View allAll Photos Tagged Stringy,

One of my favourite vegetables, though my husband thinks it's a bit stringy!

Plant materials: Forsythia leaves, mountain-ash berries, white cedar, white oak, stringy stonecrop, bedstraw

 

Thank you everyone who views, comments or adds as a favourite.

Varieties are Yin Yang (black and white markings of the beans (dwarf) and Hewitt (climbing). Hewitt is a great variety; vigorous climber that produces many stringiness pods. Good for keeping dried beans, for cooking, and for next years seed beans.

I dont usually play with barbie as in the barbie, but i like this one because of her stringy hair, its like she has old extensions and she just don't want to wash them :) have a great summer guys!

Eugene, Oregon

 

Olympus Pen-F

Panasonic Lumix 30mm f:2.8

The fragrance is not breath taking but breath giving! Ever heard of Hall's Eucalyptus lozenges?

 

Eucalyptus (/ˌjuːkəˈlɪptəs/) is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including Corymbia, they are commonly known as eucalypts. Plants in the genus Eucalyptus have bark that is either smooth, fibrous, hard or stringy, leaves with oil glands, and sepals and petals that are fused to form a "cap" or operculum over the stamens. The fruit is a woody capsule commonly referred to as a "gumnut".

 

Most species of Eucalyptus are native to Australia, and every state and territory has representative species. About three-quarters of Australian forests are eucalypt forests. Wildfire is a feature of the Australian landscape and many eucalypt species are adapted to fire, and resprout after fire or have seeds which survive fire.

 

A few species are native to islands north of Australia and a smaller number are only found outside the continent. Eucalypts have been grown in plantations in many other countries because they are fast growing and have valuable timber, or can be used for pulpwood, for honey production or essential oils. In some countries, however, they have been removed because they are highly flammable.

 

Garland Park, Carmel CA

www.susanfordcollins.com

The characteristic stringy bark of the Western Juniper tree.

Botanical Name: Butia capitata

Description

The Butia or Jelly palm yields a host of edible and useful products. They have large stalks of golden fruit in clusters. The fruit is green before it ripens, then turns golden, sometimes having a reddish tinge when ready to eat. Soft, tasty flesh surrounds a hard seed that looks like a miniature coconut. Simply peel the flesh away and eat it, prepare a soft puree, or use Butia Palm fruit in jelly. The taste is delicious and starts out like apple and transforms into tropical like flavours similar to an apricot/banana mix. Although delicious when eaten fresh they are most often preserved due to their stringy fibrous flesh. Jelly palm fruits are picked as they ripen. If whole bunches are harvested, they tend to ripen all at once. They keep well under refrigeration for around a week. This South American palm is native to Brazil and is the hardiest feather-leafed palm in cultivation.

'Snuten un Poten' vom Hund - eine Delikatesse in Vietnam . . .

_____________________________________________

 

Dog meat refers to the flesh and other edible parts derived from dogs. Historically, human consumption of dog meat has been recorded in many parts of the world, including East and Southeast Asia, West Africa, Europe, Oceania and the Americas.

 

In the 21st century, dog meat is consumed in many parts of China, Korea and Vietnam, parts of Switzerland, as well as parts of Europe, Americas, the African continent, such as Cameroon, Ghana and Liberia.

 

Today, a number of cultures view the consumption of dog meat to be a part of their traditional and day-to-day cuisine, while others - such as Western culture - consider consumption of dog to be a taboo, although they have been consumed in times of war and/or other hardships. It was estimated in 2014 that worldwide, 25 million dogs are eaten each year by humans.

 

DOG BREEDS USED FOR MEAT

NUREONGI

The Nureongi (Korean: 누렁이) is a yellowish landrace from Korea. Similar to other native Korean dog breeds, such as the Jindo, nureongi are medium-sized spitz-type dogs, but are larger with greater musculature and a distinctive coat pattern. They are quite uniform in appearance, yellow hair and melanistic masks. Nureongi are most often used as a livestock dog, raised for its meat, and not commonly kept as pets.

 

HAWAIIAN POI

The Hawaiian Poi Dog or ʻīlio (ʻīlio mākuʻe for brown-furred Poi dogs) is an extinct breed of pariah dog from Hawaiʻi which was used by Native Hawaiians as a spiritual protector of children and as a source of food.

