Eating Dog Meat

[Ken Cheng]

The only difference is that dogs and cats have a traditional role of being pets... but otherwise they are still fair game.

Just as likely, dog and cat meat are acquired tastes that only a minority of people actually enjoy. Other than scarcity, that's the most probable reason that these animals have never been widely cultivated for food.

Also, dogs and cats put up much better resistance than cattle, hogs, or chicken. Dogs and cats move faster and are fiercer than livestock animals.

[remember_Cedric]

Livestock refers to animals reared for... you know. No species is specifically fixed to be a livestock, meaning we can "de-livestock" a species anytime as easily as we want to make one into a livestock.

The only difference is that dogs and cats have a traditional role of being pets... but otherwise they are still fair game.

Oh, ok I'll stick to the tradition then. The idea of eating them disgust me.

So, anything can become food for mankind? So, while pig possess the nature of "eat anything", now so does human. The nature of both begin to sound alike.

[Guo Xiang]

Oh, ok I'll stick to the tradition then. The idea of eating them disgust me.

So, anything can become food for mankind? So, while pig possess the nature of "eat anything", now so does human. The nature of both begin to sound alike.

I've heard before that pigs eat excrement and trash. I'd assume we don't do that, unless we are driven to extreme starvation.

But then again, cows are being fed with chicken excrement and other icky stuff... Not sure about chickens but what they eat can't be that innocuous either...

[remember_Cedric]

I've heard before that pigs eat excrement and trash. I'd assume we don't do that, unless we are driven to extreme starvation.

The trash could meant anything. So I guess that spells it - Pigs eat anything. But that's the nature, not when they're fed.

That sounds interesting. I'm perceiving as such, "When curious, people try the different exotic stuff. When driven, people also may take the exotic stuff, yet far less desired ones."

But then again, cows are being fed with chicken excrement and other icky stuff... Not sure about chickens but what they eat can't be that innocuous either...

That's when they're fed. By nature, if they don't, it's different.

[Guo Xiang]

The trash could meant anything. So I guess that spells it - Pigs eat anything. But that's the nature, not when they're fed.

That sounds interesting. I'm perceiving as such, "When curious, people try the different exotic stuff. When driven, people also may take the exotic stuff, yet far less desired ones."



That's when they're fed. By nature, if they don't, it's different.

Yep, I meant what chicken are fed with.

[Lucre]

So, anything can become food for mankind? So, while pig possess the nature of "eat anything", now so does human. The nature of both begin to sound alike.

ok, so we're all pigs, if that is what you'd like us to be called.

well yes, human can sorta eat anything when neccessary, did anyone read the book ALIVE? It was based on a real-life story of survivors of an airplane crash in the Andes mountains ~ the survivors resorted to cannibalism (i first found da paperback amongst the shelves of my daddy's collection of books, without even knowing the content and read....and till now, that's more than fifteen years ago since i read the book, i can still remember the story)

[Guo Xiang]

ok, so we're all pigs, if that is what you'd like us to be called.

well yes, human can sorta eat anything when neccessary, did anyone read the book ALIVE? It was based on a real-life story of survivors of an airplane crash in the Andes mountains ~ the survivors resorted to cannibalism (i first found da paperback amongst the shelves of my daddy's collection of books, without even knowing the content and read....and till now, that's more than fifteen years ago since i read the book, i can still remember the story)

Which reminds me of this law that Japan has... that all criminal acts (including murder and cannibalism) will be exempted when under extreme circumstances. It's about survival.

In a way that's logical and pragmatic... but perhaps too cruel and emotionally/mentally shocking.

[remember_Cedric]

ok, so we're all pigs, if that is what you'd like us to be called.

Well, let's just say that it's the nature that'll reveal; I decide nothing!

well yes, human can sorta eat anything when neccessary, did anyone read the book ALIVE? It was based on a real-life story of survivors of an airplane crash in the Andes mountains ~ the survivors resorted to cannibalism (i first found da paperback amongst the shelves of my daddy's collection of books, without even knowing the content and read....and till now, that's more than fifteen years ago since i read the book, i can still remember the story)

That title ALIVE sounded rings a bell, I think I've seen a documentary or a documented movie with a similar storyline.

[Trien Chieu]

Some people in China are now pushing for the ban of dog and cat meat consumption.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/we...w/31grist.html

Hmm they care enough for dogs and cats... how about pigs, chickens and cows? They are not animals too?

