Horse meat: Difference between revisions

'''Horse meat''' forms a significant part of the [[Culinary arts|culinary]] traditions of many countries, particularly in [[Eurasia]]. The eight countries that consume the most [[horse]] meat consume about 4.3{{nbsp}}million [[horse]]s a year. For the majority of humanity's early existence, [[wild horse]]s were hunted as a source of protein.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Documenting Domestication |author=Melinda A. Zeder |publisher=University of California Press |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-520-24638-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EaVTxjrbIFQC |pages=257, 258, 265 |access-date=May 6, 2020 |archive-date=September 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918224612/https://books.google.com/books?id=EaVTxjrbIFQC |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Horse, the Wheel and Language |author=David W. Anthony |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2008 |pages=199, 220 |isbn=978-0-691-05887-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rOG5VcYxhiEC |access-date=May 6, 2020 |archive-date=March 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327013641/https://books.google.com/books?id=rOG5VcYxhiEC |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the [[Paleolithic]], [[wild horseshorse]]s formed an important source of food for humans. In many parts of Europe, the consumption of horse meat continued throughout the Middle Ages until modern times, despite a ban on horse meat by [[Pope Gregory III]] in 732.<ref>{{cite book|author=Richard Pillsbury|title=No foreign food: the American diet in time and place|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8te03bzHJkUC|year=1998|publisher=Westview Press|isbn=978-0-8133-2739-6|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=8te03bzHJkUC&pg=PA14 14]|access-date=January 8, 2016|archive-date=June 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611013400/https://books.google.com/books?id=8te03bzHJkUC|url-status=live}}</ref> Horse meat was also eaten as part of [[Horses in Germanic paganism|Germanic pagan religious ceremonies]] in [[Northern Europe]].<ref name="ReferenceA">Calvin W. Schwabe, ''Unmentionable Cuisine'', University

A misconception exists that horses are commonly slaughtered for pet food.{{cn|date=March 2023}} In many countries, such as the United States, horse meat was [[outlaw]]edoutlawed for use in pet food in the 1970s. American horse meat is considered a [[delicacy]] in Europe and Japan, and its cost is in line with veal,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.haras-nationaux.fr/portail/uploads/tx_vm19docsbase/DIP_ECO_03_HORSEMEAT_01.pdf |title=Horsemeat in France - (June 2006), Librairie des Haras nationaux |access-date=February 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071101044559/http://www.haras-nationaux.fr/portail/uploads/tx_vm19docsbase/DIP_ECO_03_HORSEMEAT_01.pdf |archive-date=November 1, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> so it would be prohibitively expensive in many countries for pet food.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/animal/pdf/risk_assesment_hiikuhorse_1.pdf {{Webarchive|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160916113809/http://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/animal/pdf/risk_assesment_hiikuhorse_1.pdf |archive-date=September 16, 2016 }}|language=ja 70%|title=肥育用素馬の輸入に関する ofリスク評価書 products derived|trans-title=Risk fromassessment livingreport on the import of fattening horses, that2014 areedition destined|date=June to23, slaughter2016 after|publisher=Animal beingQuarantine Station, Precision Inspection Department, Risk Analysis Division |page=11 |trans-quote=In 2014, approximately 7,400 tons of horse-derived livestock products were imported tointo Japan, (atconsisting 2014)of ishorse meat, whilefor human consumption or pet food, isas 0well as hair, skin, etc., with the majority being horse meat for human consumption (Figure 8).}} Figure 8 shows 0.1% for pet food consumption, 70% for human consumption.</ref>

Meat from horses that [[veterinarian]]s have [[Animal euthanasia|put down]] with a [[lethal injection]] is not suitable for human consumption, as the [[toxin]] remains in the meat; the [[Carcasses of animals|carcasses]] of such animals are sometimes [[cremation|cremated]] (most other means of disposal are problematic, due to the toxin).{{citation needed|date=March 2010}} Remains of euthanized animals can be [[Rendering (food processing)|rendered]], which maintains the value of the skin, bones, fats, etc., for such purposes as fish food. This is commonly done for lab specimens (e.g., pigs) euthanized by injection. The amount of drug (e.g. a [[barbiturate]]) is insignificant after rendering.{{citation needed|date=March 2010}}