 

XOLOITZCUINTLE (MEXICAN HAIRLESS)

The Xoloitzcuintle, or Xolo for short, is a hairless breed of dog, found in toy, miniature and standard sizes.The Xolo also comes in a coated variety and all three sizes can be born to a single litter. It is also known as Mexican hairless dog in English speaking countries, is one of several breeds of hairless dog and has been used as a historical source of food for the Aztec Empire.

 

BY REGION

AFRICA

CAMEROON

Among the Vame people, domestic dogs are only eaten for specific rituals.

 

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Despite tests showing 156 dogs were infected with Ebola, the consumption of dog meat is no longer taboo.

 

GHANA

The Tallensi, the Akyim's, the Kokis, and the Yaakuma, one of many cultures of Ghana, consider dog meat a delicacy. While the Mamprusi generally avoid dog meat, it is eaten in a "courtship stew" provided by a king to his royal lineage. Two Tribes in Ghana, Frafra and Dagaaba are particularly known to be "tribal playmates" and consumption of dog meat is the common bond between the two tribes. Every year around September, games are organised between these two tribes and the Dog Head is the trophy at stake for the winning tribe

 

MOROCCO

Islamic law bans the eating of dog meat as does the government of Morocco, however the consumption of dog meat still occurs particularly in poorer regions, often being passed off as other meats as was the case in 2013 and 2009 cases

 

NIGERIA

Dogs are eaten by various groups in some states of Nigeria, including Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Plateau, Ondo, Kalaba, Taraba and Gombe of Nigeria. They are believed to have medicinal powers.

 

In late 2014, the fear of contracting the Ebola virus disease from bushmeat led at least one major Nigerian newspaper to imply that eating dog meat was a healthy alternative. That paper documented a thriving trade in dog meat and slow sales of even well smoked bushmeat.

 

AMERICA

CANADA

It is legal to sell and serve dog meat, providing that it must be killed and gutted in front of federal inspectors. If a dog is killed out of the view of federal inspectors, the killing might involve cruelty, which would be a violation of the Criminal Code, and those convicted may be sentenced to up to 5 years in prison.

 

ANCIENT MEXICO

In the time of the Aztec Empire in what is now central Mexico, Mexican Hairless Dogs were bred, among other purposes, for their meat. Hernán Cortés reported when he arrived in Tenochtitlan in 1519, "small gelded dogs which they breed for eating" were among the goods sold in the city markets. These dogs, Xoloitzcuintles, were often depicted in pre-Columbian Mexican pottery. The breed was almost extinct in the 1940s, but the British Military Attaché in Mexico City, Norman Wright, developed a thriving breed from some of the dogs he found in remote villages.

 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The term "dog" has been used as a synonym for sausage since 1884 and accusations that sausage makers used dog meat date to at least 1845. The belief that sausages contained dog meat was occasionally justified.

 

In the late 19th century, a cure for tuberculosis (then colloquially termed "consumption") using an exclusive diet of dog meat was tried. Reports of families eating dog meat out of choice, rather than necessity, were rare and newsworthy. Stories of families in Ohio and Newark, New Jersey who did so made it into editions of The New York Times in 1876 and 1885.

 

In the early 20th century, dog meat was consumed during times of meat shortage.

 

NATIVE AMERICANS

The traditional culture surrounding the consumption of dog meat varied from tribe to tribe among the original inhabitants of North America, with some tribes relishing it as a delicacy, and others (such as the Comanche) treating it as a forbidden food.

 

Native peoples of the Great Plains, such as the Sioux and Cheyenne, consumed it, but there was a concurrent religious taboo against the meat of wild canines.

During their 1803–1806 expedition, Meriwether Lewis and the other members of the Corps of Discovery consumed dog meat, either from their own animals or supplied by Native American tribes, including the Paiutes and Wah-clel-lah Indians, a branch of the Watlatas, the Clatsop, the Teton Sioux (Lakota), the Nez Perce Indians, and the Hidatsas. Lewis and the members of the expedition ate dog meat, except William Clark, who reportedly could not bring himself to eat dogs.

 

The Kickapoo people include puppy meat in many of their traditional festivals. This practice has been well documented in the Works Progress Administration "Indian Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma".

 

AUSTRALIA

It is legal to eat dogs in most States and Territories, except for South Australia. However, it is illegal to sell dog meat in any Australian State or Territory.

