Give horsemeat-tainted food to poor - German minister

Ranicand

Germany's development minister has suggested that horsemeat mislabelled as beef should be distributed to the poor.

Dirk Niebel said he supported the proposal by a member of the governing CDU party, and concluded: "We can't just throw away good food."

The opposition dismissed the idea, but a priest said it should be considered.

Meanwhile, traces of horse DNA have been found in six tonnes of minced beef and 2,400 packs of lasagne Bolognese seized from a company in Italy.

Full link here. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21559451

I say put in on the menu for the European and all national parliaments.

JupiterKid

This statement reminds me of the infamous "let them eat cake" one attributed to the last French queen, Marie Antoinette.

If this man is so eager not to waste the dodgy horse meat then perhaps he can eat it.

Cavehill Red

Who says they haven't been giving it to the poor for years? Anyone remember those vile tins of beef the EU used to distribute from their infamous 'beef' mountain?

DrumSteve

Dont see the problem here, food is food. At least anyone eating it will know what they are eating.

Chuck Stone

Em.. 'don't waste food' seems like a good idea to me.

Wouldn't poor people be glad of it?

Truncheon Rouge

If its not toxic/harmful then go for it.
Ask a homeless/hungry person.


I don't eat beef myself (for some time now) but whats so disgusting about horse-meat vs cow meat.

people eat pig.

juice1304

Send it all my way if there is no bute in it, I'm bleedn starving.

Smidge

JupiterKid wrote: »

This statement reminds me of the infamous "let them eat cake" one attributed to the last French queen, Marie Antoinette.

If this man is so eager not to waste the dodgy horse meat then perhaps he can eat it.

Psstt.....








You do know she didn't say that? :-)

marcsignal

looks like we've all been eating it for ages*





*unless you're vegetarian

Rasheed

Nothing wrong with it, as long as Bute isn't in it, as another poster said, it's a sin to throw it out.

I don't see the problem with people eating this, when they're aware what it it. I know I'd have no bother throwing it into a cottage pie etc.

Ruudi_Mentari

Truncheon Rouge wrote: »

If its not toxic/harmful then go for it.
Ask a homeless/hungry person.
.

a good number of them are barely conscious when they're eating anyhow, let alone of what they're eating so why not

.. why dont they re-label it horse and give it to em at a discount.

orestes

It's not bloody toxic, wasting that much food when there are people who would happily eat it is idiotic.

Ruudi_Mentari

Yeah it's silly. Give it up already..

Where To

Nothing wrong with horsemeat, I've eaten a lot smellier in my time

csallmighty

Its a good idea. Why not? If there is nothing wrong with it. Actually there is nothing wrong with it because we've been eating it for quite some time now.

And if they don't want it give it to me. I'll find a good place to put it.

* In ma belleh

Chuck Stone

Where To wrote: »

I've eaten a lot smellier in my time

Bearded clams?

Where To

Chuck Stone wrote: »

Bearded clams?

Something like that.

7 7 12

juice1304 wrote: »

Send it all my way if there is no bute in it, I'm bleedn starving.

I say leave the bute in, if it's anything like ketamine I could save a fortune on my weekly drugs spend

Simi

I'm all for free BBQs for the needy.

Chuck Stone

Simi wrote: »

I'm all for free BBQs for the needy.

COMMUNIST. :mad:

iamstop

I deffo think this stock should be given away. No one should have to pony up for this mis-labeled equine delight.

Grayson

JupiterKid wrote: »

If this man is so eager not to waste the dodgy horse meat then perhaps he can eat it.

To be fair, he probably has. We all probably have.

It's a good point though. What to do with tons of food that's technically ok to eat? As far as I'm aware, the only thing wrong is that there's trace amounts of horse. But it's still edible, it just can't be labeled as beef.

It would be wasteful to just throw it away.

Cookie_Monster

Truncheon Rouge wrote: »

people eat pig.

because it's awesome.

The only thing better than bacon is more bacon

Fr_Dougal

It's a bit disturbing to see some peoples attitude to this horsemeat scandal, you'd swear this horsemeat was prime cuts of horse that has been specially raised for consumption. The harsh reality is that the majority of this meat probably comes from knackers yards(no, I'm not referring to travellers) where carcasses have been picked up to be destroyed.

