Is your dog as yummy as Slate thinks it is?
January 19, 2002 4:24 PM Subscribe
As much as I want to say this is wrong and it should stop, I can't. I enjoyed a plate of buffalo wings last night and I just had a ham sandwich. It's too hypocritical. The most I can say is that I'm not a fan of the culture and I'd personally never eat dog meat. The whole controversy stems from the fact that a dog has many more human-like qualities than a chicken or a pig. Dogs are cute and friendly.
posted by tomorama at 5:07 PM on January 19, 2002
posted by tomorama at 5:07 PM on January 19, 2002
The entire concept of immoral food is so utterly ridiculous...no wonder PETA is 99% female...
posted by Orik at 5:14 PM on January 19, 2002
posted by Orik at 5:14 PM on January 19, 2002
Eating meat is just flat out wrong.
Meat NOT necessary for human nutrition, and is in fact unhealthy. Raising animals and slaughtering them causes incredible suffering. Why would anyone eat meat?
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 5:17 PM on January 19, 2002
Meat NOT necessary for human nutrition, and is in fact unhealthy. Raising animals and slaughtering them causes incredible suffering. Why would anyone eat meat?
posted by fold_and_mutilate at 5:17 PM on January 19, 2002
Orik, we're at sea together in a dingy, and we haven't eaten for days, and I'm looking at you, and I'm licking my lips as you morph into a kebab.
posted by holloway at 5:25 PM on January 19, 2002
posted by holloway at 5:25 PM on January 19, 2002
Eating a lean, healthy, moderate diet that includes meat never hurt anyone. I'd wager it's even made a few of us healthier and stronger!
posted by tomorama at 5:27 PM on January 19, 2002
posted by tomorama at 5:27 PM on January 19, 2002
tomorama - Eating a lean, healthy, moderate diet that includes meat never hurt anyone.
Sure it did. Meat is one of, if not the the major vectors for food poisoning.
posted by NortonDC at 5:35 PM on January 19, 2002
Sure it did. Meat is one of, if not the the major vectors for food poisoning.
posted by NortonDC at 5:35 PM on January 19, 2002
People, let's stick to the subject: this is about eating dogs. I'd much prefer this thread to include lots of dog entree puns. Cooker Spaniel. Mutt Pie. Bijon Mayonnaise.... Ok, I'm out.
posted by adrober at 5:37 PM on January 19, 2002
posted by adrober at 5:37 PM on January 19, 2002
The whole controversy stems from the fact that a dog has many more human-like qualities than a chicken or a pig. Dogs are cute and friendly.
How much time have you spent with mammals that americans eat? Lots of people find pigs cute and friendly, and there are a number of cultures that revere cattle (the Dinka of the Sudan traditionally each have a "personality ox" about whom they write songs, e.g.). And if dogs are wild or brought up in factory farms, they probably aren't as "cute and friendly".
I'm a vegetarian, but am pro-choice about it, as it is ultimately unknowable exactly what animals experience, & therefore comes down to opinion. But it is strange that people feel disgusted or outraged when certain animals are eaten, and not others - dogs, cats, rats, bugs, and humans are all generally on the "no" list, even if they die of unrelated causes, and organ meat, especially brains, tend to gross out folks who love feasting on the muscle. I realize this is two different angles - the animals too yucky to eat, and the animals too nice to eat - but both of them are hypocritical.
german shepherd pie.
posted by mdn at 5:54 PM on January 19, 2002
How much time have you spent with mammals that americans eat? Lots of people find pigs cute and friendly, and there are a number of cultures that revere cattle (the Dinka of the Sudan traditionally each have a "personality ox" about whom they write songs, e.g.). And if dogs are wild or brought up in factory farms, they probably aren't as "cute and friendly".
I'm a vegetarian, but am pro-choice about it, as it is ultimately unknowable exactly what animals experience, & therefore comes down to opinion. But it is strange that people feel disgusted or outraged when certain animals are eaten, and not others - dogs, cats, rats, bugs, and humans are all generally on the "no" list, even if they die of unrelated causes, and organ meat, especially brains, tend to gross out folks who love feasting on the muscle. I realize this is two different angles - the animals too yucky to eat, and the animals too nice to eat - but both of them are hypocritical.
german shepherd pie.
posted by mdn at 5:54 PM on January 19, 2002
Blackened Lab.
Shih-Tzoup.
Ground Hound.
[tips his hat] Just doin' my part...
posted by whatnotever at 6:07 PM on January 19, 2002
Add an other item to the "Why Do They Hate Us" list. Did you notice "Dr Dogmeat"'s site? In a surprising political shortcut, this Korean PhD attributes the campaign to forbid his countrymen from eating dogs to colonialism.
It sounds crazy, but also makes a weird kind of sense: "The stand that westerners take against eating dog, is a way to promote themselves as humane, nature loving, and more civilized and advanced over others, while concealing a murderous and heinous past. Their criticisms are in part a way to hold cultural dominance over the rest of the world."
The world is a more complicated place than we think sometimes.
posted by Turtle at 6:10 PM on January 19, 2002
It sounds crazy, but also makes a weird kind of sense: "The stand that westerners take against eating dog, is a way to promote themselves as humane, nature loving, and more civilized and advanced over others, while concealing a murderous and heinous past. Their criticisms are in part a way to hold cultural dominance over the rest of the world."