 

ARTIC AND ANTARCTIC

British explorer Ernest Shackleton and his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition became trapped, and ultimately killed their sled dogs for food. Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was known to have eaten sled dogs during his expedition to the South Pole. By eating some of the sled dogs, he required less human or dog food, thus lightening his load. When comparing sled dogs to ponies as draught animals he also notes:

 

"...there is the obvious advantage that dog can be fed on dog. One can reduce one's pack little by little, slaughtering the feebler ones and feeding the chosen with them. In this way they get fresh meat. Our dogs lived on dog's flesh and pemmican the whole way, and this enabled them to do splendid work. And if we ourselves wanted a piece of fresh meat we could cut off a delicate little fillet; it tasted to us as good as the best beef. The dogs do not object at all; as long as they get their share they do not mind what part of their comrade's carcass it comes from. All that was left after one of these canine meals was the teeth of the victim – and if it had been a really hard day, these also disappeared."

 

Douglas Mawson and Xavier Mertz were part of the Far Eastern Party, a three-man sledging team with Lieutenant B.E.S. Ninnis, to survey King George V Land, Antarctica. On 14 December 1912 Ninnis fell through a snow-covered crevasse along with most of the party's rations, and was never seen again. Mawson and Mertz turned back immediately. They had one and a half weeks' food for themselves and nothing at all for the dogs. Their meagre provisions forced them to eat their remaining sled dogs on their 507 km return journey. Their meat was tough, stringy and without a vestige of fat. Each animal yielded very little, and the major part was fed to the surviving dogs, which ate the meat, skin and bones until nothing remained. The men also ate the dog's brains and livers. Unfortunately eating the liver of sled dogs produces the condition hypervitaminosis A because canines have a much higher tolerance for vitamin A than humans do. Mertz suffered a quick deterioration. He developed stomach pains and became incapacitated and incoherent. On 7 January 1913, Mertz died. Mawson continued alone, eventually making it back to camp alive.

 

ASIA/PACIFIC

CHINA

Selling dog meat for consumption is legal in Mainland China and approximately 10 million dogs each year are slaughtered for consumption. The eating of dog meat in China dates back thousands of years. Dog meat (Chinese: 狗肉; pinyin: gǒu ròu) has been a source of food in some areas from around 500 BC and possibly even earlier. It has been suggested that wolves in southern China may have been domesticated as a source of meat. Mencius, the philosopher, talked about dog meat as being an edible, dietary meat. It is thought to have medicinal properties, and is especially popular in winter months in northern China, as it is believed to raise body temperature after consumption and promote warmth. Historical records have moreover shown how in times of food scarcities (as in war-time situations), dogs could also be eaten as an emergency food source.

 

Dog meat is sometimes called "fragrant meat" (香肉 xiāng ròu) or "mutton of the earth" (地羊 dì yáng) in Mandarin Chinese and "3–6 fragrant meat" (Chinese: 三六香肉; Cantonese Yale: sàam luhk hèung yuhk) in Cantonese (3 plus 6 is 9 and the words "nine" and "dog" have close pronunciation. In Mandarin, "nine" and "dog" are pronounced differently).

 

In modern times, the extent of dog consumption in China varies by region, most prevalent in Guangdong, Yunnan and Guangxi, as well as the northern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning. It is still common to find dog meat served in restaurants in Southern China, where dogs are specially raised on farms. However, there are instances of finding stolen pet meat on menus. Chinese netizens and the Chinese police intercepted trucks transporting caged dogs to be slaughtered in localities such as Chongqing and Kunming. In 2014, 11 people in the Hunan province were sentenced to prison for allegedly poisoning over 1,000 dogs and selling the poisonous meat to Yulin, Guangxi has held an annual festival of eating dog meat. This purportedly celebrates the summer solstice, however, in 2014, the municipal government published a statement that the festival is not a cultural tradition, rather, a commercial event held by restaurants and the public. Various dog meat dishes (and more recently, cats) are eaten, washed down by lychees wine. The festival in 2011 spanned 10 days, during which 15,000 dogs were consumed. Estimates of the number of dogs eaten during the festival range between 10 and 15 thousand. Festival organisers say that only dogs bred specifically for consumption are used, however, there are claims that some of the dogs purchased for slaughter and consumption are strays or stolen pets, as evidenced by their wearing collars. Some of the dogs eaten at the festival are burnt or boiled alive and there are reports that the dogs are sometimes clubbed or beaten to death in the belief that the increased adrenalin circulating in the dog's body adds to the flavour of the meat. At the 2015 festival, there were long queues outside large (300-seat) eateries which sold the dog meat for around £4 (€5.60) per kilogram. Prior to the 2014 festival, eight dogs (and their two cages) sold for 1,150 yuan ($185) and six puppies for 1,200 yuan. Prior to the 2015 festival, a protester bought 100 dogs for 7,000 yuan ($1,100; £710). The animal rights NGO Best Volunteer Centre claims the city has more than 100 slaughterhouses, processing between 30 and 100 dogs a day. However, the Yulin Centre for Animal Disease Control and Prevention claims the city has only eight dog slaughterhouses selling approximately 200 dogs, although this increases to about 2,000 dogs during the Yulin festival. There are several campaigns to stop the festival; more than 3,000,000 people have signed petitions against it on Weibo (China’s version of Twitter) and a petition to stop the festival (addressed to the Chinese Minister of Agriculture, Chen Wu) reads "Do the humane thing by saying no to this festival and save the lives of countless dogs that will fall victim to this event - an event that will butcher, skin alive, beat to death etc. thousands of innocent dogs." Prior to the 2014 festival, doctors and nurses staff were ordered not to eat dog meat there, and local restaurants serving dog meat were ordered to cover the word "dog" on their signs and notices.

