It's none too appealing to me either Mr Mutley, hence my comment earlier regarding being happy to pay more for meat if I know how it has been reared and slaughtered.

And this fact is from.......?

My experience of living in the orient (Taiwan and Vietnam) for five years and regularly visiting Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, China among others allows me a unique knowledge in this area.

I was able to get dog meat for the same price as pork and cat meat for the same as chicken in Saigon.

Is your argument concerning the eating of dogs and cats (a cultural difference) or the treatment of all food animals in the orient?

Either way, they both stem from the need in the past to eat anything and have followed through to the cultural ideas of today. At least their food is eaten, rather than chased through the countryside and ripped apart by hounds - only to be discarded as in fox-hunting. That is a truly bizarre cultural practice!

The critical point is that people in these countries have less (if any) time to worry about how their food is stored before preparation. Indeed they are grateful that they have the means to eat at all.

China is rich in parts but the vast majority of the country is still rural and poor. A vast section of Vietnam live of one dollar a day, Cambodia less (life expectancy about 40 years), Laos is a rural backwater, Thailand is skewed by Bangkok but the North-East is another poverty stricken area.

The high ideals that we may take for granted are beyond the means for most of the population of these countries, again, due to poverty.

I don't think that's true at all.

The governments may be accused of treating the people unfairly, but the people are extremely welcoming, generous and friendly going out of their way to assist others.

I have to say, in all honesty that Vietnam is the safest country I've ever been to with China a close second. The traffic is another matter......

Yes, and I addressed that point in the reply.

There are many reasons why asians are friendly: religious, cultural, historical, environmental, but Thailand is friendly and enjoyed a long spell of free democracy. Taiwan is possibly the best democracy in Asia and is friendly. Malaysia and Singapore are Muslim democracies and with a few minor religious wierdness are extremely welcoming.

I'd suggest you actually go there and see for yourself - It's much safer than England in terms of violence. But don't get into a fight in Cambodia, just don't!

No, no, I agree this goes on and is unacceptable to those used to different cultures. Most people round where I live have one or more lap dogs, chows, plenty of Jack Russells, Pekingese obviously etc etc etc, there's even a couple of standard poodles and a collie in my apartment block. No-one has any intention of serving these dogs up in a tasty stew although when they're all going bananas at 6am I'd cheerfully do it.

They do breed dogs for food though, and they aren't your cuddly Prince or Rover. The difference between doing that and breeding pigs or cattle or sheep for food isn't much quite frankly except in the perception from those who don't.

Lets face it, killing for food goes right through the natural world. I agree that the methods are horrific in some cases. My point is that it goes on under your nose in the jolly old right thinking UK, just visit a Halal butchers, so pointing the finger at others as we usually do before cleaning our own shed out seems a bit harsh is all. And anyway, I find the phrase 'humane killing' quite repugnant, always have.

As Saigon says, they simply don't understand vegetarianism in this part of the world because they've known a no food situation so when it's plentiful they can't get their head round the fact that you don't fill your boots. In our rass's lifetime there's been situations where it's a bowl of rice and whatever you can chuck in it. If Rover happened to be nearest, it's just a 'wrong place, wrong time' scenario. Sheep give wool, cows give milk, bullocks are draft animals, pigs and dogs and cats don't give anything but breed like buggery so it was always the chop (no pun intended) for them.

confession time Mr WHY
i know you are a veggie but you must have been tempted in a slack moment to dip a couple of dog or even cat chips into your rice pudding at some time ?
so what is it like?

which is the point of the afforementioned Shittingstall [C. Madjohn] programme.


the fat lass on it stuck to her guns on her argument about her budget, and in a sense I agree, but you can make 3 meals easily out of a free range chicken.
the amount she must leave on the carcass is just silly and wasteful!

I'm off to Mcdogalds for a McCatbuger all this talk of food has made me hungry.