Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Real Reality]

Even Dog Owners Eat Dog Meat
One out of every three pet dog owners do eat "posintang," or dog meat soup, contrary to expectations that they would avoid eating it.

"I like eating dog meat soup when I feel burnt out," said a graduate student only identified by her family name Yang. She believes the soup recharges her energy when she is exhausted so she eats it once in a while with her friends.

Poshintang is one of the most popular 'invigorating' foods in Korea. A total of 8,428 tons of dog meat are used as food each year, according to reports.
by Bae Ji-sook, Korea Times (August 6, 2006)
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200608/kt2006080618332411970.htm

[Hater Depot]

Hmm... 8,428 tons?

Assuming an average 100 lbs. per dog, we get

8,428 x 2,000 = 16,856,000 lbs.

16,856,000 / 100 = 16,856 dogs per year

I wonder what the figures are for chickens, pigs, and cows.

[red dog]

The population of Korea is a lot more than 500, and there's no mention of how the survey was done -- whether the radio station contacted people at random or just invited interested listeners to participate (in which case it would be self-selecting). I doubt the results have much value.

[bobbyhanlon]

and most likely more than 1/3 of people with fish tanks like eating fish. not to be facetious, but so what?

[Billy Pilgrim]

Another top post by Real Reality there!

Coming up next: 90% of dairy farmers eat beef! Stay tuned.

[blaseblasphemener]

People who were against the behavior said that eating dog is a bad taste that brings hatred unto others.

hmmm....looks like the Arirang school of translation.

[Real Reality]

Dog Meat Still Hot Potato in Korea
"Dog meat does not fall in the category of livestock goods according to the law," said Kim Mun-gap, an agriculture and forestry ministry official. "We audit beef, pork and poultry distribution, but we do not have a special regulation for dog meat." He admitted that there could be loopholes for unsanitary and bad quality dog meat to slip in, and a strict regulation for dog meat product is needed.
Bae Ji-sook, Korea Times (August 10, 2006)
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200608/kt2006081017534910510.htm

[Captain Corea]

10 out of 10 cow owners eat beef.


wow, such news.

[mindmetoo]

[Guri Guy]

Good article on cat eating.

http://messybeast.com/eat-cats.htm

Here is an excellent letter on the subject of eating dogs:

This is in response to the William Saletan article "Wok the Dog" on Slade (http://www.slate.com/id/2060840/) by Bruce Krider.

I am saddened by his indifferent attitude about dogs. Whether they are �man�s best friend� or not they deserve enough recognition for their nature to be spared as a meal. Maybe it takes having had a dog as a family pet to see some of these things.

Dogs exhibit some of the best ideals and characteristics humans aspire to but often fail. Let's talk about �self-sacrifice and loyalty�. As an example, my dog, Bella, a five year old German Shepperd, would, unequivocably and instantly I am totally confident sacrifice her own life in defense of anyone in the family or even in defense of those she knows as friends not giving a thought to her own welfare. How many humans would do that?

Dogs are sentient creatures. They have emotions and feelings. They are not like snails or reptiles or even cows.... Anyone who has had a dog can tell you that. They display great happiness when you come home. Even if everyone else is annoyed at me or if I have had a terribly trying day, there is Bella, waging her tail and barking to greet me, as if to say "Geez, I'm really glad to see you. You make me happy." Those of you with dog pets know this. Similarly, their feelings are hurt when they are scolded. Crows, horses and pigs don't do that. Dogs respond with unfettered unconditional affection when it is shown to them. And, yes, they experience, high anxiety and fear when some Korean, Cambodian, Vietnamese or Chinese is bashing their head in, skinning them alive or boiling them.

I am not for a minute dismissing the inhumane treatment of all animals but on behalf of the dog, the species that works with man in police work, the military, hospitals and medicine, companion care, and as rescuers of humans, I do not understand how people can literally be so satanic to them. In the U.S., people get prison terms for what the Asians do to dogs. We obviously value them as a nation and as do most Europeans.

