Top Chef trots into taboo territory

[Renew Deal]

Producers of the competitive culinary TV show Top Chef Canada galloped headlong into an internet outcry after news spread about an upcoming episode's focus on horse meat as an ingredient. In the challenge, scheduled to air on May 16th on Food Network Canada, contestants were required to cook traditional French dishes, including both foie gras (also a controversially-obtained food) and horse.

Protesters took to the show's Facebook page after promos for the episode aired, flooding the comments with mentions of Top Chef boycotts, links to anti-horse meat websites and advice on how to contact the show's advertisers. A specifically targeted Facebook group called "Boycott Top Chef – Protect the Horses" was swiftly established as a central location to share resources including educational material and contact information for the show's advertisers and the network's executives.

Food Network Canada has issued a statement saying, "Please be assured it is not our intention to offend our viewers. The challenge in this episode involves having the competitors create a truly authentic, traditional French menu. One of the most traditional French foods is horsemeat. Horsemeat is also considered a delicacy in many cultures around the world. While we understand that this content may not appeal to all viewers, Food Network Canada aims to engage a wide audience, embracing different food cultures in our programming."
<snip>

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2011/05/16/top-chef-trots-into-taboo-territory

:9

[msanthrope]

1. So, Food Network Canada is saying 'Neigh' to the episode? n/t

[truebrit71]

4. Woah there big fella, WOOOOAAAHHH!!!

:evilgrin:

[msanthrope]

14. Rein it in? n/t

[Codeine]

16. You guys are gonna ride this one into the ground. nt

[Renew Deal]

18. Bareback!

:evilgrin:

[msanthrope]

22. I'm saddling up for a long thread....

[LondonReign2]

56. I hope its not too long...

No need to beat a dead horse

[KansDem]

27. No horsemeat for me! Might give me the trots...

;)

[Buzz Clik]

2. Anti horse meat advocates? Jeebus. It never ends.

[Angry Dragon]

3. Perhaps they could do monkey brains next

some cultures think they are also great

[Renew Deal]

7. What's wrong with eating brains?

:shrug:

[Ikonoklast]

23. There are some who would agree with you.

The anti-Zombie crowd is always quick with their propaganda.

[Retrograde]

24. They're very high in cholesterol

They used to be common in grocery stores in the States - many all-purpose cookbooks written before about 1970 have recipes for them - but the first time I ever had them was in France, where they make anything taste good. Creamy, smooth, delicate - then I learned what was in them.

You can still get brain tacos at some Mexican places here (although these days I prefer tongue), and Asian markets carry fresh brains. Because of mad cow scares, they're mostly pig brains nowadays.

I've had horse in France, and it's very tasty. It didn't seem to be common, though. I once saw a discrete little sign in an Italian butcher shop stating that they had horsemeat, but again it didn't seem all that common.

ETA: I had a very small taste of foie gras, again in France, in 1998. I can still taste it: it's extremely rich.

[KansDem]

26. Is that where the moniker "Fat Head" came from?

:shrug:

[yurbud]

40. Nothing if you don't mind a little kuru, Creutzfeldt-Jakob, or mad cow disease with your entree

[WatsonT]

31. Eating primates is a bad idea

Their diseases can cross over to us too easy.

And after mad-cow I would stay away from nervous tissue.

[NeedleCast]

5. Always seems ironic to me that people who will eat some animals freak out over eating others

Hey, I've made my decision to eat meat and I'm at peace with that. I do what I can to buy from local producers who minimize animal suffering. But the whole idea that some animals are food animals and some animals are not never made sense to me. If it tastes good and isn't on an endangered species list, it's fair game for me.

[Goblinmonger]

17. I don't eat meat and I'm with you.

I see nothing special that would say eating horse meat is bad but cow meat is good. Same with dogs. Just because they're cute doesn't change anything.

[Codeine]

19. Agree 100%.

People shit themselves when they find out someone ate a dog but the irony of fact that they ate half a damned pig at breakfast two hours before is lost on them.

I won't eat any animal, so I'm mystified by the apparent Animal Eatin' Hierarchy some people believe exists.

[NeedleCast]

20. One DU'er called me "monster" for having eaten dog

Tried it a few times in Korea. Wasn't anything special but it wasn't bad either.

[Erose999]

28. "Aye, dog makes a fine meal"

[tuckessee]

25. I bet you'd freak out if you ate some Long Pig.

But why should you? It's just another animal and many cultures have enjoyed Long Pig without any adverse reactions in either the short term or long term.

[Scout]

37. most horsemeat is not "raised" for human consumption....

horses are given all kinds of drugs that people should not have.

most horses that are slaughtered are old, sick, unwanted, they are shipped to Mexico or Canada under horribly cruel conditions, and are not slaughtered humanely.

[NeedleCast]

42. Sure, and that's understood

In general though, I think Americans would not be okay with having farm-raised horse as a meat animal...or any number of other animals that can be eaten but aren't.

[Codeine]

45. Cows, pigs, sheep, and chickens are raised under conditions

a million times worse than horses, live much shorter and more painful lives, and are killed no less inhumanely.

