Saddle up and enjoy the horsemeat

Why are we so repulsed by the idea of eating horsemeat? It should not be feared, writes Jack Shafer

DISGUST, the gag reflex, and flights to the vomitorium have greeted the news that horse flesh had breached the beef wall to contaminate burgers and frozen beef meals (lasagne, spaghetti bolognese, shepherd’s pie, meatballs) all over Europe. Some of the “beef” products contained 100% horsemeat, and early forensic tests hinted that the contamination might go back as far as August last year.

Both the Irish Government and the EU called for “horsemeat summits” to investigate the food scandal, with British officials surmising that a criminal conspiracy would be found responsible for adulterating beef products with cheaper horse.