Olympic Menus: Dog-Meat Free

i can't imagine eating a pet, but in south america, guinea pig is a delicasy. at least the dogs can be free while the olympics are in Beijing; after that- those poor puppies

I know this is because I've been in a bubble for a week but is Beijing really doing things like this not to upset the poor wee Westerners? I thought the Olympics moved every 4 years as a sort of an international community initiative; opening up the world to new cultures. Banishing dog-meat is like an admission of guilt. And they have nothing to feel guilty about! The waiters politely suggesting an alternative is excellent but the ban? Come on? Why can't the tourists simply say "No, I'm not in the mood for dog, I'll go for the steak."

When the Olympics come to London will they ban beef for the nations who cherish cows? Will the locals be encouaged to be nice and friendly and not knife the tourists? Will they remove haggis from the Scottish shops? Battered Mars Bars rubbed off the take-away menus?

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to eat dog. I don't want to eat horse either. But I'm not going to walk out of a restaurant because its on the menu. Sheesh! Ligten up everyone!

This is absurd -- why can't we see the real China? Why must it be sanitized for Western consumption? This is precisely why I'm not watching the Olympics. The China we're seeing on TV is too much of an illusion for me to stomach.

As a Chinese-American, I am insulted by this post. If you knew anything about Chinese culture, you would know that Mainland China (and in particular, people in Beijing) do not eat dog meat. The only asian country who eat dog meat as a staple of their diet would be Korea. Further, the consumption of dog meat is a choice of their culture; how would you feel if Indian people were writing blogs admonishing the Americans for eating cow, an animal they hold to be sacred and of religious relevance? Granted, some parts of China (like Canton) and a few regions in Hong Kong do eat delicacies not common in the States (i.e. scorpions) but again, that is a cultural choice. In the future, please thoroughly research the facts before posting them and consider the insult you are imposing to your readers.

It's interesting that they'd go so far as to stop the restaurants from serving dog to appease the visitors. After having dogs as pets my entire life, there is no way I could eat the meat.

That's dumb; just because Americans keep dogs as pets as opposed to using them for food doesn't mean that we should be foisting our beliefs on other cultures. I've eaten guinea pig before (they were originally kept as a food organism anyway...Americans just apparently thought they were cute and started keeping them as pets). What if we had the same beliefs about chickens as we do our dogs? Would we tell every other country in the world that eats chicken to stop? Knowing how narcissistic America is, we probably would.

Nothing says "Welcome people of the world!" like making sure not to live up to your stereotypes.

Jessica, not meaning any disrespect... I live in eastern China (and have for getting on two years, now), and I can testify that dog is, in fact, something people on the mainland have been known to eat. I've never eaten it, myself, but I know many Chinese people who have (some say it's tasty, others say it's nasty), and I was startled a few weekends ago to find myself face to face with a whole cooked dog--face and all-- in a shop window. I'm not judging the Chinese at all for this (or the Koreans, either). There is nothing inherently sacred about the dog, the cow, the chicken, horse, or pig. Cultures give animals their...er, shall we say....lack of edibility?

Hello. Yeah, Jessica, I'd hate to break it to you, but I'm Chinese American as well. My parents are from Southern China - the Canton province. People do eat dog there. I have been served it before (didn't have any). It's not as common as say chicken or pork, but I don't think the Chinese would be particularly surprised, much less offended for it to be on a menu. Unless you are not considering Southern China as mainland, which would be absurd... I don't think you can say that people don't eat dog in Mainland China. Certainly, I think dog is more common in certain parts of China like Canton, and less common in others like maybe Beijing.

I am a Chinese American as well. Last year my father's friend took a trip to his hometown in China, his first trip since he's been in America. For years, he has been missing the taste of dog meat and so the first thing he did in China was make a B-line to the street vendor that sold dog meat (the one he used to always go to). He was surprised to realize that the dog meat didn't taste good at all anymore, and that the reason he had liked it so much in the past was just because he was so hungry.

As a former Beijinger, I can at least tell you for the area that while many have tried it, few people these days actually eat dog regularly and most of the younger generation won't touch it; it's just another odd meat, like alligator in the US, that many locals wouldn't even eat. No shame.

Most likely, the ban, like acts of courtesy asked, are just a precaution to avoid bad press. Look at how much negative or parodying press there already is about the country. If you could get dog at any restaurant, you'd probably have some NBC anchor mockingly showcasing dog dishes and PETA-supporters flying over and making a big visual deal trying to protest.

Great point of view to pick up the idea of discussing the current issue of what's around the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Bravo China! It should be wise action that China has instituted a ban on serving dog meat in a reason of courtesy and avoidance of bad press (as mentioned by Aio).

I wonder if Chinese government has committed such an action for other reasons, like not wanting to share the China's cultural heritage - the richness in serving various kinds of food.

I also wonder if Zebra's, hippo's, Ostrich's, camel's meat are also banned or even popularly campaigned and served if the next Olympics is held in South Africa.

Hey Jessica,

http://www.forkncork.com/content/showthread.php?threadid=795

I guarantee that you won't enjoy that website!

I'm from Korea.. And I like the dog meat.. It is tasty.. I think the fact that it is tasty should be enough to eat dog soup..