Cross Breeds

Why is it that we Americans eat pigs, cows, and chickens, but not dogs, cats, or horses?

Well first of all, I'm not advocating that we should be eating dogs, cats, and horses. I believe the answer to this question is because we find dogs and cats to be cute, and we see horses as these pretty, majestic animals, whereas we don't feel the same way about pigs, cows, and chickens(along with other animals we eat). Now, I think this is the explanation for why we engage in this behavior (and obviously vegetarians and vegans don't), but is that actually a valid, rational reason to justify this? And is it ethical to kill some animals while not killing others?

Public Comments

1. some people eat horses in America but the rest are considered pets not livestock by even the people who eat them though very few people do. animals have reasons for existence and very few cats and dogs are raised just for the eating.
2. We serve the horse meat to our dogs, cats and chickens. I don't think your explanation quite covers the probable reason. Post WWII GIs serving in Germany noticed there weren't any pets anymore, probably because they had been eaten, and the horse carcasses all got eaten on the Eastern Front. Hunger and our current affluence might serve to explain our biases and current food preferences.
3. Because large amounts of dogs are bad for the average human in larger doses, Most of america eat meat in excess, Dog in excess is like poison. Not sure about horse and cats though :)
4. Because you can't buy them at Kroger. Have you ever heard of Kentucky Fried Cats.(KFC)
5. Because a pet is a pet, and we do not eat pets. Even on Little House on the Prairie, The Ingalls family never ATE the kids' pet chickens, or the pet pig. The designated one, for the family pet, and all the others go to the market. Of course they had the family pet dog, Jack, too. And I am sure they had a barn cat who paid its room and board by catching mice. People need pets. Pets enrich our lives. My daughter has a pet fish and we would NEVER think of eating it. But, of course, we were hungry enough, we would throw it in the frying pan for an appetizer (because it is really small). We WOULD eat our pets BEFORE we turn to eating eachother! It is just a fact of life, and the food chain will never change. Other cultures, in different parts of the world wouldn't think twice about skinning a cat or a dog for dinner.....why? because they do not designate cats and dogs as "pets". Only a faaat society has "pets".
6. Well dogs and cats are not practical because they don't have a lot of meat, but you could argue the same about chickens!! Well cats and dogs are also very interactive cute species that would make you feel guilty for killing your sweet little puppy or kitty. Horses are endeared by many Americans as majestic beautiful racing animals. We don't eat horses because they already serve another purpose. Pigs, cows, and chickens are all dumb animals with no appeal, talent, or interactive ability and can yield very tasty meat!
7. I believe it is because we Americans are attracted to the attractive. In short, we think that dogs and cats and horses are more beautiful than cows and pigs and chickens. Baha, I just totally said that without reading the entirety of your questin... :P In other words, I agree. Let me add a bit just to give you a larger answer to read...muahaha. Certain traditions incorporate certain animals. Americans used horses, bonded with the animals, and we see them as beautiful beings. Dogs have been man's best friend for a while, so they can be put in the same context. Cats are furry, cute, cuddly, and very easy to train in comparison to other animals. They go in the same category. Pigs possess a very valuable type of meat. They have many vitamins in their steaks (pardon for that sentence :P) They are ugly, and they are tasty. Hence, they are food. Cows cannot be ridden. They cannot be used for training; they are too stupid. They carry massive amounts of meat, and it is tender, in comparison to something like an alligator steak. Hence, they are food as well. Chickens have always been food because 1. they cannot fly and are perfect to keep within the boundaries of something. 2., they are stupid. 3., they are round and succulent hehe sry if you are vegan :P In China, dogs are a nuisance. They wander around, stealing and thieving. When in times of war, the Chinese ate anything. Dogs were one of them, and they haven't made a big enough impressino upon Chinese to change that fact. Cats are kind of all-around nuisances, unless you lived in Egypt. They worshipped cats there. However, any kind of cat in Africa will be killed, simply because they have been dealing with jaguars, panthers, cheetahs, lions....in short, neccesity is more important than comfort in some countries. Horses, in China, are perfect. They can be trained, they can be ridden, and when they serve no other purpose other than standing on their own four feet, they taste really good cooked! Hallellujah! They must have really loved horses in the war :) I'm not traying to be mean, I just think that if the Chinese can be economical about something, they will do it, whereas in America, we are pretty well off here, and so there is no need to start any new traditions. Be careful - the only thing I gathered informatin from was the bit about the cats being worshipped, and the fact that America is pretty well off. Other ppl might have diff. opinions than me...hehe have fun w. it!
8. Probably because of how our culture has been formed. When we came over to the USA way back in the day the native americans taught us how to live off the land, etc. Maybe, we were taught to eat pigs, cows, chickens, and avoid eating dogs, cats, horses. So, as our society and culture evolved, we chose to keep pet-like animals off the menu and it has stayed that way to this day. This is a completely logic based answer though, I don't know the facts of what our culture was taught by the native americans but it sounds right to me.
9. Well some of the more traditional people do. Its irregular to see the whites, especially those who were born here and have a long family history of bring in America, do it. You might see it in the Asians, or Africans etc.
10. Pigs, cows and chickens...I was going to way that it's a matter of personality, however, I have known people who had pet pigs and even one who had a pet cow. I think it's a holdover from the working relationships back in the day. You had cats to keep rats and mice away from your barn/house. You had dogs to hunt/herd/guard. They worked for you. It would be a bad idea to eat them, not to mention that eating too much carnivore flesh is unhealthy. You had pigs for garbage disposal and to kill snakes, but they reproduce often enough that you can still eat them and have enough for utility's sake. And chickens even more so.
11. The animals we have as pets now were in the past useful practical animals that helped us survive. Cats killed disease carrying rodents for us. Dogs helped us in several ways from hunting to protection. Horses were the primary means of fast transportation. The cuteness and/or the majesty view we have of our favorite animals now stems from our past useful interaction with them. Plus the fat content of the animals we like to eat is higher, on average, than the animals we don't and hence taste better. So the cultural reason is our past history while the rational reason is that they don't taste as good.
12. Dogs and cats are carnivorous , the meat of a carniverous animal doesn't taist good . horses taist ok but we used to ride them and use them to pull the plow , if we would have eaten them we would have had to pull our own plow . so I'm guessing that horses were left off the menue because cows and pigs were good for nothing but eating .
13. Horses, Dogs and Cats are considered companion animals. THATS WHY! Heres a question why dont Dogs and cats eat humans??? bahaha