Horsemeat. There’s been a whole heap of talk about it in the press of late, and for good cause. Shops that we use in Gloucestershire, trusted retailers – Tesco, Aldi, Morrisons, never mind the big food brands like Findus – have all been found to be selling products that contain horsemeat instead of beef.

Commentators have turned to where we shop. Local, they say, why do we not shop more local? That’s a good question. In Gloucestershire we are blessed with farms, rolling countryside where cattle are reared, with farmers working hard, down the road, ready to supply.

And local butchers, too, serve us. They open, day after day, winning awards - from Cam to Chipping Sodbury - for their meat, their service and their contribution to the community.

But it is the quality of the meat they sell, the assurance that we know its source for sure, that has drawn the most comments. Isn’t it time, some say, that this horsemeat scandal, this cheap meat fiasco, reminds us all to use quality products, not ready-made tosh, cheap cuts, basic brands?

Look, quality meat is the ideal, sure. But what the quality meat camp doesn’t take into account, what it fails to address is this: quality costs money.

Look at those most affected by the horsemeat affair and you’ll see those with less money, those who can’t afford quality meat, who have hardly enough to pay their winter fuel bill, never mind select a rump steak cut.

They might go for a McDonald's instead, because it’s easier or quicker or maybe they just can’t face cooking on nothing. And yet they are judged. But consider this: according to official guidelines, a 5oz rump steak serving is more than the daily guideline for meat consumption. Yet, a Big Mac is within the safe guidelines. Within.

So, before we judge, before we start to pass opinion on who should buy what and where, perhaps we should look at the circumstances.

We should look at what people in our county have to put up with, what drives them to make their choices. Because just like with beef turning out to be horsemeat, scratch the surface of people's lives and a whole heap of issues is revealed that you never even knew existed.