They are traitors of the chinese (asian) race by pushing for cultural genocide. I acknowledge that exotic meats are not regular food for everyone. For people who do not want to eat them, don't eat it, but don't force their belief into others. Eating dog, cat, and other exotic animals is part of the asian culture for thousand of years. I hope the chinese government continues embracing the asian culture. They should not accept cultural genocide just to please the wests. As for myself, if they are legal, I would eat dog but not cat.

[Guo Xiang]

They are traitors of the chinese (asian) race by pushing for cultural genocide. I acknowledge that exotic meats are not regular food for everyone. For people who do not want to eat them, don't eat it, but don't force their belief into others. Eating dog, cat, and other exotic animals is part of the asian culture for thousand of years. I hope the chinese government continues embracing the asian culture. They should not accept cultural genocide just to please the wests. As for myself, if they are legal, I would eat dog but not cat.

"Cultural genocide" is too harsh and extreme. Besides, the Chinese already had gone through cultural genocide a few decades ago.

[Lucre]

"Cultural genocide" is too harsh and extreme. Besides, the Chinese already had gone through cultural genocide a few decades ago.

yeah, and even if it looked like one to me, i know plenty of chinese who think what happened a few decades ago was the greatest thing for the country.

[Ren Ying Ying]

They are traitors of the chinese (asian) race by pushing for cultural genocide. I acknowledge that exotic meats are not regular food for everyone. For people who do not want to eat them, don't eat it, but don't force their belief into others. Eating dog, cat, and other exotic animals is part of the asian culture for thousand of years. I hope the chinese government continues embracing the asian culture. They should not accept cultural genocide just to please the wests. As for myself, if they are legal, I would eat dog but not cat.

not that i'm against dog/cat meat, but cultural genocide is hardly the word to use.

culture needs to change...constantly (for the better hopefully). not all traditions should be kept. of course, in this case, i don't find anything wrong with eating dogs/cats (except maybe passing diseases). But if there was something morally wrong with it, then it should change.

like languages, a static culture is a dead culture.

[pemberly]

i forgot to post this earlier, but to kill a dog for food, you bash them over the head, and start chopping them up while they're still semi-alive. at least that's how you do it in china.

cats are put in a cloth bag and drowned.

[Guo Xiang]

i forgot to post this earlier, but to kill a dog for food, you bash them over the head, and start chopping them up while they're still semi-alive. at least that's how you do it in china.

cats are put in a cloth bag and drowned.

Why the different treatment? In any case both are really painful and cruel ways of killing animals...

[pemberly]

Why the different treatment? In any case both are really painful and cruel ways of killing animals...

probably bc dogs are pretty loyal and you can just call them over, walk behind them, and bash!

cats are harder to hold still, and will fight back a lot if you try to hurt them.

and apparently, the best tasting cats and dogs are the ones that are really young with unopened eyes. but that's the case for a lot of animals. that's why veal, lamb, and suckling pig is more appealing than old cow, sheep, or pigs.

[Trien Chieu]

i forgot to post this earlier, but to kill a dog for food, you bash them over the head, and start chopping them up while they're still semi-alive. at least that's how you do it in china.

cats are put in a cloth bag and drowned.

Are you sure about this? However, it's wouldn't surprise me if people in china is capable of doing such thing to dogs and cats.

[pemberly]

Are you sure about this? However, it's wouldn't surprise me if people in china is capable of doing such thing to dogs and cats.

yep, at least that's what they do in southern china.

[pemberly]

How handy! There is actually an op-ed piece in today's nytimes about eating dog meat in China.

February 5, 2010
Op-Ed Columnist
Dog Days in China
By ROGER COHEN

NEW YORK — I see the Beckhams, David and Victoria (Posh), have acquired a couple of “micro pigs” as pets and that said pigs (65 pounds when fully grown) are now a fashionable item in Britain, at least among those who can afford a $1,000-plus price tag.

Perhaps Beckham is heeding Churchill, who had a penchant for pigs. The great man’s verdict: “Dogs look up to you, cats look down on you. Give me a pig. He just looks you in the eye and treats you as an equal.”

Churchill’s view has some scientific basis. Pigs are smart and sociable. They’ve had a pretty bad rap, however. Two of the world’s great monotheistic religions — Judaism and Islam — prohibit their consumption. Generally, the notion of pigs as pets seems bizarre or repellent.

