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| Yes | 47% | 48 votes | Total: 103 votes | |
| No | 53% | 55 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesPeople are already eating horse meat, nobody is waiting for the extinction of the cow for that to happen. From the dawn of human history horses were consumed as food, in fact equines were eaten long before they were domesticated and used for our pleasure or burden.
Even today horse meat is being eaten world wide. The only reason not to eat horse meat is social taboo, but nearly every in history has, at some time or another, embraced eating horse meat. Even until 1985 horse meat was on the menu in Harvard Universities Faculty Club, and was widely consumed during World War II.
Only Jewish dietary law forbids the consumption of horse meat. All other religions allow it, although some frown on it. Most horse meat is consumed in Asian countries, but is also in other nations, such as France, Italy, and Kazakhstan. In Quebec, Canada, horse meat is sold in butchers, and has been smuggled into the United States, where horse slaughter is currently banned.
What is the difference between killing and eating a cow or killing and eating a horse? None. Both animals suffer the same fate and, depending on size, may offer the same amount of meat. Especially with cattle gone, as proposed in this scenario, the killing of a large horse, would offer more meat than the killing of several smaller chickens.
Horse meat is sweet tasting and low in fat, making it a healthy option for those who would consider eating it. Only a high cost may result in horse meat not being consumed as much. It takes more feed to raise a horse to slaughter weight than it does for cattle.
Today many of the horses slaughtered for consumption are those considered too old to be of use, broken down race horses, and PMU colt foals. Surly if a market were to open up larger for the acceptance of horses to be used as food, farmers would raise them as they raise cattle now.
Since most humans eat meat, and if cattle were not available, certainly some of the social taboo against eating horses would be lifted as a matter of survival. A person will eat anything if they are hungry enough, and their survival depends on it.
Without a doubt we would come to see McHorse Burgers, Cheval Steaks, and so on.
Although horses are viewed as noble beasts, they are no more noble than a cow, chicken, or pig. Slaughter may be viewed as a much better option than allowing horses to starve to death on farms where their owners cannot afford to feed them. This very thing has happened across the United States, where slaughtering horses is currently not allowed.
Of course all this is hypothetical, cows are not disappearing by any means. Nobody would be forced to eat horse meat even if cattle vanished, but many probably would.
Learn more about this author, Brenda Nelson.
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No
What would you eat if you were hungry enough? If cows were not available, would you eat horses? Would you eat something else? It may depend on how you were brought up, and how hungry you were. If it were a matter of a few days, you may just decide to wait it out. But if it were a choice between starving to death or eating something you didn't normally perceive as food, what would you do?
In times of great hunger, people have turned to any source of food for nutrition. The infamous Donner Party in the 1800s turned to cannibalism to survive. More recently, plane wrecks have forced people to do the same. If people would resort to eating other humans if they were desperate enough for food, it follows that horses would also be a logical choice for the dinner table if the need was great enough.
But, if the food shortage was not severe enough for drastic measures, would people still eat horses? Though I love a good cut of beef, if the option of beef were taken away from me, I don't think I would just substitute horse meat. Some may decide that red meat of any kind is acceptable and have no qualms about eating horse meat. I'm not one of them.
In countries where other forms of meats are eaten regularly, the loss of beef cattle would not be seen as a major problem. Horses, sheep, goats, rabbits, and even dogs and cats are still being eaten by people in many places. Being a pet owner, I can't imagine myself hungry enough to eat my dog. Though I have no issues with eating fish, sheep or cows, I draw the line at domestic pets, including horses. Nutritionally, there is probably little difference. It will depend on how people perceive the animal and how strong is the urge for red meat, or even for survival.
As there are still many other options available in the US, I doubt people would take to eating horses. The recent mad cow disease scare proved that. People simply ate more pork, fish and chicken until the scare was over. I feel the same thing would happen if cows would disappear altogether. Pork, fish and chicken would again become a larger part of the US diet. Many more people may opt to try a vegetarian diet rather than eat any animals at all. The loss of beef cattle may be a wake up call for them to try it. As there are so many other options available, I doubt that people would be flocking to add horse meat to their diets if cows were not available.
Though I would mourn the loss of a good steak now and then, I would not turn to horse meat to satisfy that craving.
Learn more about this author, Liane Laskoske.
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