I wouldn't put it past the supermarkets to do what they can to make a profit however saying that i have no idea how organised the Romanian meat production chain is and how far down the chain the beef was switched for horse :s
on the pricing thing ( not completely sure i understand all the points ) but would you not prefer to buy meat where you no the welfare standards are high and you no where it came from and pay a bit more just have it less often??? Also with the hopefully improved standards and testing there might be improved standards of meat in burgers and other processed food which would also be beneficial to health ( i no this is an idealistic view as where there is demand for cheap meat someone will produce and profit off it )
The UK isnt self sufficient at the minuet but putting more money into local farmers will help the farming industry grow so we can become more self sufficient in the future ( i saw somewhere that we have the potential to meet most of the uks requirements but it will take a few years tho im not entirely sure this is true id have to look it up again :s ) although i appreciate we would still have to trade with other countries for example with lamb as we produce it once a year