 

The movement against the consumption of cat and dog meat was given added impetus by the formation of the Chinese Companion Animal Protection Network (CCAPN). Expanded to more than 40 member societies, CCAPN in 2006 began organizing protests against eating dogs and cat, starting in Guangzhou and following up in more than ten other cities with a positive response from the public. Before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, officials ordered dog meat to be taken off the menu at its 112 official Olympic restaurants to avoid offending visitors from various nations who might have been concerned by the offering of dog meat.

 

In 2010, draft legislation was proposed to prohibit the consumption of dog meat. The legislation, however, was not expected to be enforced, making the consumption of dog meat illegal if it passed. In 2010, the first draft proposal of the legislation was introduced, with the rationale to protect animals from maltreatment. The legislation includes a measure to jail people for up to 15 days for eating dog meat. However, certain cultural food festivals continue to promote the meat. For example, in 2014, 10,000 dogs were killed for the Yulin dog eating festival.

 

As of the early 21st century, dog meat consumption is declining or disappearing. In 2014, dog meat sales decreased by a third compared to 2013. It was reported that in 2015, one of the most popular restaurants in Guangzhou serving dog meat was closed after the local government tightened regulations; the restaurant had served dog meat dishes since 1963. Other restaurants that served dog and cat meat dishes in the Yuancun and Panyu districts also stopped serving these in 2015.

 

HONG KONG

In Hong Kong, the Dogs and Cats Ordinance was introduced by the British Hong Kong Government on 6 January 1950. It prohibits the slaughter of any dog or cat for use as food, whether for mankind or otherwise, on pain of fine and imprisonment. In February 1998, a Hong Konger was sentenced to one month imprisonment and a fine of two thousand HK dollars for hunting street dogs for food. Four local men were sentenced to 30 days imprisonment in December 2006 for having slaughtered two dogs.

 

TAIWAN

In 2001, the Taiwanese government imposed a ban on the sale of dog meat, due to both pressure from domestic animal welfare groups and a desire to improve international perceptions, although there were some protests. In 2007, another law was passed, significantly increasing the fines to sellers of dog meat. However, animal rights campaigners have accused the Taiwanese government of not prosecuting those who continue to slaughter and serve dog meat at restaurants. Although the slaughter and consumption of dog meat is illegal in Taiwan, there are reports that suggest the practice continues as of 2011. In Taiwan, dog meat is called "fragrant meat" (Chinese: 香肉; pinyin: xiāngròu). In 2007, legislators passed a law to fine sellers of dog meat NT$250,000 (US$7,730). Dog meat is believed to have health benefits, including improving circulation and raising body temperature.

 

INDIA

In India, dog meat is eaten by certain communities in the Northeast Indian border states of Mizoram, Nagaland, and Manipur where it is considered to be a delicacy. These states border Burma and may have been influenced by Chinese culture and traditions.

  

INDONESIA

Indonesia is predominantly Muslim, a faith which considers dog meat, along with pork to be "haraam" (ritually unclean) and therefore do not eat it. However, dog meat is eaten by several of Indonesia's non-Muslim minorities.

 

The consumption of dog meat is associated with the Minahasa culture of northern Sulawesi, Maluku culture, and the Bataks of northern Sumatra, where dog meat is considered a festive dish usually reserved for occasions such as weddings and Christmas.

