rusty@sdcarl.UUCP (rusty c. wright) (06/26/85)
Reading the long reply about how to eat/clean/cook clams i have to
admit that i was rather repelled by the description of squirting some
lemon juice on the clam to make it squirm in order to verify that it
is still alive before eating it. The idea of putting a live animal
in my mouth and using my teath to crush and pulverize something in
order to kill it strikes me as somewhat barbaric. Almost made me
want to go vegetarian (but not quite, you'll have to try harder next
time). This made me think about other ``interesting'' eating
practices involving live animals. I don't know of any. What other
ones are there? Things like sticking lobsters in boiling water don't
really count since the lobster is (presumably) killed right off when
it hits the water. I have heard of something where monkeys have
their skull sliced open and their brains are eaten with chopsticks.
I'm not sure if they're supposed to be alive while eaten.
--
rusty c. wright
{ucbvax,ihnp4,akgua,hplabs,sdcsvax}!sdcarl!rustyrich@sdcc12.UUCP (rich) (06/27/85)
In article <213@sdcarl.UUCP> rusty@sdcarl.UUCP (Rusty Wright) writes: > ... This made me think about other ``interesting'' eating >practices involving live animals. I don't know of any. What other >ones are there? >Monkeys have their skull sliced open and their brains are eaten with chopsticks. >I'm not sure if they're supposed to be alive while eaten. >-- > rusty c. wright > {ucbvax,ihnp4,akgua,hplabs,sdcsvax}!sdcarl!rusty In modern practice they (monkey brains that is) are eaten while alive in a few Cambodian schools of dentistry. This is usually done with a drill, and then the group attacks the monkey with straws. They try not to slurp up too much so that they can plug the monkey's brain up and place it back in its natural enviroment. Its quite humane if you really think about it. -rich
bobn@bmcg.UUCP (Bob Nebert) (06/27/85)
> Reading the long reply about how to eat/clean/cook clams i have to > admit that i was rather repelled by the description of squirting some > lemon juice on the clam to make it squirm in order to verify that it > is still alive before eating it. The idea of putting a live animal > in my mouth and using my teath to crush and pulverize something in > order to kill it strikes me as somewhat barbaric. Almost made me > want to go vegetarian (but not quite, you'll have to try harder next > time). This made me think about other ``interesting'' eating > practices involving live animals. I don't know of any. What other > ones are there? Things like sticking lobsters in boiling water don't > really count since the lobster is (presumably) killed right off when > it hits the water. I have heard of something where monkeys have > their skull sliced open and their brains are eaten with chopsticks. > I'm not sure if they're supposed to be alive while eaten. > -- > rusty c. wright > {ucbvax,ihnp4,akgua,hplabs,sdcsvax}!sdcarl!rusty >> Even tho it is not an animal, yogart is biologically living >> when you put it in your mouth. >> >> Yoplay anyone?
devine@asgb.UUCP (Robert J. Devine) (06/28/85)
> The idea of putting a live animal > in my mouth and using my teath to crush and pulverize something in > order to kill it strikes me as somewhat barbaric. Almost made me > want to go vegetarian (but not quite, you'll have to try harder next > time). > rusty c. wright > {ucbvax,ihnp4,akgua,hplabs,sdcsvax}!sdcarl!rusty Hmmm, noone ever gets queasy about eating millions of LIVE yeast cells with a single bite.... Bob Devine Committee For Protection Of Small Living Things Except Cockroaches :-)
ken@turtlevax.UUCP (Ken Turkowski) (06/28/85)
It is quite a delicacy in Japan to eat sushi that was sliced from a live
fish just moments before. The meat still quivers on your plate as you
eat it.