Unfortunately, I agree with a Korean writer who says that our attitude and criticism alone won't help change behavior. I think the only way to solve this is to continue to bring light to the subject and work with companies internationally to avoid working with those countries that permit or endorse heinous behavior and cruelty. We must get to the corporate conscience of leading companies.

http://www.animalfreedom.org/english/column/dogmeattrade.html

[Guri Guy]

Another excellent point and something I hadn't considered. Maybe that dog you are eating is not so healthy after all. This does not suprise me as I have heard that SARS started due to Chinese people eating Civit Cats. AIDS was likely started by Africans eating monkeys that are closely related to humans. There are consequences when we mess with mother nature. For all you dog eaters out there: IT AIN'T NATURAL!

Generally people of MANY cultures not just Americans do not eat carnivores or scavengers. Canines are both.

The reasons for this are actually rooted in biology. Carnivores and scavengers in prehistoric times were likely to eat humans or human remains. Eating something that has eaten your kin was not only repugnant; it was likely to spread parasitic disease which was very common.

There have been recent findings of cave hyenas that have illustrated this theory, showing them surrounded with bones of humans they had used for a food source, and near by caves or humans using hyenas as a food source. Both species had evidence of the same digestive parasites. This is a biological rarity. Typically parasites are highly specialized to one species. Even a change in body temperature can create a hostile environment within the same host; Fevers may be most effective at killing discouraging parasites, not bacteria or viruses.

As I understand it Asia has a strong tradition of valuing dogs, as evident by the many breed that have come from the area. Many breeds were kept a secret from foreigners, or only allowed to be owned by royalty. This does not seem like a disregard for the animal.

My understanding is that some areas of Asia have moved to dog as a food source out of necessity. It is a highly efficient scavenger, and pound for pound one of the best sources of protein for the low amount of nutrition you have to put into it. I think fish is first, then rabbit, and dog is somewhere close to 3rd on that list. I have seen some propaganda style commercials that make me think it is not a desire of the common people but a necessity of over population. Something that has to be culturally normalized in order to make the best of a tight situation.

Since America is a land of abundance most people do not find it seemly to eat an animal they often have a high emotional response to.

[Guri Guy]

Here is an interesting article about pigs to have some balance in the argument:

We wouldn�t serve our dogs for dinner�but what do our pooches have that pigs don�t? Anyone who has spent time around pigs can attest that they are just as loving, intelligent, and capable of feeling pain and suffering as our canine companions. So why do we call one �friend� and the other �food�?

Bringing home the bacon and other meats means certain death for lovable, smart, social pigs and other animals. Given the opportunity and training, pigs can play certain computer games about as well as college students, turn on lights and heat in a barn, and perform many other sophisticated activities. Intelligent, inquisitive, and pleasant-natured animals, pigs can be loyal, playful, affectionate companions and have been known to save people from drowning�yet people don�t return the favor, and many who couldn�t stomach the thought of eating their dogs routinely consume pig flesh.

Some might ask, �Pigs are bred for food, so what�s wrong with eating them?� But of course, in many Asian countries, we could pose the same question about dogs. Basic biology tells us that being bred for a certain purpose does not change an animal�s capacity to feel pain, fear, or sorrow. Animals who are bred for human consumption still suffer greatly at the hands of factory farmers and slaughterhouse workers.

On factory farms, sows are no longer allowed to be the good mothers that nature intended. Instead, they are treated as inanimate �meat machines,� squeezed into narrow metal stalls barely larger than their own bodies, and kept constantly pregnant or nursing. Immobilized, mother pigs are unable even to nuzzle their piglets. Pigs� tails are chopped off and their teeth are cut with pliers�and males are castrated�all without painkillers. At the end of their miserable lives, they get their first breath of fresh air as they are trucked to the slaughterhouse. Finally, they are hung upside-down and bled to death, often, according to slaughterhouse workers and U.S. Department of Agriculture meat inspectors, while still conscious and screaming.

People who take the time to really learn about pigs realize that they aren�t emotionless machines whose lives are inconvenient stages on the way to our dinner tables. They are living, breathing, and feeling beings who want to lead their lives free from suffering, just like our faithful dogs and cats do.

The biggest difference between pigs and dogs is the way we treat them! Despite the fact that pigs are highly intelligent, sentient beings who feel pain every bit as much as we do, they are regarded in terms of �inputs,� �outputs,� and profits by the factory-farming industry. Like many other factory-farmed animals, pigs are not even perceived as living beings. Rather, these animals, who are horrified at the sight and smells of the slaughterhouse and who will fight to save their lives, are treated as mere production units on an assembly line.

