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In a speech one day during his long presidency, Barack Obama reminisced about his childhood, hearing the neighborhood call to prayer several times a day and eating food his mother prepared including dog. See Also: Lindsey Graham: I endorse Trump for the 2020 GOP nomination That was in Indonesia. Such a diet is culturally repulsive in a country whose citizens share their home, own foods and even beds with some 90 million dogs as pets and companions. Soon, eating them may also become illegal. An estimated 86 million pet cats also reside with Americans. An amendment was slipped into a bill approved by the House Agriculture Committee Wednesday to bar “knowingly slaughtering a dog or cat for human consumption” or transporting or participating in other commercial activity related to eating pet meat. Penalties would include up to one year in prison plus possible fines. Currently, only a few states such as California, New Jersey and New York ban such animal slaughtering, largely for immigrant markets. Dog and cat slaughter is already prohibited in commercial meat-packing plants. The new ban amendment, which was submitted by California Republican Rep. Jeff Denham, is supported by several animal groups including the Humane Society of the United States. It’s part of an immense $867 billion reauthorization bill for all Department of Agriculture programs including food stamps and farm subsidies. The Senate Agriculture Committee has yet to take up the reauthorization. |
Poster Comment:
#1: Vicomte13 To: Tooconservative (#0)
If we could get into a time machine and fast forward two centuries, I expect we would find that people then will regard us with the same moral horror for slaughtering and eating animals that we regard the slavers of two centuries ago.
The morality of things changes, and as we refine our knowledge of nutrition and our food science, such that we can be healthy without the pain and fear of the slaughter and all that goes with it, eventually we will outlaw the practice, for once it is no longer necessary, it will become increasingly difficult, and then outright impossible to morally justify the continued practice.
When that comes, there will be an outcry from whatever traditional religious remnant remains, that the animals were GIVEN to us to slaughter and eat by God. But, as with abortion or slavery, that argument will not prevail.
It would be interesting to have the discussion today, because it's the closest we can get to going back and discussing slavery with Americans in the time of slavery, to see how people dealt with an ugly but tolerated reality in their midst.
It would also be interesting to see if we could manage to have a rational, civil discussion of such a theoretical topic, in which there is no current political dog in the fight.
For my part, well, I sure wish we could be healthy for life just by eating fruit and vegetables. But the state of our science tells us we can't be. There is at least one vitamin that is only available from animal products, and one fat that many of our bodies cannot produce.
Vicomte13 posted on 2018-04-20 11:15:14 Reply Private Reply
#2: rlk To: Tooconservative (#0)
Taiwan passed a national law against eating dogs dearly a year ago. Good deal. Eating a dog would be like eating one of my own children.
rlk posted on 2018-04-20 18:41:43 Reply Private Reply
#3: Tooconservative To: rlk, Vicomte13 (#2)
It's a catchy tune with cute dog pix.
Tooconservative posted on 2018-04-20 23:47:11 Reply Private Reply
#4: Stoner To: rlk (#2)
Stoner posted on 2018-04-22 23:08:19 Reply Private Reply