Eating Cats and Dogs in China

Here another piece of good news for which animal rights activists and animal lovers around the world had been hoping for: China last week has just banned a dog-eating festival, that dates back more than 600 years after a Chinese internet uproar over the way dogs are slaughtered, the official Xinhua news agency reports.



The papers also said dogs are chopped up and skinned in the streets of Qianxi township in coastal Zhejiang province during the ancient festival, which is usually held in October. The festival marked a local military victory since 14th century during the Ming dynasty, in which dogs in Qianxi were killed so they would not bark and alert the enemy. After the victory, dog meat was served at a celebratory feast, and since then local people have eaten dog meat at temple fairs held during traditional Chinese holidays.



According to Xinhuanet, the ancient fair was replaced by a modern commodity fair in the 1980s, but dog eating has been kept as a tradition. However, vendors began to butcher dogs in public a few years ago - and get this -  to show their dog meat is fresh and safe, as a way to ease buyers' worry that the meat may be refrigerator-preserved or even contaminated. My goodness ! Moreover, the Economist reported it's the belief that dog meat keeps the human's body warm in winter. In addition, dog meat is also good for metabolism and help you sweat in summer, CNN World interviewed a local hostess.



I'm really grateful for thousands of Chinese internet users who have criticized the dog-eating festival on social networking sites, and called for the local Qianxi government to intervene until finally successfully managed to make them listen and take action to put the festival to an end. An internet user named "Junchangzai" on a Chinese micro-blogging website, in a post that was "re-tweeted" 100,000 times, according to Xinhuanet, said "the government's quick response should be encouraged. I hope eating dogs will not be a custom there anymore. It's not a carnival, but a massacre."



Obviously, pressures from public are beginning to count, says the Economist. It reported that last years, a proposed animal-right law drafted by Chinese activists and legal experts would make the “illegal consumption or sale” of dog- or cat-meat by an individual punishable by a fine of up to 5,000 yuan ($730) or imprisonment for up to 15 days. Businesses found guilty of selling the meat risk fines up to 500,000 yuan ($73,500.) But opponents are still many and vociferous both in the press and online, said the Economist. Dog-eating, they argue, is a time-honoured tradition and China is not yet ready for Western-style prissiness about consuming such animals. Perhaps, they suggest hopefully, the word “illegal” could be taken to mean that there might still be a legal way of killing cats and dogs for the table. The Congress admitted two years ago that better laws were needed to prevent cruelty to animals.







Eating dogs and cats in other places in China are common practise, as we all know. Dog restaurants are nothing new in Beijing. Also for Guangzhou, a southern city, it's still popular. This photo from CNN World shows a pet-farm-look alike scene actually taken place in a meat market: dogs bark and whine behind high chain-link fences, some of them gnawing the wire so hard they bleed at the mouths while cats packed into crowded cages cower in fear if anyone approaches. It's really heartbreaking for a lot of people like us who never just once want to taste the poor animals' meat but rather thinking of them as our loyal and loving pets !



In 2010, at the Han River Dog Meat Restaurant in central Guangzhou, diners could choose from a long list of menu items, including dog soup, dog steak, dog with tofu and more. In the kitchen, the chef chopped up meat for dog hot pot, one of the more popular dishes. Most customers liked it spicy, CNN World reported.



Sadly, China is not the only country where eating of dogs and cats are common, it also happens in Korea, Vietnam, etc. including illegal dog trades and trafficking in other countries. Please help stop the cruelty to men's best friends. 



Note: Dog ownership was banned in China during the Cultural Revolution as a bourgeois habit. However, it has become increasingly popular with China's growing middle class and one-child families, according to Reuters.

From Bullfighting to Cockfighting: When It's Gonna End ?

The news today on bans of bullfighting in Catalonia, Spain comes as a relief for animal rights activists and animal lovers like you and me, when the parliament of Catalonia has voted to ban bullfighting - the first region of mainland Spain to do so, which takes effect in January 2012.


According to bbc.co.uk/news, the vote took place as the result of a petition brought to parliament, signed by 180,000 people who say the practice is barbaric and outdated. The campaign was led by the animal rights lobby group Prou! (Enough!) who argues it is cruel and unacceptable and says most spectators in Catalonia these days are tourists. However, bullfight supporters insist that the corrida, as it is known, is an important tradition to preserve.They also fear the vote could be the first of many in the country.

 

A bullfight typically lasts about 20 minutes, and the bull is stabbed numerous times before the fatal blow delivered with a sword thrust between its shoulder blades. The fighting bulls are specially bred and traditionally a corrida involves six bulls and three matadors, each of whom tackles two bulls.


