Fido For Dinner?

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Herf brought up an interesting topic in the chatroom today -- the idea of having not only standard beef, pork, fowl, etc. meats available for purchase, but ALL kinds of meat, including the "pet" group (i.e. cats and dogs). While the sensibility in the chatroom didn't allow for a discussion on this topic, I thought it might be interesting here.

We know in some other countries cats and dogs are fair game so to speak. They are not, for the most part, seen as pets and are frequently served up as dinner fare. A couple of people in the chatroom today even mentioned that they ate horse regularly -- it made *me* shudder, but to them seemed quite normal.

So, since we're all different here and come from a variety of backgrounds and tastes, I'd like to get some thoughts on this. Are we too dependent on standard beef/chicken/fish/fowl fare -- trying to make them fatter, tastier, best of breed so to speak? Should Americans have the opportunity to buy whatever kind of meat they want in American stores? And what about seeing Fido on the plate instead of a dog steak....could we ever get over that mentality?....or for Americans and other countries, is that just going too far?

 

Well, Spelly, someone has had the same thought...

http://www.elfrigo.org/flash/chowmein.htm

 

Chandos, that was a great laugh. *bookmarked*

Now, I have a perfect solution for all this:

Just do like I do, become a vegetarian!!
If you don't eat meaty,
that means there is no doggy.

 

I'd eat an animal of the pet variety if I had to, however since I have the choice, I don't. I have two cats and two dogs whom I consider to be members of the family (adopted, let's not get sick people). I 'could' eat dog or cat but I wouldn't eat 'my' dogs or cats.

 

Chandos -- LMAO... While that thing was playing, my cat Sasha came up and starting howling at the mewing noises and the purring sounds. (If he only knew..) I need to go console him now....(poor baby--I think he saw the Siamese one)

 

Depends on how its cooked.

I'd stay away from goldfish though and it'd be immensely difficult to eat a cat. Wouldn't have a problem with dogs.

 

I have eaten dog once, it was quite nice. Pretty much any animal can be cute and cuddly, be it pig, cow or dog. What decides what we eat is pure tradition. I wonder if there are laws in place which says which animals to eat and not to eat?

I personally think it is rather horrible to eat dog on a large basis but that is purely because I have grown up with dogs as pets and have had them around me. If I had grown up with a pet pig or somesuch I would probably think it to be horrible to eat pork.

 

Jewish and Islamic Law state what can and can't be eaten, and I think that there must be some kind of Law for Buddhists and Hindus too...

In Pakistan goat is the most common meat, but there is also camel and buffalo on the menu.

 

Myself, being a major cat and dog person, would probably fanatically beat someone to a pulp if I saw them cooking a dog or cat for anything other than survival. But on the flip-side, a hindi would probably feel the same way if they saw me chomping down a big steak. It all depends on cultures, as has been suggested.

But for me, a major factor - as elitist as this may sound - is the animal's intelligence. Dogs, cats, dolphins, horses, etc. are all very intelligent animals. They think, react, display emotion, and have their own unique personalities that aren't totally unlike our own. They love, they fear, they care for each other, just as we do. This is why they make such good companions and pets. Not because they're cute and fuzzy, but because a mutual bond between pet and owner can be shared. It's difficult to say the same for cows, pigs and especially fish, who are all by comparison much less intelligent and any bond formed with a human would be entirely one-sided. Er, I mean...except for Mr. Ed and Wilbur.

The fear and awareness factors also play in here. As horrific as conditions are for animals in meat-packing plants, cows and pigs, for the most part, have no idea what's going on, whereas I'm certain a dog would, and would spend it's last days and hours in absolute terror. Dogs are very emotional creatures, as any dog-owner can tell you.

For these reasons, in my mind, chopping up a dog or cat and eating it is along the same lines as cannibalism. Not quite equal, but pretty damn close. The pets I've had throughout my life aren't just "animals" that I occasionally feed, they're absolutely members of my family. So that has shaped my view considerably.

 

Well, pigs are damned smart. A lot smarter than many dog and cat breeds. Doesn't mean I won't eat me some bacon though.

Horses on the other hand are relatively speaking pretty dumb. Espescially compared to a pig. But I'll eat me a nice ham samich but haven't much of an interest in horse.

*Shrug.

FWIW, my dad is a vet and we've had lots of conversations going, 'how smart are...' In his opinion, pigs are smart. dogs vary by breed. Horses aren't too sharp.

 

Well, for your info, I was the person that made Spellbound *shudder*.

Well, on topic, I wouldn't have any problems eating meat, as long as it's not human. But I'd understand why they couldn't sell them in our stores, because of the peoples sensitivities. But what I don't understand or support is the kind of fuss that was started around an asiatic site that selled dog meat, just because they put pictures of the dogs they sell on them. It's their culture and we should let them eat that meat if they want, like said earlier, there are cultures that would see us as barbaric for eating bovines.

But coming back on the horse topic, here it's regular meat you can buy, we even have butchers specialised in horse meat.

 

Umm, just to clarify. You CAN buy horsemeat in the US. Death Rabbit's homestate of Texas probably does the most business of any state in the slaughter and sale of horse meat for human consumption. There just isn't much DEMAND for horsemeat in the US so you don't see it floating around in your average supermarket next to the turkey and ham. Most horsemeat is exported.

I was interested so I checked and according to American University in D.C. there are an estimated 20,000 stores in the US where you can buy prepared dog meat. If true, while dog meat may not be an FDA sanctioned deal, it doesn't appear like people go out of their way to stop the human consumption. Again though, there is very little DEMAND for dog meat in the US so you don't hear a lot about it.

AFAIK, dog meat isn't legal for human consumption in South Korea - but people still eat it. Kinda' like in the US.

Oh, and I forgot to mention regarding Death Rabbit's post above and pigs - my brother in law does research for a medical research hospital. He used to do heart disease research. He'd go collect pig hearts at a nearby slaughter house. The pigs are well aware of their impending death. He said it WAS rather pitiful in a lot of ways. They are so smart that they can see what is happening to those in front of them and they freak out squealing and trying to get away. What happens is they're essentially herded along and get the bejeezus shocked out of them. They then are hung upside down and a guy cuts their throat to bleed them.

Pigs also make great pets as they are not only smart but can be quite affectionate from what I understand. If you want a pig for a pet.

For me, give me my Irish Wolfhound thank you very much. Think I'll have a ham sandwich for dinner.

 

Laches -- interesting information. I had no idea that dog was offered in US stores. I think if it were ever offered here, I would indeed try it ONCE....just to see what it tasted like. My question would be though--where's it from?...does it have diseases?....was it a stray? Lots of issues there...but not if you think it's better than what the FDA provides.

 

What about game birds like pheasant or quail. I've never had pheasant, though quail is ok. Some people even eat sparrow, though I don't think I could be bothered...