Today I've eaten horse meat for the second time in my life. Both during the last month, after I moved to Switzerland.
Back in Brazil, eating horse meat is a big no-no. I thought the fact I was breaking a taboo would make it taste better, but I was disappointed. The flavor is not there and the texture feels like gum. I'm not impressed at all.
The food at my office is really wonderful, but proper beef is seldom served, for reasons I'm still trying to understand. I'm not sure if it's because of the high price of beef in Switzerland, or because people are not so used to beef here. I'd guess it's probably both.

There are many reasons for this, the most interesting being environmental concerns, and to keep the Swiss life style of charming quiet rural areas and slow, small cities. Apparently the subsidies and tariffs have the desired effect, but the cost is that the price of beef is much higher here. It's a nuisance, but the Swiss don't care.
From the little I've learned so far, the agricultural subsidies are key to understand Switzerland. If it one day joined the European Union, it would certainly have to drop its subsidies, even if slowly, as did Portugal and Spain. The most likely result is the rural areas would become poorer and uglier, while the cities would grow too much. Switzerland would lose its charm, or at least this is what the subsidies supporters say.
I bet there must be a less poetic explanation out there, maybe something related to the power of small rural communities in the political stage in Switzerland, or a secret elite farmers conspiracy :-).
All I'm sure is there's no beef around here, so Horse Meat will have to do for me, at least for now.
Ta virando praticamente um Anthony Bourdain!
ReplyDeleteGostei do seu blog... entretanto acho um equívoco você parar de escrever em português.
ReplyDeletePelo o que li da sua história, você se mudou para a Europa e vai respirar somente inglês e alemão...! O blog será uma ótima forma de você continuar exercitando sua língua materna :)
A propósito, te convido a entrar no meu blog também :) ! www.carlosfrederico.com.br !
Sucesso aí no Google :)
Holy cow !! ou aí a expressão é holy horse ?
ReplyDelete:)
Hello, my americanalhado (como diria o cervo) friend! it seems that you have surrendered to the power of imperialism and abbandoned our beloved last flower of the lacio... By the way, mó inglês perfeitinho e bonitinho, fiquei com inveja. Lá em lugano tem um lugar que serve picanha brasileira, vai lá - mas não pegue o trenzinho do city tour..!
ReplyDeletep.s. - e você fazia cara feia para buchada né?
Mack Avel, tenho medo de Lugano, graças a vocês :-).
ReplyDeletep.s: eu NUNCA fiz cara feia pra buchada, seu mentiroso ordinário.. mesmo assim, você tá doido de comparar *tripa* de bode com um bifinho de cavalo? Buchada é muito mais hard-core :-).