Ray Comfort, king of non sequiturs and nonsensical arguments, is at it again. Apparently our menus are dictated by God.
Ray Comfort: There was a big fuss recently in Sweden about lasagna and burgers containing horse meat. Sweden is atheist heaven, and so there shouldn’t be any hard and fast table manners—other than “if it tastes good, eat it.” So why aren’t cats and horses on restaurant menus in most countries? It’s because Judeo/Christian nations base what is right and wrong to eat on the rules God gave to the Jews. But if atheism has its way, we can expect restaurants to expand their menus to include eagle-wings, double-double whale burgers, fresh cat casseroles, and tasty little kitten fingers. When any nation forsakes God, it defaults to mob rule (what society dictates) and that can go anywhere it wants.
If America bases what is right and wrong to eat on God’s rules, what are we to say about bacon, mussels, crab, pork chops, catfish, calamari, baby back ribs, steamed butter clams, ham, lobster, pork loin, and oysters? And you know that the avoidance of eating horse meats is primarily a habit in English speaking countries, and that many other European countries have no problem with it (although it may be regarded as a low quality meat, since horses aren’t typically raised for slaughter — they have too many other uses)?
Rabbits and squirrels are also not kosher, but we don’t have any other proscriptions against eating them.
We don’t eat cats and dogs, not because the Bible says we can’t, but because we’re uncomfortable with eating pets. I mean, come on, unless you’re orthodox Jewish or a member of a few other sects that takes Old Testament dietary laws very seriously, food preferences are determined by a broader cultural tradition and we simply ignore antique religious demands entirely. When you get rid of phony god rules, you get to make eating decisions based on flavor, availability, and ethics, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Besides, everyone knows that when we fully forsake the gods, we default to veganism.
The problem was that horse meat was labelled as beef, not that horse meat was sold as food.
banana
I’m also pretty sure that eagles are stringy, and kittens have almost no meat upon them. Most of the examples cited by Mr. Comfort are from top-tier terrestrial predator species. That said, there ARE cultures in predominantly Christian/Muslim Africa who engage in feline and eagle consumption. However, these traditions have more to do with the practical availability of protein sources as opposed to religious dogma.
Someone should invite Mr. Comfort for some nice Chadian or Nigerian cuisine. Enjoy himself some cat BBQ or kitten soup served up by the population’s Xian majority.
And can Soylent Green be far behind?
#1, arno’s right. Additionally, in this specific case it was pretty clear that the horse meat was of lower quality, as it wouldn’t have been used instead of beef otherwise.
Horse meat can actually be quite expensive if it’s the “right” kind. Some European specialities, like German “Sauerbraten” or certain sausages, are originally (and best) made with horse meat.
I have gladly eaten horse before.
Labeled as horse and given the same scrutiny as any other meat on the counter.
Horse meat sold as beef, however, is not only outright lying BUT brings up “How fucking verified was it?!” problems with health and safety.
Finally, my braised rock badger with pan-seared parsnips will find its way onto michelin star menus. How long have I waited.
And chigau–the atheists will be removing bananas from all menus, thank you very much. They remind us far too potently of the loving god that we reject.
First reaction: aaahhhh, your phone is a 9%! Plug it in NOOOOOOWWWWW!
Second reaction: only Comfort could manage to refute his own argument so efficiently yet obliviously.
1. An atheist society will not care about which animals it eats, because anything goes.
2. Sweden is an atheist society.
3. Therefore, Sweden will not care about which animals it eats, because anything goes.
4. However, Sweden apparently does care about which animals it eats.
5. Therefore
at least one of my premises is wrongLALALAICAN’THEARYOU!People don’t eat cats and dogs because carnivore meat has a gamy taste which is generally found unpleasant.
Headlines, day n: Christianity forbids consumption of pork.
Headlines, day n+1: Southeastern states least religious area of United States. Local insert: free copy of The God Delusion with every family-size BBQ sampler platter.
It’s not clear to me that horse isn’t actually kosher according to Torah, unless the list in Deuteronomy of clean animals is intended to be exhaustive (horses aren’t on it). It wouldn’t be prohibited by the “cloven hoof and chews the cud” provision in the holiness code in Leviticus anyway. I suppose there’s a ruling in the Talmud somewhere, because, man, those Rabbis loved them some ambiguity in the Torah.
And give up my all-baby diet? No way.
