Every single time American’s very negative reaction to eating dogs and cats comes up, someone has to show up to explain that it’s a cultural thing, as if the vast majority of reasonably-sentient people were not already aware of this.
“Eating dogs and cats is gross and cruel” is an incredibly deep seated cultural sentiment in the US, you are *not* going to be able to logic people out of it, and it’s incredibly tiresome when commentators smugly note how illogical it is that most Americans would rather eat a pig than a puppy.
I react negatively to the idea of eating horse meat...and being tricked into eating it as a teenager by people in Belgium, where it's normal, did not help.
But I will stand up for people's right to eat horse meat (although ideally from horses raised for meat).
What I love to say to people who...
Serious question & I don't disagree w/ your comments: I'm wondering why horses raised for eating are somehow less worthy than those who aren't? (I've eaten horse meat & it was fine, although I won't eat it again.) Would ppl be ok with cats and dogs raised for meat?
No, Us people are also extremely strongly against cats and dogs raised for meat. Americans are also generally very against puppy mills that raise dogs en masse in bad conditions for pets (although they’re allowed to stay legal).
Because dogs and cats are considered companion animals - even those born in the wild who have never encountered a human. Horses are considered utilitarian, and the shift from "work animal" to "food animal" isn't a huge one.
Eating a dog feels closer to eating a human.
