Comment Archives: Stories: Food
Re: “Flash in the Pan”
Alf said: "Do you protest as loudly and emotionally the same conditions and treatment for other livestock -- such as cattle, sheep, hogs, goats and poultry -- headed for the same fate ?"
Yes.
Wm. B. said: "i see lots of complaints but no real solutions to the problems the system is facing..." Really? Several solutions are offered in these comments. 1) get exotic livestock off the public range 2) birth control 3) stop domestic horse overbreeding, making adoptions more likely 4) stop native predator eradication 5) sanctuary
Kate: " maybe it's time that we all became a little repulsed with the lack of dignity and respect shown to the animals we eat on a daily basis."
I agree (but I would say "a lot repulsed"). However, horses are no more intelligent than pigs, a billion-plus who suffer in this nation's factory farms. Intelligence shouldn't be the standard for who gets killed--sentience should. Jeremy Bentham (born 1748) famously said, "The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?"
BTW, if you dare, you can watch horse-eater Sappington (whom Ari mistakenly identifies as the owner of Valley Meat) execute his horse (both edited and unedited versions are available) at the aforementioned link to "A Tale of Two Horses." Bon appetit.
Re: “Flash in the Pan”
Two thumbs down to Ari LeVaux and The Independent. There are a number of arguments made for horse slaughter in this editorial, none of which I agree with, what irritates me the most though is that it's being said that these horses have "few natural predators to worry about". Maybe we should scale back on killing the wolves and other carnivores that live in the same ranges with the horses if we're having issues with overpopulation? And lastly, I would say that horses are not the same animals as cows, chickens or pigs, they are more intelligent which is why humans use them as working partners or keep them as pets. Many, many people have a serious ethical revulsion to horse slaughter, although maybe it's time that we all became a little repulsed with the lack of dignity and respect shown to the animals we eat on a daily basis.
Re: “Flash in the Pan”
check out how many horses are being held in pens by the BLM after the roundups
attempts at sterilisation have not been very successful is it humane to keep these "wild horses in pens"? and the slaughterhouses do need to be regulated but since there is a stigma around the subject the only people willing to operate them are unsavory types
i see lots of complaints but no real solutions to the problems the system is facing and those problems are getting worse since the economic downturn and the price of feed many people that owned horses are having trouble feeding them
Re: “Flash in the Pan”
Over-breeding and irresponsible owners are what have put horses in their current situation. We need breed organizations and humane societies to call for a moratorium on breeding. Any backyard yokel can breed horses (or more dogs, cats or humans)....and frequently do. Ari LeVaux apparently only cares about filling his belly, then writing proudly about his opinions. Anyone who has or worked with a horse knows that they are trusting and devoted. There is no humane way to slaughter a horse. Period. Slaughterhouses are an environmental nightmare, besides. Wild horse populations have as much or more right to grazing land as cattle and sheep, and their numbers can be controlled with sterilization techniques and adoption. Horses (and dogs, cats and humans) are not "disposable", despite the practices of uncaring and ignorant humans. They deserve better. And we humans deserve better that to read LeVaux's column.
Re: “Flash in the Pan”
And now it reappeared??? What is going on with your comment line?
Re: “Flash in the Pan”
Odd! I posted a strong disagreement with your article. It was accepted and then promptly disappeared. Is that how it goes in Missoula?
Re: “Flash in the Pan”
Cattle and sheep ranchers, the BLM and their sympathizers are co-ordinating their talking points and going public. Last week a rancher stated on the Today show that the best solution for the penned up Wild Horses and Burros is to,”Let ‘em go to slaughterhouses”. Then he added, “What good are they now?"
Joan Guilfoyle, BLM head, tried to downplay the cruel and brutal footage of BLM roundups shown on that Today show and reiterated the BLM talking points that horse populations are basically uncontrollable. The BLM works closely with the powerful ranchers and maintains that the WH&Bs are responsible for the overgrazing of lands which are occupied by guest cattle and guest sheep grazing with permission in a ten to one ratio with the wild horses who are designated by law to occupy these lands.
