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A History of Consuming Horsemeat

            Consumption of horsemeat was traced back to millions of years ago, before humans attempted taming them.  Horsemeat was also fairly popular in Northeastern Europe before the spread of Christianity, when Popes Gregory III and Zachary I made consuming horse meat illegal.  They enforced this with threats of heavy penalties for those who did not comply.  At any rate, horsemeat declined in favorability until it made its resurgence in France “during the Battle of Eylau in 1807, when the surgeon-in-chief of Napoleon's Grand Army, Baron Dominique-Jean Larrey, advised the starving troops to eat the flesh of horses that had died on the battlefield. The cavalry used breastplates as cooking pans and gunpowder as seasoning.” (foodreference.com)

            Horsemeat was accepted during the later years of Napoleon’s rule.  Since the cost of living was so high in Paris, the majority of its citizens could not afford to purchase pork or beef.  Horsemeat was priced cheaper than other meats, and in Paris, 1866 signaled the first butcher's shop that specialized in horsemeat opened.  During the Siege of Paris of 1870-71, horse meat replaced other not readily available (due to a blockade) meat eaten by all citizens of Paris.  In addition to other meat not being available, horses were eating vast quantities of grain which the human population needed to survive. Even after the war, Parisians maintained a taste for horsemeat.

            In Europe especially, horsemeat is tender and lean, not as fatty as other meats.  It is also considered healthier to eat, since the consumers need not worry about Mad Cow Disease.  However, due to a trichinosis (parasitic infection) outbreak in France that was traced to American horsemeat, it lost its favor with societal taste, so to speak.