Eating dogs

[Middle-aged Europe]

Why does the whole talk about dogs and pigs suddenly remind me of that restaurant scene from Pulp Fiction?

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[Middle-aged Europe]

^^ Fixed.

[Middle-aged Europe]

What does dog taste like anyway?

[Middle-aged Europe]

No. It goes against the sacred covenant we have with the canine species. We have coexisted for thousands of years, and they have been domesticated. They are "man's best friend". Some cultures have gone astray from this covenant, but that doesn't make eating them okay. Pigs are just as smart as dogs of course, but no covenant exists with them. They have been bred for food. Dogs have not.

I also like the inefficient argument. Why eat another carnivore (actually, aren't dogs omnivores?)

Sacred covenant?

Well, something I believe anyways. There is a special relationship between dogs and humans. Something that has existed for millenia, and something that cannot be denied.

Seems like pigs were getting the shaft convenant-wise.

[Middle-aged Europe]

No. It goes against the sacred covenant we have with the canine species. We have coexisted for thousands of years, and they have been domesticated. They are "man's best friend". Some cultures have gone astray from this covenant, but that doesn't make eating them okay. Pigs are just as smart as dogs of course, but no covenant exists with them. They have been bred for food. Dogs have not.

I also like the inefficient argument. Why eat another carnivore (actually, aren't dogs omnivores?)

Sacred covenant?

Well, something I believe anyways. There is a special relationship between dogs and humans. Something that has existed for millenia, and something that cannot be denied.

Seems like pigs were getting the shaft convenant-wise.

Well, as smart as pigs are, what good have they done for humans besides being very tasty?

http://old.post-gazette.com/neigh_west/20020409lulu0409p1.asp

[Middle-aged Europe]

No. It goes against the sacred covenant we have with the canine species. We have coexisted for thousands of years, and they have been domesticated. They are "man's best friend". Some cultures have gone astray from this covenant, but that doesn't make eating them okay. Pigs are just as smart as dogs of course, but no covenant exists with them. They have been bred for food. Dogs have not.

I also like the inefficient argument. Why eat another carnivore (actually, aren't dogs omnivores?)

Sacred covenant?

Well, something I believe anyways. There is a special relationship between dogs and humans. Something that has existed for millenia, and something that cannot be denied.

Seems like pigs were getting the shaft convenant-wise.

Well, as smart as pigs are, what good have they done for humans besides being very tasty?

(an animal with an even closer bond to humans than dogs).

Debatable, but perhaps the same argument could be used against eating horse. At least horses are strictly herbivores.

So, where do we draw the line? Is eating chimpanzee ok?

Nope. First of all, chimpanzees are an endangered species (well, two species actually). Some people may also consider it semi-cannibalism.

None of the two points apply to dogs.

[Middle-aged Europe]

After having googled around a bit, I must say that the topic of dog consumption is not that uninteresting as an aspect of our own cultural history.

Up until the early 20th century eating dogs was not that uncommon in the Western world, especially some parts of Europe. For instance, this New York Times article from 1907 reported that a total of 3700 dogs had been slaughtered for the purposes of human consumption in the German state of Saxony during the year 1906. Advertisement for dog meat in German newspapers was also described as "not uncommon":
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9B04E4D9133EE033A25750C2A9609C946697D6CF&oref=slogin

While the consumption of dogs was often the result of famine, shortages or at least an increase in prices for other meat, it also managed to become more of a tradition in some regions. In fact, eating dogs still seems to be occasionally practiced in some rural parts of Switzerland to this day.

Ironically, the emergence of the more and more "industrialized" breeding and slaughtering of cows, pigs etc. meant that these forms of meat were finally constantly available at low prices for every consumer. Hence dog meat became less and less viable/necessary as a food  alternative and the taboo against eating dogs started to assert itself.