[Yudster]

As discussed on the show this morning -Well could you? Personally, I have no more problem with the production of horsemeat for food than with beef - ie I would happily eat it if it is sustainably farmed in a non-intensive way. I have had it once I believe, I have a vague recollection of having it when I was a kid - thank goodness my parents didn't raise us to be sentimental about that kind of thing.

To those who say it is cruel - it is no more cruel than farming any other meat animal. As long as the supplier is trustworthy, cruelty is not an issue. But if the idea makes you feel uncomfortable, well, no-one is forcing you, so don't eat it - but don't tell me that I can't have it just because you are sentimental about horses. I am personally uncomfortable about eating lobster and crab because I get the heebie-jeebies at the thought of them being boiled alive - so I don't eat them. I don't think everyone else should agree with me though.

And to the idiots who say "what next, eating your pet dog"? Well first, no-one would eat a pet horse anyway, I have had horses in the past, and my toddler is currently learning to ride on my old pony which now lives up the road - I love horses and riding - and no, I wouldn't eat dog, but only because I don't think it would be all that nice - the meat from herbivores tends to be more palatable than from carnivores, especially things like dogs which are scavengers.

[MK Chris]

I agree with you and I thought this discussion was brilliant this morning.

I also wouldn't eat lobster or crab but that's because I don't like seafood.

[Yudster]

It was a good discussion - Carrie seems to have quite typical views of a lot of people, and even though I personally think she's got it completely wrong, I actually felt sorry for her because I thought she was getting quite upset - not because she was being beaten in the argument, but because she was genuinely distressed by the idea.

[Ballbag]

Carrie's views are so wrong on this matter. Chris made the correct arguement. Although he should have perhaps backed it up by turning her mic off and sacking her from the show for being a hypocritical, irritating posh bint.

Personally I would eat any meat really...... except man. Alhtough sometimes I look at myself and think...."Ooooh I look good enough to eay".

[DemonHorse]

Not into equine cannibalism i'm afraid, but otherwise I don't see how it would be different to any other meat.

[MK Chris]

Surely equine cannibalism would be horses eating other horses?

[Console]

I think he's implying that's he's not just a horse in name, but in reality as well. Remember, mental help is just a phone call away.

[MK Chris]

Ah I missed that I forgot about his username. Bit slow today.

[Ballbag]

Would you eat a smurf? I would, I imagine it'd taste minty.

[Yudster]

I have no idea why, but I imagine smurf would taste like peas.

[Nicola_Red]

I wouldn't eat a horse, but then I'm a vegan anyway. When I ate meat...I dunno if I'd have eaten horse. Probably not. It would have been hypocritical not to, but I was a kid and hadn't thought through the issues around eating meat, cos I didn't have the info at my disposal. As soon as I was old enough (about 14) to start researching and understanding what it means to eat animals, I started to phase them out of my diet, and then when I was 16 I stopped altogether.

[Quincy]

i would eat a horse.

would you eat a slug?

[Boboff]

I have a horse called Sparky ( he used to belong to an Electrician ) He is lovely Old Chap, Stubborn and cantancorous, he won't move when the children try and ride him, and the only way he will move is if I pull his hair and shout at him, I am sure he thinks this is funny.

although I agree that you should eat Horse, Pets are another thing, I couldn't eat my chickens either, but ignore that fact when I eat chickens that have been kept in a shed and fed for 12 weeks then killed, I suppose that makes me a hypocrite, but hey a man cannot live by lentils alone, I hear it makes your hair go red, and makes you fancy people of both sexes !

[S4B]

I couldn't eat anything with a name (ie proper noun not label!). We used to keep goats and I hand reared one which my mum then had slaughtered and served for Sunday lunch without my knowledge until my brother told me what it was. had a real aversion to eating things that have been named ever since then. Ergo I could eat a Smurf but not Papa Smuf or Smurfette etc as they have names! I always think of pacers when I see a smurf (unnamed obviously) and pacers = minty so I'm with Bags on this one - only people over 30 will get this reference btw!

[Ballbag]

But hey a man cannot live by lentils alone, I hear it makes your hair go red, and makes you fancy people of both sexes !