When grazing in equal numbers, sheep, and cattle to a lesser degree, are responsible for over grazing land because they pull the grass out of the ground by the roots whereas a horse cuts or mows the grass. Oddly, the measurement of grazing used by the BLM is referred to as an Aum which equals the grazing of one cow and a calf to one horse but does not include a foal. Having been raised on a dairy farm in Minnesota it was common opinion that cattle overgraze a pasture faster than an equal number of horses.
Tom Gorey,” BLM spokesman, and advocate for the anti-wild horse ranchers, recently said, “The options are limited because we’re not going to put down healthy horses for which there is no adoption demand, even though the law authorizes it.” However, the law does not authorize that WH&Bs can be “put down”. What the law does mandate is minimal interference, free roaming, a natural lifestyle, and a thriving natural ecological balance on land principally devoted to WH&Bs.
Today's article in the Missoula Independent was rife with misinformation and anti-wild horse rhetoric. They declared that wild horses are actually an invasive feral species brought here from Europe. The truth is that wild horses have been in North America for 58 million years according to Craig Downer in “The Wild Horse Conspiracy” available at www.amazon.com/dp/B009XJ64P4
The Missoula article was very pro-slaughter of the WH&Bs who are the historical wild legacy that belongs to all of us Americans. They refer to the "clean" horse meat from wild horses that might find a market in spite of the horse meat scandal throughout the world. In doing so they reveal that the only interest of the anti-wild horse/pro-slaughter elements in the Ranchers/BLM is in money, profit, and motivated by greed. The article referred to the WH&Bs as an "ecological nuisance". They insinuate that the only horses sent to slaughter are used up, old, unwanted, and neglected. This, of course, is not true. Forty percent of horses slaughtered come from over breeders and are under the age of ten in good health, but rejected by those who care more about a few bucks from the killer than the horse.
Madeleine Pickens reacted to a recent article posted by the Star Telegram which depicts how the Wild Horse and Burro Program needs to be reformed and many mustangs are displaced saying, “We have offered a solution to this very problem. When I started this journey I reached out to the BLM and offered to buy enough land to take the then 30,000 wild horses out of federal holding facilities and provide long-term care back on the range. It’s 5 years later, and we don’t have a single horse from the BLM. We sit here waiting while there are homeless horses heading to auctions and the rest spending the remainder of their lives in federal holding facilities. Something needs to change now. We hope the appointment of the New Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell, will get things going in the right direction.”
Polls indicate that over 80% of Americans oppose horse slaughter. Hopefully Secretary Jewell will represent the public.
The true motivation of these anti-wild horse, pro-slaughter fanatics is finally coming out of the shadows and rearing its ugly public head. Cruelty, brutality, hatred, greed, dissemblance, love of killing, and love of profit are the traits of these despicable criminals who care only about money while desecrating the spiritual wonders of the horse and those of us who love them.
Take action against these hypocrites by going below and VOTING IN SUPPORT OF THESE BILLS, SHARE, and then, CALL YOUR SENATORS and REPRESENTATIVE and ask them to co-sponsor S 541 and HR 1094
HOUSE VERSION
https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/113/hr1094
SENATE VERSION
https://www.popvox.com/bills/us/113/s541
Re: “Flash in the Pan”
Mr LeVaux, as a journalist, wouldn't you even minimally research your resources? Tim Sappington? Are you kidding?? If you Googled this guy, you might have written your leading paragraph a little differently. Also of note, the use of "harvest" to replace "slaughter" is passe. People outside of the AQHA realize it's a veiled attempt to make pretty words.
Re: “Flash in the Pan”
Seems like Roswell is dead set on becoming the economic and ecological disaster that befell Kaufman TX during the years the Crown Dallas plant was active there. Striking New Mexico off the "visit" list. There goes your tourism.
Re: “Flash in the Pan”
I have three comments :
1) Of the 3 posts (so far) commenting on this article, all are by people adamantly opposed to horse slaughter, yet from the comments, none seem willing to do anything about the FERAL (they aren't "wild") horses overpopulating and seriously degrading western public lands.
2) At least one of the comments bemoans the inhumane conditions and treatment in shipping and at the slaughter houses (I certainly agree with him on that point).
