Horses were used for traction power on farms, and they became an essential part of the farm life. More significantly, however, they became key components in warfare. Harris argues that the most successful armies owed much of their greatness to horses, and thus horses were priceless. War strategies and styles revolved largely around horses, and armies seldom ate horses unless they were starving.
Horse meat was the single Christian dietary taboo, and Harris argues it was a military decision to ensure strength and protection from Islamic invaders. Essentially, horses provided too many valuable roles to waste on human consumption.
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See what former Soviet Union leader Nikita Khrushchev had to say about horse meat:
"He who cannot eat horse meat need not do so. Let him eat pork. But he who cannot eat pork, let him eat horse meat. It's simply a question of taste." -Nikita Khrushchev |
Eventually, the trend set by the edict would change in a few European places, namely France. Wounded soldiers, in desperate condition, began to eat dead horses, and many experienced a subsequent spectacular recovery. Soon, eating and slaughtering horses became the norm, and eventually it was legalized in France. (Because places like Ireland and Scotland had big colonies and no shortage of meat, horse meat never really became popular.)
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Essentially, horse meat popularity in Europe has followed this general trend: popularity grows when there are excess horses and less other types of meat, and popularity decreases when horses are endangered, needed for war, and other sources of meat are abundant. The farming industry effectively ensures, to some extent, an abundance of other meat sources, and horses will likely never be in excess again. Thus, the chances that horse meat will become significant in Europe again are very small. However, because it was once so prominent, it still appears in a lot of traditional cuisine, and has not completely disappeared from the European diet. Horse meat still plays a role, albeit a small one, in European culture.
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When horse meat prices briefly fell below beef prices, it did gain some traction, but two main preventative factors emerged. First, horse meat can never really be cheaper than beef for long periods of time, given that there are less horses and less consumers than exist for many other meat industries. The second, and more significant factor, were protests by horse-protecting organizations. Americans tend to have a somewhat unique affection for horses that has decreased the popularity of horse meat. The presence of these protective agencies dramatically curbed its popularity, and they continue to advocate against horse meat production today.
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Fun Fact: When Harris’ book was published, in 1985, the United States was actually the number one exporter of horse meat, despite its domestic unpopularity.
These slaughtering practices have since largely ended due to a series of legislation passed in 2007. The organizations that fight for horses' rights played a role in changing the system of exporting American horse meat. |