Gives you big boobs too...... er........ apparantly

[Nicola_Red]

But hey a man cannot live by lentils alone, I hear it makes your hair go red, and makes you fancy people of both sexes !

Gives you big boobs too...... er........ apparantly

and keeps you looking much younger than your real age

[DemonHorse]

I think he's implying that's he's not just a horse in name, but in reality as well. Remember, mental help is just a phone call away.

oh so now you and Topher are the only ones allowed to make crap jokes?

Sorry for ever having existed. [/Extreme sarcasm]

[Yudster]

I like lentils too. And if I had a pet cow I wouldn't eat it, I would give it a name and make sure it had as comfortable, healthy and happy life as possible until it died of whatever it died of. But if I had a cow that I was keeping for the express purpose of eating it, it wouldn't be a pet, although I may well give it a name, and I would ensure it had as comfortable, healthy and happy life as possible. And then I would kill it and eat it. Actually, thats not quite right - slaughtering animals humanely is a skilled job and I'm not qualified, so someone else would have to do that. Can't pretend I'm not happy about that.

[S4B]

If you had a horse for that purpose do you not think you'd get more attached to it than you would a cow? BTW will eat lentils if I have to.

[Walter Sobchak]

It was an interesting debate, and I agree with Mr Moyles. If you are prepared to eat one animal then surely you should be prepared to eat any animal.

Dave put forward an argument that meat eaters shouldn't be eaten, which was an interesting viewpoint.

I was taking some kids in a bus at the time, and the debate carried on through the day at the school, one girl said that she had eaten rabbit, but her dad didn't tell her until afterwards, and that she was really upset about it, to which I told her the truth about rabbits, that they're not native to UK but were brought here by the normans as a food supply.

btw; I have eaten horsemeat on several occasions (in france and belgium), I have also eaten rabbit, hare, rook, deer, snail, various fish etc, partridge, pheasant, pigeon, etc as well as cow, pig and sheep; the only regret I would have is with horse, cow, pig and sheep because they all came from a 'factory' source and therefore I had no knowledge of their treatment before they were slaughtered.

[Yudster]

If you had a horse for that purpose do you not think you'd get more attached to it than you would a cow?

Possiby - but if I did, it would be silly and I would just have to get over it!

I am in agreement with Walter as well - the best way to eat meat is to eat wild meat - rabbit, deer - muntjac is absolutely delicious, and muntjac deer are an invasive non-native species which cause huge damage to the biodiversity in this country. Also deer control is absolutely essential in order to avoid the total destruction of massive areas of habitat, leading to the deer themselves starving to death. I know a few people whose job it is to shoot deer regularly - and its the best meat I've had. I've also long been a campaigner for grey squirrel in England to be treated as a food species, and hunted - thats a win-win, because not only are they delicious, eating them would thin out their populations and enable a far more effective attempt at reintroduction of native red squirrels in much of England.
Thankfully in the last few years there has been swing - which I hope will continue and increse - towards sustainable and non-intensive farming, both arable and stock, so properly raised domestic meat is available. But wild is better.

[foot-loose]

There cant be a lot of meat on a squirrel surely? Plus, can we just go killing wild animals like that?

What about the pigeons that fly about all the city centres? I cant imagine they are they healthiest creatures to eat?

[Yudster]

No, there isn't much on a squirrel, more of snack than anything, and no we can't just eat all the wild animals - but properly controlled culling would provide a viable and relatively plentiful food source which many could benefit from, and individual hunting and shooting (for food, I'm not talking about fox hunting here) would have no impact on overall populations of things like rabbit, deer, wildfowl etc in the UK. And I wouldn't eat a feral (town) pigeon, I reckon that would be horrible because of all the crap they eat - but a wood pigeon, different species, is a different matter altogether.

[foot-loose]

But aside from the species control, why would you do it?

I can't see Tesco starting to stock squirrel any time soon.

While I understand yer point, I can't see how it would work. We already have many "pleantiful food sources". Too much food, some would say - too much waste.

Plus, and I am quite possibly wrong here, but aint wood pigeons numbers sorta drastically declining?

[Gaspode_The_Wonder_Dog]

I would have no problem eating any animal. Also I don't see the point of pets. Its against nature.