Letters to the Editor
-
Unnecessary cruelty the world round
I became a vegetarian a decade ago after learning about the barbaric cruelty suffered by dogs and cats in parts of Asia (in that instance, Korea) and being unable to differentiate it from the barbaric cruelty suffered by farm animals in our own factory farms and slaughterhouses here in the U.S. Both systems are deplorable. Thanks for casting a little light on this very dark subject that most people (of any culture) would rather ignore.
-
consciousness
Dogs and cats form emotional bonds with humans. Perhaps because of breeding or proximity, most of us had never had a cow curl up with us in bed, or played frisbee with a pig. Most Americans or western europeans would have a visceral reaction to seeing what the author saw, and I would say that reaction is morally justified. As others have alluded, companion animals were domesticized and bred as companions, not food. Arguing that a cat or dog's affection is an anthropomorphic delusion is itself a delusion. Can animals feel fear? I think so, judging by the way my pet shivers at the vet's office (it is not cold). Can animals fear anger? Then why not affection or joy? I hope things can change in China. I have also seen reports of some in China saving the cats destined for the market and pleaing for others to do the same.
-
chinese knowledge of western culture?
i am absolutely amazed at the western MISconception of the breadth and depth of the knowledge that the mainstream chinese have of western culture. especially in a forum such as this. i live in a HUUUUGE city. and the majority of people *I* encounter on a day to day basis have the SAME misconceptions of western culture that the WESTERN people have of chinese culture.
sure, one half of the varkenfamily goes to work in a multinational company and deals w/ college educated cityfolk (and YES. they have the SAME misconceptions). but the other half (me) deals w/ the every day folk w/ the real shi*ite. i'm the part that gets the "this is how chinese people think" or "this is how chinese people eat" and reminded how wrong i am if i decide to drink cold water on a cold day or hot water w/ a *lemon* if i'm a HOT person or an *orange* if i am a COLD person... or if i decide to drink cold water during my period. or if i decide to take a walk outside when the weather is 19c (63F) without my long pants and perhaps a skirt.
many many MANY things are lost in tradition and translation.
where does this guy come off writing about being served a dog at a banquet and turning it into an olympic disgrace? shameful.
get off the peta wagon and start to learn more about the people than the official government stance. just like america...
-
Cows and chickens and sheep can also form emotional bonds with humans...
Pigs, too. As a child, I spent my summers on a farm. I could tell very touching stories about chickens who knew me and would come running up to me when I came out of the house; about little baby calves I got to pet; about cows, and the many different personalities thereof. Does it make me "cruel and inhumane" for eating beef or chicken? Sheesh.
This sounds like cultural insensitivity to me. "We Americans consider dogs to be pets, not food; therefore it's the only right way to live and anyone who thinks otherwise is inhumane!" As long as the dog was well-treated during its lifetime and humanely killed, what's wrong with it?
-
Endangered species
Just saw a story on Vietnam. Evidently the Chinese market for herbal remedies and aphrodisiacs and 'strength' potions is such that many Vietnamese rare animals are being illegally killed and then sent to China, against Vietnamese law. Endangered species due to superstition mostly. This is pure backwardness.
Eating dogs is probably necessary in a very poor culture which has little meat. China, I think, is not that desparate any more. However, offering it to a Westerner is as clueless as walking into a Chinese house with muddy boots. I am a vegetarian and this is one of the reasons why. Meat is murder, folks. And when you eat dog, you see it the most clearly. Unless you are desparate (yes I would eat meat if I had too, including 'human' meat...) it is not necessary at all.
-
insensitivity
Really- where does it end? Why not humans as well, I am sure some cultures consider that OK. Children? I think the whole cultural insensitivity thing is tired.
-
Dogs and Cats. Our holy animals?
I agree with so much of what is being said. Feeding over a billion people is something that as Americans -- and often wasteful Americans -- we have little right to pedantry.
However, what is not being said here, and something that I've never read before is a discussion/dissection of how our love, admiration and respect of dogs and cats in America seems to parallel a sort of religious deification. India has a number of holy animals -- cows, elephants, rats -- and the same can be said for other countries. Just throwing it out there, but can something similar be said for our hallowed treatment of dogs and cats?
-
An environmental perspective...
Many of the posters have mentioned that China's growing affluence will push them towards more Western tastes in food (i.e. beef, pork and chicken). Isn't this very trend one of the drivers behind increasing food prices and global demand for grain and dairy? Have you seen the reports from Haiti, where people are eating mudcakes because they can no longer afford flour?
Indeed, if our foolhardy policies on biofuels continue, China wouldn't (and I assure you, isn't currently) the only country using cats and dogs as a protein source.
Furthermore, with the general overpopulation of cats and dogs all over the world, isn't consumption a rather green way of thinning the herd, rather than using harsh drugs, incineration, and the landfill?
-
It's about perspective
The Chinese government has so little respect for human life, how could they possibly have respect for anything else?
Or maybe they are just operating under a different set of conditions than we are in the US and therefore frame "respect for human life" differently? Remember, many of these Chinese govt. officials have direct memories of famines that killed tens of millions of people--brought on by policies grounded in wishful thinking by one man and his yes-men. I refuse to believe that the Chinese govt. officials do not care for the fortunes of their people (every bit of evidence points to the contrary). They are simply operating under drastically different constraints.
Nations who's governments do not care about the welfare of their people are easy to spot (N. Korea) and are treated drastically differently by Western powers that nations which clearly do.
Whatever your feeling may be about the Tibetan people and their right to independence, do not filter the workings of a government as large as China's through a simple lens of "they don't care about human rights".