Lost My Breakfast After Reading NYT article on China's Slaughter of Dogs

[leftyladyfrommo]

The article is in this morning's NYT. 54,000 and counting. Dogs simply beaten to death and thrown in the back of a truck. Some people were made to take their dogs to a park and hang them from a tree.

I don't buy products from China - it is my own very personal boycott of their products.

Their human rights record and their animal rights record are simply beyond belief.

Killing all of those dogs is not simply the slaughter of the dogs (they have had 3 cases of rabies) it is also the slaughter of the souls of the people who owned them.

[adriennui]

1. our friends the chinese

all for the cheap shit they sell the great unwashed in the US. i look at every label. if it's china, malaysia, macau. i don't buy. the unfortunate thing is it's getting difficult, even in bloomingdales, saks, banana republc to find things nade in europe or the USA. i was thrilled the other day to find a blanket made in portugal.
the chinese treat their people almost as bad as their dogs and animals. the place makes me sick(i'm speaking of the government).

they could only get my dog from my cold, dead hands,
and why the inhumane way of killing dogs. what a nightmare, it's so depressing....i'm beginning to believe all the rumors about chinese restaurants serving cats as a delicacy. UGH!

[leftyladyfrommo]

2. Yea - it makes me physically ill, too.

Why we have anything to do with this government is beyond me.

And you are right - it is the govt not the Chinese people that I have a real problem with.

[DrDan]

3. does the treatment of chickens in the US bother you as well?

http://www.dailynebraskan.com/media/storage/paper857/ne...

"The birds were trapped in confines so small that they couldn't spread their wings. Some hens lay dead, decomposing on the floors of the cages. Others became tangled in the wires of their tiny cells, dying of starvation and thirst, unable to reach the food and water that was just inches out of reach."

[adriennui]

4. i don't eat anything that walks.

i'm down to fruit, vegetables,rice, pastas,breads, and fish. i feel better (emotionally and physically).

[pointblank]

9. I envy you.

I usually am one who considers himself to be strong willed, yet I try and try and try to kick meat, but after a couple of days, I always seem to inch my way back to it.

I'm not saying that I am "addicted" to meat, but it has become instilled in me since I was young and its simply habit at this point...the problem is I really, really want to take the plunge for good.

One problem I have found is that I am a very busy person, as well as a very HUNGRY person, constantly on the go and it is definitely more challenging to find meatless, quick foods...foods that will fill me up.

All in all, its up to me to change, but old habits are hard to break.

I'll try again today!

[Kolesar]

11. The way I look at it, is that I had to learn how to cook to be vegetarian

I eat a lot of meals that people would consider to be inadequate or "unfulfilling". Microwaved potatoes and green beans. Put some margarine and parsley and Mrs. Dash on, and I am happy.

As for finding something on the go--try the deli at the supermarket instead of a fast food restaurant. Bon appetit!

[adriennui]

19. that dish sounds pretty good to me

seasoning is everything. my favorite pasta is with extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, and brocoli rabe. it's healthy, easy, and delicious.

trader joes' has some great vegetarian dishes (and i do eat cheese and milk products).

[Kolesar]

20. What is "broccoli rabe"?

I had to look it up. http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/broccolirabe.htm

[adriennui]

22. it tastes similar to spinach with a slight bitter taste

saute it with olive oil and garlic, throw a few chili flakes in and pour over pasta or eat as a side dish. yummy, who needs meat.

[LeftyMom]

13. I'd like to invite you to take a look in the veg group

We have a ton of recipes down there, and I believe we're addressed a lot of issues people first have while going veg including hunger pangs, cravings and digestive issues. Please if you have any questions of need any help, post down there and somebody'd be happy to help you out.

Good luck and thank you.

[adriennui]

18. sometimes the desire for a juicy steak makes me crazy....

but i managed to kick the habit of alcohol and recreational drugs, so this is kids' stuff for me.

i look at my dog and cats and realize i can't eat meat and i've managed to convince myself that fish and shellfish are lower on the food chain. i do feel a bit hypocritical.

