[h=1]US government ban lifted on selling horse meat for human consumption[/h]
US government ban lifted on horse meat for human consumption.
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Horses return to the yard at Nicky Henderson's Seven Barrows Stables on November 29, 2011 in Lambourn, England. (Photo by Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images).
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The horsemeat ban has been lifted and soon will be available in the USA for human consumption. Check out the article, Horse Slaughter Approved for U.S.: 5 Reasons To Eat Horse Meat. Why is so much news focused on PETA approving the eating of horsemeat? See,
Horse slaughter poised to resume in US -- with PETA's approval? The Los AngelesTimes notes that, PETA -- which is known for taking provocative positions in its fight to protect animals -- continues to oppose the slaughter of horses for meat. But PETA says, according to the LA Times, that allowing the
reopening of U.S. slaughterhouses may ultimately reduce the animals' suffering. PETA says it's better to ban
both the domestic slaughter of horses and the export of horses for slaughter.
See, Horse Meat Inspection Ban Lifted In The U.S. How long will it be before you can look your gift horse in the mouth and eat it too? Horse meat as an entree on your restaurant meal or in your food market is becoming a reality. See the December 1, 2011 news article, Horses May Soon Be Slaughtered in US for Human Consumption. Also see the articles, Horsemeat May Become Available to Humans - TIME. Stop Horse Slaughter for Human Consumption in the USA. Check out,
Would Chicago chefs serve horse?
Before horsemeat for human consumption was banned in the USA the money generated amounted to about $65 million annually. And stores sold horsemeat for human meals as late as the 1940s in the USA. Today, you'll find in served in some European countries. Similar meat, such as donkey meat is popular today in Italy and some other European nations.
Will you see horse meat for human consumption served in California? Will it ever come to Sacramento? Not at this time. See the Ballot*Pedia site,
California Proposition 6, Prohibition on Slaughter of Horses for Human Consumption. The ballot title was:
Criminal Law. Prohibition on Slaughter of Horses and Sale of Horsemeat for Human Consumption. Initiative Statute.
The ban was removed in a spending bill President Obama signed into law November 18 to aid government funds through mid-December, the Argus Leader reported. In 2010, taxpayers spent $37 million to stow nearly 40,000 animals in pens and pastures, the Bureau of Land Management told the Wall Street Journal.
Congress has lifted a ban on funding horse meat inspections, paving the way for horses to be slaughtered and butchered for human consumption, reported the
Argus Leader. The 2006 ban prevented the U.S. Department of Agriculture from using federal funds to inspect horse processing plants, which is required by law for exportation. Horse meat is considered a delicacy in some European and Asian countries, reported USA Today.
What the the official ballot summary said:
- Prohibits any person from possessing, transferring, receiving or holding any horse, pony, burro or mule with intent to kill it or have it killed, where the person knows or should know that any part of the animal will be used for human consumption. Provides that a violation constitutes a felony offense.
- Also adds a provision making the sale of horsemeat for human consumption a misdemeanor offense, with subsequent violations punished as felonies.
Since society usually "follows the money," the fiscal impact of not eating your horse focused on an estimate report from the California Legislative Analyst's Office that provided an estimate of net state and local government fiscal impact for Proposition 6. That estimate noted that "The measure could result in some increased law enforcement and incarceration costs at both the state and local level. These costs probably would be minor, if any." If you want to see who supported the proposition, look who were the supporters of it.
Supporters of Proposition 6 spent $1,206,835. The top contributors to pass the measure were, according to the website,
California Proposition 6, Prohibition on Slaughter of Horses for Human Consumption:
- Sue Maloney Stiles: $200,000
- Sherry Ellen Deboer: $180,000
- Sidne J. Long: $125,000
- Tina Long: $125,000
- Political Animals PAC: $80,927
- MPL Communications, Inc.: $71,000
- Friends of Animals Inc.: $63,305
- Comm. for Prop 6 Sponsored by the Humane Farming Action Fund: $21,000
- Humane Farming Association: $20,000
- Phoebe Hearst Cooke: $20,000
Opponents
No contributions in opposition of Proposition 6 were reported to the
California Secretary of State.
The Problem with Eating Horses
What happens when horses get old and cross the rainbow bridge? What happens to frail horses? Are they still sent to the 19th century-style "glue factory" ? Congress has just lifted a ban on the slaughter of horses in the United States, which could lead to human consumption of the animals again, the Associated Press reported. Proponents of processing horse meat say horse slaughterhouses could be up and running within a month, the
Argus Leader reported.
Horses could soon be butchered in the U.S. for human consumption after Congress quietly lifted a 5-year-old ban on funding horse meat inspections, and activists say slaughterhouses could be up and running in as little as a month. Before the closing of horse processing facilities in the United States, the country slaughtered more than 100,000 horses a year, according to the
National Conference of State Legislatures? (NCSL) Website.
