Posted on 06/30/2002 5:51:46 AM PDT by csvset
Dog meat hot among Korea and China's trendy young
Animal-rights activists say it is a food fad fuelled in part by a desire to rebel against Western criticism
By Ng Hui Hui
CANINE cuisine is becoming a fad among the young in South Korea and China, much to the dismay of animal-rights activists.
|
| The cruelty in the handling of dogs during their slaughter has raised the ire of animal-rights activists. Strung by their necks, the dogs are beaten to death. |
Restaurant owners and dog-meat watchers confirm that youngsters are now taking dog meat as part of their regular diet - much like beef or chicken - as food joints dish out trendy new recipes to whet appetites.
According to one estimate, 92 per cent of men and 68 per cent of women above 20 in South Korea have tasted dog meat recently.
In China, dog breeders are saying that in a few years, there will be as many Saint Bernard dogs on the mainland as cows and sheep.(?)
Although past data on dog-meat consumption is not available, those concerned say the numbers would have been low earlier - since dog meat was considered a type of tonic for the older generation, eaten to increase libido and treat illnesses.
Catering to the fad, on sale now are hotdogs with real dog meat, dog cookies and sandwiches and even dog noodles as restaurants come up with fast-food variations.
Traditional recipes such as kimchi, a spicy fermented vegetable dish, are being given a make- over and are now prepared with dog meat extracts.
Dog meat chefs hope to add more varieties soon.
South Korean nutritionist Ahn Young Geun, who wrote a book titled Koreans and Dogmeat, has come up with more than 350 new recipes.
The professor, who is often referred to as Dr Dogmeat, believes dog-meat consumption should be increased because it offers three times more calcium than other types of meat.
Besides the nutritional value, nationalistic pride seems to be playing a part, said Ms Kyenan Kum, founder of the animal-rights group International Aid for Korean Animals.
About 2.6 million dogs are killed yearly for food in South Korea, Mr Louis Ng, president of Singapore-based Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres), told The Sunday Times.
This is a 30 per cent increase over the 1993 figures.
'Eating dog meat is a show of defiance, especially among rebellious young people. They feel that the West has no right to criticise their culture,' he said.
Reflecting this sentiment, a group of students from Seoul University set up a website recently to promote the virtues of dog meat and secured 11,000 signatures in support of its campaign.
But it is the cruelty in the handling of dogs - man's best friend in the West - that is raising hackles among animal-rights activists.
Dogs are usually strung up by their necks and beaten repeatedly to increase the flow of adrenaline in their flesh. Consumers believe the more pain the animals suffer, the more tender the meat becomes.
The dogs would struggle, howl, urinate and bleed till they become unconscious. Finally, they are chopped into pieces. All these are done in front of other dogs awaiting the same fate.
Now, for the first time, an Asian grouping called Asia Link - made up of 14 animal welfare societies from 12 nations - has decided to join the protest and has sent a letter to the South Korean government urging a ban on dog meat.
Said Mr Ng of Acres, an Asia Link member: 'The Koreans say eating dog meat is part of their culture, but one cannot use culture to justify violence.'
Mounting criticisms made South Korea and China ban the trade for short periods in 1988 and 1999 respectively. But that has not kept South Koreans and Chinese from hankering for their dog burgers and dog noodles.
KOREAN CUISINE: Dog dishes
New dishes:
Fair point. Libertarians have no basis for objecting to animal torture right here in the United States. None. They might be personally outraged by it, but they are forbidden by their own ideology from doing anything about it.
You'd sit in judgement of another individual? Pass judgement? Inflict your will upon another? What if the charge was animal cruelty and the only bad thing to happen to him is he is arrested and brought to trial? Why is the law against cruelty wrong while sitting on ones hands in a jury okay?
INNER STRENGTH
If you can start the day without caffeine or pep pills,
If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you time,
If you can overlook when people take things out on you when, through no fault of yours, something goes wrong,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without liquor,
I you can sleep without the aid of drugs, . . . . .
you are probably a dog.
My dogs are among my best teachers for "human" qualities and what it means to be a good and decent human being.
We're supposed to believe this in spite of an insurmountable body of evidence to the contrary? Ha, ha, ha.
That was your joke for the day.
What people invented the suicide bomber and chillingly referred to them as a 'divine wind'? Hmmm?
Or some other country infested with sexually degenerate dog eaters.
I can't believe how wide-spread this belief, that perverts can increase their sexual potency by eating dogs that have been cruelly tortured to death, is throughout the Orient.
We're talking cultural psychosis, here.
I'm sorry to see you are so into racial stuff. What people invented death camps to gas millions of Jews? What people machine-gunned innocent women and chidren in a small villege called My Lai in Vietnam? What people cheated and then slaughtered native Indians in order to steal their land? What people who are supposed to love dogs enslaved human beings and treated them worse then animals?
I've told you it's a dynamic process in which supply of widgets evatually matches demand for widgets.
You made this racist statement, not me. I was only responding to your attack of Westerners in your attempt to defend the indefensible torture of helpless, live, dogs by Far Eastern perverts looking for some cheap sexual thrills.
I was told that A.J. had resorted to cowardly, personal attacks, behind my back, on this thread.
At least you had the guts to make your race-baiting, typical, liberal, personal attacks to my face.
I knew the personal attacks would come. They always do, when you argue with liberals.
Dark skin represented the workers that had to work in the sun; light skin meant you were well off and did not have to work. It's a class thing.
Not neccessarily. Many imperial maids or concubines of wealthy people were from the working class in ancient China. They were chosen solely according to the Chinese aesthetic stardard, not their class backgrounds, so outdoor working doesn't neccessarily make your skin dark.
Huh?
I can't understand how any human being could inflict this kind of suffering to any innocent creature, especially for the stated purpose of "boosting their virility". Seems to me to be an act of a coward, not one of a man.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.