 

Popular Indonesian dog-meat dishes are rica-rica, also called rintek wuuk or "RW", rica-rica waung, guk-guk, and "B1". On Java, there are several dishes made from dog meat, such as sengsu (tongseng asu), sate jamu, and kambing balap.

 

Dog consumption in Indonesia gained attention in United States where dog is a taboo food, during 2012 Presidential election when incumbent Barack Obama was pointed by his opponent to have eaten dog meat served by his Indonesian stepfather Lolo Soetoro during his stay in the country

 

JAPAN

The consumption of dog meat is not a feature of modern Japanese culture because Japanese people believe that certain dogs have special powers in their religion of Shintoism and Buddhism. Dog meat was consumed in Japan until 675 AD, when Emperor Temmu decreed a prohibition on its consumption during the 4th–9th months of the year. Normally a dog accompanied the emperor for battle, so it was believed that eating a dog gave emperors bad luck.[citation needed] In Japanese shrines certain animals are worshipped, such as dogs as it is believed they will give people a good luck charm. Animals are described as good luck in scrolls and Kakemono during the Kofun period, Asuka period and Nara period. According to Meisan Shojiki Ōrai (名産諸色往来) published in 1760, the meat of wild dog was sold along with boar, deer, fox, wolf, bear, raccoon dog, otter, weasel and cat in some regions of Edo. Ōta Nampo recorded witnessing puppies being eaten in Satsuma Province in a dish called Enokoro Meshi (えのころ飯).

 

KOREA

Gaegogi (개고기) literally means "dog meat" in Korean. The term itself, however, is often mistaken as the term for Korean soup made from dog meat, which is actually called bosintang (보신탕; 補身湯, Body nourishing soup) (sometimes spelled "bo-shintang").

 

The consumption of dog meat in Korean culture can be traced through history. Dog bones[further explanation needed] were excavated in a neolithic settlement in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. A wall painting in the Goguryeo Tombs complex in South Hwangghae Province, a World Heritage site which dates from the 4th century AD, depicts a slaughtered dog in a storehouse. The Balhae people also enjoyed dog meat, and the modern-day tradition of canine cuisine seems to have come from that era.

 

Although their Mohe ancestors did not respect dogs, the Jurchen people began to respect dogs around the time of the Ming dynasty and passed this tradition on to the Manchu. It was prohibited in Jurchen culture to use dog skin, and forbidden for Jurchens to harm, kill, and eat dogs, as the Jurchens believed the "utmost evil" was the usage of dog skin by Koreans.

 

SOUTH KOREA

Dog meat is often consumed during the summer months and is either roasted or prepared in soups or stews. The most popular of these soups is bosintang and gaejang-guk, a spicy stew meant to balance the body's heat during the summer months. This is thought to ensure good health by balancing one's "Qi", the believed vital energy of the body. A 19th-century version of gaejang-guk explains the preparation of the dish by boiling dog meat with vegetables such as green onions and chili pepper powder. Variations of the dish contain chicken and bamboo shoots.

 

Over 100,000 tons[94] of dog meat, or 2.5 million dogs, are consumed annually in South Korea. Although a fair number of South Koreans (approximately 42% to 60%) have eaten dog meat at least once in their lifetime, only a small percentage of the population is believed to eat it on a regular basis.

 

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety recognizes any edible product other than drugs as food. South Korean Food Sanitary Law (식품위생법) does not include dog meat as a legal food ingredient. In the capital city of Seoul, the sale of dog meat was outlawed by regulation on February 21, 1984 by classifying dog meat as 'repugnant food' (혐오식품), but the regulation was not rigorously enforced except during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. In 2001, the Mayor of Seoul announced there would be no extra enforcement efforts to control the sale of dog meat during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which was partially hosted in Seoul. In March 2008, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced its plan to put forward a policy suggestion to the central government to legally classify slaughter dogs as livestock, reigniting debate on the issue.

 

The primary dog breed raised for meat, the Nureongi (누렁이), or Hwangu (황구); is a non-specific, mixed breed.