--
Ken Turkowski @ CADLINC, Menlo Park, CA
UUCP: {amd,decwrl,hplabs,nsc,seismo,spar}!turtlevax!ken
ARPA: turtlevax!ken@DECWRL.ARPAdwyer@rochester.UUCP (Matt Dwyer) (06/30/85)
*** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE *** A clam cannot tell the difference between the following means of death: 1) Being crushed by a truck 2) Being chopped up in a propeller . . n) Being chewed up and swallowed Nature can be very cruel! matt
chai@utflis.UUCP (Henry Chai) (06/30/85)
In article <213@sdcarl.UUCP> rusty@sdcarl.UUCP (Rusty Wright) writes: > .... about other ``interesting'' eating >practices involving live animals. I don't know of any. ... > .... I have heard of something where monkeys have >their skull sliced open and their brains are eaten with chopsticks. >I'm not sure if they're supposed to be alive while eaten. >-- > rusty c. wright Yes, "Live Monkey's Brains" is supposed to be a very nutritious gourmet dish in the era of emperors and dynasties. (We Chinese belive that whichever part of an animal you eat will be beneficial to the corresponding part of your body; e.g. chicken feet good for your legs, calf liver good for your liver etc., but don't ask me what good ox tails do!) There is a special table for this; the live monkey is tied up with only the head showing through a hole at the center of the table. (It should be a very healthy monkey so it won't die in the process) The waiter performs the "surgery" before the guests' eyes and the brains are eaten directly from the skull. I think I'd faint if I am presented with this inhumane dish! I don't think it is widely eaten nowadays, but there is another dish that is still regarded as a delicacy: "Deep Fried Live Fish". It is prepared like this: a live fish is caught from the lake/pool beside the restaurent. It entrails are cleaned immediately and quickly so that the fish is still alive. The head is wrapped in moist cloth and the cook holds the fish by the head. The rest of the body is dunked into hot oil, and so is flash cooked. Even when the fish is served , it is still gasping for air. I've seen it done on TV. I doubt if I can eat the poor thing, 'though the flesh is supposed to be very tasty. -- Henry Chai Faculty of Library and Information Science, U of Toronto {watmath,ihnp4,allegra}!utzoo!utflis!chai
mr@hou2h.UUCP (M.RINDSBERG) (07/01/85)
> Reading the long reply about how to eat/clean/cook clams i have to > admit that i was rather repelled by the description of squirting some > lemon juice on the clam to make it squirm in order to verify that it > is still alive before eating it. The idea of putting a live animal > in my mouth and using my teath to crush and pulverize something in > order to kill it strikes me as somewhat barbaric. Almost made me > want to go vegetarian (but not quite, you'll have to try harder next > time). This made me think about other ``interesting'' eating > practices involving live animals. I don't know of any. What other > ones are there? Things like sticking lobsters in boiling water don't > really count since the lobster is (presumably) killed right off when > it hits the water. I have heard of something where monkeys have > their skull sliced open and their brains are eaten with chopsticks. > I'm not sure if they're supposed to be alive while eaten. > rusty c. wright The Japanese have a sort of a fish which is eaten while still alive. Pretty disgusting ?? Mark ..!hou2h!mr
thomas@utah-gr.UUCP (Spencer W. Thomas) (07/01/85)
In article <213@sdcarl.UUCP> rusty@sdcarl.UUCP (Rusty Wright) writes: >The idea of putting a live animal >in my mouth and using my teath to crush and pulverize something in >order to kill it strikes me as somewhat barbaric. It is interesting to see how far we have come from our origins. Most (carnivorous) animals (and we are, in part, carnivorous, or we wouldn't have those nice sharp cutting teeth up front) at least begin to eat their prey when it is alive. (-: not to mention vegetables -- I mean, how many of you make sure your tomato is dead before you eat it? And to think of ripping the tomato off the plant; it's almost as bad as pulling off fly wings!-) This is similar to the feeling that meat comes in plastic wrap with a white (or yellow) styrofoam tray underneath. Most of us really don't want to think about the origin of our food. (I am reminded of a story of a city dweller who visited some suburban friends and was offered a ripe tomato fresh from the garden. He exclaimed in horror "from the dirt!?", and was unable to bring himself to eat it. Vegetables, too, spring full formed from the counter in the corner grocery.) Yes, eating live clams (and other things) is somewhat barbaric, but I am not sure this is a "bad thing". While I would find it very difficult to live for long without electricity and central heating, I also feel that we should not forget nor deny our roots. -- =Spencer ({ihnp4,decvax}!utah-cs!thomas, thomas@utah-cs.ARPA)
mupmalis@watarts.UUCP (M. A. Upmalis) (07/03/85)
