With the Olympics set to get underway shortly, and the fact they are in Beijing have caused certain aspects of Chinese life to be put under a microscope. I'm not talking about how China rules over its citizens with an iron fist, I'm talking about the culture and the food that are popular with the natives.

Here is the article about the removal of canine meat from resturaunt menus

In sections of Asia, dog meat (canine....whatever...Lassie) is a very popular ingredient, especially with the Koreans living in China. However the government has asked that the serving of such foods be suspended while the Olympics are underway. That is so they do not "offend" the visitors with the choices of meats in the dishes served. I think I find that to be offensive, at least more so than actually eating a dog.

Different cultures are a beautiful thing, and while I can understand a person not wanting to have Rin Tin Tin on their plate when they come from our Western world, I'd rather see Chinese officials make an effort to just make sure everything containing certain 'taboo' meats to us were clearly labeled. That way they can keep their culture in tact, and not be forced to make concessions with this because we keep dogs as pets, so we don't view them as food. I doubt I would ever eat something made with dog, but I don't think that the folks who look to try new things should be forced to not because someone might get their tampon in a knot.

So I'm kind of curious if that would be offensive to you....Enough so that you would refuse to eat in a resturaunt because they serve it there. The prospects of eating our pets is sort of a disgusting notion, but the only reason for that is because we attribute dogs and cats to not be a part of our food chain due to their companionships with humans, that they themselves hold a little humanity in them. Maybe we look at a dog as an animal with a soul. I couldn't see an American city stopping the sales of hamburgers because there was an influx of Hindus comming in for a convention.

I think it kind of steals from the folks who go to China to be in, and cheer for these Olympic games...That because someone may be offended by something they don't have to eat, those who look to take up in local customs while visiting get cut a bit short. It changes the culture and I think that sort of spoils what makes how other people live, and their customs interesting and unique. It's not a make or break thing, but it kind of seems like a silly reason to take something locals enjoy and remove it because some may find the practice offensive.

What do you think?