Org. wants to ban dog / cat meat in China

This story has been popping up in the press here recently, the Chinese Animal Protection Network (CAPN) is lobbying to outlaw dog and cat meat in mainland China.

Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a very strong argument from them about exactly why dog and cat meat should be banned. They fail to answer why these animals shouldn't be eaten, while pigs and cows can, etc. etc. I know I've beaten down this topic a bit much, but these people are sure going to a lot of effort -- for what reason? -- and I'm still hoping to see a good argument.

This comes at the same time that PETA is making moves to voice their views in China. I should add, I'm completely in favor of the fundamentals -- ethical treatment of animals -- but don't always understand their tactics or philosophical inconsistencies.

Alas, bring on the hate mail...

More Cock and Balls

We'd already eaten rooster testicles in Taiwan last year, but we encountered them again on a recent trip to Hangzhou. After a night out corrupting the youth with danger music and too much drinking, we hit a hot pot place with some local friends.



This always seems like a good idea. Fill the belly with food after drinking too much. But then, what to drink with the food? More beer!



We ordered a bunch of stuff -- vegetables, starches, meats, and cooked them in the large pot of boiling oily water. The table next to us ordered a plate of something weird I'd seen before -- chicken testicles -- so I had to challenge my friends and see if they were still drunk enough to agree it was a good idea to eat cock balls at 4am.



We ordered them and cooked them just right, so they were full of juicy goodness and not overdone. I prefer testicles medium-rare.



Read more about eating chicken sexual organs here.
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Polar Bear Liver BAD

Stumbled across this article about over-consumption of Vitamin A. Turns out if you eat too much polar bear liver you could DIE. With polar bears running out of habitat, maybe the news is a welcome deterrent for people who want to eat them.

"If eaten in one meal, 30 to 90 grams of polar bear liver is enough to kill a human being, or to make even sled dogs very ill." [source]

Too much beta carotene. It's like eating thousands of carrots in one sitting. That can't be good for you.

Deer Antler Gum Drops

I spent last Christmas eve up in Shenyang, China. Shenyang is a city in the cold harsh north, half way between Beijing and Russia. I had one of those stupid DJ gigs where I got to play for 20 minutes in between some Russian dancers and a group of Chinese b-boy break dancers (who do their routine to bad Chinese teenage pop music). The Chinese like to party wild on Xmas -- someone never told them it's more of a family holiday, were we sit inside sipping egg nog and watching the fireplace -- no, they like to get sh*t-faced drunk in a nightclub and whoop it up. Anyway, I spent 8 hours at the Shenyang Airport on Xmas day cause my flight back was delayed, "due to delay."

Their internet wasn't working and I'd failed to bring a book, so I had to resort to shopping at the airport. They had a shop specializing in exotic medicinals from the north-east of China. Deer antlers. Deer penis. Siberian tiger testicles. Weird dried mushrooms. Twigs, branches, and a variety of ginseng-like things. The penises were far too expensive, so I bought a bag of candy -- "Pilose Antler Soft Sweets" -- gum drops made from deer antlers.


(the product is called "Pilose Antler Soft Sweets". Pilose means having soft, fine hairs. Yes, the antlers are fuzzy.)

The antler candies were sticky and chewy, but not too sweet. They are good for male virility, so the story goes.

Poor Rudolph, his horns melted down to make soft candies, eaten on Christmas day.

* Check out these posts of us eating Deer Placenta, and Deer Penis Wine.

* (that guy on the left in the first photo is Luke. He's a hipster. See the unnecessary scarf worn with the hunting hat?)