to be kind of glad they found horse in cheap meat?

[ManyBellyKicks]

I mean I'm not glad they did it, but that its all out now?

And more importantly its gave me a massive kick up the arse because I don't want my kids eating unknown crap. Its not the horse meat thats offensive to me really, more the thought that I was buying 'cheap beef products' and it wasn't beef at all.

Of course I've always known these ready meals and cheap processed stuff isn't the best, I'm not daft, but it was cheap and edible and the kids liked it and it suited my (struggling) pocket. I knew it wouldn't be prime cuts of meat but the realisation that there's stuff not listed on the box is quite disgusting, who knows what the heck is in there.

So in light of this, the last few weeks we have had NO processed meat.

This is quite a turn around in our house.

I'm cooking frech meals with fresh lean beef, lasgane, chillis, bolognases. And instead of things like chicken nuggets or chicken burgers I'm 'splashing out' on chicken breasts and doing my own.

So AIBU to think that this could turn out to be a (slightlyyy) positive thing is it makes people who ate alot of processed, convenience food think about their meals and eat better?

It is absolutely appalling that there hasn't been traceability in the food chain and that bute contaminated meat has entered, and god knows what else.

Just because you buy cheap meat does not mean you deserve to be eating unknown and potentially unsafe meat. Although I despairs at the number of well educated and well off people who think a meal isn't a meal without meat and buy shit chicken or low welfare imported pork.

I was feeling relieved as I eat meat rarely at home and when I do I buy expensive meat. I've never bought value mince or anything like that. I'm obviously lucky to be able to afford to do that. Smug face was wiped off pretty quickly when DP pointed out I'd eated meat in the work canteen, in restaurants and at friends houses and the work canteen is hardly likely to be serving premium mince!

Not really sure what the answer is. I don't want to give up meat entirely, suppose I need to limit meat intake to only 'posh' restaurants and home.

I'm not sure why you think they're vegan countrykitten . I would have thought the part where I said that "meat is their main protein source" would have been a slight giveaway.

And yes they are "real" epipen carrying allergies.

mosschops it's meat that has been 'changed' from it's raw state either by having things added....to stretch it further...or by being cooked or smoked or covered in breadcrumbs.

So sausages, burgers, meatballs, any product like pies or flans or ready meals with meat. Ham....whether sliced or on the bone....chicken drumsticks with crumb on them....chicken nuggets.

fresh minced beef is not processed really though it's state has been changed....

DS is allergic to almond milk so no good, we use oat and coconut milk.

Oh nearly forgot [odfo] for your use of real allergies.

Unprocessed would be chicken breasts or a whole chicken....chops, leg of lamb etc. Diced beef or pork is just meat...chopped up...but it's not processed.

I never buy cheap meat op, more mid-priced but I still am not that confident the lean minced beef or half-fat sausages from Tesco will be just the good stuff.

How can you be so confident?

I couldn't bring myself to buy mince in the supermarket. I don't count that as unprocessed, especially since reading about the levels of collagen and fat allowed in it by law.

The problem comes when people can't afford or don't know how to go back to first principles of cooking.

There are lots of people who have no idea how to cook from scratch. Their families/friends never did, so they never learned. And they often don't have the literacy skills / financial means to teach themselves (especially as most cook books assume a fair bit of basic knowledge). So if they're on low incomes they're completely dependent on Tesco Value etc etc. Its easy to talk about how wonderful it would be if we all lived on lovely, home-cooked food made from fresh, local ingredients blah blah if we have the time, money and skills to do that. Some of us don't.

I agree with you 100%.

think I'll stick to fish. DH says he will go to the kosher butcher as the London kosher council are very strict and the animal is followed from field to butchers. Is that true?

Its not just cheap meat affected... some butchers and farm shops have been selling horse meat instead of beef too as their suppliers haven't been packaging/labelling it properly and when its just a chunk of red meat its hard to tell the difference!

And even 'unprocessed' meat has stuff added to it to make it last!

I'm not veggie but I wish people would stop thinking they're 'entitled' to meat and that there's something wrong with a diet without it.

Quite simply for health and environmental reasons people should either eat no meat or very little high quality provenanced meat. I eat meat once or twice a week as that's the way I was brought up - meat is special and expensive for a reason.

And I think I'm right in saying that the only supermarket that hasn't been touched by this is Morrisons?

Chicken breasts have stuff pumped in to plump them up.

We had fish pie for dinner last night and tuna baked potatoes for lunch. Just waiting for the fish scandal now.....

It's always nice when the well off middle classes judge the scummy working class plebs for having lower morals, when really it is simply having lower incomes and lower mobility. Hate hate hate the smugness and judginess on threads like this, it makes me feel even sicker than the prospect of eating a horse burger.

YY somewherewest.

And you also have to trust where your food comes from.

For most of us that trust is meaningless and we have to rely on assuming it's all right because the place looks nice or it's a reputable brand. Which isn't good enough, but it's all we can do.

I can't believe that people aren't more angry and afraid by this.

country it's perfectly possible to have several allergies in one house. Dc1 is allergic to nuts & wheat & some pulses(she has an epipen), dd2 to dairy & eggs but no epipen & I'm gluten free as it inflames my athritis. Mealtimes in this house are interesting. & most things obviously have to be made from scratch.

auntiemaggie I believe Iceland is in the clear too. Their chief executive was the only person from a big supermarket I saw giving interviews yesterday. Everyone else was unavailable.

If that's true it made me smile given many people's view of Iceland.

Maybe this is just my non-veggie bias coming through, but I think it takes more time and skill to prepare interesting, well-balanced vegetarian meals, in additional to the 'cultural' experience of eating a wide range of fruit/vegetables (I'm saying this as someone from a working class background whose sole experience of vegetables prior to leaving home was carrots/peas/potatoes boiled to within an inch of their lives). If you were never taught to cook and weren't brought up on a wide range of foods or educated about nutrition it just isn't that simple.

I don't mind the fact that I MAY have eaten horse if I had known about it. I've eaten goat & kangaroo knowingly it's the not knowing that's wrong.

Ditto LahleeMooloo

even expensive meat has been affected and the more expensive supermarkets so the cost of it is irrelevant - the media have just jumped on ready meals as another way to create this type of thing

Exactly aftereight. I find it tough enough as it is trying to make stuff everyone can eat.

I would prefer to have meat only a couple of nights a week, but I would struggle tbh to have to cut out meat and still give the kids some protein.

limitedperiodonly that just made me chuckle... kinda throws the cost thing our of the water then doesn't it???