People eat beef, pork, chicken, turkey, lamb, fish, and then the more adventurous eat shark, alligator, and buffalo, but why not dog? Outside of those taking meals in swanky new age vegan bars, we are carnivores, meat eaters, and yet, even the most adventurous of the carnivores wont eat dog. Dogs are cute, they play fetch, they curl up at the foot of your bed or in front of the fire. But, on the other hand, are pigs not cute?
Pigs can be taught to fetch, and I’m sure porky would have no objections to a bit of snuggling at bedtime or lounging on the warm hearth; in fact, pigs are every bit as intelligent and feeling as mans best friend, and yet, there’s Porky sizzling away in the pan at breakfast. Our taboo against eating dog meat is proof of the personification that permeates our ideas of our pets. Even though dogs as pets are emotionally invested into the families which they belong, dogs are animals, and as such can be eaten. While many modern day cultures are against eating dog meat, not all countries find it taboo.
As Foer mentions in his article “Let Them Eat Dog” (2009) food is not meant to be rational. He believes food is based on culture, habit, craving and necessity. For example, in the Philippines, dog is eaten to overcome bad luck, it is used as medicine in China and Korea, and it is used to enhance libido in Nigeria. Hippocrates himself praised dog meat as his source of strength, and it was strength Ronald Amundsen received from eating his sled dogs when he found himself hungry with limited resources. (Foer, 2009).
In the Muslim faith making a meal of dog meat is strictly forbidden, but Muslims also refrain from consuming pork. However, there is a christian community of Indonesia who use dog meat to help celebrate events such as weddings and Christmas, as in many other parts of the world. (Saletan, W. 2002) Taking religion into consideration regarding the consumption of dog meat falls under food being a part of ones culture, therefor there is definitive reason behind not eating it. Aside from religious beliefs the lack of desire to eat dog is based on emotion.
While our emotions place restrictions on consuming dogs, we should take into consideration the benefits it could have on our community. More than 4 million dogs are euthanized each year after unsuccessful stays at the pound (The Juxtaposition Ape, 2011). At any given time you can find homeless communities dotted throughout our cities, filled with hungry people. Soup kitchens and shelters are forced to limit the number of mouths they feed due to a lack of resources. There is no lack of dogs who are not adopted; one might call it an abundance of dogs who end up being put down because no one wanted them… as pets.
The general rule at shelters is to euthanize animals after 7 days if no one has claimed them or adopted them (The Juxtaposition Ape, 2011). This results in a large quantity of dogs who are euthanized each year. If dogs were used as food, and if that food was distributed to kitchens and shelters, millions of meals could be generated from the meat. There could potentially be less deaths per year due to starvation and malnutrition, and we could put less of a strain on our communities to find ways to dispose of those millions of dogs without homes.
Utilizing meat from dogs who are to be euthanized not only could save lives, and relieve pressure on cities that house animal shelters, but it could also help the US take steps towards being a less wasteful country by putting to use what we would have let waste away. The difference between dogs and livestock is only subjective. Dog meat is not poisonous, it is not bad for us or hard for our bodies to digest. There is nothing stating that it is less preferable of a meat based on nutritional value either.
Dog meat is even thought to have medicinal values such as increased circulation, and being able to increase ones temperature (Saletan, W. 2002). However, over the last few years many different establishments such as Camp Bow Wow, doggy daycare, and fancy doggy boutiques selling strollers that we push our dogs in as we walk through the park, have become popular for our four legged friends. Dogs are dogs, they are animals. The negative thoughts involved with eating dog meat is our fault, we have projected traits of people onto our animals. It wasn’t Fido’s idea to shrug into a sweater.
If it was not for the personification of our animals, it would be more feasible to consider dogs as animals, and as such, meat. For a society of people who are always looking for a solution to hunger and who are upset about waste and the stress on the environment due to it, why not eat dog? As a species we are wired to eat meat. We are animals and it is instinct to feed, and as carnivores, it is not uncommon to want to feed on meats. If someone is desensitized enough to think pork is edible after being roasted over a fire in its natural form, there is no reason for the person to be up in arms regarding the subject of dog meat.