May The Lassies, Plutos, Benjis and Eddies of China R.I.P.
May 24th, 2007
From the China Q & A Blog. Do you know the answers to any of the below questions?
It’s pretty well known that dog is considered a delicacy in many parts of China and even though an increasing number of Chinese are keeping dogs as pets the eating of dog meat shows no sign of falling by the wayside.
What breeds of dog are most popular for human consumption? (border collie anyone?)
How is it most commonly served? (dog on toast?)
What does it taste like? (chicken?)
Are there any supposed health benefits? (lets face it, almost everything you eat in China is supposed to be good for your health.)
Mmmm good, mmmmm good. That’s what little doggies are …. mmmmmm good.
Entry Filed under: Pre-Departure, China
12 Comments Add your own
1. Mike Johannsen | May 24th, 2007 at 8:59 am
According to an article on Wikipedia the meat of choice is St. Bernard (It must have something to do with the little flask of brandy around their neck). It is commonly breed with a local Chinese dog. The dog are bred particularly for their numerous, fast growing litters. The animals are harvested between 6 and 12 months and yields a fragrant meat. It has been said that dog is the tastiest of all meats.
While generally enjoyed by the wealthier citizens there has been growing demand for the meat. One web site (www.aapn.org/fooddogs) is surprisingly not against the eating of dogs, rather the method of how they are raised and harvested.
Whats that Timmy… Lassie fell into a well of delicious brown gravy… I’ll go get a baguette
2. Chris Carr | May 24th, 2007 at 1:24 pm
Good comment.
3. Patrick McGuire | May 24th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
I have frequently asked myself why it’s normal to eat beef or chicken but not cat or dog. Most Americans are repulsed by the idea of eating a dog and in fact Congress has spoken up recently against using dog fur for consumer products, but most of them were probably standing in leather shoes they bought with money they kept in a leather wallet. So what’s the difference? It’s got to be that we only want to eat animals we don’t keep as pets. There’s a scene from the West Wing, when the president is tormented by the idea of inviting to the White House a diplomat he is arranging to have assassinated and he recounts a story of taking his daughter to a restaurant. She saw the lobsters in the tank and started giving them all names and at that point nobody could eat lobster. I’m all for trying new things and immersing myself in local culture, but I don’t think I could bring myself to eat dog. I’ll stick to trying the century eggs and think twice every time I see a “hot dog” ad!
4. Chris Carr | May 24th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
Ditto re good comment.
5. Kerry Huang | May 25th, 2007 at 12:57 am
I can comment with first hand experience. My mom and I were in China a few years ago. We frequented a restaurant near my dad’s company that has the food on display behind glass. My mom picked out an innocent looking hotpot and assumed that it was beef since nothing was labeled. The meat was stringy and tough so I did not even finish one piece. Not wanting to waste food, my mom ate all of the “beef.” The next time we went to the restaurant my mom commented to the person behind the counter that the “beef” was not very good. The person corrected our assumption (it was dog) and my mom was thoroughly grossed out since we had a pet dog.
In short, dog meat is not tasty, even when we thought it was beef.
6. Chris Carr | May 25th, 2007 at 8:41 am
Kerry,
In your view could even dog meat be/become an acquired taste?
I used to despise tomatoes. Now, I can’t imagine a salad without them.
7. Chuck Rylant | May 27th, 2007 at 7:58 am
I can’t wait to try it!! With BBQ sauce it probably tastes like chicken.
8. Evelyn Ma | May 27th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
When in Rome… When in China?
I’m not as excited as Chuck to try dog, but I’ll open to trying it. (Even though I’m on the search of adopting a dog in the near future). yikes!
9. Christopher Arena | May 28th, 2007 at 8:06 pm
Its all about cultural conditioning. We are conditioned as Americans that a dog is man’s best friend, not man’s best entree. In China, its considered a delicacy and considering that Chinese culture is over 2000 years old, I’m pretty sure that by now they are pretty good and making Fido taste good. To draw another analogy, in some Indian cultures the cow is considered a god, or something like that. I’m probably wrong about the god part, but in their culture, you certainly don’t eat them. In America, cow is one of our primary sources of protein. Just another example of how cultural differences are sooooo important.
10. Derrik | May 29th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
I think we also need to be making a distinction between the types of dogs we’re talking about here. The way I see it there are basically to types of dogs out there, useful dogs (i.e. German Shepards, Huskies, Labs, Retrievers, etc…), and dogs you carry in a purse. The latter of the two, I can only hope were created for consumption purposes. Otherwise I have no idea what that crazy scientist, who bred a wolf with a rat so many years ago, was thinking. With that said, if there’s a Dachshund taco on the menu, I’m all in.
11. Lindsay Yoshitomi | May 31st, 2007 at 5:17 pm
Originally, people started eating dogs in the winter when food and other resources were scarce. As time has progressed, it has turned into a delicacy and is perceived to have a medicinal value of increasing the positive energy of one’s body, and helping regulate blood circulation. I’m not necessarily against eating dog, I won’t be, but every country has their own customs and eating habits and is free to do whatever they want. My only issue with the practice of eating dog is how they are often inhumanely killed. I know in Korea, an infamous way of killing the dogs is to beat them with a 2×4 or break their backs. The idea is that pain and adrenaline make the meat tender. I think it’s the beating…but that’s just my opinion. People are allowed to eat whatever they want…cows, pigs, chickens, or dogs…but they should be humanely slaughtered. According to Wikipedia, the common breed of dog grown for meat is a cross between a local Chinese dog and a St. Bernard. The animals are slaughtered between the age of 6 to 12 months…aka…puppies. I LOVE dogs, and will not be able to bring myself to eat one, let alone a puppy.
12. Kerry Huang | June 1st, 2007 at 8:32 pm
Prof Carr,
I did not know that the meat was dog until a few days later. It may have been the breed of dog but it was not very tasty.
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