posted
I was just wondering where western ideas on food come from? I mean, when I was in China you could order dog on the menu at nice eating establishments. I wasn't terribly fond of it (kinda tastes like putting roast beef and ham on the same fork) but several people I was with thought it was great and ordered it the next night as well. Found this site talking about this sort of thing:
I know that Lewis and Clark thought salmon was disgusting while they were in the Pacific Northwest so they bartered with Indians for meat -- and dogs were, I believe, the main meat source.
Now my question is, where did the societal idea about what foods to eat are acceptable in the west come about? Can't all be Biblical (Old Testament) since John the Baptist ate locusts and they are listed as a "clean" food -- I tried one in a Chinese food exhibition and while it's an excellent source of protien I found it less than desirable.
It can't all be due to the pet thing because I know people who own miniture pigs but they eat pork chops, people with birds who eat chicken, etc.. Any ideas?
Posts: 232 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Funny you posted this - I was just talking about dog meat with my kids the other day. Does anyone anywhere eat cats? *pets her doggie protectively*
posted
In China they do. A couple of my friends were at a local animal market (no, not for pets) but I didn't get a chance to visit while in this rural Chinese community. They said that they saw people go to the market with empty cages and then put a couple of cats in them along with vegetables, etc. in a shopping bag.
Posts: 232 | Registered: Jun 2004
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Seriously - I don't think so. At least none that I'm aware of. Cats tend not to have a lot of meat, so it's a fairly pragmatic reason - that and they catch rats which is another pragmatic reason.
Killing cats during the Bubonic Plague was...well..not a good idea.
As to where society developed it's tastes - I think it's more of a cultural mess of what is and isn't acceptable.
The idea of pets tends only to be true in stable, economically prosperous areas where the extra resources can be committed to luxury items. That being the case, once a cultural theme or stable moray has been established, outsiders tend to learn to conform to the group dynamic or be rejected.
Certain parts of the Philipines also eat dogs, as do areas of Viet Nam. After a certain point, food choices become a matter of culture as well as necessity - Japanese and whales, for example.
-Trevor
Edit: I stand corrected about the cat thing. As to the other, its not unheard of to have pet cows, pigs and chickens. It's never stopped me from enjoying a good steak, slice of bacon or chicken fingers.
posted
In Equador people raise guinea pigs (usually in pens in or near the kitchen). It is considered a treat to eat them deep fried, and the most tender part, which is considered a delicacy, is the brain! (I even asked a Spanish professor once... he was raised in Equador....and he said yes it was one of the best things to have at a family gathering and it was something he missed since he moved back to the States) Other cultures eat things that we consider strange or gross, but when it comes down to it, you have to eat to live, and whatever u can get to eat is what u can get, sometimes you just can't be picky. (trying not to lose lunch thinking about this thread)
Posts: 325 | Registered: Aug 2002
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I suspect that much of it's just what people are used to eating. Many foods are an acquired taste, so if you don't grow up eating them all the time, you might find them distasteful later on. Also, I think that in developed countries, most people don't see the animals they eat on a daily basis, which is why they prefer unrecognizeable cuts of meat. I don't mind eating pork, but I was a little disgusted by the idea of eating pieces from a pig's head.
Also, some aversions might be to food that's dangerous. For example, I expect that if BSE becomes common, more people will find brains disgusting. Disgust can be a survival trait because it keeps us away from things that make us sick.
Posts: 3546 | Registered: Jul 2002
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Bread anything and deep fry it, and I will eat it.
There used to be these Mexican Hookers (and I capitalize that title, because that was their title) who rode around in this suped-up Chevy Nova, and ate other peoples' dogs. They also ate their own dogs.
The closest I have come to strange meats are beefalo burgers, though.
Posts: 1870 | Registered: Mar 2003
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The weirdest thing I've had is caribou jerkey, probably. It was good. Mine was a bit oversalted, but that was my uncle's fault - not the meat's.
Posts: 2292 | Registered: Aug 2003
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I am sorry, but any culture that eats dogs as a matter of course is barbaric and should be nuked. Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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We Southerners eat a variety of odd things--I have had possum, raccoon, and snapping turtle, for instance. All were quite tasty, though possum is rather greasy.
