"Even the most enthusiastic
carnivores won't eat dogs." In his 2009 novel, Eating Animals, Jonathan
Safran Foer argues that, “Dogs are plentiful, good for you, easy to cook, and
tasty.” Although growing up in America has made me see eating dogs as a taboo,
Safran Foer makes some pretty convincing points in favor of the consumption of
dog meat. Although
I cannot say I will immediately accept an offer of dog meat, eating dogs makes
sense. I say this keeping in mind the great struggle of feeding billions of
omnivores worldwide. “Three to four million dogs and cats are euthanized
annually.” These millions of pounds of meat are converted into food for other
animals we are already consuming. Safran suggests skipping the middle step (feeding
it to other livestock), and directly consuming it. Safran states three main reasons
for keeping dogs off the standard American meat-lover’s plate; “Don’t eat
companion animal, don’t eat animals with significant mental capacities, and
those things are bad for us.” There are various counterarguments to all three
of these. First, to us Americans, consumption of dog meat may seem strange and
bizarre, but so does eating cows to Indians, who consider cows a sacred animal.
Secondly, we slaughter millions of pigs, cows, chickens, etc. every year. All
of these animals show intelligence that at least matches that of a dog. Finally,
“properly cooked dog meat poses no greater health risk than other meats…”
I do not expect
eating dogs to become normal in America anytime soon. I do not plan on
consuming any dog-meat product anytime soon either. However, if it were
necessary, dog meat would serve as a perfect substitution for beef and chicken.
Dogs are eaten in numerous places around the globe still today, and there is
none of the shock and disgust that would be expressed here in America. Safran
Foer goes as far as giving a recipe in his book for wedding style dog to show
the hypocrisy in our culture. We refuse to eat dog, but gladly accept pigs,
chicken, etc., simply because we are used to them. Meat is meat, and if
necessary we might be eating dog meat in our Big Macs in a possibly near
future.