Bullfighting is also widespread in Latin America. The Plaza Mexico arena in Mexico City is the biggest in the world, seating up to 55,000 spectators. One of the oldest is the 18th-Century Plaza de Acho in Lima, Peru. BBC.CO.UK/news mentioned one of the most famous fans of bullfighting was the US writer Ernest Hemingway, who celebrated the tradition in his book Death in the Afternoon.


It makes me think of another kind of entertainment for human which involves blood and lives of animals: Cockfighting—a bloody sport in which roosters are placed in a ring and forced to fight to the death for the "amusement" of onlookers. Even though it's illegal in many places but around the world cockfighting is still a popular local entertainment such as South East Asia, India, Pacific Islands, and Latin America. Each year, it's estimated that millions of roosters die from cockfighting.


 


According to PETA.org, roosters are born, raised, and trained to fight on "game farms." Breeders (also called "cockers") kill the birds they deem inferior, keeping only the birds who are "game" - willing to fight. Many of these birds spend most of their lives tethered by one leg near inadequate shelter, such as a plastic barrel or a small wire cage. Breeders "condition" the birds to fight through physical work, including attaching weights to roosters' legs, and "practice fights" with other roosters.


Breeders often pluck the birds' feathers and hack off the roosters' waddles and/or combs (the flesh at the top of their heads and under their beaks) with shears to prevent other roosters from tearing  them off in the ring. Since roosters do not have sweat glands, losing these body parts deprives them of the ability to cool themselves. Some "cockers" cut off the birds' spurs, which are natural bony protrusions on the legs, so that more deadly, artificial weapons can be strapped to their legs.

What Happens at Cockfights ?

From PETA.org website, cockfights are usually held in round or square enclosures called "cockpits," or simply, "pits." According to one eyewitness, "With neck feathers fanned and wings whirring, the birds jump and parry at each other. They kick and duel in mid-air, striking at each other with feet and beak." If the fighting wanes, handlers pick up the birds and blow on their backs, yank at their beaks, or hold them beak-to-beak in an attempt to "reignite the frenzy." The birds are then re-pitted, and the fight doesn’t end until one rooster is dead or nearly dead. "Losing" birds are often discarded in a barrel or trash can near the game pit, even while they are still alive !


Some months ago, I was watching the re-run of August 2009's "Luke Gamble's Vet Adventures" on Sky TV (for more of his charitable and incredible life-saving stories, go to www.vetadventures.tv). As you may already know, the Dorset-born veterinarian, through his charity WVS (Worldwide Veterinary Service), teams up with good-willed organisations and individuals in remote locations who need help with their animals. He went to Chiang Mai, Thailand and somewhere remotely up on the mountain of the hill tribes. Luke wrote on the website under the Buddhist Monk: Saviour of Chickens, that it's the most interesting case of the day to meet a Buddhist monk who has lived at the top of the mountain for the last three years and looks after injured chickens that he rescues after chicken fights in the villages.


On that day, the monk showed him this seriously-injured rooster who was saved after being fatally attacked from a cockfight and still had a claw of the other rooster buried into his body since the time of the fight. Luke helped remove an embedded claw from the rooster's chest, which was completely walled off inside it and he said he'd never seen anything quite like it. He was absolutely amazed at what he removed. He wrote that "at first I didn’t want to cut into the swelling because I was convinced it must be a bit of bone from an old break. The monk knew otherwise and encouraged me to do so – he had seen it before. Realising he had probably treated many chickens in this condition, I trusted him and incised down to the mass. The reason he couldn’t remove that particular claw was when they were deep in the muscle he had no way of closing wounds afterwards and lacked the forceps to probe around. I donated a pair of crocodile forceps to his cause and a few meds


So, now the big question is "What can we do about this ? " Of course, there're ways that we can help stop the cruelty of human exploiting animals for entertainment. We may simply start from creating awareness within the family, among friends, and educating the children from young in the society level, of why we, as human being, absolutely have no rights to ill-treat animals and put them in the deadly condition just for our own amusement. Moreover, these blood sports always come hand-in-hand with gambling, of which its effects and consequence are as deadly as killing but perhaps it shows in more complicate forms.


Together, we are able to put an end to this and let's hope that the Catalonia's bans are the beginning of the end of animal-fighting games. 

Places for Vegetarian Dine-Out In Singapore

Let me repeat this: You can be a vegetarian and at the same time you can still have fulfilling, rewarding and fun lifestyle. For those who are thinking of a place to go to for nice meat-free dishes, here you are. I have shortlisted some vegetarian/vegan restaurants and vegetarian/vegan-friendly restaurants  in Singapore, based on my own experiences and/or customer reviews on happycow.net. Please note that I have nothing to do with these places whatsoever and I don't earn any commission from them. For the complete list of over 200 vegetarian/vegan restaurants in Singapore, please go to www.happycow.net/asia/singapore.

