Animals

[PhilipT]

A 'vegetarian' I know draws the line at "anything with a face". I'd suggest oysters, but norovirus isn't funny. Come to that, I've sometimes wondered whether oysters may be part of the explanation for the difference between France and Britain in toxoplasmosis exposure rates - I don't buy the "the French like their meat underdone" hypothesis.

Most unusual animal I've eaten - hare. The taste is strong enough to put some people off, but I was OK with it.

[Richard Tarleton]

To the question usually posed - what would I do with all the livestock? - sheep and goats provide essential grazing as part of land management, and there will still be need for wool and milk, though I admit I have no idea what proportions of cattle (UK or worldwide) at present go for beef or milk (or both), and whether or not by everyone in theory going vegetarian, there would be scope for reducing cattle rearing. One could, of course, "get rid of" all cattle by neutering.

S-A

This thread is getting into complex territory. Grazing as part of land management - yes, but there still has to be an economic imperative for it, namely food production, and this is the case even for the most recherché conservation grazing. Otherwise "land management" (presumably for nature conservation or landscape reasons) becomes an expensive luxury paid to be paid for by the taxpayer, or subsribers to conservation bodies. Conservation bodies - RSPB, National Trust, Wildlife Trusts - all try to "farm" their grazing animals as commercially as possible, for example by marketing rare breed meat grazed organically.

Milk production is only possible because of the removal of dairy calves from their mothers at a very early age. The female calves can go on to replace older females in the dairy herd, but something has to happen to the male calves - you don't need that many bulls. Since veal became frowned upon in this country, many are simply destroyed.

[Anna]

The ducks you buy in supermarkets are farmed, usually they are Pekin or Gressingham which are Pekin x Mallard. You are not going to find a Wild Mallard in the chilled cabinet at Morrisons, they are only shot in season. I'm not very fond of game birds such as Grouse, Partridge, Pheasant as they can be very dry (and you usually end up with a mouthful of shot) My butcher has wild rabbit (again seasonal) and they sell for £3. Farmed rabbit is available, not popular but I think people cook it for their cats, a lot of the very cheap rabbit is Chinese.

I've eaten horse once in France, bit chewy. I'm not fond of offal, have never eaten tripe, liver is ok if very finely sliced but it's better in a pate.

Some cattle are dual breeds (beef & milk) so dairy cows under 30 months entered the food chain, those over 30 months had to be tested for BSE. As Richard says, bull calves are not wanted but yes, we are straying into very complex territory as to land management, setaside and stewarding and the future of farming in the UK.

[Mr Pee]

Ostrich meat is a delicious and very lean product which I think deserves wider distribution. When I lived in Lincolnshire there was an Ostrich farm in the area that sold at the local farmer's market and I always made a point of stopping by and picking some up.

And I'd also recommend Buffalo meat- ex Formula One Champion Jody Scheckter now runs an organic farm in Hampshire- all the products are first class, and the buffalo Burgers and Sausages are well worth a try!!! You can get their products by mail order or from Waitrose/ Ocado.

http://www.laverstokepark.co.uk/

Incidentally, talking of Ostriches, I was watching Come Dine with Me -my guilty TV pleasure ( I love Dave Lamb's voice-over )- the other night and one of the participants was serving Ostrich steaks, which prompted another of them to speculate that he thought Ostrich was probably an animal, or at least part of an animal, but he wasn't sure which part.......

[Anna]

There used to be an Ostrich farm here, a few years ago it was considered a Get Rich Quick Scheme, unfortunately the bottom fell out of the non-existant market. I've had it, very tender, tastes (I recall) like a cross between lamb and beef. Unfortunately the very dark colour of it doesn't appeal to most consumers (rather like the colour of venison doesn't and again, like ostrich, venison is zero cholesterol) I've looked at, but not tried Buffalo.

Whatever meat I buy it always has to be British, pig farmers in the UK have been very badly hit by cheap imports of pig from Poland, their welfare standards are appalling, how they are allowed to get away with it by the EU I don't know when UK farmers have to comply to the letter.

I am vegetarian 50% of the time, we really can exist healthily without meat, but we cannot be healthy without vegetables! Oh, and good news. The sprout harvest this year is a bumper one, they are bigger, sweeter and won't be in short supply like they were last year. Hurrah! [sorry, last bit off-topic!]

[Serial_Apologist]

Oh, and good news. The sprout harvest this year is a bumper one, they are bigger, sweeter and won't be in short supply like they were last year. Hurrah! [sorry, last bit off-topic!]

So - we're in for a windy Christmas, then

[vinteuil]

The ducks you buy in supermarkets are farmed, usually they are Pekin or Gressingham which are Pekin x Mallard. You are not going to find a Wild Mallard in the chilled cabinet at Morrisons, they are only shot in season. I'm not very fond of game birds such as Grouse, Partridge, Pheasant as they can be very dry (and you usually end up with a mouthful of shot) My butcher has wild rabbit (again seasonal) and they sell for £3. .
.

thanks for that - I didn't know that gressingham were pekin x mallard. Duck is one of my all-time favourite foods. My waitrose is nearer than than the nearest morrison's - and waitrose have (in season) wild mallard (and grouse, partridge, pheasant) - at surprisingly reasonable prices - often a weekend treat for us.

In restaurants - rabbit is again one of my favourites. But I don't think we've ever done it at home... And yes, hare can be wonderful, too...

[Anna]

Duck is one of my all-time favourite foods.

Cor, Luv a Duck!! Me too. I also like Guinea Fowl, I find that not so easy to come by. I had mutton the other week, again not too easy to source, it was wonderful, tasted nothing like lamb, in fact, rather gamey.

[Serial_Apologist]

I had mutton the other week, again not too easy to source,

Easy to source, dressed as lamb...

[Bryn]

Easy to source, dressed as lamb...

Or in Caribbean restaurants as goat.

[Ferretfancy]

I had crocodile canapes in Darwin once, but then you would, wouldn't you ?

[amateur51]

I had crocodile canapes in Darwin once, but then you would, wouldn't you ?

A snap-happy snack? ::cringe:

[EdgeleyRob]

The ducks you buy in supermarkets are farmed, usually they are Pekin or Gressingham which are Pekin x Mallard. You are not going to find a Wild Mallard in the chilled cabinet at Morrisons, they are only shot in season.

I know but I just couln't bring myself to eat them.Silly I know but there you are.

[Chris Newman]

Back in the days of the BSE beef ban my family ate Ostrich and Crocodile and thoroughly enjoyed them. Even Tesco stocked them for a while. I occasionally eat horse meat. The local butchers stock these meats but prefer us to order by phone and ask for "our" order at the counter as the natives can be frightened by the names of certain meats.

[Lateralthinking1]

I only eat fish, poultry, pork and beef. I gave up eating lamb about ten years ago when I realised that sheep were my favourite animals.

However, I have mixed views about that decision. If people didn't eat lamb as much as they do, we wouldn't have as many in the countryside and I do like to see them, particularly in fields, overlooking the sea. But if the world was ruled by sheep, there wouldn't be any wars. That is the main reason why I like sheep.

I am lucky really because my Nan rented a greengrocers' shop so I was raised with a big appreciation of salad, fruit and vegetables. All of this might seem simplistic but it is more organic than the acquired politics of vegetarianism and the unquestioning rituals of religion. I don't like my food being indoctrinated by tomes of artificial overlay or underlay.

My animal of the day is the humble bumble bee. I am immune to its sting because of early encounters in a wellington boot. Unfortunately I cannot say the same for wasps. - http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...-WhBoRSe4TJFiQ