On 06/12/2011 10:31 PM, Warp wrote:

> Same can be said of squid, octopuses, frogs and
> snails (generally considered delicacies in mediterranean countries,
> repugnant in more northern ones).

Apparently the British Isles didn't have snails until the Romans 
introduced them - in order to eat them. How many gardeners regret that 
decision?

>    However, perhaps the one that most surprises me personally is horse meat.
> Apparently there are many western countries where eating horse meat is
> considered as much a taboo as eating dog or cat meat. Personally I don't
> understand why. What's wrong with horse meat?

Ask somebody who's loved and cared for a house for 27 years as their 
cherished friend and soulmate. (E.g., my dance partner.)

As to why everybody else things that way...
1) I'm not sure too many people in this country would object to eating 
horse meat. [But I might be wrong.]
2) It's probably just an arbitrary cultural thing. Random person X 
thinks it's horrible because everyone *else* thinks it's horrible. No 
particular reason beyond that.

For example, in Britain calling someone a cow is a fairly bad insult. 
But if you stop and think about that for a moment... um, why is it? 
What's so terrible about cows? My sister was learning a foreign language 
at school, and she tells me that in some European language [I forget 
which one], calling someone a camel is a most terrible insult. To most 
people I know, the reaction would be "why? what's wrong with camels?"

In summary, it seems to just be a random arbitrary thing that varies by 
culture.

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