[Arugula Latte]

46. In the cases of factory farm animals, a short life is about all they have going for them.

:scared:

[Scout]

49. i doubt it is "a million times worse" and no one is saying that they are treated well.

jesus christ :eyes:

are they given the same drugs that horses, which are NOT raised for human consumption, are given?

there is a reason horse slaughter is illegal in this country.

[Codeine]

50. I guaran-goddamn-tee that factory farm animals experience lives immeasurably worse

than that of a typical horse.

>there is a reason horse slaughter is illegal in this country.

Yeah, they're cute and little girls like them.

[Kali]

54. horse slaughter is illegal because of the emotional reactions of some people

NOT because of health or welfare concerns. Further the reason many horses were sent to slaughter was age or inability to care for them - a situation that says less drugs (money spent) into them rather than more.

A bunch of useless "pets" that nobody paid any attention to would be fine for human consumption if you ask me. Horse slaughter in the US WAS a reasonable bandaid solution for unwanted animals. Now abandonment or worse is the only option for most people that can't or won't take care of them anymore.

Banning hose slaughter was another feel-good "solution" that created worse problems than it solved.

[LanternWaste]

57. Always seems ironic to me that people who drive on the left freak out over driving on the right...

I don't see social and cultural mores as being "ironic", the differences and contrasts becoming part and parcel of cultural and ethnic identities.

Your statement seems to be little different than, "Always seems ironic to me that people who drive on the left freak out over driving on the right..." In the end, they are both the same path to same location. The path getting there may be a bit different, and one may indeed seem strange to someone who's never had that particular opportunity provided to them. But I hardly think it's ironic.

[hobbit709]

6. Humans ate horses for thousands of years before they learned to ride them.

[yurbud]

41. and before they realized cows move pretty damn slow and so made easier targets.

[Codeine]

8. Nobody blinked when it was cows and pigs and chickens and turkeys

and every other friggin' animal on earth, so why are horses special? Did horses suddenly go on the Endangered Species List when I wasn't looking?

Seriously, if you're willing to eat a cow but condemn someone else for eating a horse you're just being silly and creating lines where there aren't any.

[NeedleCast]

10. Yup, I don't understand it either

[Renew Deal]

11. Do you have a problem with eating dog or cat?

[Codeine]

15. None whatsoever.

I refuse to eat any animal, but anyone who does eat meat and then gets all judgmentally stupid and schoolmarmish about WHICH animals other people eat is a hypocritical jackass. Either eating animals is OK or it isn't.

[WatsonT]

33. I have a problem with me eating those things, but not others

assuming the animal was raised for food rather than a stolen pet.

[Kali]

13. horsies and kittehs are sacred DU mascots!

:spank:

[Warren DeMontague]

9. Why is eating horse any worse than, say, eating cow? nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

39. Apparently you're not supposed to eat anything that has a name.

Except a former boss. He named a steer "Jeff". I should probably have taken the hint.

[xchrom]

12. blech. nt

[Stevenmarc]

21. Willlllberrrr...why are you lick'in your chops

[yawnmaster]

36. good one. eom

[MineralMan]

29. I tried horse meat at a restaurant in France.

It was good. I haven't eaten it since, though, because I'm not anywhere where it is served.

Horse, beef, pork, lamb, chicken, goat....all domesticated animals raised for food. :shrug:

[WinkyDink]

30. The OP Title should mention "Canada."

[damntexdem]

32. So the network caved to the nutcases -- what a shame.

[Scout]

38. they aren't nutcases, any more than you are one n/t

[WatsonT]

34. Horse is supposed to be pretty good

never tried it but I don't see the fundamental moral difference between horse and cow.

Horses are not magical, noble creatures one horn shy of being unicorns.

They're stupid domestic animals that contain lots of meat.

[SidDithers]

44. But unicorn is fantastic...

it's like eating rainbows :)

Sid

[davsand]

35. Top Chef Masters just had a Quickfire Challenge involving cooking bugs.

Grossed me out, but they aired it. Can't say I think serving horse is any better or any worse than bugs...



Laura

[MineralMan]

43. Bugs? I love lobsters, shrimp, and crawdads.

Arthropods all, and all delicious. You're missing a real treat, you know.

That aside, I've eaten fried locusts and toasted mealworms. Not bad at all. I'm hoping to go to Australia one day, so I can try witchetty grubs. I'm a food generalist, so there are few things I won't try, or haven't tried already. From snake to guinea pig, it's all good.

[Rex]

47. Ignoring the fact that some people eat dog and horse is cultural ignorance.

It is just a fact that people need to get over.

[thelordofhell]

48. Good thing they didn't send letters

"Hmmm, what's that envelope glue taste like?"

[Dappleganger]

51. A Dothraki-approved menu...

the new Kahleesi will not be happy.

[SidDithers]

55. Nicely done...

:thumbsup:

Sid

[KurtNYC]

52. a butcher ship in Ottowa

Chalk board out front:

Beaver
Bear
Moose
Deer

[La Lioness Priyanka]

53. why is a horse so much more deserving of protection than a cow?