# How Popular Are Dogs... on a menu? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 3, 2008, 10:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693 "2008-08-03T10:03:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693/41 "2008-08-03T14:21:32Z")
Even the Mongolians, and Russians, and other Slavic and Central Asian groups, eat horsemeat with great pleasure, despite having a tradition of military horsemanship going back hundreds and hundreds of years with the best cavalry units and horse-breeders in the world, and men trusting their very lives to the horses they rode into battle. And even these people never had any problem with eating horse. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693/42 "2008-08-03T14:23:40Z")
Some areas really do not have many sources of protein. Dog was an occasional specialty in some parts of Cameroon. These were also the parts that were too dense of rain forest to raise livestock successfully. People have dogs around for other reasons (mostly protection, never for companionship) and now and then the dog population starts looking a little high and people’s stomachs a little empty. I wager that is how a lot of dog-eating cultures got started, and now it has simply become tradition. ---
**Author:** ![3acresandatruck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e79b87/32.png) [@3acresandatruck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3acresandatruck)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693/43 "2008-08-03T14:25:33Z")
[QUOTE=Czarcasm] If you wish to attack those who through choice or necessity eat dog, you may do so in The BBQ Pit. [/QUOTE] Heh. I was just about to say that everything tastes good when it’s barbecued. Mmmmm, cows, pigs, chickens, dogs, horse…grill’em up and eat’em up! Yummy. Like I said in that moment as a child, when I first truly understood what meat really was, “Cool. Let’s kill something and eat it.” ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693/44 "2008-08-03T14:31:32Z")
I’ve eaten dog pleanty of times. The first one was curiousity. The next half dozen times was because it was there, and it was delicious. Granted, there was nothing exceptional about it. And had they used pork instead of dog in the soup, I most likely wouldn’t have noticed. So basically, its a complete nonissue to me. Dog or no dog. If it’s good soup, I’ll eat it. My wife on the other hand has never eaten dog, nor will she. Not because of the dog=pet thing, but because she says that dogs are peasant food. I guess its the same as some westerner who raises his/her nose at mac n cheese. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693/45 "2008-08-03T14:33:15Z")
Oh, and FTR, I wouldn’t have any beef (he he he he) with some culture eating their dead. Why the fuck would it bother me what other cultures do. Provided it doesn’t involve oppression, torture or harm to its living. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693/46 "2008-08-03T14:37:40Z")
“ivan astikov, what type of pet dog do you have?” Muffin asks hungrily. ---
**Author:** ![essell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/34f0e0/32.png) [@essell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/essell)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693/47 "2008-08-03T14:50:31Z")
Here’s a question, if a dog dies in a train wreck is it okay to eat it? ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693/48 "2008-08-03T15:08:56Z")
How recently did it die? ---
**Author:** ![CaerieD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@CaerieD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaerieD)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693/49 "2008-08-03T15:11:39Z")
[QUOTE=HazelNutCoffee] This isn’t to say that eating dog is an everyday practice. Plenty of Koreans go through life never having touched the stuff. But most of us, even those of us with pet dogs, don’t really bat an eyelash at the idea, because we are able to seperate the idea of _my pet dog_ from _that dog in the stew_. The dog in the stew and I do not share a relationship. As far as I’m concerned, that dog in the stew is no different from that cow in my hamburger. [/QUOTE] I agree with this and would like to add onto it. Plenty of my neighbors raise animals with whom they are quite friendly. They give them names, cuddle the babies, and brag about how big and healthy they are. Once those critters have gotten big enough, they’re cheerfully slaughtered without a second thought about it and consumed. _This is in America_. They do this with cows and pigs every year. Yes, there are huge factory farms that produce the meat in the grocery store with which no one has a personal relationship, but plenty of normal, non-“primitive” Westerners see nothing wrong with eating animals that they raised, even after feeding piglets a bottle by hand. To draw some artificial line between rural America and our practices with meat and other countries, simply based off of the animals that are being eaten, is ridiculous. I eat a largely vegan diet now, but in the past I’ve eaten veal, lamb, and **cat**. Cuteness has no effect on taste. (Though in defense of _stupid_ meat, lamb is my favorite.) ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693/50 "2008-08-03T15:46:13Z")
I’ve had dog before. I had to go out of my way to get it. I was curious about it and it was pretty mediocre. I’d eat it if there weren’t alternative meat sources. Pigs are highly intelligent, cute and make great pets. They are also delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Hogwash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e57/32.png) [@Hogwash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hogwash)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693/51 "2008-08-03T15:59:55Z")
