The Difference Between a Dog and a Cow

[hmmm_tea]

Owner roasts family pet in barbecue

(via veganpeople)

OK, given my views on eating animals, I'm not entirely unbiased about this one, but this just shouts double standards!

How is it more acceptable to eat a cow/pig/chicken/sheep/etc than a dog?

Of course, sentimentality is clearly a good measure for deservingness of life, isn't it? Following on those lines, perhaps, when we get short of food, we should start by eating the person with the least friends and work from there?

Comments

[jarethrake.livejournal.com]

It's not. Iirc, pigs are almost as intelligent as small children, for instance.

[starkmadgemini.livejournal.com]

hum. that is ... interesting.

and yea, the double standards are ridiculous. its pretty irrational of people to think its ok to confine "farm" animals and treat them like shit (then kill them), but that its totally unacceptable to kill and dog and eat it.

i really wish people would wake up already...

[ghoti.livejournal.com]

I agree with you, and I'm a meat eater. Having said that, if I'd kept a pig as a pet I wouldn't want to eat it either, because I'm a soppy ha'porth. I'd be fine if I knew the animal was all along destined for the pot.

[cartographer.livejournal.com]

If you're into sustainability, it's worse. Eating a carnivore is eating the animals a dog ate too. So, some amount of energy, X, is used to grow a plant, and, say, Y to grow a herbivore (where Y is lots of Xs) and Z to grow a carnivore (where Z is lots of Ys).

I realise that this isn't the reason people are horrified by dog eating, of course. It's because dogs are cute.

[cartographer.livejournal.com]

Ugh, I think I've expressed myself more badly in the past, but not often. In summary: eating higher up the food chain is more wastage.

[hmmm-tea.livejournal.com]

Interesting point

I hadn't actually considered how few carniverous meats people actually eat, and thinking about it most of the major ones are herbivores.

However, I'm not sure the argument holds as this was an unwanted pet, so the energy was already used in the keeping of the pet, the meat was a by-product of this.

[naath.livejournal.com]

Eating carniverous animal also exposes one to more diseases I think; plus they generally taste bad (not always though).

[elynne.livejournal.com]

I can't bring myself to click the link, because I have this thing about cruelty to animals, and the headline doesn't tell me if the dog was alive or dead before it was put in the BBQ. :(

I have the luxury of having pets, carnivorous pets even; I have the luxury of spending money and attention on them, and in return I develop a strong sentimental bond with them. On the other hand - they, like all animals, are made of meat. If I was starving, and all I had to eat was one of my cats... I would be very sad, I would try to make sure the cat didn't suffer, and I'd eat it.

For that matter, I'm made of meat, too. One of my housemates wants to be roasted and served at her own wake; pity that there's all those annoying laws not allowing us to do it. I personally don't care what's done to me after I'm dead, though my favorite option is a wood chipper. *bzzt*

[hmmm-tea.livejournal.com]

They killed it before hand. The main jist of the article is about that in fact. The court ruled that they'd killed the dog ethically it doesn't count as cruelty and the local animal welfare group aren't happy about it.

To be honest, I wouldn't mind if I was eaten once I was dead, as long as I wasn't killed for that reason. Then again, I'm also on the donor register, so I would like to think they got priority over bits of me first.

[helflaed.livejournal.com]

Provided the dog was killed humanely I have no problem with that.

I'd be a bit wary about eating a carniverous animal because of potential parasite infestation, but otherwise wouldn't have concerns. I'd even eat cat, and I have three as pets. Althoug I wouldn't really fancy eating those specific three unless I was very hungry.

[naath.livejournal.com]

I think it would be wierd to eat an animal I had become sentimentally attached to, such as a pet; but I don't think eating dog is especially weird.