World's Most Controversial Food

So hungry you could eat a horse? You may be out of luck in the states, but your craving for equine cuisine would not be out of place in parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, or South America. Horses are plentiful, sustainable, and available in every state in the Union. And, for most people, eating them is unthinkable.

Horse

Concerns: cruelty, pet-category animal, health 

Thinking about horse meat may be somewhere between unpleasant and flat-out disgusting for you (as, frankly, it is for me). But horse meat has been in the news (and some beef) as of late. In February, a scandal involving the presence of horse meat in processed beef came to light. This came on the heels of federal legislation legalizing horse slaughter and meat for animal consumption in the states. (If all this seems like not-so-subtle propaganda for sticking to local, free-range meat, I'll concede it crossed my mind.)

Horses are a high profile addition to a growing history of controversial foods. If something is precious, rare, or taboo, the chance is that someone, somewhere, wants to eat it. (See edible gold for further proof.)

Foie Gras

Concerns: cruelty

Not known for their compassion, the ancient Egyptians weren't just slavery enthusiasts and adept architects—they knew how to force-feed a bird. They were the first on record to force-feed animals for sheerly culinary concerns. Since then, France has taken up the mantle of championing  the controversial practice of gavage, or tube-feeding.
Foie Gras ("fatty liver") is the fatty, buttery liver of a duck or goose who has been tube fed. The "delicate flavor and consistency" is a sought-after part of the French gastronomic tradition. That said, there is considerable controversy surrounding the production of foie gras.

Animal rights groups are uniformly against foie gras production. Less inevitably, many others have been vocally anti-foie gras, including then-NYS Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, and celebrity chefs Wolfgang Puck and Albert Roux.

Foie Gras production and product are illegal in California. Chicago passed a similar ban in 2006, during which year 46,000 pounds of the stuff was sold. The city overturned the ban in 2008.

Foie Gras is illegal in Israel, and Argentina. It is illegal to produce, but not to consume, in most European countries, with the exceptions of Belgium, Bulgaria, Spain, France and Hungary.

Shark Fin

Concerns: cruelty, sustainability

Shark fin soup is a classic Chinese delicacy, with cultural connotations of wealth and success. Critics object to the use of shark fins in cooking due to both declining shark populations and the cruelty of obtaining the fins. (The fin is often removed and the shark released, finless, back into the ocean.)   

The fin is nearly tasteless; it is added to soup for its textural virtues. Much like snake oil, shark fins have a litany of fantastical medical benefits associated with them. None of these has been validated by science. Shark fin consumption is on the decline, but China still consumes literal boatloads every year. Suitable shark fin substitutes are gaining ground in many restaurants that still wish to offer the traditional dish. Regardless of how you feel about the practice of finning, try imagining "Jaws" without that iconic slice of terror protruding from the waves.
  
Dolphin meat

Concerns: cruelty, health, sustainability, intelligence

Dolphin can hardly be considered a controversial food any longer, as eating dolphins is decidedly not in vogue in the West these days. But a traditional dolphin-slaughtering event in Japan has brought the issue back into global visibility. As dolphin populations decline, and concerns about their intelligence mount (some studies equate dolphin intellect to that of a three-year old child), "tradition" seems to be the last line of defense for dolphin slaughter.

Ortolan

Concerns: sustainability, cruelty

"Ortolan." That's a moutful—literally! (Sorry.) The Ortolan Bunting is a small songbird, plentiful in France, that is traditionally consumed in a single bite. Another entry in fine French tradition of avian force-feeding, the Ortolan is usually kept in a dark box filled with millet, where it eats continuously in an attempt to escape.

The capture or killing of Ortolans has been illegal in any European Union state since 1999, with an unknown degree of enforcement.

Polar Bears

Concerns: sustainability, intelligence

As with many other foods on the list, polar bear hunting was a sustainable, natural practice of many peoples indigenous to the earth's coldest climes for thousands of years. Technology, poaching, and trophy hunting have taken their toll. Polar bears are in serious danger, and their habitats continue to melt beneath their paws. That said, you won't see polar bears on any menus, which makes them unique on this list.