Meat !
Posted on 03/03/2013 2:33:41 PM PST by Libloather
In the wake of investigations involving horsemeat-tainted beef abroad, federal regulators may clear the way for a horse-slaughtering house in New Mexico.
It would make equine meat available in the United States for the first time since 2007, according to the New York Times.
Congress passed a rider to an appropriations bill that barred the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from financing the inspection of horse products for human consumption. That addition was continually inserted into spending bills up until 2011 — when it disappeared from the language.
Though the change stems from a lawsuit by Valley Meat Company, which sued the department for a lack of regulation and oversight of horsemeat production, “several” companies have asked the USDA to re-establish the inspection policy, which would allow horse slaughterhouses in the United States, spokesman Justin DeJong told the Times.
The USDA could hand down a decision in as little as two months, and is expected to approve the policy.
There is no mention of reinstating the inspection policies on the department’s website. In fact, in a blog post from 2011 titled “Setting the Record Straight on Congress’ Lifting of the Ban on Horse Slaughter,” Phil Derfler — the deputy administrator for the Food Safety and Inspection Service — wrote:
“While Congress has technically lifted the ban, horse processing will not resume anytime in the near term... To date, there have been no requests that the Department initiate the authorization process for any horse processing operation in the United States.”
Valley Meat Company sued then-Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Al Almanza, the head of the food safety inspection service, late last year. The Roswell, N.M.-based plant claims that a lack of regulation surrounding the controversial meat violates the Federal Meat Inspection Act.
The company’s lawyer told the Times that the Justice Department filed an extension to respond to the lawsuit because the “USDA plans to issue a grant of inspection within that time, which would allow my clients to begin operations.”
The report says that although the Valley Meat Company does not plan to sell the horse meat in the United States — at least initially — various groups, including the Humane Society, have filed petitions to federal agencies to delay the approval of facilities or horses for slaughter. Among other claims, the Humane Society is worried about anti-anxiety drugs given to the animals before they are killed.
Or anything at Taco Bell.
Fast meat?
Faster food.
Mmmm. Tastes like tuna.
My Tasty Pony
I’d try it. Heck I eat woodchuck, chicken feet and beef tendon now so horse wouldn’t be a big step. I have a pretty wide interpretation of what critters are eatable. Given the state of things in the world today, I might have already eaten horse for all I know.
BTW - I would have thought owl would have been more like chicken. LOL.
My great aunt and uncle bred calves to send up north to the feed lots and eventually they were slaughtered but these were their babies. They kept a couple of them, steers... and named them. They were pets. My mother’s cousin also had pet cattle who would come to the fence around her ranch house for treats. My father had a pet pig on the farm. We are programmed to love our animals. I cannot imagine eating horse or dog but a lot of people eat both. I have no qualms about eating beef, goat, lamb, or pork. Not sure what my point is but if there is a market, then there needs to be a humane way of slaughtering the beasts. Paging Temple Grunden.
"Ruffian rump roast"
"Seabiscuit burgers"
Oh. I forgot. Silly me.
Those scripts will be shelved until there's a Republican in the White House. Could be a long time 'till that happens though.
Meat !
Wasn’t the reason horse slaughter was stopped in the USA due to specified drugs ingested, that were determined to be dangerous to other animals?
Frankly, I am almost neutral on “horse meat” as a commodity.
On one hand, its reintroduction would reduce the price of pet food here in the USA, and provide another export item.
On the other hand, I don’t want to eat it myself, and I don’t think the USDA will do any better in keeping it out of our USA food supply than the EU countries did theirs.
During the earlly 70’s..1972 or close to it when there was a big beef shortage, we ate lots of venison, and also ate horsemeat.
That was in Austin, TX, and nobody was freaking out about eating horsemeat.Venison was from hunting. The horsemeat was probably from Safeway. Horsemeat was affordable, and beef was not.
the Humane Society is worried about anti-anxiety drugs given to the animals before they are killed.
And not a peep about those millions of chickens
transported on our highways untranquilized on their
way to their doom, DOOM!
Ripped from the bosom of the only life they’ve known,
thrown in to an exposed cage and transported at horrifying
speed to an extermination facility, a death factory!
Every time I see a chicken transport ( we have a lot of
them here in Ga.) I say a prayer for those poor chickens
in the last hours of their life.
How about “Eating your Faithful Trusting Pet”? What a cruel thing to pull on an animal that’s given you all it has for most of its life.
If it is a source of protein, then no matter what it is, somebody, someplace, eats it.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.