Food is a substance that holds cultures
together. Common foods unify and define countries and regions. However,
a food that one group considers a delicacy,
aanother group may find
offensive. The French have long been called "frogs" because of their
taste for the amphibians. The English once were sneered upon
as "beefsteak" because of their trend-setting use of cattle, and in the Philippines at least one tribe is nicknamed "dogeaters."
The name Dogeaters has not been confined to the Philippines, however.
The summer 1988 Seoul Olympics focused the
world's attention on South Korea. One aspect of Korean cuisine the
government preferred not to have spotlighted
was the use of dog
meat. A dog stew, called Poshintang, is commonly available in
restaurants in Seoul and the rest of the country. As an ingredient, dog
is
not as ubiquitous as beef is in the U.S. it is considered to be
something of a delicacy. Traditionally, it has been a seasonal
favorite, most popular
in the summer. Dogmeat is also purported to
be effective as a male stimulant, increasing sexual stamina, even
though there is no scientific literature
to support this claim.
Even before the Olympics, there was concern
that foreign visitors to Seoul might be offended by restaurants
offering dog meat. The Ministry of Health and
WWelfare ordered
measures to prevent such a conflict. In 1986, a ban was placed on the
sale of dog meat as an "unseemly" food. The practical result was
that
most restaurants in city limits replaced signs offering dog meat with
smaller, less conspicuous versions, or they renamed the dish to "health
stew."
This did not prevent criticism. "How can a nation that will
cheerfully eat its best friend be relied upon to host a small dinner
party, let alone the Olympic
Games?" 1
In spite of this kind of pressure, dog meat
sales continue. There are plans to open two dog slaughterhouses on
Chejun Island, 450 km south of Seoul.2 One
entrepreneur has opened a
chain of dog meat restaurants. China Trading, the company behind the
new restaurant chain, estimates there are now about 20,000
dog meat
restaurnats throughout the country. It says one restaurant can rack up
sales of 10 million won (about US$6020) a day during peak dog eating
season
from April to July." 3
In the U.S., the estimated number of
animals euthanized ranges from 6-150 million per year. If half of the
number is composed of dogs, that leaves a lot
oof potential meat to
be exported. Legally, the only barrier would be the Animal Welfare Act,
a federal law that covers any "live or dead dog, cat, nonhuman
primate,
guinea pig, hamster, rabbit, or any other warm-blooded animal which is
being used, or is intended for use for research, teaching, testing,
experimentation
or exhibition purposes. The USDA interprets the act
to exclude birds, rats, and mice bred for research, and horses and
other farm animals, such as livestock
and poultry, used or intended
for use as food or fiber." It is conceivable that dogs raised as
livestock would be excluded as well, once it is established
that they are being raised as food.
Another rule governing the trade of
livestock is the "Twenty- Eight Hour Law" which simply outlines minimum
guidelines for the care of animals as they are
transported to
market. There are certain feed, space, and water requirements if the
transit time exceeds a twenty-eight hour period. If the dogs were
slaughtered
in the U.S., that would eliminate concerns about these
regulations. Shipping meat instead of live animals also avoids the
problems associated with the
quarantine of live animals.
Even though the dog meat market does not seem to
be growing at a fast rate, it is conceivable that American exporters
could make inroads in a niche market.
TThe breed of dog that is farm-
raised in Korea and China is a large dog similar in appearance to the
German Shepherd. It is difficult to say whether the
variety of
breeds in the U.S. would be considered suitable choices for the dog
meat market abroad. Market research would need to be done.
Initially, it appears that there may be enough
demand to support dog meat export, however, the impediments must be
overcome. The voice of the American citizen
is one factor that
should not be underestimated. Grass roots lobbying has great potential
to raise public awareness against export efforts. Boycotts of
company family products has the potential to eliminate economic gains realized from coordinated dog exports.
Because the concept of sending dogs overseas to
be eaten may be distasteful, it is helpful to examine the current
status of unwanted dogs to gauge our attitudes
towards the situation.
The SF SPCA claims to be the only public
animal shelter with a no-kill policy. They euthanize an animal only if
it is suffering from an incurable illness.
The policy of other
shelters is to "put down" animals if no one claims them after a certain
period, which differs in each jurisdiction.
The result is millions of pounds of flesh
to be dealt with. Some of it enters landfills where it eventually
decomposes. A small amount of dogs are buried
iin pet cemeteries. The rest are "recycled."
Rendering plants process the carcasses for
use in dog food and as feed for other animals. "In addition, some 40
billion pounds of year of slaughterhouse
wastes like blood, bone,
and viscera, as well as the remains of millions of euthanized cats and
dogs passed along by veterinarians and animal shelters,
are rendered
annually into livestock feed - in the process turning cattle and hogs,
which are natural herbivores, into unwitting carnivores." (U.S. News
& World Report, Sept. 1, 1997 p.23)
A good model for export of dog meat is provided
by the horsemeat industry. "In the last ten years, more than 3 million
American horses have been slaughtered
in the U.S. for human consumption abroad." (
http://www.equus.org )
In
1994, 105,000 horses were slaughtered in the U.S. Another 35,000 were
shipped live to Canada for slaughter, and another 30,000 were shipped
live to Mexico
for slaughter (
http://www.igha.org )
for a total of $66 million. Dividing sales by the number of animals
slaughtered for the last ten years shows that each animal produced
about $400 in income.
Considering that a horse typically weights 8?
times more than a 30-pound dog, there is a certain economy of scale
that is advantageous when dealing with
the larger animal.
Another interesting feature of the
horsemeat export industry is its use of Canada and Mexico as export
outlets. This strategy is used possibly because the
sslaughter
process is less expensive in Mexico and Canada. These countries may
also have more beneficial agreements with trading partners than the U.S.
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