Posts: 1114 | Registered: Mar 2004
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I'm rather fond of ostrich. Has anyone else tried it? They've billed it as "the other red meat."
And as a sidenote, when you see the state of the dogs who live in the streets in China and the Phillipines, you come to realize that killing them for food is pretty merciful. The poor things are not happy animals.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
I've eaten elk, buffalo and - about a week ago - alligator. One vendor at the "Taste of Chicago" had "alligator on a stick."
That's exotic in Chicago. I know it's no big deal in Florida. When folks in Florida have an attack of alligator munchies, they just go out in the back yard and shoot one.
Edit to add: I've been known to accept offers of venison on occasion too. One of those steaks could have come from Bambi.
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I think ostrich is quite tasty. I've had emu at the same restaurant that served ostrich. I found them similar.
For me, similar to Alucard but phrased slightly differently: Anything prepared with the right sauce...
Posts: 270 | Registered: Apr 2004
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They sell ostrich steaks and ground meat at my little grocery store in Bozeman, and it's usually cheaper than beef. I'm a financial ostrich eater, now, kinda like I was a financial vegetarian for awhile.
Posts: 8504 | Registered: Aug 1999
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There's a store here that sells ostrich meat - it's the same place I got buffalo steaks one year. Thing is, they're expensive and I'm worried I'll ruin them since I don't know what I'm doing. Don't mind the splurge if I had a clue how to cook it up right.
Posts: 4344 | Registered: Mar 2003
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Americans don't like the idea of eating pets. I have known people from other countries that don't make the same distinction. Perhaps it is because the USA is a wealthy country so we can pick and choose what we eat. This allowed us to separate some animals and think of them as companions rather than food. Once you think of something as a companion, it is rather creepy to eat it.
Posts: 1901 | Registered: May 2004
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Most people I know don't eat veal, let alone cat, horse, dog, alligator (I'd like to try alligator) and venison (which I'd also like to try). I'll steer clear of cats and dogs- I don't know, they're just so fluffy.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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I found it difficult to distinguish an ostrich burger from a regular hamburger, and I thought alligator really *did* taste like chicken (just chewier). The best not-beef meat I've eaten was moose. I had moose jerky that was absolutely fantastic.
I used to make chili with a combination of ground beef and ground caribou sausage, but since my friends moved from Alaska, I haven't been able to get any.
At a high-end restaurant in Colorado, I had a multi-course meal with pheasant, duck and quail, and only really liked the quail, though there wasn't much of it. Since I've been in Iceland I've tried puffin and dolphin, and didn't like the latter at all. bleah.
Posts: 471 | Registered: Jul 2002
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I think the financial reasons that some people mentioned make sense. I mean, it takes food out of people's mouths to feed pets, right? I suppose if you're going to feed an animal it makes sense to eat it later if you're in a poor country.
We have a buffalo ranch quite close to us that serves buffalo burgers. I've never tried them, since I'm a vegetarian, but it appears from this thread that if something has meat on it, somewhere people eat it.
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I've had buffalo (B+), escargot (D), aligator (c), goat (C+), venison (B+), squirrel(D for meat, B for gravy), dove (C), octopus (B in small amounts, C- when ya hit that too much level), eel (C- smoked), sea urchin (B-), rabbit (B), duck (A) and ostrich (B- jerky).
Of course, I've eaten hotdogs, too, so that could encompass who knows what. Also, I've had to eat my share of crow (F-).
Posts: 2848 | Registered: Feb 2003
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It's not made totally clear in the blog (someone mentions it in a comment), but one of the main concerns with Koreans eating dog meat is the method used to kill the dog. I've read that many people believe that the best dog meat comes from having the dog experience a great deal of pain before death. Think flame torches.
That's my biggest concern. I'm not so happy with deliberate pain with any living thing so that I can eat it. I agree that the line between edible and inedible is somewhat arbitrary.
Oh and at least in Korea, it's a specific breed of dog that's used for eating, not just any old dog.
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