"If a Chinese cannot understand why Swiss people get so upset that they are eating St. Bernards, I would ask that same question: If Swiss people eat China's panda, how would Chinese feel?"

March 28, 2001 8:21 AM

"If a Chinese cannot understand why Swiss people get so upset that they are eating St. Bernards, I would ask that same question: If Swiss people eat China's panda, how would Chinese feel?"

I expect they'd ask for a bite of the penis.
posted by dfowler (16 comments total)

Point one: Dogs are not going extinct, as far as I know.

Point two: Get over it! The're animals. The only problem I have is that they be treated humanely, which it looks like they are not. I heard that some places over there torture the poor animals to increase adrenaline and thus make the meat more tender, or something along those lines.

Personally, I eat meat all the time, but I stay away from veal. Now that's a grusome process and I wouldn't want to contribute to the problem.

So the next time you buy that 30lbs turkey, picture it in a tiny little cage, injected with all kinds of growth promoting chemicals, hardly being able to stand up and not able to reproduce naturally because of it's freakishly large size.

Witold

Oh, yeah... I am a dog owner.
posted by Witold at 8:33 AM on March 28, 2001

A little off-topic. My brother shot a wild turkey last fall, cooked it up, and served it to our parents. My mother had a fit when she found out it was from the wild and not the store. She feels hunting is cruel.

How backward is that? This turkey lived a natural, free life and his life was ended quite humanely (he died instantly). Sure, my mom's nuts, but she's not alone. A lot of people I've told this story to had the same reaction that she did.

BTW, I'm not a hunter. Killing things just isn't much fun to me.
posted by jpoulos at 9:14 AM on March 28, 2001

I'm not a hunter either, jpoulos, but from everything I've read (and from having a lot of hunters in the family), I'm pretty much in awe of anyone who bagged a wild turkey. My understanding is that they're among the most difficult animals to shoot.

If someone presented me with a wild turkey that he'd killed, I'd be thrilled. Did he cook it well? It would be a shame to not get the most out of such a rare delicacy.

BTW, I wouldn't want to eat dog meat. But I can't get all that worked up over it. Meat is murder. So what? Better to be at the top of the food chain than at the bottom.

People who really love food have a way of suspending their political/moral/ethical convictions in the face of something really good to eat. I once had a roommate who was both a vegetarian and a relatively observant Jew. But if you offered him the right bottle of wine, he'd eat pork chops.
posted by anapestic at 9:27 AM on March 28, 2001

It's actually a funny story, anapestic (although maybe not for the squeamish--be forewarned). My brother is one of the unluckiest hunters around. Every year he and my cousin go out after turkey and deer, depending on the season. He's never gotten anything. Last year, though, he came upon a group (flock?) of turkeys hanging out in a field. When he fired, he not only took out the bird he was aiming at, but the one behind it too. Two with one shot. It's not legal to take more than one bird--even, I suppose, if it were an accident--so he couldn't even brag about it that much.
posted by jpoulos at 9:39 AM on March 28, 2001

I pretty much eat anything on my plate, since I grew up in a household that wasn't sure of where the next meal was coming from..... And I have to tell you, Turkey is delicious.
Although, from my own experience, not too hard to kill. I put down a few in my younger days. I prefer to buy my meat at a store now.
As to Dog? I have eaten that too, on a trip to Mexico, where I was served dog meat in a burrito. Tastes like chicken. Ok, no, it didn't, it was kinda like beef, only stringy....
The point is, that is what they ate down there normally, so who am I to say what they do is wrong? Besides, it was the cheapest thing on the menu.
posted by bradth27 at 9:39 AM on March 28, 2001

I'm told that dog done correctly in Asian recipes, is very very good. I would try it if I were there. Actually I'd try most anything, as long as I wasn't told what it was until afterwards. That said, I can understand why the Swiss would be upset. It would be like if someone served up Grandpa for Christmas dinner.
posted by fooljay at 9:50 AM on March 28, 2001

ManBeef. And, no, it isn't a porn site.
posted by dithered at 10:02 AM on March 28, 2001

During my stint in the Federated States of Micronesia, I went to a birthday party where I was served a selection of quite tasty meat bits (among other things). I assumed it was all seafood (it was all fairly light, white meat, and I was on a pretty small island), but once we got back to the school I was teaching at, one of the other teachers asked me if it was hard for me as an American to eat cat.

Also, one of my students (high-school senior) had a puppy that he took most everywhere with him. As graduation neared, and I was getting ready to return home, he told me he was having a little graduation party and would like it if I attended. He then picked up the puppy and said that he would be the main course.

Both dishes were excellent.
posted by OneBallJay at 10:11 AM on March 28, 2001

I have a huge scar on my arm from when a dog tried to eat me when I was little. I think it's time to even the score...
posted by websavvy at 10:22 AM on March 28, 2001

Dear Anapestic: much easier to get them with a car--wait till the begin to cross the road--then it is with loading, aiming, shooting, missing and then cleaning rifle. Keeps the car wash folks happy too.
posted by Postroad at 10:51 AM on March 28, 2001

Consider the British farmers who have been hand-raising and carefully husbanding purebred strains of cows and sheep for generations. They've developed personal relationships with their animals then sold them for meat anyway. Now the f-i-m outbreak is forcing the destruction of their herds and the farmers are grieving their lost animals, not only for the economic loss it represents, but for the personal loss.

There doesn't have to be a dichotomy between the way we consider one type of animal from another just because we raise one primarily for food and one primarily for companionship. What we've done is commoditize some animals and humanize others, without recognizing the "animalness" of any of them.
posted by briank at 11:08 AM on March 28, 2001

Thanks for the info, Postroad. Does that explain all those Bubbas sitting around in their pick-up trucks, drinking beer?

Is there some way I can also get the car to pluck and eviscerate the turkey for me? That's the real sticking point.

I'm good enough with poultry that I can make one from the supermarket moist and delicious. It has to say "minimally processed," which means that it hasn't been injected with anything, and that it hasn't been engineered so that the legs tuck into the back end. What's with that?

Thanksgiving is too damned far off.
posted by anapestic at 11:12 AM on March 28, 2001

So, the message of the story is: don't eat the animal that's the symbol of another country? Shouldn't the hindus be getting after us for eating beef sometime?

Does any of this really matter? Aren't there bigger issues in terms of eating meat?
posted by dagnyscott at 1:39 PM on March 28, 2001

the odd thing about that minimally processed stuff is....... they can say that if they didn't inject the chicken...but, then again, out here in Texas, there are Pilgrim's Pride chicken houses all over the place. stinks like hell. My Aunt and Uncle own 4 of em. Big warehouses stuffed with 50,000 chickens for your eating pleasure. But these chickens....they go from egg to full grown big ass chicken in like 4 and a half weeks. Tell me there isn't something weird happening here.....But, on the other side..... Damn tasty.
Soylent Green, anyone?
posted by bradth27 at 2:08 PM on March 28, 2001

It's iritating when on the treasure island/survivor/castaway shows a group catch an animal, kill and prepare it, and there's always one pesky meat eater who looses their lunch, or something.
posted by holloway at 2:48 PM on March 28, 2001

tastes like chicken's thoughts on this: "Whatever. Let me know when the Swiss stop eating beef because the Indians said so."

i love dogs, but tlc's got a point there.
posted by lia at 10:46 PM on March 28, 2001