Of course Kurt Vonnegut reminds that when we drink, we drink yeast excrement, gag... I'm going to start living on junk food, at least it's all synthethic, if you ever see a Dorito move it's the cockroach underneath... :-) -- Mike Upmalis (mupmalis@watarts)<University of Waterloo> ihnp4!watmath!watarts!mupmalis
harry@ucbarpa (07/10/85)
From: harry@ucbarpa (Harry I. Rubin) Path: ucbvax!decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!think!harvard!seismo!rochester!dwyer > From: dwyer@rochester.UUCP (Matt Dwyer) > Message-ID: <10407@rochester.UUCP> > Keywords: Compassion > > A clam cannot tell the difference between the following means of death: > 1) Being crushed by a truck > 2) Being chopped up in a propeller > . > . > n) Being chewed up and swallowed > Nature can be very cruel! There are two points: not only what the clam feels, but also what WE feel about it. 1) I don't know exactly what "suffering" means if you are a clam, but as compassionate people, surely we ought to try to kill our food with as little suffering as possible. 2) Then there is the question of what it does to our compassion to knowingly eat a live beastie. Even if the clam really doesn't feel or know anything, there is still our gut (pardon the pun) reation to doing it. 3) That nature can be cruel is beside the point, we should try to avoid being cruel. If this discussion goes any further it should probably move, perhaps to net.philosophy? Cheers! Harry Rubin harry@Berkeley ...!ucbvax!harry
cramer@kontron.UUCP (Clayton Cramer) (07/11/85)
> > I have heard of something where monkeys have > > their skull sliced open and their brains are eaten with chopsticks. > > I'm not sure if they're supposed to be alive while eaten. > > rusty c. wright > I have an acquaintance who attended a banquet in Hong Kong (he is of Chinese origin), where a live monkey was brought to the table, the monkey's head was inserted through a hole in the table, so that only the top of its head stuck through, then with the monkey still alive, they used a knife to hack off the top of the head and scooped out the still warm brains to eat. (No, he didn't eat any.) Slaughtering cattle for meat is positively humane compared to this.
smithson@calma.uucp (Brian Smithson) (07/11/85)
> From: dwyer@rochester.UUCP (Matt Dwyer) > Message-ID: <10407@rochester.UUCP> > Keywords: Compassion > > A clam cannot tell the difference between the following means of death: > 1) Being crushed by a truck > 2) Being chopped up in a propeller > . > . > n) Being chewed up and swallowed > Nature can be very cruel! ?????? Funny, I didn't know that trucks and propellers were considered part of nature! -- -Brian Smithson Calma Company (a wholly owned subsidiary of General Electric) ucbvax!calma!smithson "...you'd better be prepared for the jump into hyperspace. It's unpleasantly like being drunk." "What's so unpleasant about being drunk?" "You ask a glass of water."
cramer@kontron.UUCP (Clayton Cramer) (07/11/85)
> > The idea of putting a live animal > > in my mouth and using my teath to crush and pulverize something in > > order to kill it strikes me as somewhat barbaric. Almost made me > > want to go vegetarian (but not quite, you'll have to try harder next > > time). > > rusty c. wright > > {ucbvax,ihnp4,akgua,hplabs,sdcsvax}!sdcarl!rusty > > Hmmm, noone ever gets queasy about eating millions of LIVE yeast cells > with a single bite.... > > Bob Devine > Committee For Protection Of Small Living Things Except Cockroaches :-) Maybe not queasy, but when my wife started making her own bread, she said to me, "I feel sorry for all those yeast. It's sort of like inviting them to a singles bar and killing them." But she's definitely a ruthless killer when it comes to cockroaches and ants.
rob@ctvax (07/13/85)
I recall hearing that in the markets of Bangkok, one can buy slices of VERY fresh snake. The vendors just hang up a live one and start slicing. Don't think I could handle that one! "Mummy, I hate Daddy's guts!" "Then leave them on the side of your plate, dear." "I gotta go..." Rob Spray ctvax!rob
putnam@steinmetz.UUCP (jefu) (07/28/85)
I lived in Zaire for 4 years as a peace corps volunteer and saw several
varieties of live things eaten. Things like queen ants (not even entirely
settling for me to even look at), and termites.
The termites are about 2 inches long or so, and about as thick through as
a pencil. At the right time of year they come flying up out of holes in
the ground in what look like solid columns. People just grab them out of
the air. The approved style is to take it by the wings and pop it into
your mouth, then pull the wings off and munch away. Of course, when
there were lots of them, you had to pull the wings off so they wouldnt
fly away until you wanted to dine. I had only been at my first post
about two weeks when someone held his hand out to me with this (rather
disgusting) mass of creepy crawlies and offered me one. I (politely,
i hope, but i was thinking of other things than etiquette) declined.
--
O -- jefu
tell me all about -- UUCP: edison!steinmetz!putnam
Anna Livia! I want to hear all.... -- ARPA: putnam@kbsvax.decnet@GE-CRD