My guest writer is my son Daniel, who ate horse meat in Mongolia as illustrated in this comic strip.

Cows, chickens, turkeys, and pigs have been slaughtered for years to feed people in the United States. Horse meat, however, is controversial and disputed on whether or not it is classified as food.

One use of horses is defined by using them for transportation and working on farms. Modern technology, such as cars and tractors, have greatly decreased the amount of time it takes to do tasks previously done by horses. Today, horses are no longer useful for transportation or to do farm work because they cannot compete with modern technology.

Another category for horses is using them for recreation. Horse back riding and horse races are enjoyed by many people. Although horses can be fun, this does not make up for the thousands of pounds of horse meat that goes to waste because of the restrictions forbidding ranchers to sell horse meat, including the meat of old and dying horses.

Horses need to be classified as a source of food so that their meat can be tasted instead of wasted. There are many countries around the world that eat horse meat every day. Mongolia raises a majority of its horses specifically to be eaten. Currently in America, disposing of dying horses is very expensive but it does not have to be.

A better way to dispose of aging horses is eating them. Once Americans adjust to the idea of eating horse meat, they may develop a taste for it. A dead horse would become a source of income for owners rather than having to pay a fee to ship them away. Horses, like other farm animals, should be eaten, as they too can be a good source of food.

Photo Credit: pak shilla