News Cut: February 25, 2013 Archive

Why don't Americans eat horses?

Posted at 11:58 AM on February 25, 2013 by Bob Collins (3 Comments)

The great horse meat controversy of 2013 is growing with word today that Swedish meatballs sold by Ikea were found to contain horse meat in the Czech Republic.

Is this a health issue or a cultural issue? Yes.

In her essential guide to the horsemeat scandal, Felicity Lawrence of The Guardian says one problem is the drugs used in some horses:

Horses are routinely treated with an anti-inflammatory drug called phenylbutazone, or "bute". Bute is banned from the human food chain, because it can in rare cases cause a potentially life threatening illness, aplastic anaemia, or bone marrow failure. Since it is not known what triggers the illness, it has not been possible to set any safe level for bute residues in human food. Doses from horsemeat are likely to be very low. Horse passports are supposed to record any bute administered so that animals can be excluded from going for food, but with large numbers of fake passports in circulation, some horses containing bute have been eaten.

And Marion Nestle, who writes the Food Politics blog, calls the scandal the politics of cultural identity. That is to say: We don't eat horses.

Most Americans say they won't eat horsemeat, are appalled by the very idea, and oppose raising horses for food, selling their meat, and slaughtering horses for any reason.

These attitudes have created dilemmas. Since Congress effectively banned horse slaughter in 2006, roughly 140,000 horses a year have been transported to Canada and Mexico to be killed. Whether this is better or worse for the horses is arguable. Some--perhaps most--of that meat will be exported as food.

And when Americans turn to horse meat, it means -- usually -- that we are in times of desperation. Oh yes, America, you've turned to horse meat before, Business Insider says:

There's ample evidence that when food ran out during the Civil War and even World War II, eating horse meat became a common (and cheap) solution. In fact, it became so popular that by 1951, Time Magazine was reporting it was an important meat in Oregon cuisine, with recipes included at the end of the article for horse meat fillets.

In 1973, a similar food shortage occurred that sent butcher shops reaching once more for the horse meat. That same year, however, a Republican Senator from Pennsylvania sponsored a bill to ban the sale of horse meat and make it illegal for horse slaughter houses to operate. It was the first time eating horse meat was legally questioned on a federal level in America.

Horse meat was effectively banned in the United States in 2007, when Congress stripped financing for federal inspections of horse slaughter, but this was reversed by Congress under Obama in 2011. (Though many states continue to have their own specific laws regarding horse slaughter and the sale of horse meat.)

But when any food scandal breaks, the real story isn't so much what's in the food, but why a system of inspection and monitoring wasn't able to prevent it from reaching the dinner plate.

Asian seafood raised on pig feces, anyone?

The Onion crosses the line

Posted at 11:02 AM on February 25, 2013 by Bob Collins (15 Comments)

If a website known for biting satire issues an apology, should it be taken seriously? Or is it satire too?

Live by it, die by it, The Onion is learning.

In its Oscars tweetfest last night, The Onion used a vulgar term to describe 9-year-old Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis. She was nominated for her role in "Beast of the Southern Wild."

JessicaLaShawn, a blogger at Chicago Now, saw racial overtones.

Why is this socially acceptable on social media? Are we "OK" with belittling minorities in such a fashion. I am aware that 'The Onion' is used to making headlines because of its humorous take on real life situations but where should we draw the line. What is the logic behind this type of language and what type of respect do we have and or are missing to refer to a child in such a fashion. This child's night will be haunted by this tweet. I am sure her publicist and family have been made aware already.
Lets be clear, I am speaking from the perspective of a motivational speaker that attempts to teach young girls like Quvenzhane to love who they are, embrace their talents and be strong no matter what. When you see adults acting in such a disrespectful way how can you teach wrong from right? How can this girls mother let her know that this is just ignorance at its best? How can Ms. Wallis not be upset even if she doesn't fully understand the debate brewing over this? You cant. You just have to know better and maybe, one day, understand but someone should be held accountable for this! I want every last person that vowed to boycott Kanye West when he cut Taylor Swift off to be as passionate about this little girl being disrespected. I know the two aren't associated but they are equal in my eyes. Her moment was stolen too!

Today, The Onion apologized. We think.

Feb. 25, 2013

Dear Readers,

On behalf of The Onion, I offer my personal apology to Quvenzhané Wallis and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the tweet that was circulated last night during the Oscars. It was crude and offensive--not to mention inconsistent with The Onion's commitment to parody and satire, however biting.

No person should be subjected to such a senseless, humorless comment masquerading as satire.

The tweet was taken down within an hour of publication. We have instituted new and tighter Twitter procedures to ensure that this kind of mistake does not occur again.

In addition, we are taking immediate steps to discipline those individuals responsible.

Miss Wallis, you are young and talented and deserve better. All of us at The Onion are deeply sorry.

Sincerely,

Steve Hannah
CEO
The Onion

On The Onion's Facebook page, many commenters seemed bewildered by the need for an apology.

Giving up baby

Posted at 1:05 PM on February 25, 2013 by Bob Collins (4 Comments)

"People who haven't gone through this heartbreak don't understand the helplessness you feel, the loss."

That's Callie Mitchell, a 25-year-old photographer for the University of Iowa's Daily Iowan, talking about giving up a child for adoption.

Her story -- a diary, really -- covering the time from when she discovered she was pregnant last March, to yesterday, when she most recently talked with the adoptive parents, is featured today in the Daily Iowan.

At first, I thought I had made a mistake and that I should have my son with me. I cried a lot for the first month he was gone. Even now, I cry every once in a while because I miss him. In all honesty, this is the best thing I could have done for my son, and I did it completely out of love for him. He now has the perfect parents that give him so much love. I have no doubt they will raise him to be the best person he can be, and they will also be able to provide him with every opportunity to reach any goal he has for his life. I'll always be there. I'll always be involved and always be cheering him on and loving him from a distance.

It's an incredible online project, which you can find here.

(h/t: Romenesko)