Dog Pound=Possible Buffet?

     "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.