1. No. 4 Rochester Park
2. Au Petit Salut @ Harding Road, Dempsey Hill
3. Loving Hut on Bukit Merah
4. Enso Kitchen on Ann Siang Road
5. Living Green on Beach Road
6. Loving Hut at Parklane Shopping Mall on Selegie Road
7. Whole Earth on Peck Seah Street
8. 7 Sensations at Millenia Walk, Parco Marina Bay
9. Angel's Bistro on Stanley Street
10. Create Healthy Lifestyle at Fortune Center on Middle Road
11. Eight Treasures Vegetarian on South Bridge Road
12. Herbivore at Fortune Center on Middle Road
13. Ling Zhi Vegetarian Restaurant, by Tung Lock group, at Velocity Novena Square
14. Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant at Quality Hotel on Balestier Road
15. Roma's Deli at Shaw Towers on Beach Road
16. VegSoGood at Golden Shoe Car Park on Market Street

If you'd like to recommend any other vegetarian/vegan restaurant, please feel free to drop me a comment. Bon Appetit !

It Starts With You: Respect the earth, Plus: Famous People Who Are Vegetarians

As I mentioned in my first post that there are many reasons why people become vegetarians. Some may be for their own health, and several plea for reduction of cruelty and animal killing, together with environmental reasons. The Vegetarian Society of Singapore (VSS) which is a non-profit, non-religious organization founded in 1999 has published some interesting information on their website www.vegetarian-society.org. VSS campaigns to raise awareness in terms of both health issues and respect to the earth. It says that forests, oceans, animals and all living things exist in an intricate balance. All of life strives for harmony and happiness - if we want happiness, let’s afford the same to our fellow creatures.

A shocking statistic from the website: 50 billion helpless farm animals are slaughtered every year. We can reduce this needless suffering just by making the right food choices, and in so doing also help to save our planet.

According to a UN FAO 2006 report: Animal products contribute more to global warming than all land vehicles, ships and airplanes on the planet combined.

So, is it about time for us to stop and give it a deep and serious thought what we are consuming ? Why would we take away lives of poor animals just for our temporary pleasure and joy from the taste of their meat? Put ourselves in their shoes: How would it feel for you if you, your parents, and your offspring are fed, and raised, in order to be slaughtered some time soon? There're active and strong activities on the supply side because there is endless and growing demand in meat consumption.When this is gonna end?

You can do your part. Put an end to this vicious circle. Reduce and stop the demand for meat and meat-related product consumption. It starts with you.

This website also shares with us famous people who are vegetarians. The people who have discovered the beauty of vegetarianism include some of the world’s most outstanding and accomplished.

From Einstein to Olympic gold medallist Carl Lewis, Leonardo da Vinci to Paul McCartney, Richard Gere, to Maggie Q...

Albert Einstein: 'nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.' But You Don’t Have To Be A Genius.

As Richard Gere put it 'As custodians of the planet, it is our responsibility to deal with all species with kindness, love and compassion. That these animals suffer through human cruelty is beyond understanding. Please help to stop this madness.'  

 

I looked up for some more names of notable and outstanding people from different fields, who are vegetarians, from Wikipedia, and compiled below a short but impressive list (complete list can be found on Wikipedia. Note that the list is separated from famous people who are Vegan ):

 

Asoka the Great, Anthony the Great, Mahatama Gandhi, George Bernard Shaw, Ringo Starr, Amitabh Banchan, Christ Evert, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Anne Hathaway, Tobey Macguire (Spiderman), Natalie Portman, Forest Whitaker, Stella McCartney, Jane Goodall, and many more !

 

 

What type of vegetarians are you ? Plus: Delicious recipes to try out

It needs certain level of strong commitment and self-control to become a vegetarian. For several people, it may be a sudden change to stop eating all kinds of meat at once. And since each person's circumstance is different and unique, it's worth taking a look at types of vegetarians and see which one matches your lifestyle and preference, to begin with.

It doesn't mean you will have to torture yourself by becoming a vegetarian, which if it's the case, would shorten your journey to become one as eventually you will likely to go back consuming meat and meat-related products sooner or later due to inconvenience and/or discomfort.

Having said that, once you are familiar with what vegetarians' choices of food are, you may be surprised that you find it real rewarding to be a part of huge group of people on this planet who are willing to sacrifice their temporary enjoyment in consuming meat and may voluntarily opt to level up to become a stricter vegetarian, which is nothing but absolute admirable !