[[Carcasses of animals|Carcasses]] of horses treated with some drugs are considered edible in some [[jurisdiction]]sjurisdictions. For example, according to Canadian regulation, [[hyaluronic acid|hyaluron]], used in treatment of particular disorders in horses, in HY-50 preparation, should not be administered to animals to be slaughtered for horse meat.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20110607112840/http://www.drugs.com/vet/hy-50-can.html HY-50 for veterinary use] (archived from [https://www.drugs.com/vet/hy-50-can.html the original] on October 6, 2011).</ref> In Europe, however, the same preparation is not considered to have any such effect, and [[wikt:edibility|edibility]] of the horse meat is not affected.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.genitrix.co.uk/2008ProductsHorses-HY502.php |title=Genitrix HY-50 Vet brochure |publisher=Genitrix.co.uk |access-date=February 15, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080601040624/http://www.genitrix.co.uk/2008ProductsHorses-HY502.php |archive-date=June 1, 2008 }}</ref>

Horse meat is commonly eaten in many countries in Europe and Asia.<ref>{{cite news |author=Cecilia Rodriguez |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliarodriguez/2012/12/18/no-american-horse-steak-for-you-europeans/ |title=No American Horse Steak for You, Europeans |work=Forbes |date=April 18, 2012 |access-date=February 15, 2013 |archive-date=January 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124184633/https://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliarodriguez/2012/12/18/no-american-horse-steak-for-you-europeans/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/sports/drugs-injected-at-the-racetrack-put-europe-off-us-horse-meat.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|title=Racetrack Drugs Put Europe Off U.S. Horse Meat|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=February 9, 2014|first=Joe|last=Drape|date=December 8, 2012|url-access=subscription|archive-date=February 16, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140216182054/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/09/sports/drugs-injected-at-the-racetrack-put-europe-off-us-horse-meat.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|url-status=live}}</ref> It is not a generally available food in some [[English-speaking countries]] such as the United Kingdom, South Africa,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.co.za/south-africa-imported-80-000-kilograms-of-horse-meat-last-year-2018-3|title=Horse meat imports into SA have suddenly jumped – and we don't know where most of it went|website=BusinessInsider|access-date=December 9, 2019|archive-date=January 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124184631/https://www.businessinsider.co.za/south-africa-imported-80-000-kilograms-of-horse-meat-last-year-2018-3|url-status=live}}</ref> Australia, Ireland, the United States,<ref>{{cite web |last=Bordonaro |first=Lori |url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Horse-Meat-M-Wells-PS-1-MoMA-Long-Island-City-Queens-171445821.html |title=Horse Meat on Menu Raises Eyebrows |date=September 27, 2012 |publisher=NBC New York |access-date=February 15, 2013 |archive-date=December 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121213202959/http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Horse-Meat-M-Wells-PS-1-MoMA-Long-Island-City-Queens-171445821.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[English Canada]]. It is also taboo in Brazil, Ireland, Poland and Israel and among the [[Romani people|Romani]]. Horse meat is not generally eaten in Spain, except in the north, but the country exports horses both as live animals and as slaughtered meat for the French and Italian markets. Horse meat is consumed in some North American and Latin American countries, but is illegal in some others. The Food Standards Code of Australia and New Zealand definition of 'meat' does not include horse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/code/Documents/2.2.1%20Meat%20products%20v157.pdf|title=Standard 2.2.1 Meat and meat products|publisher=Australian Government, Federal Register of Legislation|type=PDF|access-date=September 18, 2020|archive-date=September 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919070743/https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/code/Documents/2.2.1%20Meat%20products%20v157.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> In [[Tonga]], horse meat is eaten nationally, and Tongan emigrants living in the United States, New Zealand, and Australia have retained a taste for it, claiming Christian missionaries originally introduced it to them.<ref>Simoons, F.J., 1994, Eat not this Flesh, Food Avoidances from Pre-history to Present, University of Wisconsin Press.</ref>