Do you protest as loudly and emotionally the same conditions and treatment for other livestock -- such as cattle, sheep, hogs, goats and poultry -- headed for the same fate ?
3) I'm mostly a vegetarian now, but being of German and French ancestry, I ate horsemeat regularly as child, which, at the time was readily available in many butcher shops around Portland, where I grew up in the 1940s and '50s. I must say that as finicky an eater as I was then, I thought horsemeat was pretty darn good!
Re: “Flash in the Pan”
"Selling used up horses"....sounds like blasphemy...do you not know that all animals (yes, humans are animals) have a Life Force? We are not talking about machines! We don't even talk about the cattle we eat with such irreverence. Let's see.....how many of my neighbors would like to eat horse meat; how many of your neighbors would eat horse meat? "...horses that deserve pampering"; do you consider food, shelter and possibly some health care as pampering? Guess all those Baby Boomers on Medicare are just plain pampered! So, why not toss them some of the used up horsemeat; or better, invite those people on welfare to just throw their used up dogs and cats in the oven...save on food stamps! If your intention was to get feedback, for that you have succeeded; if your intention was to present an intelligent argument for and against horse slaughter...then first of all you are not even in the game and second of all, there will never be an intelligent argument for horse slaughter....my regrets to your publisher.
Re: “Flash in the Pan”
Wow, Did Sue Wallis ghost write this for you. You either published exaggerated numbers or out falsehoods through out this article. Pure propaganda for a crime ridden industry. You even outright lie about the connection Mr. Sappington HAD to Valley meat. he was a employee that was recently fired after posting a video on You tube (now taken off) of him blowing the brains out of a young horse while looking at the camera using colorful language of what he feels about animal welfare people ( yeh , that’s the kind of local citizen I want living down the road from me). The same plant was forced closed last year for sanitation and animal abuse laws while slaughtering cattle, it’s owned by a gentleman that finds pleasure in robbing peoples homes as a side business (recently caught again).
The horse industry in this county does not need slaughter; it needs breed assocs that don’t instigate overbreeding. Its needs people to take the time to be educated in proper training methods of instead thinking that by watching some cowboy they have become horse trainers. Maybe you should note that one of the largest horse industries in the county does not condone horse slaughter and has been in the process of attempting to end it and ban it from its sport in the last 5 years. The TB Horse racing orgs of prominence. But I guess they don’t know anything about horses like you. Get real, get educated and learn your subject before you write about it.
Re: “Flash in the Pan”
There is no humane way to slaughter horses for meat consumption. We don't take our dogs or cats at the end of their lives to shipping facilities where they are crammed into trucks for arduous and stressful transport to slaughter plants where they are then brutally killed and processed while sometimes still alive for people to eat. And all for a measly few extra bucks. Why would we do that to horses? That is not why horses exist. I hear cat meat tastes good too. That is a morally impoverished excuse to eat them. Moreover, creating horse slaughter for profit would insure an industry interest in and lobbying for having a steady supply of horses to kill thus perpetuating the horse over-population problem from all sources.
Re: “Flash in the Pan”
"... selling used-up horses rather than paying to keep them alive is a logical choice."
It is not a fact that old, "used up" horses go to slaughter. According to the Chicago Tribune, "The horse slaughter industry doesn't "euthanize" old horses — but precisely the opposite: Young and healthy horses are purchased at auction, often by people misrepresenting their intentions, and sold to slaughter plants..." http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-04…
If there are too many horses, it's because too many horses are created by breeders in it for the money. Industries like racing, rodeo, showing, etc. along with irresponsible small-time breeders create and cull with impunity (see Forbes, "Racing Industry Silent About Slaughtered Thoroughbreds" at
http://www.forbes.com/sites/vickeryeckhoff… ).
80% of Americans oppose horse slaughter, a brutal and bloody business. Check here for graphically-honest descriptions and images
http://www.horsefund.org/horse-slaughter-i…
The NM slaughterhouse mentioned in Ari's piece was originally a cattle slaughterhouse; it was shut down by the Feds for heinously inhumane practices. You can read about what one bull endured on his way to death here, in "A Tale of Two Horses" at http://www.othernationsjustice.org/?p=7857
This post that brought more traffic to the Other Nations website than any other. Please read it and learn how you can support the SAFE Act, a bi-partisan effort in both houses of Congress that will end the bloody, inhumane prospect of horse slaughter once and for all.