The world is a more complicated place than we think sometimes.
posted by Turtle at 6:10 PM on January 19, 2002
Chicken Poodle Soup
posted by Optamystic at 7:04 PM on January 19, 2002
posted by Optamystic at 7:04 PM on January 19, 2002
Koreans can eat all the dogs they want, as far as I'm concerned. People keep pigs, ducks and rabbits as pets, and I've had a helping or three of all of them. If I were in Seoul and someone offered me a bite of dog I'd try it, but it probably wouldn't become a staple of my diet.
PS: Weimerschnitzel. Great Danish. Chow Chow Chow.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:09 PM on January 19, 2002
PS: Weimerschnitzel. Great Danish. Chow Chow Chow.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 7:09 PM on January 19, 2002
I've eaten Dog soup (boshintang) here in Korea and it's not bad, but not something most people would eat every day. Even Koreans who love the stuff don't eat it constantly. The meat is gamy, and the smell is strong and a little unpleasant. You can always tell a boshintang restaurant, even if you can't read Korean, by the smell as you walk by.
Other than the whole vegatarian/omnivore argument, there is another larger issue here that the Slate article, and the other two articles on dogmeat that have been front page posted here recently (*ahem*), did not mention.
Boshintang is eaten as a 'stamina food', almost exclusively by men. There are a wide variety of these foods, and their intended purpose is to act as a tonic. More specifically, a sexual tonic. Most women, even if they've tried the stuff, rarely eat it, shake their heads in bemusement at the insistence of some men on regularly heading down to the boshintang restaurant for a couple bottles of soju and some dogsoup.
I feel fairly sure that this is the biggest reason that the practice is still as common as it is. The figure that the Slate article mentions as dogeaters, of about 10% of the population, is probably not far off. I would think that 90% of that 10% are men, though, and it's all about their penises.
Nothing intrinsically wrong with that, but magical thinking always annoys me.
Expect to see a lot more about this and all things risibly Korean (yes, that's sarcasm) as the World Cup draws nearer.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:29 PM on January 19, 2002
Other than the whole vegatarian/omnivore argument, there is another larger issue here that the Slate article, and the other two articles on dogmeat that have been front page posted here recently (*ahem*), did not mention.
Boshintang is eaten as a 'stamina food', almost exclusively by men. There are a wide variety of these foods, and their intended purpose is to act as a tonic. More specifically, a sexual tonic. Most women, even if they've tried the stuff, rarely eat it, shake their heads in bemusement at the insistence of some men on regularly heading down to the boshintang restaurant for a couple bottles of soju and some dogsoup.
I feel fairly sure that this is the biggest reason that the practice is still as common as it is. The figure that the Slate article mentions as dogeaters, of about 10% of the population, is probably not far off. I would think that 90% of that 10% are men, though, and it's all about their penises.
Nothing intrinsically wrong with that, but magical thinking always annoys me.
Expect to see a lot more about this and all things risibly Korean (yes, that's sarcasm) as the World Cup draws nearer.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:29 PM on January 19, 2002
*cough*vegetarian*cough*
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:18 PM on January 19, 2002
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 9:18 PM on January 19, 2002
Do not put your hand into other people's kitchens, is all I can say.
posted by dai at 12:54 AM on January 20, 2002
posted by dai at 12:54 AM on January 20, 2002
Sticking to the subject, I can't say I would have any objection to eating dog (and certainly the Koreans are welcome to it), considering that the things I've eaten include:
Cow, Chicken, Sheep, Goat, Pig, Turkey, Pigeon, Horse, Goose, Duck, Quail, Buffalo, Elk, Phesant, Boar, Wild Hare, Rabbit, Nutria, Snail, Snake
and a wide variety of sea creatures, from sea cucumbers to sea eels.
(holloway, you weakling, you would rather starve to death...)
posted by Orik at 8:55 AM on January 20, 2002
Cow, Chicken, Sheep, Goat, Pig, Turkey, Pigeon, Horse, Goose, Duck, Quail, Buffalo, Elk, Phesant, Boar, Wild Hare, Rabbit, Nutria, Snail, Snake
and a wide variety of sea creatures, from sea cucumbers to sea eels.
(holloway, you weakling, you would rather starve to death...)
posted by Orik at 8:55 AM on January 20, 2002
You are what you eat.
You know, if everyone kept kosher, there would probably be a lot less argument over why eating meat is "wrong" (as fold_and_mutilate puts it).
I face the fact: As a human being, I'm an omnivore, which means that both meat and veggies are a part of my diet. I can't hold it against other humans as to what they choose to eat. But still, I think I'd rather eat beef than, say, walrus meat.
...Chocolate Labrador soufflé.
posted by Down10 at 9:46 AM on January 20, 2002
You know, if everyone kept kosher, there would probably be a lot less argument over why eating meat is "wrong" (as fold_and_mutilate puts it).
I face the fact: As a human being, I'm an omnivore, which means that both meat and veggies are a part of my diet. I can't hold it against other humans as to what they choose to eat. But still, I think I'd rather eat beef than, say, walrus meat.
...Chocolate Labrador soufflé.
posted by Down10 at 9:46 AM on January 20, 2002
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There is no difference (that I can see) between eating dog meat and eating pork. There are some cultural differences, and I would be uncomfortable with eating rover, but that's just me. What's worse, if the article is to be believed, then the people fighting against dog eating are actively opposed preventing excessive animal suffering by legalizing the industry and providing the requirement of humane methods of slaughter. If true, the shows extremist thinking that should be condemned.
posted by willnot at 4:46 PM on January 19, 2002