Really though, I see eating none of the above as any more or less moral than eating beef. Though even as a meat-eater, I must confess to an un Vulcan bias against eating deceased pets.
Rats below, the man is an idiot. And here I thought the whole banananana business was a low point.
People do eat cats and dogs. Dogs were likely the only domesticate in pre-columbian Meso-American societies for instance (maybe turkeys, maybe ducks too: hard for archaeologists to tell).
Al Dente:
I don’t think that’s true. There’s at least one outdoor market in China (Qinghai province) where there are cages of fat little puppies sold for eating purposes. You pick one out, they take it to the back of the stall, slaughter it and package it up for you.
Different Americans eat lots of different stuff including shellfish. If I recall right, the babble says eating shellfish is a stoning offense, ya know, like planting different crops in the same field or wearing clothes made of mixed fibers?
I think when a nation forsakes god, and defaults to what society dictates, it’s called a democracy not “mob rule”
I wonder if the babble says anything about bananas? Maybe in honor of RC’s idiocy I’ll eat a banana and get stoned.
Huh. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, there is no discussion in the rabbinical literature about whether horsemeat is kosher, and there’s precious little about horses at all. I guess it must have been understood that the list in Deut 14 was supposed to be exhaustive, because otherwise I think there would be about two centuries’ worth of (hilariously illogical, abstruse, and ultimately inconclusive) debate on the subject.
This guy’s name is perfect. Ray Comfort. Hah…A better name-to-personality fit even than John Wisdom.
“We don’t eat cats and dogs …”
Liar! Explain the kitten fur on you beak, then.
Horses, dogs, cats, even bacon – who cares as long as we can still bbq babies.
Things:
1. Ray is smart enough to know how stupid this sounds.
2. Ray doesn’t care how stupid this sounds to, say, people like us, because:
3. Ray is smart enough to know just how stupid the people are who give him money.
4. Ray was smart enough, many years ago, to realise his schtick wouldn’t be lucrative either in New Zealand (population ~4 million) or the traditional expat Kiwi destination of Australia (~20 million), so he moved to the target-rich environment of the US (~300 million).
5. Ray is a smart man, but not an ethical man.
6. Ray is not a nice man.
/Things
Absolutely. The problem wasn’t actually the meat at all; the problem was false advertising.
But then I’m long past the point of being surprised at Ray Assface’s dishonesty.
No, sorry, Ray Comfort is not smart. He may have the sense that some of the stuff he says sounds stupid to the non-brainwashed and doesn’t care, but that doesn’t equate to knowing or being able to explain in good faith why they sound stupid. And he’s certainly given no reason to believe that he knows how to interrogate claims of any sort for truth or even logical consistency.
He’s possibly marginally less stupid than the average person who buys his schtick. Grim will be the day when that passes for “smart”.
This is a clear example of denying the antecedent.
If God, then no eating horse meat.
Not God.
Therefore, eat horse meat!
This guy clearly can’t reason his way out of a banana peel.
Hrm…
Soooo… The claim is: ‘Know Jesus… No pink slime’?
Seems kinda suspect. And not just because secularist bastions like Texas are putting it on the school lunch menu…
(/I mean, beyond this, Comfort’s output is pretty much the pink slime of writing.)
Alternatively, people simply weren’t in the habit of eating horses, so it never became necessary to discuss it at length. Things aren’t prohibited unless people are already doing it. You rarely encounter religious rules prohibiting the eating of rotten meat wrapped in rabbit turds… because people don’t usually do that anyway.
I’m trying to imagine herding eagles. Into the eagle coop with ye for the night! Shoo!
Hankstar @ 21:
Perhaps, but do keep in mind this is the man who took great offense at being called a bibliophile.
Yeah, that occurred to me too. For one thing, horses were incredibly valuable in antiquity, so it’s not like they were just all over the place. And if you were to slaughter one, likely the least of your worries was whether it was a clean animal; you probably just killed the prized possession of someone you wouldn’t want to cross.
As a vegan for 30 years, my solution is simple: all the people who want to eat meat can eat one another until the problem goes away.
Quebec isn’t Christian, then? That’ll surprise a few people.
Coming from New Zealand, Comfort must be familiar with eating innocent little lambs. And knowing that sheep have three purposes: wool, food and looking worried [like ones in Montana] when a human approaches them from the rear with a grin on his face.
naturalcynic:
This really wasn’t necessary, and speaking of asses, more than a bit of an asshole move.
