Why do French eat horse meat?

France dates its taste for horse meat to the Revolution. With the fall of the aristocracy, its auxiliaries had to find new means of subsistence. The horses formerly maintained by the aristocracy as a sign of prestige ended up being used to alleviate the hunger of the masses.

Is horse meat popular in France?

For centuries it was a cheap, working-class, food. The biggest quantities are still eaten in the old coal-mining areas of the north-east, followed by Paris, then south-east France. But since the 1980s consumption had steadily dropped. Now, about 16\% of French households buy horsemeat.

Why is horse meat so good?

It’s what we do with other wild ungulates such as deer, elk and bison. Plus, horsemeat is healthier than beef: it’s lower in fat, higher in protein and has a greater proportion of omega-3 fatty acids. Connoisseurs describe it as sweet and pleasantly gamey. Horse consumption wasn’t always so taboo.

Where is horse meat popular?

Horse meat is popular in many countries like Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Japan, China, Germany, Mexico, Indonesia, Tonga, and Iceland. In other parts of the world like Sweden, Canada, Italy, or Russia, people have mixed feelings about eating horse meat, and the legal standards vary.

Do French still eat horse meat?

France’s taste for horsemeat dates back to when 18th Century revolutionaries seized the fallen aristocracy’s horses to sate their hunger. The French now consume less than 300 grams (0.66 lbs) per person per year, a fifth of what they ate 30 years ago and less than 1 percent of the total meat they consume.

Where does horse meat come from in France?

The lack of a regular market for horse means that France has no mass production industry. Most French horse meat comes from cattle farmers with just a handful of horses in pasture.

How good is horse meat?

Eating Horse Meat Is Good for You That’s right. Horse meat is not only high in protein, but a good cut has about half the fat, less cholesterol and twice as much iron and Vitamin B as beef.

What’s wrong with horse meat?

U.S. horse meat is unfit for human consumption because of the uncontrolled administration of hundreds of dangerous drugs and other substances to horses before slaughter. These drugs are often labeled “Not for use in animals used for food/that will be eaten by humans.”

Why is horse slaughter bad?

Horse slaughter is inherently cruel. Because horses’ instinctual flight response makes them ill-suited for stunning, they often endure repeated blows and sometimes remain conscious during dismemberment. The road to the slaughterhouse is also rife with cruelty and suffering.

Why do the French eat horse meat?

The French eat horse meat because it is edible, accessible, and they don’t have any taboo related to meat or horses. Anyhow, I find odd that this question would target the French in particular for a couple of reasons: It is not common in France. It is rare. That said, some draft breeds are raised for meat.

Are there any horse meat shops in France?

They are no more, no less traditional horse meat butcher shops. If eating horse meat (ie. hippophagy) is common in France, this has not always been the case. Far from it. Since the Ancient Times, horses have been associated as companions at work and/or of war. Eating horse meat was inconceivable and forbidden by the church and by law.

Why did people eat horses during the Siege of Paris?

During the Siege of Paris (1870–1871), horse meat, along with the meat of donkeys and mules, was eaten by anyone who could afford it, partly because of a shortage of fresh meat in the blockaded city, and also because horses were eating grain that was needed by the human populace.

When did eating horse meat become legal?

Then, in 1847, French zoologist Isidore Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire declared that eating horse meat (ie. hippophagy) was good for human consumption. More and more influential people became devoted to the cause of legalising the sale of horse meat.