Why stop at the fish, pigs, and cows? If society dictates what’s acceptable to eat, let’s follow that logic all the way. Eat them all! Eat the dogs! Eat the cats! Eat the hamsters while we’re at it. If it has a pulse and a respectable protein count, preheat the oven.
After all, the nutritional value is comparable. According to NationalWorld, dog meat has a comparatively lower fat content than other meats. It’s a good source of protein and is also considered quite lean.
If we worship grilled chicken for being macro-friendly, why discriminate against a Labrador? Are we abandoning logic because the Labrador plays fetch? And if we consider efficiency, why let perfectly edible animals go to waste?
Sure, I couldn’t find any nutritional statistics on cat meat (even Google has its limits), but from a purely logical standpoint, dogs and cats provide as much sustenance as the meat society already approves of. A cat is made from the same basic building blocks as every other animal we’ve decided to pair with rosemary and thyme. Muscle tissue is muscle tissue. Protein is protein. Unless cows are secretly composed of morally superior atoms, the difference seems suspiciously sentimental.
“But dogs are pets!” you cry, clutching your golden retriever Goldie (how original). But aren’t they pets because that’s simply what we decided? Pigs, meanwhile, are apparently born wearing invisible “bacon” name tags. Never mind that pigs are widely regarded as intelligent, and have been found to outperform three-year-old human children on certain cognitive tasks, according to New Roots Institute. Intelligence, it seems, is not the deciding factor. Cuteness, however, is undefeated.
Instead of drawing a line anywhere, let’s get rid of the line altogether! Stop basing your meat consumption decisions on factors like cuteness or “pet-like” qualities (what does that even mean?). Stop letting familiarity dictate morality.
Instead, think logically. If you consciously pick up chicken breasts on your weekly grocery run to Safeway, you are consciously supporting the same process you find horrifying when applied to your own pet. If it is morally acceptable for you to eat a cow, then it should be morally acceptable for you to eat your dog back home.
So next time you’re thinking about grocery shopping, remember that you may already have perfectly good meat waiting for you on the couch!
But for now, the system remains simple. Some animals get birthday parties, others get barbecue sauce. Fortunately, most of dinner happens far away from the living room, where logic is easier to ignore, and the line stays safely out of sight.