I think the most “exotic” meats I’ve ever eaten would probably be bear, beaver and cat. Then there are the obvious ones like wild turkey, deer, elk, moose, buffalo, etc. And, yes, there has been hunting of eagles in the past. Dietary changes away from those animals have had a lot more to do with cultural shifts and availability than the spread of Christianity, as plenty of Christians are still eating meats other than chicken and beef.
I’m reminded of the time a man insisted to one of my Muslim friends that she couldn’t really be a Muslim because she eats pork and no Muslim has ever, ever eaten pork, so clearly she was just lying about her religion for attention.
People are weird, yo.
Buffalo meat is pretty popular in ND, and Standing Rock Reservation brings in money raising buffalo.
Because, really, is there any problem that mass murder can’t solve? Thanks for embodying the stereotype of the self-righteous, humorless vegan asshole. I’m sure your fellows are cheering.
Bison, being an animal which splits the hoof and chews the cud, is Kosher/Halal if slaughtered inhumanely. Buffalo, which are found in Africa and Asia, probably are also. (/pedant mode)
Bananas, however, are not mentioned in the Torah. Perhaps they’re forbidden. Or would be good on sandwiches with bacon.
You really should charge your phone.
LykeX #26:
I am not so sure about that. As far as I know horses have been eaten throughout history. Wikipedia seems to agree.
I think it is logical too, especially if a horse through old age or injury is no longer useful for anything else. Perhaps there have always been sentimental people who would still keep such a horse around and feed it. But in times of poverty that could quickly become a burden.
The mislabeling of horse as beef also had major sourcing concerns. There are a lot of medications like Bute that are given to horses which should NEVER be used in animals for human consumption. As horrifying as eating horse is to me (and I completely admit it is cultural bias, and the fact my horse would stomp me…) the “quality ” horsemeat in Europe is specifically obtained from horses raised for that purpose and not given these medications. One of the frightening things is that since it is illegal (or was, thanks Obama) to commercially slaughter horses in the US, horses are bought up on the cheap at auction or by unscrupulous kill buyers following Craigslist ads and shipped in horrifying conditions to Canada or Mexico to be slaughtered. It’s especially bad as Mexican authorities don’t demand humane slaughter. This meat is shipped overseas… and could be rife with medications that aren’t suitable for the food supply, since there are no records of the animal’s medical history.
But, as we’ve established, predators taste gamey. We prefer the taste of herbivores. On an unrelated note, would you mind rubbing these herbs on your skin for a while? Why? Oh, no reason.
All atheist countries.
Trebuchet #37:
Please don’t do this. Religious dietary rules may be silly, but it is just not true that kosher/halal slaughter *intents* to make animals suffer more than necessary. Of course killing an animal is always a brutal act. But if done properly by someone who knows what they are doing, without drama (except perhaps a stupid prayer), really really quickly and with a single cut of a sharp blade, kosher/halal slaughter is not inherently worse than other methods.
What’s weird is that Vijen even cares, let alone seems to think that some people dying for the sake of less death matters. Considering that he is such a staunch advocate of the idea that we are all some massive collective unconscious and all separations are an illusion and whatnot. But I suppose you can’t expect cranks to be consistent.
Kittens have fingers? And why would we eat eagles’ wings when chickens are far easier to catch?
Either the ‘gamey’ idea is wrong or we’re not really predators, because human flesh tastes like pork.
A European fuss about eating horse meat -> it shouldn’t be a problem because Sweden is atheist anyway -> atheists will eat anything -> Xtians are better because we don’t eat X or Y because God tells us not to -> atheists want stuff my culture doesn’t think is morally right to eat, so they’re wrong -> we should totally dismiss this mob that tries to drive God from us all because our mob is better.
Or so forth. Nice, just about as logical an argument as this:
Hey! Ray! Reindeer is totally awesome! It also tastes awesome with some lingonberry! And it’s not mentioned in the bible, so it has to be acceptable! But they eat moss, so I suppose there must be a problem there for you somewhere, so I suppose anyone eating reindeer has to be doing something wrong, because them critters do not eat bananas or crocoducks! They can’t possible be kosher, right? They are? Is it the lack of bananas?!
(This special bulletin provided to you by lack of sleep.)
