If you are British and you haven’t heard about the ‘horsemeat scandal’ that we’ve got going on at the moment, then please tell me where you’ve been so that I can come and join you.  I know this post perhaps isn’t linked with the whole love and romance theme I had going on for February, but I’m angry.  The whole love nonsense makes me quite angry too I guess, so there’s a (very subtle) link!

In brief, for those of you who are successfully oblivious about everything horsemeat, tests have been carried out on a heap of food which customers thought was beef and it turns out that they weren’t.  It started out with a company in France called Comigel, and has since been found to be practice in factories in England and Wales too.  It’s been found in supermarket ready meals and fast food places.

Suddenly everybody in Britain who shops in Tesco thinks they are going to die.

I’m not angry about the horse meat.   Horsemeat is lovely.  I’m not angry because, as a nation, we feel incredibly betrayed.  How dare these large companies that you trust put pretty ponies in your burger?  I’ll tell you why. It’s because you’re not willing to pay for what you want.

Sometimes at work I reduce the meat that’s going out of date, and there are so many times that I want to assault people because, even at half price, it’s too expensive. “I could buy the whole cow for that!”.  Go ahead then, buy your bloody cow, rear it, slaughter it, butcher it and package it.  Yes, you have to pay for packaging.  Show me that you can do all that for £2.  I understand that some people have very little money, and in no way is my anger targetted at these people.  My anger is targetted at the people who are just too stupid.  Of course you are not getting real, quality cuts of meat for the prices that you are willing to pay.  If customers won’t pay, companies won’t pay.  If companies won’t pay then their suppliers are going to have to find a way of making ends meet.  This time round, that way has been importing foreign horse meat.

Nationwide butchers have reported increased sales of up to 35%.  I know I’m heavily biased, but it’s about time people realised what they are eating.  Go to your local family butcher and they can tell you exactly what is in your food WITHOUT having to look at the label. Not because they’ve wasted a lot of time learning the ingredients, but because they made it themselves, normally in that premises which you are standing in to buy it.  It’s fresh and it’s real.

Growing up I was always accused of snobbery because I would refuse to eat supermarket sausages or burgers. “You won’t taste the difference.” they’d say.  They are wrong.  “I like to know what’s in my food” I’d say, and they’d roll their eyes.  The packaging said ‘beef burgers’, so obviously it was beef, they’d point out.  They’d get angry if I dared to ask what else was in them.  So to those of you who wouldn’t believe me when I told you that real sausages weren’t that mushy, who’s laughing now?  I’m not a snob, I’m just not ignorant.