One of the “joys” of January is Burns Night, which is celebrated throughout not only Scotland, his ancestral home, but also throughout the United Kingdom and, indeed, the world. Whiskey is consumed, and the star of the dinner is the haggis, piped into the dining room and hymned by Burns’s Address to the Haggis.
Alas, this has not been possible in the United States, where Burns Night is graced with vegetarian haggis or with some other fare, since importing haggis or making it is prohibited in the United States. The reason: one of the ingredients in the “great chieftain o’ the pudding race” is sheep’s lung, which may not be offered for consumption there.
So you should be afraid as a delegation from the US has been invited to Scotland to sample the delights of haggis, see for themselves the wonderful and sanitary conditions in which it is made, and (the Scots, especially Macsween, the major haggis producer, hope) perhaps persuade the US Department of Agriculture to allow its import and sale for the first time in 40 years.
If you do not wish this tragedy to befall the United States, write your Congresscritter! Demand that sheep’s lung continue to be prohibited for sale in the US! You may save countless would-be Scots from the horrible fate of eating haggis. Their very lives (not to mention their taste buds) depend on YOU!
There was an annual “Robert Burns Birthday Supper” at a restaurant here in Santa Cruz last night — on one hand, the flyer did mention haggis, but on the other hand as it was described as “Dinner & Haggis”, if the haggis was listed separately from the dinner maybe it wasn’t actually for eating!
I suppose that haggis minus the sheep lung might be available in the US. But however it’s presented or produced, it’s vile and ought to be avoided, unless you live in Scotland, where you’re required to eat it as a condition of residence.
PS: I know this because the last time I was in Scotland, I ate some. The neeps & tatties were much more edible and pleasant.
I like haggis, but I’m afraid I broke the law in ’04 when I took a can back to the States after my first visit to the UK.
Indeed you did. I expect that the next time you go to the US you will turn yourself in for the heinous crime of haggis-mongering.
Hanging’s too good… 😉