DailyDirt: Horse, The Other Other Red Meat

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Just when you thought the horse meat scandal in Europe was winding down, it's once again getting media attention as more cases continue to pop up. But is horse meat really that bad? According to people who have (willingly) eaten it, horse meat has been described as being lean, tender, sweet, juicy, like a mix between beef and venison, and better than a really good beef steak. Perhaps beef products in Europe should just come with a label that says: "May contain traces of horse meat." Here are a few more links about horse meat.

• Traces of horse meat were found in IKEA's signature meatballs which had been distributed to 21 European countries. Did you know that food sales make up 5% of the Swedish furniture giant's $35.6 billion revenue, and that about 150 million IKEA meatballs are consumed globally? [url]
• Nestle has had to remove two of its pasta products from store shelves in Europe after traces of horse DNA were found in them. In both cases, the amount of horse DNA found in the products was higher than the 1% threshold which the British Food Standards Agency uses as an indicator of adulteration in foods. [url]
• People were up in arms recently when chef Hugue Dufour announced that he was going to serve horse tartare at his restaurant, M. Wells Dinette, in Queens, NY. With all the public opposition, Dufour decided it was best to drop the horse tartare from the menu, because he didn't want to be famous for "scandalizing animal lovers." That's probably for the best, since horse meat (esp. that sourced from the horse racing industry) could contain all sorts of drugs, including phenylbutazone, which is a carcinogen and has been strongly linked to bone marrow and liver problems in humans. [url]
• Here are some fun facts about eating horse meat: During World War II, Americans ate lots of horse meat when beef was scarce; In 723 A.D., Pope Gregory III declared that eating horse meat was a "filthy and abominable" pagan custom; In 2011, President Obama made horse slaughter for human consumption legal again; Until 1985, the Harvard Faculty Club reportedly served horse steaks, prepared "chicken fried" with a mushroom sauce; and apparently, horse meat is a healthier option than beef, since it's high in protein and omega-3 fatty acids, low in fat and cholesterol, and has twice as much iron and Vitamin B. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

Filed Under: contamination, food, food supply, horse, meat
Companies: ikea, nestle

DailyDirt: Living Out Of A Box (Literally)

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

The real estate market hasn't recovered from the financial crisis, and it looks like lots of folks are asking themselves whether or not owning a home is really that important anymore. Cheaper housing options could offer some answers, so here are just a few examples of homes made out of shipping containers.

• Shipping containers: a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there. Maybe a really fancy shipping container could compete with some mobile homes...? [url]
• Using shipping containers as housing for disaster relief projects sounds like a good idea. But doing so might attach a certain stigma to shipping container homes. [url]
• IKEA hopes you'll furnish your new shipping container home with its products... Some assembly required. [url]
• Forget the one laptop per child for $100. How about one house per family for $1000? And as with OLPC, the prototypes actually cost a lot more -- but we're getting there. [url]
• If you're looking for more architecture projects, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

Filed Under: homes, housing, real estate, shipping containers
Companies: ikea

More Chinese Knockoff Stores Uncovered: Fake Ikea Just As Frustrating As Real Ikea

from the what's-the-faux-swedish-word-for-flattery? dept

What, you thought that folks in China would just copy an Apple Store? Since that story got so much press, now reporters are uncovering other copycat stores, including a near replica of assemble-your-own furniture giant Ikea. While the knockoff doesn't directly use the name Ikea, it comes pretty close on a variety of details. The store is called 11 Furniture, and apparently, the Chinese name sounds very similar to Ikea's Chinese name. And, yes, it also has the same warehouse like setup and the little pencils to mark down what you want. It even has a cafeteria like Ikea, though the Reuters report doesn't note whether or not they stock Swedish meatballs as well...

Filed Under: china, ikea, knockoff
Companies: ikea

Rather Than Whine About Used Markets, Why Not Enable Them Yourself?

from the swedish-design dept

We were recently talking about how so many in the video game industry seem so antagonistic to the used video game market, despite widespread evidence that a healthy secondary market helps the primary market in a variety of ways. Reader Johnny points us to the news that retailing giant Ikea is now planning to experiment with used goods sales itself via a website in Sweden. The company says that it won't make much money from the offering, but recognizes that it adds value for consumers, thus suggesting they actually recognize how such things help the primary market as well. Nice to see not everyone reacts so badly to used markets.

Filed Under: enabling, secondary markets, used markets
Companies: ikea