The [[Horse slaughter|killing of horses for human consumption]] is widely opposed in countries such as the U.S.,<ref name="nationalpoll">{{cite web |last=Duckworth |first=Amanda |url=http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/35173/poll-finds-most-americans-against-horse-slaughter/ |title=Poll Finds Most Americans Against Horse Slaughter |publisher=Bloodhorse.com |date=September 4, 2006 |access-date=February 9, 2014 |archive-date=January 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102173436/http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/35173/poll-finds-most-americans-against-horse-slaughter |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="time">{{cite news|last=Stein |first=Joel |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1587279,00.html |title=''Time:'' Horse—It's What's for Dinner |publisher=Time.com |date=February 8, 2007 |access-date=February 9, 2014|url-status=live|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229083444/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1587279,00.html|archive-date=December 29, 2013}}</ref> theUK,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/tx/weekinpictures/180507.shtml?select=03 |title=Week in pictures - Who wants to eat horsemeat? |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |access-date=February 9, 2014 |archive-date=June 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130614234506/http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/tx/weekinpictures/180507.shtml?select=03 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{failed verification|date=January 2013}} Australia,<ref>Victorian Advocates for Animals & Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses protests</ref>{{failed verification|date=January 2013}} and Greece where horses are generally considered to be companion and sporting animals only.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sptimes.com/2002/09/04/Columns/Americans_squeamish_o.shtml|title=Americans squeamish over horse meat|work=St. Petersburg Times|access-date=February 15, 2013|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304051100/http://www.sptimes.com/2002/09/04/Columns/Americans_squeamish_o.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> In ancient Greece horses were revered and horse slaughter is forbidden by law also in modern Greece as horses are considered companions and a symbol of beauty, strength and pride. For horses going to slaughter, no period of withdrawal, the time between administration of the drug and the time they are butchered, is required. French former actress and [[animal rights]] activist [[Brigitte Bardot]] has spent years crusading against the eating of horse meat.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/8qb5vv/inside-frances-fading-love-affair-with-horse-meat|title=Inside France's Fading Love Affair with Horse Meat|date=March 12, 2017 |publisher= Vice |access-date=August 30, 2023|quote= "Vegetarian actress Brigitte Bardot started an animal rights campaign featuring not only the first televised animal slaughter but also a video of a "crying" horse that turned people off of horse meat, seemingly for good."|archive-date=November 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125081011/https://www.vice.com/en/article/8qb5vv/inside-frances-fading-love-affair-with-horse-meat|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the opposition is far from unanimous; a 2007 readers' poll in the London magazine ''[[Time Out (company)|Time Out]]'' showed that 82% of respondents supported chef [[Gordon Ramsay]]'s decision to serve horse meat in his restaurants.<ref name = "Ramsay" >{{ Cite web | access-date = 2023-05-20 | year = 2012 | title = Raw Horse Meat to Be Served at New York's M. Wells Restaurant at P.S. 1 - New York Dinette M Wells to Offer Horse Meat Tartare on Menu | website = [[Delish]] | url = https://www.delish.com/restaurants/news/a39222/raw-horse-meat-served-at-m-wells-dinette-at-ps1-in-new-york-city/ }} </ref>

