I love horses! Actually that should read ‘I love horse.’
As far as red meat goes horse meat is really quite delicious. Generally speaking it is more tender and has a sweeter taste, slightly richer than beef, that many describe as being somewhere between beef and venison. On the health front it generally has more protein and less fat than beef and therefore is arguably better for you!
Horses and cows also digest their feed quite differently, which means horses don’t burp and fart as much as cows, so it could be argued that they produce less methane gas and that making horse a part of our diet is better for the planet.
I was lucky to have tasted horse while in France and even though I did not know what I was eating until it was too late, I must admit that if I did know what it was I probably would have eaten it anyway. I had heard how good it is and I was not disappointed.
I reckon about 90 per cent of you reading this are shuddering and squirming though. And of that 90 per cent, a large portion are probably starting to feel the early stages of shock and outrage. One or two of you may in fact want to shout at me and call me names. I know this because it is something I have discussed before today and am aware of the feelings and emotions surrounding eating horses. But why?
If there is this ample source of delicious protein wondering in our ecosystem consuming resources, why should we not eat it? Every time I ask this question it always boils down to a version of “because they are beautiful,” which I think is a terrible criteria!
Imagine if you only ever ate ugly animals? There would be no doe-eyed cows on our plate (nor doe-eyed does for that matter) and because of that delightful movie Babe there would be no bacon or crispy roast pork! In fact, I would argue that if the ‘Is It Beautiful’ criteria was applied, our meat intake would be restricted to mangy dogs and wet cats.
So when you stop to watch the Melbourne Cup field this year, why not take a moment to consider this question: “Which one would I eat?”
Eat well!
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