Rasheed

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

It's a bit disturbing to see some peoples attitude to this horsemeat scandal, you'd swear this horsemeat was prime cuts of horse that has been specially raised for consumption. The harsh reality is that the majority of this meat probably comes from knackers yards(no, I'm not referring to travellers) where carcasses have been picked up to be destroyed.

Well you'd also have to wonder about some of our beef too. If you buy some cheap frozen burgers or lasagne, it's hardly going to be pure, grass fed, steak mince either.

It's the remnants of whatever's left when the animal has literally been stripped of anything useful.

minidazzler

JupiterKid wrote: »

This statement reminds me of the infamous "let them eat cake" one attributed to the last French queen, Marie Antoinette.

If this man is so eager not to waste the dodgy horse meat then perhaps he can eat it.

That's a misattributed statement. Never was said by Marie Antoinette...

And what exactly is wrong with his suggestion? It IS good food, perfectly edible, and simply mislabeled and misrepresented rather than bad for us. A lot of people ate it for a long while.

It's hardly better to leave a few dozen tonnes worth of perfectly edible food go to waste? It should be distributed to soup kitchens and such.

UCDVet

Rasheed wrote: »

Well you'd also have to wonder about some of our beef too. If you buy some cheap frozen burgers or lasagne, it's hardly going to be pure, grass fed, steak mince either.

It's the remnants of whatever's left when the animal has literally been stripped of anything useful.

That's fine.

So long as it's labelled correctly and I'm not paying for pure, grass fed, steak mince.

snubbleste

Well said that minister.
An Irish minister would say Send it to Africa..

Roger_007

If you leave the hyphen out of the title of this thread, then I agree wholeheartedly.

Rasheed

UCDVet wrote: »

That's fine.

So long as it's labelled correctly and I'm not paying for pure, grass fed, steak mince.

What I'm saying is that just because the horse meat may be coming from a knackery, doesn't mean that it's going to be bad or disgusting. Chances are the actual beef in those cheap frozen dinners is the shiite on the ground of factories anyway.

Yes, the whole a scandal is ridiculous that it was wrongly labeled but it doesn't mean that the horse meat should be thrown out.

Reekwind

csallmighty wrote: »

Its a good idea. Why not?

There are two problems:

The first is the broader issue. For most people the problem was not that they were eating horse but that they're eating misidentified meat of unknown origin that has illegally made its way into the food chain. We simply don't know to what degree this meat is dangerous

But the particular problem with this minister, and some of the posts in this thread, is the casual snobbery on display. If this food is good enough for the poor to eat then it's good enough to be stocked in Tesco. There is something badly wrong with the idea that we give horsemeat (or, potentially dangerous unidentified foodstuffs) to the poor while the better off dine on safe, certified beef

Rasheed

Reekwind wrote: »

There are two problems:

The first is the broader issue. For most people the problem was not that they were eating horse but that they're eating misidentified meat of unknown origin that has illegally made its way into the food chain. We simply don't know to what degree this meat is dangerous

But the particular problem with this minister, and some of the posts in this thread, is the casual snobbery on display. If this food is good enough for the poor to eat then it's good enough to be stocked in Tesco. There is something badly wrong with the idea that we give horsemeat (or, potentially dangerous unidentified foodstuffs) to the poor while the better off dine on safe, certified beef

It's not snobbery, it's common sense. You're right, why throw it out in the first place from Tesco? When the test were done on it and we were assured there was no risk involved, why not put a sticker on the burgers saying 'May contain traces of horse', put them at half price and let whoever wants to buy them, buy them.

If I was hungry, was trying to get protein into my diet, couldn't afford a butcher, I'd have no problem in the world with eating those products.

Reekwind

Rasheed wrote: »

It's not snobbery, it's common sense. You're right, why throw it out in the first place from Tesco? When the test were done on it and we were assured there was no risk involved, why not put a sticker on the burgers saying 'May contain traces of horse', put them at half price and let whoever wants to buy them, buy them.

