EATING DOGS: OPINION AND EVIDENCE
Each country has its particular dishes which are made from disparate ingredients, various materials, different cooking methods and some skillful techniques. These things truly portray a country’s culture and customs. Therefore, the disrespectful and prejudiced view of said customs and traditions is unacceptable. The controversial issue about whether to eat dogs or not makes the world turn its backs on countries where dogs are used for meals and parties… including my beautiful country Vietnam, which has a variety of ways to cook them: broiling, stewing, steaming, BBQ… What is the difference among dog meat, beef, pork, and so on?
After the Big Bang, the world was divided into six continents: Asia, America, Africa, Europe, Australia and Antarctica. Due to these different distributions, it developed in diverse ways with respect to every country’s lifestyle, especially when it comes to eating dogs which has become part of the culture of my country and which most people think is a cruel and terrible affair. Before we address this question, I have a question for anti-dog eating proponents. How different is it from Mexicans eating horses, Indians swallowing bugs, Malaysians digesting insects, Koreans having live octopuses for meals, Thais eating alligators, Japanese killing whales to make sushi, or Chinese using shark for luxurious parties? If human beings are equal, why can’t animals be equivalent?
First of all, people usually consider dogs as pets, so they keep and take care of them as a part of their family (usually in Western countries). However, have they ever thought why they didn’t choose butterflies, bugs, or even wild and ferocious animals as their pets instead of dogs? Many excuses will emerge in this situation. It is an oxymoron when people can’t determine whether true or not animal intelligence is actually a fact, so they pick a normal and general one not to get in trouble. Second, why do animals exist on this planet? Aren’t they used for entertaining, helping, protecting us, and basically eating? Think about it further; if we didn’t use them for meals, what would the Earth be like? Full of animals or, more horribly, human beings would be back in the Dinosaur Empire when they were our boss and humans might become extinct. Regardless, eating dogs doesn’t mean living to eat but eating to live in moderation.
As other countries eat conventional animal meat, we Vietnamese eat dogs because of their undeniable benefits. According to Vietnamese ancient documents, dog parts were and are used as a panacea to cure diseases such as: lung cancers, asthenic, male impotence, etc. In more specific detail, dog meats help gentlemen be more vigorous and wilder when having sex because dog bones contain sweet calcium and strong yin which affects tendons, blood, and muscles. If you combine dog bones with monkey bones or horse bones and stew them for long hours in order to obtain a nutritious broth to drink, it will help heal impotence in men. Moreover, dog meat is also used for traditional medicines to treat baby night peeing habit. The recipe calls for: 150g dog meat and 40g stewed black beans. Cook together and eat from 5 to 10 days while it is hot. Another benefit is that it is good for those who often have cold hands and feet and are less resistant to cold weather as it eases diarrhea, sneezing and coughing. Because dog meat has a strong yin, it can heal these problems better than conventional medicines and it has no side effects. You can see how beneficial dog meats are.
Surely this debatable issue would make PETA organization (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) have to launch a disastrous revolution if every country ate dogs. We Vietnamese admit to eating dogs but in moderation, just once a week or a month, not every day. Everything has two sides, bad and good, if you know how to keep it under control. Breaking natural laws doesn’t mean it is utterly wrong. It depends on every single person’s mind. Whether or not you eat dogs is not a serious matter. It’s better to take it easy and show your cultural respect to dog eating countries generally and specifically my country. An extremely famous celebrity, Christina Aguilera, said in a speech: “Haters are going to hate, no matter whether what you do is right or wrong.”
How unacceptable is it? We are cleverer than animals because we have knowledge and recognition to judge something consciously. Yes, dog meats may cause fatal and serious diseases the most dangerous of which is rabies, but a British doctor, Edward Jenner has already created a vaccination for this. Anti-dog eaters who claim that most dog eating people are in a danger of getting rabies are wrong. It is a big misconception about dog eaters. We eat vaccinated, certified, and documented dogs which come through the process before cooking. A second counterargument is about morality. As I have said before, eating to live not living to eat. We are born, grow up, and become mature and we should taste everything at least once so as not to have any regrets when we are on the verge of leaving this beautiful world to meet our forefathers. Moreover, it is about broadening our knowledge of cultural culinary arts when you come to dog eating countries like Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, and certainly Vietnam. Finally, anti dog eaters claim that it is also about humanity. The dog is a loyal, smart and adorable pet. Therefore, it is too cruel when dog eating people say: “Its meat tastes delicious. It is not tough as beef or hard to swallow as alligators and resilient as goats. You just need to open your mouth and chew it easily without losing any teeth.” The problem with this argument is that they are only opposed to eating dogs and not other animals. Why aren’t they against eating cows, pigs, deer, horses, and chickens? Why such conflicted thoughts? For instance, Muslims condemn eating pork. Why? It is simply because this is their culture.
We are all born with the same goal: to live better on this Earth. So why do these prejudices still exist? Keeping a far distance and looking down on people with cultural and religious misunderstandings and misconceptions is not right. Eating dogs is as healthy as eating any other animal and not too awful to think about. Bear in mind this quote: “What you think is just only your opinion, not evidence.”
References:
http://www.ykhoa.net/yhocphothong/thamvansuckhoe/20_050.htm
http://hoianuong.vn/chu-de/nhung-tac-dung-bat-ngo-tu-thit-cho.6190/
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