Recent articles in the US about the economic woes of Iceland have mentioned that the people are suffering so drastically that they have begun to eat their adorable horses. I have received emails from weary readers begging me to tell them that the local media is wrong.

The truth is that Icelanders have always eaten horse. Most horse farms breed horses for riding but there is a great deal of meat produced as well. It is not a drastic culinary measure to prevent starvation. In reality many countries eat horse. This animal has actually had a longer history as a food source than as a furry companion.

The tradition of eating horse meat begun in the early Viking days when the rugged Icelandic climate meant that keeping only the best horses was worthwhile. People lived in cramped quarters that shared tight enclosed spaces with horses and other animals. Therefore, any horse that showed faults in character was quickly culled and used for meat.

Horse meat also has a particular role in the culture and history of the island. In ancient Scandinavia the horse was very important as a living and working creature, as a sign of the owner's status, and symbolically within the old Norse religion. Horses were slaughtered as a sacrifice to the gods and the meat was eaten by the people taking part in the religious feasts.

When the Nordic countries were Christianized, eating horsemeat was regarded as a sign of paganism and prohibited. However, horse meat consumption was one of the concessions won when the pagan Norse Icelanders eventually adopted Christianity in the year 1000.

In reality the number of countries that continue to enjoy eating this meat are quite numerous: Austria, Belgium, francophone Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malta, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom are among them. Even the United Sates had a history of eating horse meat until the 1980’s when it was no longer deemd appropiate.

The avoidance of eating horse meat is relatively modern with complex historical and cultural origins. In some countries the effects of this prohibition by the Roman Catholic Church have lingered and horse meat prejudices have progressed from taboos to abhorrence. In other parts of the world, horse meat has the stigma of being something poor people eat and is seen as a cheap substitute for other meats, such as beef.

There is also an element of sentimentality, as horses have enjoyed a close relationship with many humans, on a similar level to household pets. Examples of this can be seen projected in such Anglophone popular cultural icons as Black Beauty or the children’s cartoon My Little Pony.

What may seem bizarre to you on a dinner table is probably a delicious meal in another corner of the world. Who is to say what animals can or cannot be eaten? What makes a pig and a cow acceptable but a horse despicable? Cultural norms dictate what we eat but just because a different cuisine uses an ingredient one may consider a pet does not make it wrong.

In its simplest terms, whether eating a pork chop, venison, or a horse sausage, regardless of which animal it came from, meat is meat.

Alexandra Hertell – alexandrahertell@gmail.com