A small horse meat business exists in [[Quebec]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/food-trends/why-you-should-eat-horsemeat-its-delicious/article567009/?page=all|title=Why you should eat horsemeat: It's delicious|date=January 4, 2011|newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]]|access-date=August 31, 2017|archive-date=May 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180525133935/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/food-trends/why-you-should-eat-horsemeat-its-delicious/article567009/?page=all|url-status=live}}</ref> Horse meat is also for sale in [[Granville Island]] Market in [[downtown Vancouver]], where according to a [[Time magazine|''Time'']] reviewer who smuggled it into the United States, it turned out to be a "sweet, rich, superlean, oddly soft meat, closer to beef than venison".<ref name="time" /> Horse meat is also available in high-end [[Toronto]] butchers and supermarkets. [[CBC News]] reported on March 10, 2013, that horse meat was also popular among some segments of Toronto's population.<!-- The article also reported that countries where horse meat is part of the diet include France, Russia, Kazakhstan, China, and Italy. --><ref name="CBC2013-03-10">{{cite news |date=March 10, 2013 |title=Toronto restaurateurs say horse meat a prime dining choice |newspaper=[[CBC News]] |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2013/03/10/toronto-horse-meat.html |url-status=live |access-date=March 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314225747/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/story/2013/03/10/toronto-horse-meat.html |archive-date=March 14, 2013}}</ref>

Horse meat is especially popular in [[Lombardy]], [[Apulia]], the [[Veneto]], [[Friuli -Venezia Giulia]], [[Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol]], [[Parma]], and the islands of [[Sardinia]] and [[Sicily]].

In southern Italy, horse meat is commonly eaten everywhere - especially in the region of [[Apulia]], where it is considered a delicacy.<ref>{{cite book|author=Fabio Parasecoli|authorlink=Fabio Parasecoli|title=Food culture in Italy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uWlCT5Hs8YwC|year=2004|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-32726-1|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=uWlCT5Hs8YwC&pg=PA86 86]|access-date=January 8, 2016|archive-date=July 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160729083257/https://books.google.com/books?id=uWlCT5Hs8YwC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Paula Hardy|author2=Abigail Hole|author3=Olivia Pozzan|title=Puglia & Basilicata|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e8OEt_xn0nkC|year=2008|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-74179-089-4|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=e8OEt_xn0nkC&pg=PA42 42]|access-date=January 8, 2016|archive-date=May 22, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160522110302/https://books.google.com/books?id=e8OEt_xn0nkC|url-status=live}}</ref> It is a vital part of the {{Lang|it|ragù barese}} ({{IPA-it|raˈɡu bbaˈreːze|}}) in [[Bari]] and of the [[Pezzettiwikibooks:Cookbook:Pezzetti_di_Cavallo_(Italian_Horse_and_Tomato)|pezzetti di cavallo]], a stew with tomato sauce, vegetables and chili, popular in [[Salento]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theitaliantaste.com/italian-cooking/carne/cavallo/ricette-recipe/cav001_apulia_brasciole.php|title=Brasciole or meat rolls filled with pecorino and fat: Authentic Italian recipe of Apulia|publisher=theitaliantaste.com|access-date=January 24, 2012|archive-date=March 21, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321145524/http://theitaliantaste.com/italian-cooking/carne/cavallo/ricette-recipe/cav001_apulia_brasciole.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

In pre-Christian Norway, horse was seen as an expensive animal. To eat a horse was to show one had great wealth, and to sacrifice a horse to the gods was seen as the greatest gift one could give. When Norwegians adopted Christianity, horse-eating became taboo as it was a religious act for pagans, thus it was considered a sign of heresy.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Jochens|first=Jenny|title=Women in Old Norse Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3h-lkgBWercC&pg=PA87|year=1998|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=978-0-8014-8520-6|pages=87–88|access-date=January 8, 2016|archive-date=March 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170306013134/https://books.google.com/books?id=3h-lkgBWercC|url-status=live}}</ref> These days, consumption of horse meat is considered controversial, but not uncommon. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.forskning.no/historie-kjott-kulturhistorie/hestekjott-ble-forbudt-for-over-1000-ar-siden-men-vi-sluttet-ikke-a-spise-det/2267494 | title=Hestekjøtt ble forbudt for over 1.000 år siden, men vi sluttet ikke å spise det | date=October 22, 2023 }}</ref>

