The horsemeat-for-beef crisis has more than a whiff of a previous "sub-prime" scandal about it, writes Colm O'Regan (BBC News Magazine 16.02.)

This isn't the first time there have been international revelations that dubious products have been marked as fit for consumption.

It's not that long ago that sub-prime mortgages were mixed with slightly better products and marketed as prime cuts. Once bought, these products made their consumers (banks, pension funds) very, very sick. In fact some banks caught the zombie virus from them.

And just like the burgers, the packaging of these minced assets made them seem a whole lot more attractive than they actually were.

The rating agency Standard and Poor's (which would be a great name for a processed food company) is being sued by the US Justice Department for the way it handed out triple-A ratings to securities that the department alleges S&P knew were risky.

In one internal email, an S&P analyst says: "We rate every deal. It could be structured by cows and we would rate it." (And probably if it was structured by horses also.) ...

Colm O'Regan is an Irish stand-up comedian and writer. He is a regular contributor to the BBC World Service's In The Balance.

Update - Vom Standard zu den Poors: ... Wer wenig verdient, muss halt billig essen, soweit sorgt das System immerhin vor ...
Wer es besonders günstig haben möchte, kann sein Pferdefleisch direkt bei Amazon bestellen ‑ eine Dose Dovgan Pferdefleisch im eigenen Saft für zwei Euro fünfzig. Kunden, die diesen Artikel kauften, kauften auch Hundert Prozent Pferdefleisch pur von Scheker und die Vorratspackung Pferd, 30 mal 800 Gramm in Dosen für 117 Euro 99. So eine Bestellung wäre immerhin ehrlich und sauber und nicht angreifbarer, als die empörte Kündigung bei Amazon, die auf dem heimischen Apple-Computer verfasst wird...
Pferdefleisch & Amazon – Die verwunderliche Verwunderung; Jörg Magenau, rbb-kulturradio 22.02.2013

Nachtrag: The "horsegate supply chain" by TeamWefarmit via Die roten Schuhe, wo sich auch der schöne Hinweise auf die Pferdefleischlasagne im Bett findet!



Zum Thema Ernährung sollten Sie sich noch ein passendes Photo ansehen: James 'The Bear' McDonald of Granby, Conn., consumes wings during WIP's Wing Bowl 21 eating contest Friday, Feb. 1, 2013, in Philadelphia. McDonald won with 287 wings. (The Granby News)
Vgl. auch Thomas Konicz: All you can eat (Konkret 3/2013)

P.S.: In den späten 60ern oder frühen 70ern wäre das auch ein guter Name für eine progressive Underground-Band gewesen:

Horsemeat Mortgage And The Horsegate Supply Chain

Vgl. Frank Zappa - Uncle Meat Main Theme 1969
Vgl. Frank Zappa - Things That Look Like Meat