UK – particularly in Yorkshire.

I’ve eaten horse before (knowingly) when in France a few years ago and although I can’t remember it being anything special, it certainly wasn’t bad. The worry is not the meat though – but the ‘danger drug’ Bute, given to horses,  that should not, by all accounts get anywhere near the human food chain. If they can clear that bit up, I’d personally be well up for a bit of 2CV Stew.

Ethically, it’s by and large the same as eating beef, lamb or pork, so no stoppers there but ecologically, it could be a disaster if we suddenly got a taste for horse en masse – as they are highly inefficient meat makers. Unlike ruminants, such as cows, sheep and goats, horses need to eat a lot more food to bulk up – so perhaps it’s better if we don’t suddenly find a horse section in our supermarkets after-all.

I’m going to sign off this post with a horse joke. I apologise in advance.

How do you spell hungry horse in four letters? 

MTGG. 

Thank you very much. I’m here all week, try the chicken.