According to veggievisitors.com, most vegetarians can be divided into these main categories:

• Vegans avoid all animal products.  They don't eat eggs, dairy products, or even honey.  Many vegans also avoid anything made from animal products, such as leather, fur, and wool.
• Fruitarians eat only fruits, seeds, nuts, and other plant components that can be gathered without harming the plant.
• Lacto-vegetarians eat dairy products, but not eggs.  They may or may not avoid non-dietary use of animal products.
• Lacto-ovo vegetarians eat both eggs and dairy products.  This is the most common group of vegetarians and what most people think of when someone says they're "a vegetarian."
• Pesce-vegetarians include fish in their diet.
• Pollo-vegetarians eat fowl, such as chicken and turkey, but avoid red meat and pork.
• Flexitarians mainly eat vegetarian food, but will occasionally make exceptions.

Now you may be wondering what the vegetarians eat ? Are they going to fall ill since they may not have enough protein ? The answer is No. Remember meat is not the only protein source ? We can eat variety of mushrooms, tofu, bean curds, and nuts. For those who chose to be lacto-ovo vegetarians, you can also eat eggs and dairy products ? So, who says it's limited ?

Veggievisitors.com also provides ideas for cooking vegetarian dishes and interesting menus. It's good to know what kind of vegetarian you are, so that you can look for/prepare proper dishes, or just simply make your place a more welcoming place next time you have your vegetarian friends coming over ! Another very useful website is allrecipes.com, which generously shares variety of delicious vegetarian menus for you to try out. You may even have forgotten you enjoy it so much without meat in it !

However, let me point out here, as you may have seen a lot of vegetarian dishes with "meat lookalike" products in them. My humble opinion is, if you have decided to be a vegetarian for a good cause, while you still feel the need to "see" you're eating something looks kind of "meat" to you, you're only fooling yourself ! 

So now if you would excuse me, I've to get going to prepare my Sunday brunch:  Tofu Stuffed Mushrooms, an interesting recipe from veggievisitors.com. Would you like to try it out ? Bon Appetit !

Tofu Stuffed Mushrooms:

Ingredients

24 oz. white mushrooms (they usually come in 8 oz. packages)
2 packages firm or extra firm tofu packed in water
4 -6 cloves garlic, crushed
1-2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
¼ - ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
8-10 large fresh basil leaves, minced

Cooking Instruction:

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Spray a large (11x13 baking dish) with nonstick spray.

2. Carefully wash mushrooms and separate stems from the caps. Cut the bottom part of the stem off and set remaining stem aside.

3. Place mushroom caps side by side in baking dish. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil if desired.

4. Slice tofu into ¼ inch slices and drain for several minutes on a paper towel. When drained, dice into fine cubes about 1/8 inch in size.

5. Heat 2 tablespoons oil on medium in a large skillet. Add tofu and cook until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.

6. While tofu is cooking, gently hollow out mushroom caps using a small spoon or melon baller. Be careful not to break the cap. Place mushroom scrapings together in a bowl.

7. Chop mushroom stems and add to bowl along with garlic.

8. Add mushroom and garlic mixture to tofu in skillet. Add additional olive oil if desired. Sprinkle Italian season and red pepper over mixture and cook on medium heat until mushroom is soft. Taste. Add additional seasoning is desired.

9. Pour skillet mixture over mushroom caps, cover with foil, and place in preheated oven.

10. Cook for approximately 20 minutes. Remove cover for final five minutes.

11. Garnish with fresh basil before serving.

Enjoy !

Vegetarianism And Why ?

I had been trying to be a vegetarian, as far as I can remember, since the year 2000. My friend recently recalled that I mentioned to him while he was visiting me in the hospital that I would like to become a vegetarian. Later, I started practising it in 2001 during the study for my Certified Financial Analyst (CFA) Level 1 exam, in the hope that the good merit would help me to pass the tough test. However, given the reality in my life, work exposure, availability of vegetarian food and preparation, it was not easy for me to totally become one on a permanent basis. I remember that after the exam over, I started eating meat again. Having said that, most of the time I would try to avoid eating "big animals", i.e. beef and pork, or red meat. The reason for me to avoid eating meat was still mixed between health concern and ethical issue. In the past few years, I had been a vegetarian on and off, most of the time was to create merits for myself and on behalf of my grandparents who were ill, hopefully that it would help make them get better.


