You’ve probably never even considered that people anywhere would eat horse meat at all, let alone that you’d see a list of the 6 countries that consume the most horse meat. We showed you the 10 countries that eat the most meat so now we’ll take things further by diving into how and why horse meat is not a regular thing to see on tables.
There is no particular reason why people should not consume horse meat. In fact, this type of meat has been consumed since the dawn of time. What is more, the meat of horses is just as nutritional as any other and in certain ways – better than others. However, due to horses having been mainly companion animals to humans and considering their scarcity and high price in the past, you could see why eating horse would not be beneficial from that standpoint. On the other hand, horse meat was often consumed during pagan rituals which the catholic Church quickly condemned and this stuck through the ages. For other cultures around the world, eating this type of meat is seen as something people in the lower ranks of society do so it was frowned upon too. From then on, for one reason or another, the world developed around not eating horses. Their selective breeding was never focused on producing favorable qualities of their meet and, in modern times, their medicine and supplements were never meant to leave meat suitable for human consumption.
Even so, there are places around the world, where consuming horse meat is something ordinary and not frowned upon. While it does meet a lot of criticism from animal rights groups, the consumption of meat from horses is by no way harmful to the consumers or the ecosystem (on its current scale). From making it into sausages, packages of sliced meat or even being a national dish, let’s take a look at what horse meat (including donkeys) means to these special countries and their cuisine.
6. Canada
Canada’s French origins have passed on the consumption of horse meat to certain regions of the country. It is completely legal there and widely available in Quebec and Toronto.
5. Belgium
In Belgium you can find a number of different ways to prepare and eat horse meat. Aside from that, the meat is freely available in butcher shops and there are even certain restaurants which specialize in foods that contain it.
4. Slovenia
Slovenia’s traditional cuisine makes heavy use of horse meat. There are various ways you can have it prepared there which are all traditional, except maybe for the special fast food chain named “Hot Horse”.
3.Mongolia
Due to the nomadic lifestyle that the people of Mongolia have led for centuries (and some to this day), horse meat is widely recognized and consumed, mainly during the harsh winters.
2.Kazakhstan
Just like Mongolia’s people, the Kazakhs eat horse meat often and generally have it as an integral part of their diet due to their nomadic roots. However, they prefer to eat it all around the year.
1. Italy
Italy comes first in our list of the 6 countries that consume the most horse meat as both one of the biggest producers and one of the biggest consumers in the world. You can find horse meat widely distributed there and prepared in various ways.
