The recent horsemeat scandal, in which consumers discovered that the meat they had eaten was from horses rather than cows, has caused nothing short of an international outcry. The unwitting horsemeat consumers (as well as the general public) had a powerful, visceral reaction to the idea of eating the flesh of a different species than the one they had believed would be in their food, and this collective reaction was one of disgust and moral offence.
But how rational is this reaction? The diners’ thoughts and feelings dramatically changed when they learned they had been eating a horse rather than a cow, even though nothing about the meat itself actually changed. So what was it that changed? Indeed, what changed was simply consumers’ perception of the meat. Yet why, then, should the flesh of a cow be perceived as delicious and the flesh…continue reading…
Source: FreeFromHarm
Girl for Animal Liberation 