Older horses are often exported while still alive to Italy to be slaughtered. This practice is considered controversial. Horses in Poland are treated mostly as companions, and the majority of Poles are against live export for slaughter.<ref name="ratujkonie.pl">{{Cite web|title=Chcemy zakazu zabijania koni na mięso!|url=https://www.ratujkonie.pl/filmy-i-artykuly/chcemy-zakazu-zabijania-koni-na-mieso/|access-date=May 7, 2021|website=Ratuj konie|date=September 6, 2020 |language=pl-PL}}</ref> Poland has a tradition of eating horse meat (e.g., sausage or steak ''tartare''.) The consumption of horse meat was highest at times when other meat was scarce, such as during the [[Second World War]] and the [[Polish People's Republic|communist period]] that followed it.<ref name="ratujkonie.pl"/>

Australians do not generally eat horse meat, although they have a horse slaughter industry that exports to EU countries.<ref>{{cite news|date=June 21, 2014|title=Horse meat exports in doubt after standards complaint|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-06-21/horsemeat-exports-in-doubt-after-standards-complaint/5524158|access-date=October 2, 2020|newspaper=ABC News|language=en-AU}}</ref> In the [[Australian meat substitution scandal]] of 1981, it was revealed that both horse and [[kangaroo meat]] has been intentionally mislabeled as beef for export.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/26/us/australian-meat-will-be-inspected.html | title=Australian Meat Will be Inspected | work=The New York Times | date=August 26, 1981 }}</ref> Horse meat exports peaked at 9,327 tons in 1986, declining to 3,000 tons in 2003. They are at Peterborough in South Australia (SAMEX Peterborough Pty Ltd) and Caboolture Abattoir in Queensland (Meramist Pty Ltd).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.optimail.com.au/berrime/slaughter.htm |title=Horse slaughter and horsemeat: the facts |publisher=Optimail.com.au |access-date=February 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110416155220/http://optimail.com.au/berrime/slaughter.htm |archive-date=April 16, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A British agriculture industry website reported that Australian horse meat production levels had risen to 24,000 tons by 2009.<ref name=farminguk2009-01-17>{{cite web |url=http://www.farminguk.com/news/Argentina-Horse-Meat-world-production-figures._10249.html |title=Argentina-Horse Meat world production figures, Farming UK, January 17, 2009. Retrieved March 4, 2011 |publisher=Farminguk.com |access-date=February 15, 2013 |archive-date=February 15, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130215063621/http://www.farminguk.com/news/Argentina-Horse-Meat-world-production-figures._10249.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

* On30 June 30, 2010, Western Australian Agriculture Minister [[Terry Redman]] granted final approval to [[Western Australia]]n butcher Vince Garreffa to sell horse meat for human consumption.<ref name=thewest7492421>{{cite web |url=http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/latest/7492421/butcher-gives-horse-meat-a-run/ |title=Butcher gives horse meat a run |publisher=Au.news.yahoo.com |date=July 1, 2010 |access-date=February 15, 2013 |archive-date=December 10, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210195715/http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/latest/7492421/butcher-gives-horse-meat-a-run/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Vince Garreffa is the owner of ''Mondo Di Carne'', a major wholesale meat supplier, which supplies many cafes, restaurants, and hotels in Western Australia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mondo.net.au/retail/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026030031/http://www.mondo.net.au/data/retail.html|url-status=dead|title=Mondo Retail – Retail & Catering – Mondo Butchers|archive-date=October 26, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://mondo.net.au/retail/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100130151420/http://www.mondo.net.au/data/wholesale.html|url-status=dead|title=Mondo Retail – Retail & Catering – Mondo Butchers|archive-date=January 30, 2010}}</ref> He commented that no domestic market exists for horse meat (all while a successful export market exists).<ref name=thewest7492421 />