and what's wrong with a little horsemeat anyway?

[Soldim]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Vitamin B12 is produced from bacteria. I thought vegans did not consume animal products - do you not regard bacteria as animals?

They are, from a biologist point of view, most definitely not an animal. Neither a plant. They are in a completely different domains.

Actually, plants and animals are closer to each-other than to bacteria.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Vitamin B12 is produced from bacteria. I thought vegans did not consume animal products - do you not regard bacteria as animals?

Uh, aren't bacteria considered to be flora?

[troll05]

Vegetarians steal the food of my food

[Shushan]

Vegetarians steal the food of my food

All the brilliant, witty people on this thread stole a march on me by putting up every joke that occurred to me!

This thread has been a hoot!

So - have there been any updates on the horsemeat burgers?

[kennyc]

This is funny....from yesterday:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliar...-are-laughing/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandsty...st-worst-jokes

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Vitamin B12 is produced from bacteria. I thought vegans did not consume animal products - do you not regard bacteria as animals?

They are definitely not animals.


Stitchawl

[kennyc]

Ah, but they are all LIVING organisms!

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

I find that grass fed beef tastes far better than corn-fed.

That too may be a matter of 'which' grass... All Thai beef are grass-fed, but almost inedible. (Farmers cut grass from along roadsides to bring to the cows to feed... Gives a nice 'exhaust fume' taste to the meat. )


Stitchawl

[cromag]

Actually, a lot of vegetarians who buy their food at modern grocery stores probably get quitea bit of their daily requirement of B-12 from their processed and packaged food. A lot of grasshoppers, etc., get caught up in modern harvesting equipment.

[phenomshel]

Stitchawl, you constantly amaze me with the depth of your knowledge. I live near DeKalb, IL - have lived here since 2005 - and had no idea about the Cavel facility, nor of the outrage that it apparently spawned.

ETA: Also, grass fed beef here is considered "better" than other beef. But grass here consists of augmented pasture, not roadside gleanings.

[kennyc]

And the latest on this - It's all about definitions of words eh?:

Horsemeat scandal blamed on European meat regulation changes

Food expert says redefinition of meat meant manufacturers had to look overseas for cheap replacements

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...lation-changes

[HarryT]

The problem basically is that the supermarkets have driven the prices they pay to their suppliers down and down, to the point where THEY can't source from reputable suppliers any longer. This really is a problem of the supermarkets' own making, in my view.

[kennyc]

And now the Raids on the suppliers:

Britain makes horsemeat raids as scandal spirals

By Danny Kemp (AFP) – 21 minutes ago

LONDON — British police searching for the source of horsemeat in kebabs and burgers on Tuesday raided two meat plants in the first such operation since a scandal over the mislabelling of beef gripped Europe.

France meanwhile became the second European country after Britain to confirm that frozen lasagne also contained horse, while supermarkets in Switzerland and the Netherlands pulled more ready-made meals from the shelves out of precaution.

The developments came on the eve of a European Union crisis meeting in Brussels to address the scandal, which has raised suspicions of links to organised crime and public fears over health.

In Britain, police and officials from the Food Standards Agency raided a slaughterhouse in northern England and a meat producing factory in Wales, before shutting both sites and seizing all meat there.

The agency said the Peter Boddy slaughterhouse in Todmorden, in the county of West Yorkshire, was believed to have supplied horse carcasses to Farmbox Meats in Aberystwyth, Wales.
...

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp...f824493a04.321

[hidari]

Whish it had been dog or whale or cat meat. Thet would have really have twisted the British Knickers.....

[Soldim]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The problem basically is that the supermarkets have driven the prices they pay to their suppliers down and down, to the point where THEY can't source from reputable suppliers any longer. This really is a problem of the supermarkets' own making, in my view.

I think even the consumers don't go entirely without blame... quite a few people expect to pay the absolute minimum possible for meat and other food products. People that pay 2-3 Euro for a frozen lasagna and expect a quality product are simply delusional.

I still raise my eyebrows at snobbish 'foodies' claiming only the most expensive meat, vegetables etc are worth being eaten; on the other hand it is no surprise that those paying the lowest prices are scraping the bottom of the barrel with regards to quality.