Re: “Flash in the Pan”
I've heard--on many occasions--that people who have viewed the documentary "Earthlings" have changed their diets and their lives literally overnight (watch it here http://earthlings.com/ ). Paul McCartney said, "If slaughterhouses had glass walls, we'd all be vegetarian."
But they don't have glass walls--because the corporate exploiters know for a fact that consumers wouldn't, couldn't, won't tolerate seeing the hideous conditions and cruelty sentient animals are forced to endure in the nation's factory farms. Ag-gag laws suppress undercover whistleblowers and protect the unconscionable but business-as-usual animal cruelty built into the meat and dairy industries.
As you say, Ari, "evidently the hunger for meat overpowers any remorse the meat eaters might feel." Generations of consumers have been thoroughly conditioned (brainwashed?) by grossly-subsidized "cheap" meat, by clever marketing blitzes (I'm lovin' it), by hidden suffering behind no trespassing signs, by dead animal carcass enmeshed with religion and tradition (think Easter ham, Christmas roast, Thanksgiving turkey, 4th of July hotdog, Santa's glass of milk).
In short, The Animal has been removed from The Product, and we no longer see the cow, chicken, or pig in the Whopper, the bucket, or the McRib. To top it off, beloved icons like the Peanuts Gang shill for dairy cruelty ( http://www.othernationsjustice.org/?p=5972 ) and the Olympic rings put the stamp of approval on McNugget broiler misery ( http://www.chickenindustry.com/ ).
Interested readers can access powerful undercover videos and a page full of excellent resources at Other Nations' Factory farming/CAFOs page http://www.othernationsjustice.org/?page_i…
Re: “Flash in the Pan”
Growing up on the Rocky Mt. front, Rattle Snakes were a staple -- 1-2 times a month my favorite was my mom's deep fat fried RS (don't know if it was the snake or the fat I liked). The most memorable RS dinners were with a frequent dinner guest named "Scotty". He was most likely one of Charlie Russell's runnin partners (it seemed like he was 110 yrs old) and he brought 10-15 snakes with him each time he came. He was (for real) a "Rattle Snake Milker", selling venom to make a living. I like RS's to this day and often use the same cliché -- tastes just like chicken. dc
Re: “Flash in the Pan”
I live in a rural area south of Salmon, Idaho. I'll bet it would be safe to bet there are about as many road-killed deer in a year in the 45 miles between my place and Salmon as wolves kill in the whole county. None are salvaged, and apparently the highway department doesn't pick up the carcasses.
A few winters ago, a big doe was killed on the county road 200-300 yards from my driveway. I wallowed her into the bed of my pickup and dumped her out in the pasture behind my house. In well less than 2 days, the coyotes, foxes, eagles, ravens and magpies had her reduced to nothing but a few dozen scattered bones.
The moral of my story is that roadkill is NOT wasted if it's not salvaged by humans. Nature wastes virtually nothing. And I think those scavengers needed that meat at least as much and probably more than any human.
Re: “Flash in the Pan”
Good article! I drafted this bill and you present a good argument. Thanks. Rep. Steve Lavin - Kalispell
Re: “Flash in the Pan”
I've lost a lot of weight and become much healthier eating quinoa, as opposed to white or basmati rice. They sell organic 3.5 lb containers of quinoa at CostCo for $8! This article was great and although I sympathize w/ quinoa producing countries not being able to sustain or afford their own yield, I say more people in America consume quinoa= greater demand = more production, as stated in article: Oregon and Colorado.
It'd be great if Ari would include some recipes. I make huge batches of quinoa w/ broccolli and garlic and onion and put in containers in fridge as a healthy meal / snack for week.
Also, putting Braggs on this stuff is amazing. I use it like I would rice. Delicious!
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Re: “Flash in the Pan”
There will never be a pretty way to kill. There will never be a hip slaugterhouse. There will never be enough exposure. There will always be propaganda. There will always be hypocrites. There will always be hunger.