Next time I find myself in a place that serves dog, I am going to order double, just because of this thread and the idiotic arguments you have made herein. You will be directly responsible for the consumption of a dog. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693/52 "2008-08-03T17:21:25Z")
At the moment in China, all restaurants are being discouraged from serving dog throughout the period of the Olympic Games, as has happened before in Seoul in 88, and during the 2002 World Cup; it’s obvious the governments of both countries accept it is offensive. Human Cultures do not live in some sort of vacuum, and if a minority upsets the majority deliberately, it should be persuaded to change its ways. Or am I barking up the wrong tree? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693/53 "2008-08-03T17:26:06Z")
[QUOTE=ivan astikov] At the moment in China, all restaurants are being discouraged from serving dog throughout the period of the Olympic Games, as has happened before in Seoul in 88, and during the 2002 World Cup; it’s obvious the governments of both countries accept it is offensive. Human Cultures do not live in some sort of vacuum, and if a minority upsets the majority deliberately, it should be persuaded to change its ways. Or am I barking up the wrong tree? [/QUOTE] Bullshit. Restaurants have been and are discouraged from serving dog because the governments involved knew there would be (undeserved) bad publicity stemming from our ignorance of others’ cultures if they didn’t. The same ignorance you are showing in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693/54 "2008-08-03T17:38:48Z")
[QUOTE=Czarcasm] Bullshit. Restaurants have been and are discouraged from serving dog because the governments involved knew there would be (undeserved) bad publicity stemming from our ignorance of others’ cultures if they didn’t. The same ignorance you are showing in this thread. [/QUOTE] Bollocks! If it is such a popular dish, how come they don’t have fast food outlets trying to tout their tastes on the rest of the world? Because Kentucky Fried Dog doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, that’s why. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693/55 "2008-08-03T17:43:27Z")
[QUOTE=ivan astikov] Bollocks! If it is such a popular dish, how come they don’t have fast food outlets trying to tout their tastes on the rest of the world? Because Kentucky Fried Dog doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, that’s why. [/QUOTE] I have to go to a convention meeting, so I will hold off enjoying the lambasting you are going to get for that last statement until I get back this afternoon. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693/56 "2008-08-03T17:45:45Z")
I also noticed this in the Wikipedia article > [@](#): > > Many Korean Buddhists consider eating meat an offense, which includes dog meat[citation needed]. Unlike beef, pork, or poultry, dog meat has no legal status as food in South Korea. Some in South Korea and abroad believe that dog meat should be expressly legalized so that only authorized preparers can deal with the meat in more humane and sanitary ways, while others think that the practice should be banned by law. > > In recent years, more and more Korean people changed their attitude towards eating dog meat from 'personal choice 'to ‘unnecessary cruelty’[citation needed]. Animal rights activists in South Korea protest against the custom of eating dog meat If the people who practice this tradition are having doubts, is it surprising that I might have them also? ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693/57 "2008-08-03T17:48:20Z")
[QUOTE=Czarcasm] I have to go to a convention meeting, so I will hold off enjoying the lambasting you are going to get for that last statement until I get back this afternoon. [/QUOTE] I’ll look forward to it, **Czarcasm**! The Defenders Against Ignorance are already riding ahead of you, to meet me! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693/58 "2008-08-03T17:53:54Z")
**D** ogs **N** ot **F** ood, ' **T** is **T** rue? ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693/59 "2008-08-03T18:11:15Z")
It’s worth noting that, at least in Korea, dog is considered a “stamina” food. In this case, stamina referring to sexual performance. (The soup is pretty good, but the dog meat itself is pretty fatty… don’t think I’d purposely consume it again.) ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2008, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693/60 "2008-08-03T18:17:23Z")
Bolding mine. > [@](#): > > Dog meat is **supposed** to raise the libido > > it is particularly eaten in the winter months, especially black dogs, which are **believed** to help retain body warmth > > Dogs are eaten in some states of Nigeria including Cross River, Plateau, Taraba and Gombe of Nigeria. They are \*\*believed \*\*to have medicinal powers > > Today in Korea, a segment of the population enjoy bosintang (literally “invigorating soup”), **believing** it to have medicinal properties, particularly as relates to virility. Dog meat is also **believed** to keep one cool during the intense Korean summer. Is anyone still going to tell me there is no ignorance involved in the eating of dog? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-popular-are-dogs-on-a-menu/458693.md?page=4)