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A Vegetarian at the Abattoir by Nick Thorpe: Romania 2013

In 2013 consumers discovered there was hardly anywhere in Europe where horsemeat, masquerading as beef, had not hit supermarket shelves. It’s not necessarily a health issue but there was uproar in places like Britain where horses are rarely considered for food. It also raised larger issues: why don’t we know exactly what we’re eating and why can’t we tell straightaway where it comes from?

The convoluted criss-crossing trade of meat across Europe complicated the picture even further. Nick Thorpe was invited to see a slaughterhouse in action in Romania, a country which denied that its abattoirs were the original suppliers of horsemeat.

(Photo: horse pulled cart passes by the entrance of 'Doly-Com' abattoir. Credit: Daniel Mihailescu/AFP/Getty Images)

Release date:

Duration:

3 minutes

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