Why? There’s nothing rational about the view that taking a pig for a walk on a leash is weird, while eating a pork chop, if you so choose, is reasonable. But then, after a visit to China, it seems to me that reason has little or nothing to do with the way we view animals and food.

The Chinese, for example, eat dog (as well as cats, but I’m going to focus on dogs here). They ascribe to dog meat a formidable “warming” quality — the Chinese divide nutrition into “hot” and “cold” elements and seek balance between them — which makes it prized in many regions during winter.

Now, we are appalled in the West at the notion of eating dog while considering it natural to have a dog as a pet — I own a Beagle myself (“Ned”) and I’m very fond of him. This is the inverse of the preponderant Western view of pigs: fine to eat (religious objections aside) but not to pet.

But do pigs have any more or less of a soul than dogs? Are they any more or less sentient? Do they suffer any more or less in death? Are they any more or less part of the mysterious unity of life? I think not.

There is a rational, and for some people a spiritual, case for being a vegetarian: Killing animals is wrong. However I cannot see a rational argument for saying eating dogs or cats is barbaric while eating pork or beef is fine. If you eat meat you cannot logically find it morally or ethically repugnant to eat a particular meat (I’m setting cannibalism aside here.)

That’s the theory at least. Yet I must confess I’ve been having a hard time. My bout of anguish began a few weeks back on a wintry night in central China, in the restless megalopolis of Chongqing. I was cold, wet and seeking refuge.

“What’s that?” I asked my resourceful interpreter, Xiyun Yang, pointing to a steamy, crowded establishment with a big red neon sign (the Chinese approach is, when in doubt, make it gaudy).

“You don’t want to know.”

“I think I do.”

“It’s a dog restaurant.” It was then that I noticed the image of a puppy with floppy ears beside the Chinese characters.

I gave Xiyun a long, hard look. “Dog’s really good,” she said. “I love it.”

Images of Ned (and his floppy ears) popped into my head, as well as thoughts of what I’d tell my daughter, but I’d come to admire Xiyun’s gastronomic antennae (particularly for Sichuan noodles) and I tend to adhere to the I’ll-try-anything-once school. In we went.

The menu was predictably dog-dominated: dog paws, dog tail, dog brain, dog intestine, even dog penis. We went for a dog broth, simmered for four hours, with Sichuan pepper and ginger. It was warming, with a pepper-tingle. The meat was tender, unctuous, blander than pork, but stronger than chicken. Later, the owner, Chen Zemin, explained how the best dogs for eating had yellow coats, weighed 30 pounds, and did miracles for arthritis.

I’ll take Chen’s word for it. Dog was not easy for me. The memory has proved hard to digest.

As it happened, our meal came shortly before the eruption of a furious online debate in China over a proposed “anti-animal maltreatment” law that would outlaw the eating and selling of dog and cat meat, making it punishable by fines of more than $700 and 15 days of detention.

The legislation, now under review, immediately came under heavy fire. One restaurant owner in the Chaozhou region declared: “This is ridiculous! You make dog and cat meat illegal, but aren’t chickens, duck, goose, pig, cow, lamb also animals?” Another noted a local saying: “When the dog meat is being simmered, even the gods become dizzy with hunger.”

I’m with these indignant protesters. I’m not happy that I ate dog. But I’m happy China eats dog. It so proclaims both a particularity to be prized in a homogenizing world and its rationality. Anyone who doesn’t want China to eat dog must logically embrace pigs as pets.

But, as I’ve learned, logic has its limits. It’s the heart not the head that governs this world under the sway of the dizzy gods.

link

[Han Solo]

It is one of the food that i wish i can eat in the future, along with bear palm, and monkey brain and tiger balls.

Yum Yum.


























Seriously, although it has been potrayed as being very tasty by many people, i don't think that i will ever eat it.

Han Solo

[remember_Cedric]

Awwww, Han Sweetie Solo!

cats are harder to hold still, and will fight back a lot if you try to hurt them.

It's likely that the cats, at that moment, know they're gonna appear unconscious on the diner thereafter, i.e. they're gonna get murdered. Given the animal instinct, that is.

and apparently, the best tasting cats and dogs are the ones that are really young with unopened eyes. but that's the case for a lot of animals. that's why veal, lamb, and suckling pig is more appealing than old cow, sheep, or pigs.

Utterly