Thread: Ah, China the glorious nation filled with harmonious and loving citizens

In some Asian Countries they take a monkey and harness him beneath a table with just his head sticking up and then they cut his skull off exposing his brain and folks just dig in. Oh the monkey is alive.

And that would be the extent of my limits.

"That said. I wouldn't ever eat dog or horse. I'm too soft to hurt almost any animal."

There are many places in the world in which people do not have the luxury of relying on beef, pork or poultry as a source of protein and other essential vitamins to sustain human life. Dogs, cats, goats, rodents, rabbits, even insects are a staple of people's diets in many parts of the world. Even in this country dogs, horses and mules have become food items on the menu when people were faced with the possibility of starvation. The Donner party and the inhabitants of Vicksburg, MS during the Civil War are two prime examples.

I assure you, if you ever tasted any of the preceding animals in a dish, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between that and what we sit down at the table to consume everyday--until your host told you. Have you ever tasted goat? I have. It is a staple of life for many Kenyans. I might add that it's quite tasty too.

BTW...Horse meat steak has been on the menu of the Harvard University faculty club since the early 19th century when New Englanders were protesting against Thomas Jefferson's embargo of foreign goods from Britain and France. It tastes just like steak. It's considered a delicacy among those Ivy Leaguers.

According to legend, monkeys used to pick tea leaves in China. Just saying.

John

Originally Posted by jhenry

"That said. I wouldn't ever eat dog or horse. I'm too soft to hurt almost any animal."

There are many places in the world in which people do not have the luxury of relying on beef, pork or poultry as a source of protein and other essential vitamins to sustain human life. Dogs, cats, goats, rodents, rabbits, even insects are a staple of people's diets in many parts of the world. Even in this country dogs, horses and mules have become food items on the menu when people were faced with the possibility of starvation. The Donner party and the inhabitants of Vicksburg, MS during the Civil War are two prime examples.

I assure you, if you ever tasted any of the preceding animals in a dish, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between that and what we sit down at the table to consume everyday--until your host told you. Have you ever tasted goat? I have. It is a staple of life for many Kenyans. I might add that it's quite tasty too.

BTW...Horse meat steak has been on the menu of the Harvard University faculty club since the early 19th century when New Englanders were protesting against Thomas Jefferson's embargo of foreign goods from Britain and France. It tastes just like steak. It's considered a delicacy among those Ivy Leaguers.

Thanks for this comment. Maybe i put my words little wrong. I (and most if not all of us) would surely eat almost anything if it was up to surviving.
Difference between 'here' and places like China etc is that we are privileged to have a choice. For them it is maybe up to getting your daily food while i can always pick something else. More i am concerned how they treat their animals and each other as well.
Animals, as far as i understand, have their dignity too.
Someone, wiser than me, has said that any society these days can be judged by the way it treats and takes care of those who cannot take care of themselves. I believe this is true.

The idea of eating creatures that might sometimes look strange comes from the harder times when it was necessary not to let anything go into waste.
Horse is a common food here. It is just that my wife would give me around the ears if i bring horse meat into house, but that was just somewhat everyday food when i was younger.
Also during my younger days i used to go hunting with family members for few times, mostly wild boars, deers and elks. Much later, one day, for a reason or another i didn't want to do it any more. Still all my kudos to hunters because they are doing excellent job and because of them i get delicious elk meat every now and then.
At the army surviving camps i've eaten bugs, ants, grasshoppers, snakes and whatever and didn't feel bad at all, but luckily i live in a world where i can choose not to eat them. Maybe that is the choice not available to all Chinese At least in some point of their history it has been so.

Recently, few months ago i read that some US media had laughed us Finns because we eat food made of reindeer/cow/pig blood. Blood cakes are very tasty and i can't understand what is so funny about it. These animals are butchered anyway for food. Should we let the blood go waste?

According to Charlton Heston at least, it will get a lot worse before it gets better
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