Caine, Fleur de mal #15
Dog is eaten here in China. I have been in several restaurants that list dog on the menu. I have also seen booths at large grocery vendors areas such as outdoor markets, where the dog skulls are displayed so you know you are getting real dog, not some fake substitute. These were all adult animals, far as one can tell from the parts on display.
There are also groups that work at getting dogs protected. It’s still legal and openly done to sell dog meat, but there is a move away from it as pets are more common. At least, that is my guess about why there is now some opposition to the sale of dog meat.
Well, I atheisted dinner tonight. Clam chowder, made with bacon. That’s two, two, two proscriptions in one!
Assuming this screen shot was from the past couple of days, has this been removed from his Facebook page? I don’t see it. Unless it’s something only visible to people who have liked him and I’m not about to do that.
Oh, never mind. It’s from February. https://www.facebook.com/official.Ray.Comfort/posts/539638982723246
Oh, and I forgot. Quite a bit of donkey is eaten as well. The first time I bought it, I thought it was the brand on the package. Later, I realized it was actually the contents.
Why does that matter when we’re all just waves, part of the same cosmic consciousness and bodies and brains don’t matter anyway?
(Almost mistyped that as “comic consciousness, but then “corrected” it.)
Ogvorbis, amazing! And if you used milk or cream in the chowder, then you mixed dairy and meat so you have three proscriptions broken there!
Yes, because we are atheists, we will discover, and consume in mass quantities…the double bacon cheeseburger!
*pause*
Whaddayamean, it’s already been done, and in a Judeo-Christianly morally-ethical society?
I guess we have no choice but to go straight on to the “Love thy neighbors, grilled and with a side of fries” option.
–
Hankstar:
7. Ray is probably, and with cynical intent, trying to go for the “They’d eat my Rover? and Mittens, too???” reaction of personalized horror.
Like the Bambi effect.
I would describe him more as “shrewd” than “smart”; and like any other con artist, he knows
chumpshis audience.–
Trebuchet
Because the rabbis didn’t want to admit to having difficulty in finding their hooves.
–
Lyn M:
I used milk and butter. So it was a threefer atheisting.
CJO,
Horses neither chew the cud nor have cloven hooves, so they’re out on both counts. (Even though strictly speaking such double-bad animals aren’t even mentioned.)
I’m really amazed though how Comfort could miss the popularity of pork in most predominantly christian countries, along with the high demand for horse meat in catholic Italy. Not to mention the abundance of recipes that combine meat with dairy products. Plus seafood. Does this guy ever eat?
His readers believe that Lazarus rose from the dead and Jesus walked on water. They’ll believe whatever he tells them.
Sausage and cheese pizza. Right out. Old Testament bans it.
@Jafafa Hots #52
I didn’t say that it matters, nor that I mind.
Technically, your meal still wasn’t atheized, just unkosherized and uncleaninated. It wasn’t sufficiently pious, which is different from being entirely without belief.
Now, if you had anti-prayed after the meal (because why would you waste time beforehand?), that’s another story. There might still be time.
*checks*
Yes, there’s still time — wait.
*checks again*
Yeah, okay, go ahead.
Vijen #30
racist
[looks around guiltily]
I did use kosher salt . . . .
Though I did not use Christian Salt, so . . . .
I’m a frequent reader, but infrequent commenter. All I can say is that Ray Comfort had me at “Sweden is atheist heaven..”. I got a pretty good laugh at that one.
Lyn M @ 47:
Yes, back when Mister was in Qinghai province (20 something years ago), there used to be no sign up at the puppy stall, and apparently a woman pointed to one puppy, and said she’d have that one. It was taken in the back, slaughtered, packaged up and brought out to her. She was, uh, seriously freaked out as she had wanted the puppy as a pet. It was after that the sign went up.
Mister once ate dog meat while he was there, but was unaware of that until after the fact.
“Quebec isn’t Christian, then? That’ll surprise a few people.”
It’s largely ethnically christian atheists up here. Sugar shacks are required to serve pork and lard-laden foods, because tradition — and any sugar shack that dares serve vegetarian baked beans is threatened with ejection from the relevant cooperatives because that would be kow-towing to the muslims and jews (and, even worse, vegetarians). Ergo, I don’t engage in the tradition of sugaring off.