 

There is a large and vocal group of Koreans (consisting of a number of animal welfare groups) who are against the practice of eating dogs. Popular television shows like 'I Love Pet' have documented, in 2011 for instance, the continued illegal sale of dog meat and slaughtering of dogs in suburban areas. The program also televised illegal dog farms and slaughterhouses, showing the unsanitary and horrific conditions of caged dogs, several of which were visibly sick with severe eye infections and malnutrition. However, despite this growing awareness, there remain some in Korea that do not eat or enjoy the meat, but do feel that it is the right of others to do so, along with a smaller but still vocal group of pro-dog cuisine people who want to popularize the consumption of dog in Korea and the rest of the world. A group of pro-dog meat individuals attempted to promote and publicize the consumption of dog meat worldwide during the run-up to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, which prompted retaliation from animal rights campaigners and prominent figures such as Brigitte Bardot to denounce the practice. Opponents of dog meat consumption in South Korea are critical of the eating of dog meat, as some dogs are beaten, burnt or hanged to make their meat more tender.

 

The restaurants that sell dog meat, often exclusively, do so at the risk of losing their restaurant licenses. A case of a dog meat wholesaler, charged with selling dog meat, arose in 1997 where an appeals court acquitted the dog meat wholesaler, ruling that dogs were socially accepted as food. According to the National Assembly of South Korea, more than 20,000 restaurants, including the 6,484 registered restaurants, served soups made from dog meat in Korea in 1998. In 1999 the BBC reported that 8,500 tons of dog meat were consumed annually, with another 93,600 tons used to produce a medicinal tonic called gaesoju (개소주).

 

NORTH KOREA

Daily NK reported that the North Korean government included dog meat in its new list of one hundred fixed prices, setting a fixed price of 500 won per kilogram in early 2010.

 

NEW ZEALAND

Dog meat is rarely eaten in New Zealand but has been said to be becoming more popular as it is not illegal as long as the dog is humanely killed.

 

A Tongan man living in New Zealand caused public outrage when he was caught cooking his pet dog in his backyard; this event led to calls for change in the law.

 

PHILIPPINES

The “Malays”, a sea-faring population that is now scattered throughout South-East Asia, introduced the practice of domesticating dogs for meat consumption to the indigenous population of the Philippines.

 

In the capital city of Manila, Metro Manila Commission Ordinance 82-05 specifically prohibits the killing and selling of dogs for food. Generally however, the Philippine Animal Welfare Act 1998 prohibits the killing of any animal other than cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabaos, horses, deer and crocodiles, with exemptions for religious, cultural, research, public safety and/or animal health reasons. Nevertheless, the consumption of dog meat is not uncommon in the Philippines, reflected in the occasional coverage in Philippine newspapers,.

 

The Province of Benguet specifically allows cultural use of dog meat by indigenous people and acknowledges this might lead to limited commercial use.

 

Asocena is a dish primarily consisting of dog meat originating from the Philippines.

 

In the early 1980s, there was an international outcry about dog meat consumption in the Philippines after newspapers published photos of Margaret Thatcher, then British Prime Minister, with a dog carcass hanging beside her on a market stall. The British Government discussed withdrawing foreign aid and other countries, such as Australia, considered similar action. To avoid such action, the Filipino government banned the sale of dog meat, despite dog meat being the third most consumed meat, behind pork and goat. The ban eventually became totally disregarded, although it was reinstated by President Ramos in 1998 in the Animal Welfare Act (Republic Act 8485).

 

POLYNESIA

Dogs were historically eaten in Tahiti and other islands of Polynesia, including Hawaii at the time of first European contact. James Cook, when first visiting Tahiti in 1769, recorded in his journal, "few were there of us but what allow'd that a South Sea Dog was next to an English Lamb, one thing in their favour is that they live entirely upon Vegetables". Calwin Schwabe reported in 1979 that dog was widely eaten in Hawaii and considered to be of higher quality than pork or chicken. When Hawaiians first encountered early British and American explorers, they were at a loss to explain the visitors' attitudes about dog meat. The Hawaiians raised both dogs and pigs as pets and for food. They could not understand why their British and American visitors only found the pig suitable for consumption. This practice seems to have died out, along with the native Hawaiian breed of dog, the unique Hawaiian Poi Dog, which was primarily used for this purpose. The consumption of domestic dog meat is still commonplace in the Kingdom of Tonga, and has also been noted in expatriate Tongan communities in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States.