If I was hungry, was trying to get protein into my diet, couldn't afford a butcher, I'd have no problem in the world with eating those products.

I'd have no trouble eating it at all, if it was certified safe. That's not the point though and it's not addressed the snobbery issue

If any politician stood up and suggested, as you not unreasonably do, that any horsemeat that was certified safe for human consumption be relabeled and put back on supermarket shelves then there would be uproar. The papers would go ballistic for a start. Yet apparently it's okay for this meat to be given, as charity, to the poor? That's not right and it real double-standard

Let this minister propose that the meat be certified as safe and then put back on the shelves. I'd have no problem with that. If if it's good enough for eating then let everyone eat it, not just those the minister considers beneath food safety standards

Real Life

I dont see the problem there, as long as they let them know what they're being given. Give it to me either i dont care. Theres no problem with it.

Rasheed

Reekwind wrote: »

I'd have no trouble eating it at all, if it was certified safe. That's not the point though and it's not addressed the snobbery issue

If any politician stood up and suggested, as you not unreasonably do, that any horsemeat that was certified safe for human consumption be relabeled and put back on supermarket shelves then there would be uproar. The papers would go ballistic for a start. Yet apparently it's okay for this meat to be given, as charity, to the poor? That's not right and it real double-standard

Let this minister propose that the meat be certified as safe and then put back on the shelves. I'd have no problem with that. If if it's good enough for eating then let everyone eat it, not just those the minister considers beneath food safety standards

I don't know, thankfully I'm not in the position where I can't afford meat, but if I was and was watching the news when all the burgers were being thrown out, I'd be disgusted.

We hear stories every day of how poor people are. Only have meat on certain days to save cost etc. At least give people have a choice. If they know the product may contain horse, accept there is no health risk, other than the possibility of Bute, and are willing to take them, let them.

If other people of limited means decide against taking it, for whatever reason, that their perogative too.

Herb Powell

Chuck Stone wrote: »

Em.. 'don't waste food' seems like a good idea to me.

Wouldn't poor people be glad of it?

This, right here, is the problem.

Fucck sake.

Sheeps

I'll have some if its going to be just thrown away

snubbleste

What happened to the supermarket ready meals and frozen meat that were cleared from shelves anyway

VinLieger

Ive been saying this since this whole debacle started, nobody wants to buy it so donate it to charities that feed the poor, several of them have actually requested it from the supermarket chains but have been refused

Antar Bolaeisk

marcsignal wrote: »

looks like we've all been eating it for ages*





*unless you're vegetarian

Have not you heard the latest scandal surrounding equine dna in broccoli?

So long as the food isn't harmful I don't see the problem with it coming back onto the market in one way or another. It would be terrible to just throw it all out with all the starving people in the world.

stateofflux

can't talk about germany (but i doubt its like famine torn africa). but i have never seen a 'starving' emaciated person in ireland ever or a poor person ever in desperation for food or horse meat

Reekwind

Rasheed wrote: »

I don't know, thankfully I'm not in the position where I can't afford meat, but if I was and was watching the news when all the burgers were being thrown out, I'd be disgusted

Now imagine how disgusted you'd be when someone said that this meat wasn't safe enough for stocking in supermarkets but it was okay if someone like you ate it. Because, you know, the poor are different from you and me

It's safety standards for those who can afford them

Fr_Dougal

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

The harsh reality is that the majority of this meat probably comes from knackers yards(no, I'm not referring to travellers) where carcasses have been picked up to be destroyed.

Surely you've heard what's in sausages? Gristle, cartilage, bits and bobs of a pig you wouldn't want to touch, let alone harvest. But when it comes in the packet you lose your sentimentality about these things and it's down to either "tastes good" or "tastes bad". I've had plenty of Tesco burgers and they always tasted good so it's no nevermind to me.

Reekwind wrote: »

Now imagine how disgusted you'd be when someone said that this meat wasn't safe enough for stocking in supermarkets but it was okay if someone like you ate it. Because, you know, the poor are different from you and me

But they're not being taken off the shelves for safety reasons really, they're being taken off the shelves because the shops in question want to distance themselves from the scandal ASAP.

