Britain | schwingeninswitzerland

Have you ever eaten something and then regretted it? Since moving here, I’ve occasionally eaten horse. I buy it for American visitors to taste. If you’ve watched the news lately, you can understand why I might be regretting it. If you haven’t seen news stories about Europe’s horse meat scandal, here’s a recap. Horse meat has been discovered in European beef products sold in supermarkets in countries including Britain, France, Sweden, Switzerland, Germany and Ireland. Here, eating horse (particularly in countries like France and Switzerland) is commonplace; it’s estimated that each person in Switzerland eats between 600 and 700 grams of horse meat each year.

From The Swiss Watch Blog

There are two types of horses, ones that are given the powerful and dangerous veterinary drug called phenylbutazone (also known as Bute and banned for human use because to cases severe side effects) and those without who are issued health certificates certifying they can enter the food chain. Can you guess what happened?

from afp.com

Spanghero, a French company, labeled the horse meat it received from a Romanian slaughterhouse as beef. According to officials, Spanghero should have identified the meat as horse from its Romanian customs code, as well as its appearance, smell and price. The company said it acted in good faith, never ordered horse meat, and never knowingly sold horse meat. Parisian prosecutors are now investigating it as fraud.

From Business Inquirer

The geographic scope of the scandal expanded this week. While the quality of food and the food chain in Switzerland is quite high, Swiss company Nestle (the world’s largest food company) is now embroiled in the scandal. It suspended deliveries of all products supplied by German subcontractor H.J. Schypke alleging they sold the contaminated meat to one of Nestle’s suppliers. German discount retailer Lidl pulled products from Finnish, Danish and Swedish stores after finding horse meat in products labeled as beef. German ministers met in Berlin earlier this week to discuss the scandal.

Horse meat scandal dominating the front pages (Photo credit: Gene Hunt)

But, wait, it gets worse…. The Swiss program, Kassensturz, showed emaciated horses being beaten, neglected and transported in cramped conditions without food or water before being slaughtered. Apparently it was pretty disturbing. In response, several grocery stores, including Coop, Denner, Aldi, Spar and Migros, pulled most horse meat products off their shelves. Coop and Migros continue to sell some from suppliers (mostly in Canada or France) in whom they have confidence. It’s almost enough to make me a vegetarian again. It’s definitely enough to reduce my meat consumption and be choosier about where I purchase it.

We’ve noticed these balls of leaves in the trees since we moved to Switzerland. It’s all over the place here. Only after a year did I lean what they were… mistletoe! With Christmas fast approaching, I thought it was the perfect time to talk about these strange green balls.

The top ten things you may not have know Mistletoe (Phoradendron flavescens or Viscum album):

1. It is a parasitic plant whose roots invade a tree’s bark, allowing the mistletoe to absorb the tree’s nutrients. Sometimes, it harms a tree and causing deformities in the branches, but it’s not in the mistletoe’s interest to kill its host. If its tree dies, it dies.

2. Mistletoe isn’t a complete drain on the host tree (usually oak, apple, hawthorn, or poplar). Its small green leaves give the host plant with energy through photosynthesis.

3. Mistletoe is aggressive. A mistletoe plant to grow on top of another mistletoe plant. It’s also “aggressive” to your digestive system so don’t eat the berries…regardless of how many glasses of Egg Nog you’ve consumed.

4. Birds, however, eat Mistletoe’s berries and well, everybody poops. Eventually, they eventually leave their droppings where they hang out, on tree branches. Their droppings contain the seeds (which have a sticky coating), which sprout their roots into the tree branch.

5. Although it’s a European plant, birds travel. It grows down the eastern Atlantic coast of the United States, from New Jersey to Florida.

6. You can grow your own. Click on this link if you want to indulge your inner Martha Stewart.

7. Kissing. Smooching. Tonsil Hockey. Snogging. While it’s got as much credibility as an urban myth, why tempt fate? Legend has it that couples who kiss underneath the mistletoe will have good luck (for the traditionally minded marriage and a long, happy life together), but standing underneath it and not doing so is bad luck. In any case, it’s the perfect excuse for a little PDA…and to invite George Clooney to your holiday festivities.

8. Although American’s know Mistletoe from Christmas Carols, other cultures saw it as a much more powerful symbol. Ancient Druids used it for performing miracles (perhaps I should climb a tree and get myself some), providing fertility, to healing diseases and protecting people from witchcraft. Yep. I definitely need to get me some. especially since…

9. Britain’s Druids weren’t the only ones who were hip to its powers. Vikings believed mistletoe had the power to raise humans from the dead! When the Zombie apocalypse starts, you know the cause…

10. Oh yeah, and the Bieb’s like’s it so much that he sings about it. Here’s a link to Justin Bieber’s song Mistletoe on YouTube. Happy Holidays!