Not content at trying (http://www.reason.com/news/show/38400.html) to stop foreigners from catering to Americans’ taste for gambling, Congress is on the verge of passing a law aimed at stopping Americans from catering to foreigners’ taste for horse meat. I generally avoid the phrase cultural imperialism, since it’s often used by people who object to the voluntary consumption of American products by non-Americans. But when Americans want to forcibly impose their culinary preferences on people in other countries, it fits pretty well. As supporters of the horse slaughter ban never tire of reminding us, Americans are not big horse eaters. The three U.S. plants that slaughter horses, two in Texas and one in Illinois, cater mainly to consumers in countries such as France, Belgium, Germany, and Japan. Since the plants are owned by foreigners and serve a foreign market, the National Horse Protection Coalition (http://www.horse-protection.org/info.php?id=85) asserts, “no U.S. interests are involved.†[...] ...My wife once discussed the strange American custom of treating cats like family members with a souvenir vendor in Guangzhou. Upon learning that we have three cats, the woman asked, “Are they fat?†One of them is a bit chubby, my wife admitted. “Oh, you should eat him,†the woman said. “They’re delicious.†|
Though I did once, in Honduras, eat a burger with some mystery, and clearly non-beef, meat. It was delicious.
Is protecting horses worth the cost in jobs of working Americans?
How far would we go to have jobs in America?
A number of Central American countries use monkey meat in cooking. That may be what it contained.
Although ostrich burgers are really, really good. Many Fuddruckers in the US sell ostrich burgers.
As their standard fare, or does one have to ask for it?
Obviously this particular question is raised with this particular story because eating the flesh of horses is not palatable to Americans.
Your question is:QuoteIs protecting horses worth the cost in jobs of working Americans?
Mine is:QuoteHow far would we go to have jobs in America?
It is a strange issue really. We won't allow farmers to grow marijuana, but we allowed the transfer of biological nastiness to Saddam Hussein (such as Anthrax cultures) in the 1980's. We allow plenty of pornographic material and a clear market demand exists for it in this country, but we did not allow the day after pill until recently.
The logical approach to your question would be a cost/benefit analysis.
But we could just as easily ask another question:
Is protecting humans worth the cost in jobs of working Americans?
It's part of their "gourmet burger" line. You pay a bit extra for it, like $1. Ostrich meat has a very low fat content (http://www.wisegeek.com/is-ostrich-meat-healthy.htm), however, and tastes better than beef IMHO.