 

THAILAND

Unlike other countries where dog meat consumption has been shown to have historical precedents, Thailand does not have a mainstream culture of dog eating. However, in recent years, the consumption of dog meat in certain areas of the country, especially in certain northeastern provinces like Sakon Nakhon and Nakhon Phanom, notably Sakon Nakhon province's Tha Rae sub-district, which has been identified as the main center for the country's illegal, albeit lucrative, dog meat trade, has attracted widespread attention from the Thai population and local news media. This has led large groups of Thai citizens to become increasingly vocal against the consumption of dog meat and the selling of dogs that are transported through Laos to neighbouring Mekong countries, including Vietnam and China. According to news reports, a considerable number of these dogs continue to be stolen from people's homes by illegal carriers. This was also the case following the 2011 Thailand Floods. Dubbed as the country's 'Trade of Shame', Thai netizens, in particular, have now formed several informal animal welfare and rescue groups in an attempt to stop this illegal trade, with the collective attitude being that 'Dogs are not food'. Established not-for-profit animal charity organizations like the Soi Dog Foundation have also been active in raising awareness and working in conjunction with local Thai authorities to rehabilitate and relocate dogs rescued from trucks attempting to transport live dogs across the border to nearby countries. Significantly, this issue has strengthened the nation's animal rights movement, which continues to call on the Thai government to adopt a stricter and more comprehensive animal rights law to prevent the maltreatment of pets and cruelty against all animals.

 

TIMOR LESTE

Dog meat is a delicacy popular in East Timor.

 

UZBEKISTAN

Although not commonly eaten, dog meat is sometimes used in Uzbekistan in the belief that it has medicinal properties.

 

VIETNAM

Dog meat is consumed more commonly in the northern part of Vietnam than in the south, and can be found in special restaurants which specifically serve dog meat. Dog meat is believed to bring good fortune in Vietnamese culture. It is seen as being comparable in consumption to chicken or pork. In urban areas, there are sections that house a lot of dog meat restaurants. For example, on Nhat Tan Street, Tây Hồ District, Hanoi, many restaurants serve dog meat. Groups of customers, usually male, seated on mats, will spend their evenings sharing plates of dog meat and drinking alcohol. The consumption of dog meat can be part of a ritual usually occurring toward the end of the lunar month for reasons of astrology and luck. Restaurants which mainly exist to serve dog meat may only open for the last half of the lunar month. Dog meat is also believed to raise the libido in men. The Associated Press reported in October 2009 that a soaring economy has led to the booming of dog restaurants in Hanoi, and that this has led to a proliferation of dognappers. Reportedly, a 20 kilograms dog can sell for more than $100 — roughly the monthly salary of an average Vietnamese worker. The Vietnamese Catholic Church is a major consumer of dog meat during the Christmas holiday. There is a large smuggling trade from Thailand to export dogs to Vietnam for human consumption.

 

In 2009, dog meat was found to be a main carrier of the Vibrio cholerae bacterium, which caused the summer epidemic of cholera in northern Vietnam.

 

Prior to 2014, more than 5 million dogs were killed for meat every year in Vietnam according to the Asia Canine Protection Alliance. However, there are indications that the desire to eat dog meat in Vietnam is waning. Part of the decline is thought to be due to an increased number of Vietnamese people keeping dogs as pets, as their incomes have risen in the past few decades. “[People] used to raise dogs to guard the house, and when they needed the meat, they ate it. Now they keep dog as pets, imported from China, Japan, and other countries. One pet dog might cost hundreds of millions of dong [100 million dong is $4,677].”

 

EUROPE

BRITAIN & IRELAND

Eating dog meat is considered entirely taboo, as is common with most European societies, and has been taboo for many centuries outside of times of scarcity such as sieges or famines. However, early Brittonic and Irish texts which date from the early Christian period suggest that dog meat was sometimes consumed but possibly in ritual contexts such as Druidic ritual trance. Sacrificial dog bones are often recovered from archaeological sites however they were typically treated differently, as were horses, from other food animals. One of Ireland's mythological heroes Cuchulainn, had two geasa, or vows, one of which was to avoid the meat of dogs. The breaking of his geasa led to his death in the Irish mythology.

 

BELGIUM

A few meat shops sold dog meat during the German occupation of Belgium in World War I, when food was extremely scarce. According to The New York Times, in the 19th century the Council of the Veterinary School of Belgium occasionally recommended dog meat for human consumption after being properly inspected.

 

FRANCE

Although consumption of dog meat is uncommon in France, and is now considered taboo, dog meat has been consumed in the past by the Gauls. The earliest evidence of dog consumption in France was found at Gaulish archaeological sites, where butchered dog bones were discovered. French news sources from the late 19th century carried stories reporting lines of people buying dog meat, which was described as being "beautiful and light." During the Siege of Paris (1870–1871), there were lines at butcher's shops of people waiting to purchase dog meat. Dog meat was also reported as being sold by some butchers in Paris, 1910.

