“Horsemeat Scandal
Raise Concerns Over Europe's Food Quality Control,” published in the Huffington
Post, and “Three held in Horsemeat Mislabeling Investigation,” published
in BBC News UK, report on the horsemeat scandal that spread across
Europe early this year. The English version of the story, published in the
Huffington Post gives a clear description of what went on Europe during the
meat scandal. Focusing strongly on Britons, the Huffington Post article explains
how a large batch of beef that was imported across Europe was actually
horsemeat. The English coverage of the story casts Britain as a nation of horse
lovers, so having beaten wild horses in their beef ran headlines all over
Europe. “Horsemeat Scandal Raise Concerns Over Europe's Food Quality
Control” states the fact that a drug known as bute, an anti-inflammatory
painkiller for sporting horses was found in the meat. The European version, “Three
held in Horsemeat Mislabeling Investigation,” focuses more on the investigation
allegations of the scandal under the Fraud Act. Different slaughterhouses and
the consequences these slaughterhouses faced are featured in this article. The
BBC News UK article also states that eight horses that were killed tested
positive for the painkiller bute and that six of these horses may have entered
the food chain in France. This article focuses more on all the countries
affected by this in Europe, whereas the English version emphasizes the reaction
in Britain.
Both stories blamed Romania for the cruelty to
horses and slaughtering taking place there. Fairness and balance is evident in
both of these articles because the issue was presented from all sides. Two
Romanian abattoirs suspected to have provided horsemeat were interviewed and
cleared of suspicion. While, Romania might not have gotten an equal space for
their views, their views were still in the stories. The English version of the
story takes the frame of supporting the myth that good reaches Europe’s dinner
tables in hazy ways, while the European version uses the frame of finding out
where the problem originated and who was to blame. I trust the American version
of the story more because after reading the two articles and comparing them,
the Huffington Post article is more precise and easier to comprehend than the
European version.
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