Europeans are freaked out by the fact that a bunch of them have been unwittingly eating horsemeat as part of their frozen lasagne. I say it's time for them to take a (meat-free) chill pill.
Food scandals are always big in Europe. The premium many cultures place on food is a big factor in that, but there's another reason: European countries are very protective of their farmers, but because of European Union regulations, they can't block other countries' food imports. So any hint of dangerous food gives a government an excuse to keep their neighbour's food out and win a few votes in the rural areas. It shows that Europeans are yet to embrace free trade as a core value, and that they don't realize just how pathetic their agriculture sector is on the world scale. It would be like us in Canada setting up regulations to protect our culture. Oh, right. Nevermind.
But is horse meat really such a gross thing? Are they really so much more loveable than cows? Okay, I perhaps have a unique perspective: I grew up in a city that has a statue of a cow, and as an adult I've lived in a city where all the parks are full of ducks. It's left me unable to stomach the idea of eating duck. But I still eat beef - read into that what you will.
The other strangeness about the scandal is perhaps most obvious: How much quality can you really expect from cheap frozen food? Americans didn't worry nearly as much when they heard claims that Taco Bell put sawdust in the beef. Horsemeat would be a step up from that. Or, how much can we expect to know about food that gets whipped around from country to country and company to company and sold at rock-bottom prices? If we want quality, inspected, documented food, we'll have to realize that we're going to have to pay for it.
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