Horse meat is something that is eaten and enjoyed in Japan. I think a lot of British people don’t know about it and would definitely be surprised if they found out as I was surprised at first. Horses are animals that are thought of as “pets” in the UK and it’s something unthinkable to eat a pet. A few years ago, some supermarkets sold “beef” but it turned out to also include horse DNA. Everybody was furious at the thought of being tricked into eating horse. Of course, a lot of people may not mind eating horse meat as long as it’s labelled correctly on the package. I think people were mostly angry at the fact they weren’t eating what they thought they were eating.
When it comes to eating meat, Japan seems to be more open about what kind of animals we should eat. But I think some western people have a misconception that Japanese people eat dog. Of course people who are familiar with Japan know that’s not true, apart from any Japanese people who travel to China or Korea and eat it there. I should mention, by the way, that some Korean people consider wild dogs and pet dogs to be different and base their edibility on that. Anyway, in Japan, cats and dogs are loved as pets just as they are in the west. And of course, in the west, people feel strongly about eating pets so cats and dogs are off the menu no matter where you go.
- Why do Japanese people think it’s acceptable to eat horses but not dogs?
- Do you think people who eat horse meat have the right to be angry at other countries about eating dog meat?
- If you found out you had eaten something different to what was labeled on the packaging, would you be angry?
- In your opinion, is there a difference between eating a wild dog and a domesticated dog?
- Should it be decided by individuals or by governments about what is acceptable and/or legal to eat?
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