People from some cultures eat dogs, and some people eat pigs, but with a world of vegetarian foods to choose from, it�s high time we left all animals off the menu. The best way to show all animals some real respect is to stop eating them. Click here to learn how you can leave pork off your plate and adopt a healthy and humane vegetarian diet.



Dig These Pig Facts

* Pigs dream and see in color.
* Pigs outperform 3-year-old human children on cognition tests and are smarter than any domestic animal, and animal experts consider them more trainable than cats or dogs.
* Pigs are naturally slender. They only become fat when humans overfeed them.
* Pigs are sociable. They like to cuddle and snuggle up, nose to nose, with one another as they sleep.
* In the wild, pigs live in matriarchal societies, as elephants do.
* Piglets love to chase each other, play-fight, and roll down hills.
* Pigs can be picky eaters: When given the same food, even a favorite one, such as melon or banana, over and over, they will soon set them aside and eat their other food first. When pigs are offered a new food, they don�t gobble it right up, as a dog might, but sniff at it delicately as they decide whether or not to try a nibble.
* Pigs are hygienic. When given the chance, they are more particular about their sanitary behavior than most dogs. They will not, unless locked inside a factory-farm cage, defecate anywhere near their living space.
* Pigs roll in mud to cool down and ward off parasites and sunburn, just as elephants do.

[Juregen]

[Guri Guy]

Correct. There is a lot of research focused on using pig organs in humans for this very reason. Here is a good article on the subject:

Human to Pig Genome Comparison Complete

Another mystery of life has been unraveled, one DNA strand at a time. University of Illinois animal geneticists Lawrence Schook and Jonathan Beever have created a side-by-side comparison of the human genome and the pig genome that reveals remarkable similarities. "We took the human genome, cut it into 173 puzzle pieces and rearranged it to make a pig," said Schook. "Everything matches up perfectly. The pig is genetically very close to humans."

Schook explained that when we look at a pig or a human, we can see the difference instantly. "But, in the biological sense, animals aren't that much different from one another -- at least not as different as they appear," he said. Animals all have eyes, ears, stomachs, etc., but as Beever put it, "The same gene in the pig may work in combination with other genes to control something very different than it does in a human."

So, if all of the genes match up, what is it that makes a pig a pig and a human a human? "That's the million dollar question," said Beever. "The genes match up when compared side-by-side, but understanding how they work together is the next step."

A genome is the complete set of genes for an organism -- like an instruction manual, but in this manual, the steps aren't in any particular order. Beever explained, "We don't know, for instance, when in the development of the animal a certain gene is expressed. And the same gene may behave very differently in a different animal. That's the next level of information we'll be looking at."

Why do we need this much information about the pig? "It's clear that the pig one of the closest large animal species to humans," said Beever. "We believe a niche the pig has will be in biomedical models to understand and fight human disease. If you study a human genetic disease in a lab mouse, the manifestations of the disease may not be appropriate. But genetic diseases may look the same in a pig as it does in a human, so disease research with pigs will be much more applicable to human medicine," said Beever.

Schook said that the pig genome map will be very beneficial for use with drug therapy to control or cure a disease. "If you're looking at simple toxicity, whether a disease will kill you, then using a mouse is fine. But when looking at drug therapy, it isn't comparable to humans. Therapeutic medicine requires a more closely related model," he said.

For example, Schook and Beever are looking at a gene that predisposes a person to develop plaque that can cause cardiovascular disease. "Having both the human and the pig genomes, we can look at the genetic variations in the human genome that contributes to the disease and compare it to the same sequence in the pig," said Schook. "Then we can do specific and focused research."

Interestingly, Beever pointed to one spot on the color print out of the pig genome and identified it as the one chromosome that is completely conserved in all mammals. Perhaps someday the mystery of why it has been conserved over such a broad evolutionary range will also be unraveled.

Part one of the project, which is scheduled to be published in Animal Genetics, was sequencing approximately 1% of the genome of the pig. Part two, which will be published in an upcoming issue of Genomics, is the comparative work. Schook and Beever along with other U of I researchers are in the third year of a five-year study funded by the USDA to create comprehensive genome maps of the pig and the cow.

More information is available at www.swinegenomics.com.

http://www.aces.uiuc.edu/Discover/discover37.cfm

[Homer]

Well then.....who is crusading for miss piggy and her buddies?