“Besides, everyone knows that when we fully forsake the gods, we default to veganism”
You can also be vegan if you’re a devout seventh day adventist, but I’m pretty sure Ray Comfort hates them even more than he hates atheists.
For what it’s worth chevaline (horse meat) is very good. Chevaline filet mignons are like very lean, very finely textured beef, but much more flavorful than beef filet mignon. You can still buy chevaline in Montreal. You won’t find in butchers though, because chevaline has to be aged at a different temperature than beef of pork.
In case you were wondering.
I’ve never gotten a straight answer as to which Old Testament laws are still in effect and which can be safety ignored. There actually is some New Testament justification for suspending the old dietary laws (although I’ve never figured out why something described as an “abomination” is suddenly A-OK), but not so much about many other OT restrictions that Christians manage to pay no attention to, while still demanding that everybody else adhere to those laws they agree with.
For that matter Christians routinely ignore Christ’s own words about divorce or giving all you have to the poor, among many other things. A very fundamentalist relative of mine recently married a divorced man, and so according to Jesus himself is living in an adulterous state of sin. None of the women attending the wedding had her head covered, either, I noticed, and many of them were wearing jewelry and fancy clothing, in direct disobedience to Biblical teaching.
Caine @ 28:
Heh. That was awesome.
Now, don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying Ray’s particularly sharp. Not in the least. I’m just saying he’s smarter than the people who think he’s smart enough to give their money to.
In essence, Ray’s as smart as he needs to be to con idiots and he was smart enough to move his Used God dealership somewhere with a larger customer base than the Antipodes. So, marginally more intelligent than a spaniel (but nowhere near as honest or loveable).
Atheism equals no table manners?
Wut?
I think I read once that the taboo on eating horseflesh is connected to European pagan beliefs, but given this came from Desmond “Evo Psych” Morris, it’s probably wrong.
Echoing what spamander said @40, too much European horsemeat is also from Australia. We’re second only to the US in overbreeding racehorses, and the slaughterhouses are full of young horses who never made the grade, or those who were sent straight from racetrack to saleyards.
The 17 hand goofy horse in my backyard is one of those stories… an auction horse from the track. I haven’t been able to read his lip tattoo so I don’t know “who” he is, but one of his knees is enlarged and calcified, likely a track or training injury that sent him to the sale yard. He’s never shown any sign of lameness and he’s remarkably well behaved considering what they go through, perhaps because after being rescued from being starved (from someone who got him from someone else, who purchased him at auction) he’s happy to have alfalfa and scritches.
Plus, they, too, have other uses. ;)
Well, some nights you really feel like a nice juicy piece of ass. :)
*ducks*
As per usual, the religious don’t want to live by their own rules, but they expect everyone else to.
That’s why some call them hypo-christians.
I have eaten whale meat, though not as burgers. That’d be like slathering ketchup on sirloin steak. The meat was very good, and the whale species was neither intelligent nor endangered. Where’s the problem?
As a guest in Slovenia I was fed horse meat. It was quite good. Predominately catholic as I recall. I also recall a large number of volunteers at every intersection to help school children with traffic. Really quite the opposite of mob rule.
Well I often eat kangaroo which I’m pretty sure isn’t mentioned in the Bible, although I could be wrong, not having opened that piece of crap since I was 12.
Vijen’s always shown himself to be a self-righteous humorless asshole; if he was an omnivore, he’d be a self-righteous humorless omnivorous asshole.
All whale species are highly intelligent AFAIK (though perhaps no more so than pigs), but the main problem, with regard to non-endangered species, is that humanely killing a whale is pretty well impossible.
I’ve eaten quite a bit of whale in my time (I’m Norwegian) and I must admit that I find whale burgers a big no-no. The one’s I’ve tasted were pretty much horrible. Whale steak or a proper whale stew, however, are among my favorite dishes!
As for humanely killing a whale, yes that’s a huge challenge. The whales hunted by Norwegian whalers are relatively small (for whales at least), making it fully possible to hunt and kill them reasonably in a reasonable responsible manner. (The larger the whale is, the more challenging it becomes to kill them humanely).
Modern whalers use harpoons with explosive charges that (when the shot is placed correctly) will stun or even kill the whale outright. The first thing the whalers will do when the winch the catch in, is to cut one of the major arteries to make sure the whale is killed as fast and painlessly as remotely possible.
