{"id":44462,"date":"2014-08-20T12:09:09","date_gmt":"2014-08-20T18:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/08\/20\/eating-bunny.html"},"modified":"2014-08-20T17:18:06","modified_gmt":"2014-08-20T23:18:06","slug":"eating-bunny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/08\/20\/eating-bunny.html","title":{"rendered":"Eating Bunny"},"content":{"rendered":"
Oh, for Bugs's sake …<\/p>\n

If you are going to protest Whole Foods selling rabbit meat, I'd better see you protesting cow and pig meat, too. Maybe chicken and fish, too. Certainly any venison, too. I may disagree with your principles, but at least I'll have to concede you have consistet ones.<\/p>\n

That some people keep rabbits as pets, and therefore nobody anywhere should be eating rabbits, is sentimentality of the highest order. Not only has rabbit been consumed for meat since the first human was able to actually catch one, it's still consumed for meat today.<\/i> There's a hell of a lot of restaurants in my home city where you can get rabbit on the menu, and rabbits get hunted and then cooked by a lot of folk.<\/p>\n

Again, that doesn't mean hunting or meat-eating is right (or wrong), but that's a separate issue. Making this into some sort of discussion about animals being ineligible to be consumed because some folk keep them as pets is what's really zany.<\/p>\n

(Hey, folk — guinea pigs<\/i> are considered livestock in South America, and if you go to a Peruvian restaurant, you'll probably see it on the menu.)<\/p>\n

Protesting Whole Foods for selling rabbit meat because Foofoo is your favorite pet is like protesting a local restaurant for selling venison because you loved Bambi as a child.<\/p>\n

(Note: I'm not a big fan of rabbit meat myself — too many bones. But, then, I don't eat much fish, but that doesn't mean I don't think anyone should sell it, even if I did have some goldfish a pets a long time ago.)<\/p>\n

I'm fine with considering whether the rabbits in question are being raised and slaughtered humanely. But that's true for any animal that's going to be eaten. Similarly, I'm also fine with not running around yanking pets out of folks' house and sending them to be butchered. To the extent that pet rabbits can emotionally bond with their "companion humans," I would not be inclined to violate that bond. But that's not what we're talking about.<\/p>\n

And, yes, this is much like the question of horse meat. Which, if folk want to buy it, cook it, and eat it, I have no problem with. I really see no rational basis for singling out particular species between "can be eaten" and "shouldn't be eaten" based on sentiment. For yourself? Sure. Emotional associations are personal and needn't be rational. But that doesn't provide any justification beyond your own (or my own) hang-ups.<\/p>\n

And, no, I don't think I'd ever eat cat meat, or dog meat. I could argue that both species have been domesticated and associated with humans for a different purpose than being eaten, but I'll also confess that it's mostly about my<\/i> emotional association with those species, not something I should be imposing on others.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It seems to me that the real conflict here is not about arbitrary classification of species between "un-eatable pet" vs "eatable livestock," but a confrontation of what eating meat itself means. \u00a0We see cows by the road, but (the vast majority of us) don't really associate them with the hunk of stake or blob of hamburger we cook up. Or, if we do, well, they're "just" cows. \u00a0Eating (or seeing others eat) a critter that we associate as being more than just a cud-chewing piece of scenery forces us to realize how much emotional convenience we exercise in nomming down on bacon while not thinking of Fern and Wilbur. Until you can figure out that distinction, it's a subject that's it's difficult to be rational about.\ufeff<\/p><\/div>\n

\n

\n \n <\/div>\n

Are Rabbits Pets or Meat?<\/a>
\n Some people are incensed that Whole Foods is selling rabbit meat, and the debate they’re caught up in reveals the contradictions in how we relate to different creatures in different ways.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n

View this post on Google+<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oh, for Bugs's sake … If you are going to protest Whole Foods selling rabbit meat, I'd better see you protesting cow and pig meat, too. Maybe chicken and fish, too. Certainly any venison, too. I may disagree with your principles, but at least I'll have to concede you have consistet ones. That some people … Continue reading “Eating Bunny”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[106,38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-plusposts","category-food-drink"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25275,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/01\/11\/beef-its-not-necessarily-whats-for-dinner.html","url_meta":{"origin":44462,"position":0},"title":"Beef – It's Not Necessarily What's For Dinner","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 11-Jan-12 8:00am","format":false,"excerpt":"We Americans are eating less meat -- which should be good, health-wise as well as (increased exports aside) environment-wise. Not so good, maybe, for the meat industry.As to \"why,\" the answer seems to be a combination of increased prices for meat in difficult times, and, perhaps, increased health consciousness. Again,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24784,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2011\/12\/23\/meat-its-whats-for-dinner.html","url_meta":{"origin":44462,"position":1},"title":"Meat! It’s What’s for Dinner!","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 23-Dec-11 9:25pm","format":false,"excerpt":"I enjoy being omnivorous. Be it a juicy steak, a convenient hamburger, some roasted or fried chicken, or, of course, \"meat candy\" itself, bacon ... I just like meat.I also respect folks who take a vegetarian course, either out of health concern or, more especially, due to moral considerations. Certainly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12476,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2008\/04\/21\/meat_2.html","url_meta":{"origin":44462,"position":2},"title":"Meat!","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 21-Apr-08 2:28pm","format":false,"excerpt":"I enjoy eating meat. No question about it.\u00a0 I'll confess to some discomfort about animal treatment at modern factory farms, and about the carbon footprint and other pollution factors...","rel":"","context":"In "Food & Drink"","block_context":{"text":"Food & Drink","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/food-drink"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/images\/steak.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":27125,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/03\/16\/meat-is-murder-quick-lets-hide-the-evidence.html","url_meta":{"origin":44462,"position":3},"title":"Meat is Murder! Quick, Let's Hide the Evidence!","author":"***Dave","date":"Fri 16-Mar-12 6:46am","format":false,"excerpt":"So, with all the news coverage out this week about that new Harvard study, are we meat-eaters doomed -- DOOMED! -- to an early (yet deliciously grilled) grave?Um ... not really, it appears. #ddtb Embedded Link Will Eating Red Meat Kill You? | Mark's Daily Apple This is another special\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27075,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2012\/03\/13\/meat-its-whats-for-ackglrrrgglgaugh.html","url_meta":{"origin":44462,"position":4},"title":"Meat — it's what's for ackglrrrgglgaugh","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 13-Mar-12 9:41am","format":false,"excerpt":"I'll just have to work on being one of the other nine. Wait, that's not right ... #ddtbReshared post from +Les JenkinsI'm willing to give up a lot of things to try and maintain my health, but I loves me my meat too much. Not that I eat a lot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":127814,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2015\/08\/26\/enjoy-your-mr-ed-burger.html","url_meta":{"origin":44462,"position":5},"title":"Enjoy your Mr. Ed-burger","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 26-Aug-15 12:04am","format":false,"excerpt":"I don't necessarily object to horse meat on principle. I object to not knowing about it. And I definitely want to know if I'm eating beaver, so I can appropriately enjoy it. 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