[cigsandcoffee]

5. That company was charged, apparently

I don't see how you can compare that to an official Chinese state policy concerning the mass slaughter of dogs during a rabies scare.

I mean, what's your point in bringing it up?

[LeftyMom]

6. That sort of treatment is SOP for chickens in US factory farms

I suspect the point is that people who decry cruelty overseas while perpetuating cruelty on a much grander scale at home need to examine thier own actions.

[cigsandcoffee]

8. It's SOP for chickens all over the world.

Are you saying that we shouldn't be repulsed and outraged about China's dog murdering rabies policy because we have unsavory methods of chicken production here?

You appear to be saying "we're no better than them." Well, when it comes to rabies procedures, it would appear you're wrong - we're much better than them.

[LeftyMom]

12. Hell no.

I'm saying that we should be screaming our heads off about, and more importantly acting to stop both abuses.

I'm just saying that we shouldn't turn a blind eye to some animals because they're not as cuddly as others. I'm saying that our activism for animals mistreated elsewhere would be better recieved if animals weren't horribly abused by the billions (yes, with a B) in this country every year.

I'm saying that the dog dumped by the side of the road in my town, the dog beat to death in China and the dog thrown live into a trash compactor in Turkey all have lives that matter, but that we sound like hypocrites if we try to save the last two and drive on by the first because his fate is less obviously gruesome.

[ShaneGR]

15. Hmmm, not that I think the treatment of chickens is right...

But we eat chickens, at least the vast majority of the population does. But we don't eat dogs. Maybe because some in China actually eat dogs their group think is different about the slaughter? not sure.

[DrDan]

16. that is the case

they eat dogs in China

[leftyladyfrommo]

7. I don't care for the way chickens here are raised for slaughter

but I don't think that it is in the same ballpark as people's pets being killed by the thousands.

[DrDan]

10. but I don't think they are considered pets in the same way they are here

I have visited China.

I have seen the dogs hanging in the markets with the other food stuffs.

I have seen the shoppers poking and pinching the skinned dogs (skinned except for the paws) - trying to determine whether there is enough meat on the dogs to warrant a good meal.

So here - we (to include all levels of government) allow corporations to mistreat the animals - this is done not with a blind eye, but as a matter of accepted manufacturing processes.

This disgust me.

But I see little difference in what the article describes in terms of dog treatment in China.

[ShaneGR]

14. If this happened in the US, I'd start carrying a gun...

And anyone who tried to touch my dog was getting a helping of gun in the face. My dog is like a family member. Not just some pet that can be discarded at any moment.

[idgiehkt]

17. dogs aren't beaten to death as state policy here

but they are killed every single day in shelters in every city and county.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

21. I've seen some far more revolting things about China and animals

I get satellite TV and European news broadcasts. I've seen several stories about China's treatment of dogs for the fur trade. THEY SKIN THEM ALIVE! It's incredible. They leave the poor animal writhing on the ground with no skin. And then they use the dog fur in products they sell to the west.

And they also throw live cats into boiling vats of water and cook them alive and use the meat for feed. The same news reports showed dozens of boiled cats being treated like chickens in the U.S. on an assembly line.

[leftyladyfrommo]

23. I know - it is just sickening. n/t

[leftyladyfrommo]

24. Thanks for that info- I just lost my breakfast.

You know - this world is just a huge mess.

[DemExpat]

25. Yes, I could not believe my eyes when I saw a Chinese market where

ducks and chickens were plucked alive and left to writhe on the ground in agony....so I am not surprised that this happens to mammals as well...

Nightmares for weeks after seeing that program....



DemEx

[leftyladyfrommo]

26. I just can't stand that stuff.

But I think it may have done it for me - I think I will finally be able to be a strict vegetarian. I don't eat much meat at all now - but i think even that just went out the door. All I have to do is think of those animals and it makes me so sick.

[DemExpat]

27. I eat only small amounts of meat now, and from the organic,

free-range butcher/poulterer.

Fish too.

Still working on expanding my vegetarian diet.


DemEx