Very strict regulations and control measures are in place to make the whale hunting as humane as remotely possible, with harsh punishments (up to prison sentences and the loss of the vessels quota) face those who take shortcuts or in other ways disregards regulations.
One important point (almost) always ignored by those who are opposed to whaling is that hunting non-endangered species is actually important to help endangered species! By controlling the amount of non-endangered whale species, you reduce the pressure they put on their food sources, making it easier for endangered species to feed. A, in my humble opinion, not insignificant factor when the question of whaling is discussed.
And on the flip side…. Uh, goat?
It’s a long time since I’ve seen that on a restaurant menu, but I’m pretty sure it was common fare in Old Testament times.
Goat is still widely available in many West Indian eateries, and it can be delicious, especially curried.
No kidding :-)
It’s right there in Genesis when Noah was filling the ark… Oh wait!
stevebowen
They went in just after the polar bears, and before the armadillos…
…..and it was the armadillos that ate the dinosaurs…
Noah’s truly astounding feat†, though, was capturing a breeding pair of Pandas.
†He was a hobbit. (I’ll get me coat…)
I remember that well; it gave me the best laugh I’d had in ages.
(paraphrasing) “Oh, sorry, I thought it was an insult about paedophiles and the Bible….” said Ray, thereby proving he has no idea of the definition of ‘thought’.
“regarded as a low quality meat, since horses aren’t typically raised for slaughter”
If you mean the meat is inferior because its not bred for eating I’d argue that its probably a better quality meat because of that. The profit motive in the farming industry rarely produces increased quality. I live in an area of the UK with a large number of rare breeds that produce meats of exceptional flavour but lower in production quantity – or in the case of local beef the presence of gristle in the flesh which gives a fantastic flavour (especially in stews) but means people turn their noses up at having to use their knife and fork. I could be wrong but I’ve sat in several US eateries and been fed ‘the best steak you’ll ever eat’ and been seriously disappointed. I guess that might be cultural but I’ve not heard complaints from merkins that have tried the local produce, well other than size and gristle.
If you mean not raised for slaughter and full of potentially dangerous shit then OK.
“Besides, everyone knows that when we fully forsake the gods, we default to veganism.”
So much for the non-judgmental tolerance of whatever brand of ‘atheism’ you’re pretending to believe in. If we don’t adopt your morality then we’re wrong and math says so, am I right?
For more about Scandinavian cuisine see http://www.newscancook.com/ There are no horse or eagle or kitten recipes, mores the shame.
Also for Mr Comfort: not just bacon, but double bacon cheese burgers at any and every burger drive-in in the country.
No.
2. The problem was also that the meat had not been properly inspected, since it was counterfit & contraband.
3. The problem was also that horses are often treated with medicins that can be quite toxic to humans and this aspect was not inspected either, for the same obvious reason.
4. This last point actually overrides my discomfort over the duplicity of the whole business. Sows distrust – so distrust sows. And cows.
5. In the final analysis, you can only trust family. Ergo, eat babies! (Got any good recipies?)
aside from the fact that there were horse breeds tailored for the meat market, even in the UK, commonly until the 1930s.
the last big horsemeat distributor died in the 50s IIRC, but horses were, and still are, bred for meat in various places.
seems an odd thing to be specifically concerned about.
what medicines?
what horses?
not used on cows, pigs, chickens?
no no no…
the armadillos ate all the coconuts (being much lower to the ground, dontchyaknow), and the dinosaurs starved.
confirmed. some of the best Indian food I have had in NZ has involved goat.
also, some of the best Mexican food I had back in California.
that sounds logical on the surface, yet I have seen that same argument used in other fisheries before, and research suggests it ain’t always the case that reducing one species’ numbers increases the numbers of another.
things are much more complex out there than that typically.
better check the research yourself, but I rather doubt there IS all that much pertaining to indirect impacts of modern whaling on other whale species.
92
Ichthyic
1 October 2013 at 8:50 am (UTC -5)
Uhh. Can’t remember exactly, but it was on the news at the time the news was news (divulged by Julian Lassagne, apparently :) ) and I distinctly recalled reading an old Dick Francis horse-crime novel where the murder weapon turned out to be a pain killer for race horses being secretly administered to the (human) victim. So probably true, at least on some level.
Also, I think there was something about different antibiotics?
vague vagueness is vaguely vague.
