PETA hates Chef Ramsey

chitoryu12 · Post by **chitoryu12** » 2007-07-17 01:56pm

Journalist and broadcaster Janet Street-Porter lined up for a course of horse - well, at least a few mouthfuls - during a controversial episode of Gordon Ramsay's Channel 4 programme The F-Word.

Ms Street-Porter, who cooked the meat and tasted it, was also seen at Cheltenham during Gold Cup week offering passers-by samples and asking for their opinions about such a dish.

She later engaged in a studio exchange with the chef, who remarked that horse meat tastes "quite gamey" and is packed with protein.

The program received a swift backlash from animal activists: demonstrators dressed as horses from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Europe dumped a tonne of horse manure on the pavement outside Ramsay at Claridge's in central London.

chitoryu12 · Post by **chitoryu12** » 2007-07-17 01:57pm

Damn it, I can't post good links! I meant "More", not "Moreso".

Nieztchean Uber-Amoeba · Post by **Nieztchean Uber-Amoeba** » 2007-07-17 02:25pm

Ah, PETA. The vandals and thugs of the green world. They're just part of the Great... Circle.... of Life.

Zixinus · Post by **Zixinus** » 2007-07-17 03:42pm

The program received a swift backlash from animal activists: demonstrators dressed as horses from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Europe dumped a tonne of horse manure on the pavement outside Ramsay at Claridge's in central London.

Such maturity.

"Will it be a family dog next?

Yup. Eastern countries love dogs.

MagnusTheReD · Post by **MagnusTheReD** » 2007-07-17 04:40pm

Why eating horses is more unethical (or less ethical) than eating any other beast? Those fellas are pretty stupid - why weren't they dumping cow shit on Ramsey's pavement every time he ate beef?
It's the way you slaughter the animal that counts, not what animal do you prefer to eat...

Pablo Sanchez · Post by **Pablo Sanchez** » 2007-07-17 05:35pm

MagnusTheReD wrote:Why eating horses is more unethical (or less ethical) than eating any other beast?

It's a purely political decision-making process on the part of PETA. Huge numbers of people eat beef and enjoy it, and don't really care at all about the cows that died, so protesting beef is pointless. Horses, on the other hand, are a creature many people love and almost nobody eats. People are more likely to pay attention and lend PETA credence if they protest horse-eating, as opposed to cow- or pig-eating.

chitoryu12 · Post by **chitoryu12** » 2007-07-17 06:04pm

Pablo Sanchez wrote:
MagnusTheReD wrote:Why eating horses is more unethical (or less ethical) than eating any other beast?
It's a purely political decision-making process on the part of PETA. Huge numbers of people eat beef and enjoy it, and don't really care at all about the cows that died, so protesting beef is pointless. Horses, on the other hand, are a creature many people love and almost nobody eats. People are more likely to pay attention and lend PETA credence if they protest horse-eating, as opposed to cow- or pig-eating.

Indeed, much like how society in general is aghast at eating dogs in Asian countries. It's only a shock because it's something we're not used to.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2007-07-17 07:53pm

Or how they protest rich women wearing fur and not burly bikers wearing leather.

Boyish-Tigerlilly · Post by **Boyish-Tigerlilly** » 2007-07-17 10:24pm

I don't understand why PeTa has such ridiculously bad PR strategies. One would wonder that someone in charge would realize that their most extreme extra-legal insane and hierarchy make everyone look bad, especially the animal welfare movement that's legitimate.

How much does throwing paint on people achieve? It's not as if they are going to go "ya know what? I shouldn't kill shit for fur or slobber down veal! Silly me, damn my ways." It will just make the movement look crazy."

Aside from fur, there are probably more pressing issues of animal welfare to consider, such as the living conditions of factory farm livestock, which are still pretty bad in the US relative to Europe. I think chickens get about 70 inches of space in some farms, which animal welfare scientists claim is barely humane. As of 2005, they still allow the searing off of beaks and forced moulting for egg layers (although some banned it for some).

The regulations on animal welfare also need to be targeted, not the average person on the street to piss them off. Government and corporations often circumvent them (such as rabbits being considered poultry to get around the regulations of mammal farming).

chitoryu12 · Post by **chitoryu12** » 2007-07-17 10:35pm

I don't understand why PeTa has such ridiculously bad PR strategies. One would wonder that someone in charge would realize that their most extreme extra-legal insane and hierarchy make everyone look bad, especially the animal welfare movement that's legitimate.

This is the group that put up a billboard with a fat, very happy kid, that said "Feeding kids meat is child abuse". Their PR strategies come from the fact that they are either genuinely insane, or really desperate for attention because people know that they're genuinely insane.

How much does throwing paint on people achieve? It's not as if they are going to go "ya know what? I shouldn't kill shit for fur or slobber down veal! Silly me, damn my ways." It will just make the movement look crazy."

As fundies have proven, not everybody is smart enough to realize that simply shouting and calling others evil is not enough to get them to your side.

Duckie · Post by **Duckie** » 2007-07-17 11:28pm

PETA only cares about cute animals. Eat a kitten? Bad. Eat a chicken? Sorta bad. Eat a huge tub of shit and meat known as a cow? Meh.

Anarchist Bunny · Post by **Anarchist Bunny** » 2007-07-20 01:14am

Because PETA isn't in it for the animal rights. They are just catering to a bunch of nutjobs for their own fianances.

Elaro · Post by **Elaro** » 2007-07-20 12:57pm

Hey, I ate horse meat once. It was pretty good.

Does that mean PETA's going to dump extra fertilizer on my front lawn? My dad would appreciate it. (He's a farmer.)

Zwinmar · Post by **Zwinmar** » 2007-07-21 11:28am

Admiral Valdemar wrote:Or how they protest rich women wearing fur and not burly bikers wearing leather.

The answer to that is simple I think, the bikers are more likely to kick their ass if they tried anything.

Lord Woodlouse · Post by **Lord Woodlouse** » 2007-07-21 12:08pm

I now feel inclined to try horse meat.

Scottish Ninja · Post by **Scottish Ninja** » 2007-07-21 02:13pm

Jeffrey Steingarten, in fact, recommends French fries cooked in horse fat; he wrote an article about the subject in April '96. He mentions the reaction in "The Man Who Ate Everything":

When this article appeared, an avid horsewoman organized a campaign against Vogue for verbal cruelty to horses. Vogue mollified her by publishing, unedited, a letter abusing the author.

I replied: "The United States is the largest horse-meat exporter in the world (as many as 400,000 animals a year are sent to slaughter) because it has the largest recreational horse population. These animals become 'surplus' when horse lovers unnecessarily breed their pets, owners sell their racehorses after only a few years, and recreational riders trade up. Slaughter and export become inevitable when this surplus drives down resale prices below about $600 an animal. The object of Ms. -----'s rage should be the inhumane practices of a good part of the horse-slaughtering industry. And the unwillingness of most horse owners to care for their discarded pets until they die a natural death.

And yes, I am also now inclined to eat foods made of horse and horse by-products (certain ones only).