Passing thoughts on passing on horse meat

Thursday, April 4, 2013

There are some interesting theories being floated around as to why some cultures, notably the British, have an aversion to hippophagy, the practice of eating horse flesh.

One theory from Oxford University says the taboo on horse meat came with the spread of Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England as church leaders tried to root out practices linked to paganism, or maybe it was to save them for use in war.

There may be a more practical theory, according to Brian Palmer of Slate, an online blog that comments on all sorts of things. This theory recalls that, in medieval times, physically laborious jobs were normal and high calorie intakes were a good idea, not bad. A three-ounce serving of horsemeat contained 149 calories, 24 grams of protein and five grams of fat. By comparison, beef tenderloin had 179 calories, 24 grams of protein and nine grams of fat. Horse milk has one third the fat of cows' milk.

Palmer further refers to a study in 2002 which found that horses, being non-ruminants, ate 63 per cent more than cattle.

None of this, of course, explains an aversion to eating old Bert, who is hanging around anyway and likely on his last legs after a life of labour. How many medieval peasants would have gotten a chance to eat beef tenderloin? BF