Dog is meat like any other.....

I find it astonishing, what is deemed fit to eat in one society, will set the stomachs churning of even the most voracious meat eater in another.

In the name of research I watched ‘Cooking in the Danger Zone,’ on BBC4. I think BBC4 are in competition with BBC3 to see who can have the most gory programme.

Anyway, TV cook and presenter Stefan Gates was in Korea to explore their love of dog meat, or any other kind of meat, when it comes to it.

As obvious as it sounds, here in the western world, canine meat is taboo, a step away from cannibalism. However, keen to discover whether dog meat had been given a fair trial, Gates set off to Korea, boasting that the nation shared his own philosophy: "they'll eat pretty much anything". And that includes about one and a half million dogs a year. Gates might be adventurous, but would he be able to stomach a serving of Fido?

Gates managed to find out about the issue of dog farming, the open access he received was because he'd come to Korea not to dismiss dog meat out of hand, but to try to understand its place in the culture.
He started off at a dog farm where the animals were kept in conditions that Gates said were of a better standard than many European pig farms. Nonetheless, he was still unsettled at the sight of the caged fluffy pooches.
He went to a local restaurant to see dog stew being cooked up, but decided he wasn't quite ready to take a bite.

As the documentary progressed, he interviewed people with different viewpoints, from a woman who runs an animal rescue centre to a Buddhist monk who said although he wouldn't eat dog meat, the practice couldn't be condemned because it was traditional.

Perhaps most surprising was his discussion with some of Korea's growing band of pet owners who spend a fortune on their dogs. Their view was that the subject is all about personal choice, and that dogs can be seen as livestock, just like pigs or chickens or cows.

By taking such an open approach, Cooking in the Danger Zone helped me understand the psyche behind eating dog meat. As a vegetarian you wouldn't catch me touching the stuff, but for meat-eaters, I guess it is up to them. What makes a dog more important than a pig?

In the end, Gates bottled it. The reason he gave waiting cameras from Korean TV for turning down the dog stew was that he ‘didn't want to give approval to an unregulated industry.’ I found it a little surprising, as he is renowned for eating anything, but the cynical side of me thinks he just didn’t want to come home to sacks full of hate mail.