‘One man’s pet is another man’s protein’
April 30th, 2008 by Treena ShapiroYesterday was one of those days at the Legislature that started at 10 a.m. and went on forever.
As I was trying to eat a sandwich, write a story and monitor what our House lawmakers were doing, I heard Rep. Alex Sonson say, “One man’s pet is another man’s protein.”
The comment was made during floor discussion on a Senate Bill 2895 CD1, which adds equine animals to the list of animals covered under the animal cruelty law.
I don’t think Sonson was saying, “Hey, let’s go out and eat a zebra.”
He was opposed to expanding the list of protected animals because to some people, they happen to be food.
That’s a dangerous topic, so I’m going to step around it and bring it back around to raising kids.
I think all of us have that “ICK!” feeling when we first realize we’ve eaten a cute ol’ cow or silly lil’ chicken.
My daughter is different. Either she doesn’t grasp the concept or doesn’t care, no matter how much her brother tries to impress on her that she’s eating chickens just like the ones that cheer her up every time she spots them on the side of the Pali.
She likes those chickens, but she likes her Chicken McNuggets (and cheeseburgers), too. She’s not giving meat up for any ethical reason.
Sonson’s comment reminded me of a discussion I’d had with my daughter a couple days before, after we waved at the horse and cow we regularly pass on our way home.
“People eat cows?” she asked.
She didn’t seem particularly distressed when I said yes.
She was just leading up to the big question, though. “DO PEOPLE EAT HORSES?” she asked in horror.
“Um, no,” I told her, figuring I’d leave the dog food discussion for another day.
To her, it’s pretty clear: bovine = protein; equine = pet.
Tags: animal cruelty, horses, vegetarianism
April 30th, 2008 at 8:46 am
That has GOT to be the quote of the year!
April 30th, 2008 at 8:53 am
If you watched some Travel Channel you’d see that people actually do eat horse and many other things. Strange, but that’s what makes all these cultures different. Don’t take your daughter to the petting zoo and go to a fine dining restaurant for luch afterwards. You might wanna order lamb. Baaaaaaaah. Haha.
April 30th, 2008 at 9:28 am
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April 30th, 2008 at 9:52 am
We all come from diverse cultures, filled with all kinds of ethnic foods..We should learn about all of the different types of food people consume… since the Asian population in Hawaii is the majority, I’ve learned to eat all various types of items.. such as aso,caldeng,baca,baboi,namako,ogo, opihi, ika, tako,vana,kona nightinggale,frogs, pipii,dinindeng, to name a few… ther’s more but you get the picture…. waste not,want not.. eat to survive… turns out that these items are culinary at its finest..
April 30th, 2008 at 10:20 am
haha @ moogoo…i agree though, don’t let her know (at least not anytime soon) that people eat lamb, and practically the entire cast of Bambi….poor thumper.
that’s cute though, she knows that kids ask for a pony as a pet so it’s HORRIBLE that anyone would eat them!!! but hey who wants a cow for a pet? haha i hope she doesn’t have pet fish!
April 30th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Your daughter won’t learn what it means to be a true carnivore by eating those regurgitated chicken parts or bovine hockey pucks. Take her to a Chinese restaurant and order a whole chicken (with the head) or a whole steamed fish. Go to Chinatown and see the whole roasted ducks and suckling pigs. Or buy a live critter, take it home, and cook it yourself.
April 30th, 2008 at 3:03 pm
well your daughter is 4 so i was say her comprehension of those chicken bites on her plate is pretty limited. even as an adult myself its kinda hard to imagine that my cheeseburger once moo’d…lol…but you get my point. maybe back in the days when more people actually worked/raised on the farm they had a comprehension of the life cycle of food, but for us, we go to the grocery store we buy it dead, cleaned, gutted, packaged…how do i know i’m really eating hamburger and not ground rat?? ewww…thats a gross thought, but my point is there is a disconnection between us and our food since now days many of us don’t harvest our own food.
April 30th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
It’s true that what we view as acceptable food choices varies from culture to culture. It all depends on what is available to you, as well, whether it be due to location or the resources you have available. What grosses us out, for the most part, comes from our cultural acceptance of what is considered “food.” Everything else outside of that generates a little more thought before we choose to eat it (or not!)! I mean, they say we ingest bug parts all the time… but, we don’t know it! But if I knew I was going have bugs to eat, I’d have some serious second thoughts and would probably pass (unless I was gonna die or something if I didn’t eat them!).
JuSaMee makes a good point. I think I’d be much more inclined to be a vegetarian if I had to kill and prepare my own meat, regardless of what kind (chicken, pig, cow… fishies, ahh, not so bad). Of course, maybe I might just have had a better appreciation of all the work involved and ended up eating the meat anyway!? (’Cause otherwise maybe all farmers would be vegetarians… ??)
April 30th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Instant Replay…
In a hearing once on animal abuse, Sonson made it a point of defending his right to ‘bat a dog and eat it’. Room full of animal lovers. Totally serious. Straight face. So completely clueless.
From then on and ever since - his nickname to all of us has been ‘Bat Dog, Eat Dog’. That line alone pretty much sums up this frickin’ idiots lack of class and dignity.
There are others, for sure, but BatDogEatDog truly is one of the most embarrassing legislators in that building.
May 2nd, 2008 at 10:14 am
wasamata, didnt you see lion king. mufasa explains it all to simba in like the 1st 20 mins of the movie lol. seriously though, this is the lifes lessons you learn early on if you live in the country and i think townies are desensitized to the reality of it all.
July 5th, 2008 at 11:56 pm
Pokemon Harry Potter Naked Pokemon Misty
I didn’t agree with you first, but last paragraph makes sense for me