Jul 27 2008
Dogs in the News: And Off the Plate
Apparently restaurants in Beijing are planning on catering to the tastes of tourists who will be visiting during the Olympic Games by taking something off the menu – dog meat. It seems the Food Safety Office in Beijing has placed restrictions on the over one hundred official Olympic restaurants banning dog meat from being served to customers. A request has also gone out to other restaurants and hotels in the city asking them to take dog meat off the menu.
I eat meat, so I guess it’s kind of hypocritical to comment on the tastes of people from other cultures. Who am I to say that the life of a dog is more valuable than the life of a cow? I can’t help it, though. Dogs have always held a special place in my heart, and it’s hard for me to imagine them treated as livestock. My hope is that the ban will catch on, and restaurants will continue to keep dog off their menus long after the last Olympian has left the city.
I think it’s completely natural to be weirder out that another culture eats an animal that we keep as pets. I am an animal lover, but not a vegetarian, so I can completely see where you’re coming from. I wouldn’t be able to be in a building where I know they are cooking dogs…I just couldn’t ignore my feelings on that one.