Slaughter opponents pushed a measure cutting off funding for horse meat inspections through Congress in 2006 after other efforts to pass outright bans on horse slaughter failed in previous years. Congress lifted the ban in a spending bill President Barack Obama signed into law Nov. 18 to keep the government afloat until mid-December.
It did not, however, allocate any new money to pay for horse meat inspections, which opponents claim could cost taxpayers $3 million to $5 million a year. The U.S. Department of Agriculture would have to find the money in its existing budget, which is expected to see more cuts this year as Congress and the White House aim to trim federal spending.
The USDA issued a statement Tuesday saying there are no slaughterhouses in the U.S. that butcher horses for human consumption now, but if one were to open, it would conduct inspections to make sure federal laws were being followed. USDA spokesman Neil Gaffney declined to answer questions beyond what was in the statement, according to news articles. Now, what you have are anti-slaughter and pro-slaughter activists.
Those who want horses to become human food say it will stop horse neglect and abandonment. The first horse meat plant that may be opening in 30 to 90 days will be possibly in Wyoming, North North Dakota, Nebraska or Missouri. But the slaughterhouse of horses needs state approval. Pro-slaughter activists say up to 200,000 horses each year would be 'dispatched'
They estimate a slaughterhouse could open in 30 to 90 days with state approval and eventually as many as 200,000 horses a year could be slaughtered for human consumption. Most of the meat would be shipped to Europe and Asia, where it's treated as a delicacy.
Check out the site, The United States' prohibition of horsemeat for human consumption. No state or site has been picked yet but investors who have expressed interest in financing a processing plant are lined up now that the US government ban on selling horsemeat as food for humans has been lifted, according to current news reports. See,
United Horsemen.
Some Native American tribes report that processing horse meat is one solution to the increase wild roaming horse issues in their areas. What do you think? Should horse meat be served to humans again? When horsemeat becomes available again outside of California, how is the inspection of the meat going to take place and who's going to do it when it comes to food for humans?
The last three slaughterhouses in the U.S. were owned by foreign companies. But the new plants would be American-owned. Why are there so many investors ready to start slaughtering horses for human food?
How many Americans really want to eat horsemeat? And why is there so much money available for investment in horse meat? Is it the economic times when people in the past looked for cheaper food, as in the 1930s?
In the past old or sick horses went to slaughterhouses. Today, old or unfit to work horses are sent to butchers in Mexico and Canada. In those countries, the pay ranchers get for the horses is less than half the price they'd fetch in the USA. Is this more of a problem of sick and unfit for work horses or a problem of free-roaming horses?
Who's really bothered by free-roaming horses today in the USA? Would you eat horsemeat from a horse that's labeled unfit for work? Is that another term for a sick horse, frail horse, of just an old horse?
You have several Native American tribes in Oregon and Washington, for example who don't like to see so many free-roaming horses trampling their rangelands. Others are afraid of the increasing horse population. See,
Northwest Tribal Horse Coalition (NTHC).
Who else eats horses? Canada for one. Currently horses are crammed into horse trailers and sent across the border to Canada to be slaughtered. In fact the slaughter of horses for their meat has risen 41 percent between 2007 and 2008.
And if Canada isn't enough, Horses are sent to Mexico for slaughter. Where is the meat being served and to whom--humans or pets? Check out the USA Today article. Also see the LA Times article,
Horse slaughter poised to resume in US -- with PETA's approval? Also check out the National Institutes of Health article from back in 2007,
The United States' prohibition of horsemeat for human consumption.
Horsemeat is a red meat with a purplish cast. In the 1950s horse meat frozen and raw was one way you'd buy meat for your dog. Usually it came in a square package you'd keep in your freezer to feet pets raw meat. Horsemeat tastes sweeter than beef.
It will not take seasonings the same way beef does but when highly seasoned, it can be mistaken for lamb. (Marinate a beef roast in a sweet bourbon to learn the taste of horsemeat.) Locally labeled purplish meat has been reported in even national chain grocers. A healthier red meat with less fat is reindeer meat, usually served in countries near the Arctic regions such as northern Finland.
Very few Canadians are eating horse meat. Those who do buy it usually consider it a healthy alternative to other red meats. In Mexico horse meat is served to humans who ask for it and is seen as a cheaper substitutes for other red meats. In Europe horse meat is, like Canada, considered a healthy alternative to other meats.
And in Southern Europe, especially Italy, donkey meat is a rare delicacy served in some restaurants on demand. Who else gets horse meat and considers it an important food for people? Live horses are shipped to Japan as it is important to eat the horse meat within a few days of the kill.