<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"  The Valley Meat Company has finally received approval from the USDA to begin slaughtering horses at its Roswell, New Mexico-based plant. According to NBCNews.com, the United States Agriculture Department said that based on the law they were required to issue a &amp;quot;grant of inspection&amp;quot; to Valley Meat Co. before slaughtering could begin. With that approval, the USDA will provide meat inspectors who will visit the plant, which can now process horse meat for human consumption. Horse meat is not allowed to be sold in the U.S., however, under the law, it is legal for the plant to export the meat. The Valley Meat Company may be able to send some to Mexico, where horse meat consumption has been previously reported. More From Delish: U.S. Plant May Soon Process Horse Meat for Eating Congress banned the slaughter of horses in 2006, and this decision marks the first time since 2007 that horse meat can be processed in the United States for human consumption. Other plants in Missouri and Iowa are planning to seek similar grants from the USDA. But the Obama administration is against the move, and has urged Congress to reinstate the ban on horse meat production. NBCNews.com reports there are two bills in Congress that would stop production if they passed. More From Delish: NYC Restaurant Will Serve Raw Horse Meat Other advocacy groups, such as the Humane Society and Front Range Equine Rescue, have threatened to sue the USDA using the argument that horses are raised as pets and as working animals. A USDA spokesperson said, &amp;quot;Until Congress acts, the department must comply with current law.&amp;quot; Do you think Congress should pass the bills that would ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption? Find more great food content on Delish:   Search for the perfect recipe from our homepage Find out the latest food news Get a recipe book to save your favorite dishes Sign up for our free newsletters Check us out on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.delish.com/food/news/a39982/usda-approves-slaughtering-horses-for-human-consumption/>