Sir, – The terms “cloud” and “silver lining” come to mind in the light of the current horse meat scandal. It is a wake-up call for us all to look closely and critically at what we are putting on our plates and ultimately into our bodies.
Globalisation, which involves moving vast quantities of goods around the planet, makes absolutely no sense when viewed from a purely logical and logistical perspective, and even less from an environmental perspective.
It can only be justified by those who espouse our deeply flawed economic system, where everything is driven by monetary gain and unfettered growth is king – a recipe for disaster in the context of finite natural resources. Of course there are commodities that we can’t produce ourselves and that will have to be imported but where possible we need to support what can be sourced here.
The fears engendered by the current crisis highlight the advantages of localisation: buying food and other goods that are produced as close to the point of sale as possible. This increases the possibility of traceability, reduces transport costs and CO2 emissions, and supports local, indigenous enterprise.
It’s time for a shopping revolution. Cut out the middlemen, stand up to the tyranny of big supermarket chains, visit your neighbourhood butcher, baker, greengrocer and embrace good, safe, home-grown food. – Yours, etc,
Sir, – When we lived in Paris in the early 1950s there was a horse butcher’s shop nearby, and we regularly enjoyed his excellent steaks. Surely the solution to the “horse-meat problem” is to bring the market into the open, regulate it, and see that its quality is guaranteed.
Perhaps its positive potential as healthy human food can be made more generally acceptable?
I see, however, that there are references to toxins in the current problem burger horse-meat. Does this perhaps suggest the existence of a problem in horse-racing analogous to that uncovered in the Tour de France? Is anyone looking into this I wonder? – Yours, etc,
Sir, – Like-for-like, a cut of horsemeat is as safe, tender, and nutritious as the corresponding cut in beef.
To most palates it will seem slightly more bland, but to most pockets it will be five times cheaper. What are we waiting for? Perhaps a linguistic tweak? Just as cow turned into beef (boeuf), sheep to mutton (mouton), and pig to pork (porc), so some bright entrepreneur will soon be opening shop as a cheval butcher? – Yours, etc,
Sir, – (“Raided UK abattoir has Aintree contract”, Breaking News, February 14th). Is this a case of, “horses for courses”? – Yours, etc,