13 thoughts on “Question of the Day — IKEA Meatballs”

  1. I don’t think I’ve eaten an Ikea meatball ever. I have eaten a small part of an Ikea bookshelf, but not intentionally.

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  3. Nope. Not that I ate a ton of them. But nope.
    And I gave up long ago any food items or craft/art supplies or painted toys from any dollar stores. Too many reports of lead in paint. I don’t trust that what appears to be regular brands of food isn’t pirated and substandard (the knock off handbag of chips).

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  4. I have some in the freezer right now. I’ll eat them.
    However, I’ve been living in Europe for the past six years. We can get horse, should we want, at the grocery store.
    My bigger concern is the breakdown of the vaunted EU food chain. If it is happening here, I can only imagine what is in US products that we are unaware of….

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  6. I’m really not clear on why cows are food and horses aren’t. I’m pretty sure I spent a few years in my childhood believing that cows were female horses, so my urban upbringing is probably missing a few key elements.
    There was an All In The Family episode where meat prices went up so that the family could only afford horse meat (but don’t tell Archie!) I think I learned from that that avoiding horse meat was something only a prejudiced bastard like Archie Bunker would do.

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  7. While the idea of unregulated meat getting into the meatballs does bother me the fact that the meat is horse doesn’t phase me at all. Thus I’d eat them again (with the note that I’ve only ever had them once and only been in an IKEA twice). Effectively IKEA can, with me at least, trade on my general belief in the goodness of men and the fact that I’ve never heard of another similar problem at IKEA. It is likely that it would be a two strikes and your out issue though.

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  8. I’m really not clear on why cows are food and horses aren’t.
    Try to ride a cow off into the sunset and let me know if it works for you.

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  9. I’m with those who don’t understand why cows are food but horses aren’t, and from the point of view of one who grew up vegetarian, I don’t particularly care whether my ground meat is horse or cow. But, I do care if they tell me it’s cow and it’s actually horse (or pig, or chicken or turkey). Lying and breakdown of chains of evidence/information are always a problem.

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  11. bj,
    Horse is a taboo for the same reason we don’t eat dog in the US–it’s an animal that has a special non-gustatory relationship with human beings. There’s a whole literature of stories about kids and horses and just horses, just as there is about dogs. (I have read a short story about a boy being grief-struck by the fact that his blue ribbon steer has been auctioned off at a fair to a steakhouse, but that’s a one-off.)
    Here’s just the tip of the iceberg, book-wise:
    –My Friend Flicka
    –The Year of the Red Pony
    –National Velvet
    –Misty of Chincoteague (and sequels)
    –Mr. Revere and I
    –Black Beauty
    –the Black Stallion books
    –The Horse and His Boy
    –Justin Morgan Had a Horse
    I’m not that freaked out about the meatballs. I assume that any food product made out of bits and pieces has something to hide.

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  12. I’m living in China, and I’m happy if the only illicit substance in my food is horse. Of course, the toxins I’m breathing in are more likely to kill me than the toxins I’m consuming.

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  13. I’ve been hanging out in a smoking bar, which makes me feel the same way despite the fact that I can remember when every bar was that way.

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