Yes indeed. Feel in pretty good company here ;-
But that point needed pointing out, and I am reasonably confident that there was at least some factual background to those news reports, for once, since it resonated with that old novel by Dick Francis, who hacked out several horse books each year and must have known his way about stables and tracks.
I just asked an old school mate who has been a vet for many years, but of course I can’t promise an answer.
not really.
seems pretty unlikely a bunch of old racehorses got ground up into mince pies.
It still needs pointing out, so let me complete your ellipsis for you since it seems you missed it before:
I’ll let the matter rest until and if my friend responds with the concise clarity that seems so deficit in me.
The horse drug was probably Bute, which the FDA has banned from use in humans.
my point is that there is no reason to make point three at all, since there appears to be nothing behind it.
poorly inspected meat of any kind is bad, for any variety of reasons. No need to randomly include shit that has no real significance.
think about it:
thousands of people ate that horse meat.
How many of them are reporting toxic shock?
Korea is another place where dog has traditionally been eaten. During the runup to the 1988 Seoul Olympics the South Korean government ran a campaign calling on citizens not to eat dog meat, lest it freak out the visiting foreigners.
Dog penis is apparently used in traditional Korean medicine. As it became increasingly obvious he was aging the North Korean government set up the Kim Il Sun Institute of Health and Longevity to find ways to keep the old creep healthy. One of the recommendations was that he eat dog penis of at least 7 centimeters in length.
Has Comfort never read Leviticus 11?
I’m so utterly confused. Is Comfort doing that thing where, because he’s an ignorant American, he thinks that every other country has the same laws? I’m just unsure of what point he’s making. What does unlisted horse meat in food have to do with atheism and, more to the point, what does it have to do with the implied assumption that the US has not so forsaken god?
I know off-hand that horse meat is illegal for sale in various parts of the US, and due to an odd cultural taboo is otherwise not widely eaten, but (notably apart from several South American countries, the UK and Australia) it’s eaten pretty much everywhere else.
He just doesn’t make sense.
And in other news, it may get darker after sunset.
In my admittedly limited experience, I would say that most Swedes know how to use a knife and fork, and also chew their food with their mouths closed. I wonder if Ray could say the same about himself, given that his mouth is usally filled with his foot.
If this wasn’t from February, I’d be wondering if he posted this in the hopes of distracting people from the news of Trolling With Logic’s upcoming live pwnage of Evolution vs. God.
In response to comments by Ichthyic:
I admittedly do not know the regulations and inspection protocol in other countries, I am however, very familiar with medication administration to various species in the United States, as I am a mixed animal veterinarian.
Regarding medications toxic to humans which may be used in horsese: There are a large number of medicines specifically prohibited for use in food animals, many of which are used routinely in horses because they are not typically regarded as food animals. Prominent examples include the pain medication phenylbutazone (bute) which can cause irreversible bone marrow suppression and liver or kidney failure in humans; several different antibiotics (metronidazole, trimethoprim-sulfa, most cephalosporins); and some medications which can be administered only for specific uses in specific circumstances/species (enrofloxacin).
If you want a complete list, go here: http://www.farad.org/publications/digests/071999ProhibitedDrugs.pdf
These medications are given to many horses spanning many use-situations, not just race horses (and in fact several of them are prohibited for use in race horses because they are considered performance-enhancing, so an argument could be made that grinding up race horses for meat would be safer than using backyard ponies).
Beef, chicken, and pork are routinely tested for medicinal residues during post-slaughter inspection.
So yes, absolutely, toxic medications used in horses that are not used in other species IS a valid concern, and is not in any way vague vagueness.
Thanks Random for support that I ought to have provided. But since I lack the specific expertise it was down to a vague sense of what’s what. (Crime writers can probably make stuff up too, or enhance.)
Please. In scandinavia it is not about any christian aversion to eating horse meat. Rather it’s more that horses are often seen as family members nowdays. Still, horsemeat can be bought in your local mall or on fairs with traditional local specialties or whatever. Not the most common thing to eat perhaps but there’s no culural taboo against it either. I’ve eaten horsemeat myself many times. The issue mentioned here is that if something turns out to not be what it’s claimed to be than the quality of the meat is seriously in question, and it’s also called fraud which is a crime. People with whatever reason to not eat horse meat should simply not be tricked into eating it.
skaduskitai:
Please yourself. Try reading the other comments first, you haven’t brought up anything new.