Since the beginning of this I've been saying: Set up stalls in markets and sell the burgers marketed as being "scandal burgers" - me and the hipsters will eat them no problem!

Real Life

Reekwind wrote: »

Now imagine how disgusted you'd be when someone said that this meat wasn't safe enough for stocking in supermarkets but it was okay if someone like you ate it. Because, you know, the poor are different from you and me

It's safety standards for those who can afford them

Thats is bad, but i think people should be giving the choice if they want to buy it or not at reduced prices. I thought thats what this was about, but it seems like it was a more patronizing kind of move.

Reekwind

true-or-false wrote: »

But they're not being taken off the shelves for safety reasons really, they're being taken off the shelves because the shops in question want to distance themselves from the scandal ASAP

There is a huge amount of food safety legislation specifically designed to ensure that unidentified foodstuffs do not get into the food chain. That's there for a reason. Because this meat has not gone through the correct checks, the truth is that we do not know how dangerous it is. It's probably not very dangerous but you cannot allow supermarkets to stock food that 'probably isn't dangerous', there has to be certainty

Since the beginning of this I've been saying: Set up stalls in markets and sell the burgers marketed as being "scandal burgers" - me and the hipsters will eat them no problem!

Not unless you can guarantee that you know exactly what is in the food you're selling and its impact on humans. If you can't do that then you're in no position to be selling it. If you can then please go ahead, I actually quite like horse

My name is URL

VinLieger wrote: »

Ive been saying this since this whole debacle started, nobody wants to buy it so donate it to charities that feed the poor, several of them have actually requested it from the supermarket chains but have been refused

Isn't the biggest fear about what chemicals / medications might be contained within the meat though, rather than just the type of meat itself?

If retailers / producers don't know what species their product contains how can they know the chemical constitution and safety of it?! There's no way in hell they could donate the meat to charities.. if someone was to get ill because of it the shitstorm would be 1000 times worse than it already is.

ejmaztec

Antar Bolaeisk wrote: »

Have not you heard the latest scandal surrounding equine dna in broccoli?

So long as the food isn't harmful I don't see the problem with it coming back onto the market in one way or another. It would be terrible to just throw it all out with all the starving people in the world.

And don't forget the hiding in plain sight horseradish.:eek:

NIMAN

Maybe his comments were a little controversial, but his overall point of not wasting the food is not a bad one.

Should tens of thousands of tonnes of perfectly eatable meat just be dumped?

Fr_Dougal

true-or-false wrote: »

Surely you've heard what's in sausages? Gristle, cartilage, bits and bobs of a pig you wouldn't want to touch, let alone harvest. But when it comes in the packet you lose your sentimentality about these things and it's down to either "tastes good" or "tastes bad". I've had plenty of Tesco burgers and they always tasted good so it's no nevermind to me.

With the likes of sausages etc. you know what you're getting. With the likes of this horsemeat chances are you're getting half rotten horse corpses being processed by these shady processors that frankly could give two sweet fecks about what sort of maggot infested crap they put into the food chain. Lets not forget that this all started off as 'additives' containing horse DNA. Now they're taking about some meat products being 100% horse.

VinLieger

My name is URL wrote: »

Isn't the biggest fear about what chemicals / medications might be contained within the meat though, rather than just the type of meat itself?

If retailers / producers don't know what species their product contains how can they know the chemical constitution and safety of it?! There's no way in hell they could donate the meat to charities.. if someone was to get ill because of it the shitstorm would be 1000 times worse than it already is.

I dont think so yes there was the worry of bute being in them but that was an isolated case as far as i know.

Grayson

Reekwind wrote: »

If any politician stood up and suggested, as you not unreasonably do, that any horsemeat that was certified safe for human consumption be relabeled and put back on supermarket shelves then there would be uproar. The papers would go ballistic for a start. Yet apparently it's okay for this meat to be given, as charity, to the poor? That's not right and it real double-standard

I'm pretty certain that politicians would not get in trouble for saying horse can be sold if it's labeled horse, beef can be sold if it's labeled beef etc...