Friday, February 01, 2013

Burger King Admits to Using Horsemeat

Food24
February 1, 2013.

Burger King admits to selling beef burgers and Whoppers containing horsemeat

Much hype has been made of the fact that finally Burger King is coming to South Africa.

For anyone who is a fan of The Whopper, it is certainly cause to celebrate. But would you be deterred by the fact that Burger King have now admitted to using horsemeat in their famous burgers?

According to British newspaper The Daily Mail, following the Tesco-Gate horsemeat scandal Burger King has now admitted that it has been selling burgers and Whoppers containing horsemeat despite two weeks of denials.

"The fast food chain, which has more than 500 UK outlets, had earlier given a series of ‘absolute assurances’ that its products were not involved.

However, new tests have revealed these guarantees were incorrect in a revelation that threatens to destroy the trust of customers."

"It also raises serious questions about whether the food company, which sells around one million burgers a week in the UK, has any good idea about what goes into its products.

The contaminated burgers were made by the Irish-based processing company, Silvercrest, which is part the ABP Foods Group. The same company also made tainted burgers for Tesco, Asda and the Co-op, among others."

Read the full story, including Burger King's denial and alleged cover-up, and decide for yourself... will you be queueing for Whoppers when Burker King hits our shores?

(Article source: www.dailymail.co.uk)

***** 
Comment: If you have to eat meat it would be safer to make sure it is Halal or Kosher is my thinking.

Here in the delusional dustbin the burger joint called Steers was also found guilty of using horse meat in its burgers a few years ago.

In India McDonald's used beef fat for its vegetarian fries and just a week or so ago it settled a $700k lawsuit with members of the Muslim community in Detroit for falsely claiming to serve halal food in two of its restaurants - the only two that were supposedly halal in all of the US.

Another news report recently described how some restaurants use pig rectum as Calamari rings and diners are non the wiser!

I guess we never really know for sure what we are eating.

If you have been reading here for a while then you know I have struggled with being mostly vegetarian for most of my life.

In the last year or so I have just about lost that battle living at number 11.

Just about an hour or so ago my neighbor lady came by to ask me whether I would use my pickup truck to pick up a refrigerator for her.

The family has suffered an unthinkable tragedy just days ago when their 30-something son died as a result of a poisonous bite on his hand (the autopsy says it may be a spider or snake bite).

As of this writing they are very busy preparing for a funeral ceremony that will be held tomorrow.

I pulled out my truck and met my neighbor lady at her garage gate where underneath a carport I saw a couple of men skinning several sheep.

My heart about skipped several beats as I looked around and saw several more sheep tied down and awaiting there turn to be slaughtered.

It is very hot here in the delusional dustbin and there were flies all over.  As I waited for my neighbor lady to make her way to the truck I heard the cries of the live sheep and it was agonizing.

I am not pointing fingers here or being judgmental.  It is customary for Africans to slaughter live animals at funerals and to use the skins for burial purposes too.  Muslims do the same thing on Eid al-Adha (Feast of the sacrifice).  And earlier I had lamb curry and roti for lunch.

I am just saying that it all hit me hard as I remembered my vegetarian pretensions.

I am mostly a weak man in these terms.

I literally feel sick knowing that those poor sheep were waiting to be slaughtered right next to those that were already dead and now undergoing the process of being butchered for consumption.

Maybe I should really grow some cajones and stick to being vegetarian once and for all.

Onward!

2 comments:

Kimberly said...

I would have been complete freaked out. This bothers me, I love to eat lamb but the thought of watching, and hearing one being slaughtered is difficult for me.

I am from the mind frame that if I eat it I should be able to deal or even perform the action of killing.

I was able to watch my dog be put down to end her suffering. Is this the same or different? I think the line of difference is vague.

This is a struggle for me.

I killed a squirrel with my car and I cried. I saw an opossum dead on the road, which I believe I saw crossing the road just the day before, I cried.

This is what happens when we are so far removed from where our food comes from.

I, we need to thank the animals who become our food.

Peace,
Kimberly

Ridwan said...

Hola Kim:

Thanks for your comment.

I am still freaked out though reminding myself to focus on the passing of the young man. It is a sad time for his family and loved ones.

Last night for dinner I went the pasta route and that is not always good for a diabetic. Plays havoc with my sugars even though it was full grain pasta.

So in a couple of minutes its off to the gym to run a very long time to get the extra glucose out of my system - and to ease my mind.

I have struggled with how to live ethically with food all my life.

The older I get it seems I have given up on the ethics/morals of not eating meat.

A vegetarian or better yet vegan diet is better all around is it not?

I read somewhere that one of the largest carbon abuses comes from raising red meat and transporting it around the world.

I also read last week that Mcdonald's imports its fries into SA because it won't use our local potatoes.

It is more than just a single issue of course.

What we are witnessing is the colonization of our stomachs by multinationals who now define what food is.

No small wonder obesity looks the same everywhere and related diseases are a global problem.

Still, like you I cannot just easily shrug off the killing that goes for what we call food.

Yet I remain a hypocrite still.

By the way, have fun for me too tonight - and a slice of gluten free veg pizza ;0)

Wish I was coming along to the opening.

Onward!