Two months ago, I wanted to catch on with the Eat Pray Love fever, which was already faded (this is what always happens to me: After the fad subsides, it's my time to get all excited about it and want to try it out. Another time happened was with bubble tea fad). Thus I have decided to buy the book and read through. Elizabeth Gilbert, the author, in her battle against deep depression after her ugly divorce, mentioned that she stopped eating meat (for a short time) after someone told her that she was "eating the fear of the animal at the moment of its death". This line really struck me. It clearly gave me the picture of a cow struggling for his life in a slaughterhouse. It made me become a vegetarian again. This time I really hope I can be strong enough to do it in long term.


Let's take a look at some statistics. How many people around you are vegetarians ? According to Raw-Food-Health.net, in England, vegetarianism got a huge boost from the mad cow scare. According to a 2006 Mintel survey, 6 percent of the population, or 3.6 million people, are vegetarians, and 10 percent eat no red meat. This likely makes the UK the european country with the largest proportion of its population that is vegetarian.


The website also revealed, in the 2008, "Vegetarianism in America" study, published by the Vegetarian Times Magazine, puts the number of U.S. adult vegetarians at 7.3 million, or 3.2 percent of the population. Moving to Asia, India holds more vegetarians than the rest of the world combined.
A 2006 survey by the Hindu newspaper found that 40 percent of the population, or 399 million people, are vegetarians. This is mostly driven by class and religious concerns, with the Brahmin class expected to not eat meat, the Hindu religion suggesting vegetarianism and the Jain religion demanding it.


What the history says about vegetarianism ? According to Wikipedia, even though the Vegetarian Society was firstly founded in UK in 1847, the vegetarianism dated back long before this organization. Vegetarianism in the Romantic Period, during the eighteenth to nineteenth centuries believed to become widespread and have been impacted by views on humanism in this Age of Enlightenment. With this new "enlightenment" came new reflections on how members of the human race were to treat each other and also their animal brethren. According to John Locke, direct observation of animals during this period allowed for humans to realize that animals too could communicate, feel pain, and perhaps even feel emotion. With this newfound realization, rooted in Enlightenment values of humanitarianism, mankind began to see fewer differences separating them and the beasts. Humans, led by Locke, started to believe that animals and humans were interconnected in some way, and therefore, if man was unkind toward animals he would also be unkind towards his fellow man. With such principles in mind, vegetarianism became the proper response, one fueled by both humanitarianism and compassion.


Nevertheless, there are so many different reasons for people to become a vegetarian. If you ask fellow vegetarians, you will certainly get different answers. Some think it's a healthier choice as there're numbers of animal-to-human transmitted diseases e.g. salmonella from chicken, bovine leukemia from cows, anthrax from cattles, H5N1 influenza from winged animals, or the recent E. coli outbreak in Europe. Some prefer not to eat meat for longevity reason as meat consumption, according to several researches, leads to heart disease and other illnesses. For environmental activists, pollutions from slaughterhouses and process of meat production are their concern and reason not to eat meat and its products.


To me, and let me emphasize here, I am not a great person, the reason for me to become a vegetarian is because I do not want to support killing of animals and turn them to become human's food. Even though humans are omnivores, as we learned from our Physiology lessons, based on our ability to digest meat as well as plants and vegetables, we still have other choices besides killing for food. There is this lady that I know, named Lilly, who works in animal welfare, once said "we are very fortunate to be placed on the very top of the food chain, but it doesn't mean that we take this opportunity to kill animals for food or to abuse or treat them anyway we wish". Actually I think we do not have any rights at all to harm them in any form, no matter what we have come up with: with our bared hands to blunt weapons to sophisticated farming technology. Think about it. They cannot fight back as much as we can attack them in a more cruel way only to enjoy the taste of their meat.


A Princeton University professor and founder of the animal liberation movement, Peter Singer, in Ethics of killing for food, believes that if alternative means of survival exist, one ought to choose the option that does not cause unnecessary harm to animals. Most ethical vegetarians argue that the same reasons exist against killing animals to eat as against killing humans to eat. Singer, in his book Animal Liberation listed possible qualities of sentience in non-human creatures that gave such creatures the scope to be considered under utilitarian ethics, and this has been widely referenced by animal rights campaigners and vegetarians. Ethical vegetarians also believe that killing an animal, like killing a human, can only be justified in extreme circumstances and that consuming a living creature for its enjoyable taste, convenience, or nutritional value is not sufficient cause. Another common view is that humans are morally conscious of their behaviour in a way other animals are not, and therefore subject to higher standards.


Eventually, I believe it all boils down to basic economics principle: demand and supply. If we can cut down the demand in meat consumption, there would be less work for slaughterhouses, and less number of poor animals will be raised to be killed. Think of them as our fellow animals who share the planet with us. Let's live together in harmony.