 

GERMANY

Dog meat has been eaten in every major German crisis since, at least, the time of Frederick the Great, and is commonly referred to as "blockade mutton". In the early 20th century, high meat prices led to widespread consumption of horse and dog meat in Germany.

 

The consumption of dog meat continued in the 1920s. In 1937, a meat inspection law targeted against trichinella was introduced for pigs, dogs, boars, foxes, badgers, and other carnivores. Dog meat has been prohibited in Germany since 1986.

 

SAXONY

In the latter part of World War I, dog meat was being eaten in Saxony by the poorer classes because of famine conditions.

 

THE NETHERLANDS

During severe meat shortages coinciding with the German occupation from 1940 to 1945, sausages found to have been made of dog meat were confiscated by authorities in the Netherlands.

 

POLAND

While dog meat is not eaten, some rural areas of Poland especially Lesser Poland, dog fat can be made into lard, which by tradition is believed to have medicinal properties - being good for the lungs, for instance. Since the 16th century, fat from various animals, including dogs, was used as part of folk medicine, and since the 18th century, dog fat has had a reputation as being beneficial for the lungs. It is worth noting that the consumption of such meat is considered taboo in Polish culture, also making lard out of dogs' fat is illegal. In 2009, a scandal erupted when a farm near Częstochowa was discovered rearing dogs to be rendered down into lard. According to Grazyna Zawada, from Gazeta Wyborcza, there were farms in Czestochowa, Klobuck, and in the Radom area, and in the decade from 2000 to 2010 six people producing dog lard were found guilty of breaching animal welfare laws (found guilty of killing dogs and animal cruelty) and sentenced to jail. As of 2014 there have been new cases prosecuted.

 

SWITZERLAND

Dogs, as well as cats, are eaten regularly by farmers in rural areas for personal consumption. While commercial slaughter and sale of dog meat is illegal, cultural attitudes toward slaughtering of animals for meat is traditionally liberal in Switzerland. The favorite type of meat comes from a dog related to the Rottweiler and consumed as 'mostbrockli' a form of marinated meat. Animals are slaughtered by butchers and either shot or bludgeoned.

 

In his 1979 book Unmentionable Cuisine, Calvin Schwabe described a Swiss dog meat recipe gedörrtes Hundefleisch served as paper-thin slices, as well as smoked dog ham, Hundeschinken, which is prepared by salting and drying raw dog meat.

 

It is illegal in Switzerland to commercially produce food made from dog meat, or to produce such food for commercial purposes.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Summary

The Balconies The track climbs gently from the car-park, through rock outcrops and a stringy-bark forest to the Balconies lookout. From this lookout there are panoramic views over the Victoria Valley.

Tips

Well made track from car park to balconies. Suitable for young kids, strollers and...

 

www.trailhiking.com.au/the-balconies/

Although Halloween is over, the pumpkins that served as Jack-O-Lanterns are still very much alive. They have become a cauldron filled with gooey, oozing, fuzzy, stringy, tangled web of enzymes spores, and mold. All of which are breaking down and consuming the "delectable" flesh of the pumpkin.....every last drop.

Fungus growing on piece of old orange peal that was used to feed the crickets that are used to feed my tarantula, that wiggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.

 

The fungus is very stringy, so I expect that the egg-like objects are spores.

 

400x

Tues. the 2nd waiting for the Camera store to open and get my on Sale Nikkor Z 50mm f1.8 S. So a few clicks while I wait.

.

.

.

.

.posting these of my favorites to encourage your to go party in their photostreams .... check out these amazing photographers -- some you will be familiar with and some you may not know! I am always grateful for the photogs I know and newly discover on flickr, for sharing their talents and gifts with the rest of us. What gorgeousity! thanks everyone for making my life brighter.

.

.

As always, I get huge inspiration and pleasure from re-visiting my favorite photos ... watching the collection as a slideshow and almost even more ... from visiting other people's favorites. A flickr user's favorites collection is a window into their taste and aesthetic. And often a glimpse at their personality. However my taste and style might evolve, I can always go back through my favorites and see where I have been.

 

Of course you could always just go to the page called "MontanaRaven's Favorites" ... or anybody else's faves. But then, you'd miss out on my commentary, which I insert as notes on the photos when I have time.

 

I often include links in these photo-mosaics, so if you respond to any of the photos, you can go visit those wonderful photographers' flickr streams yourself. Enjoy!

.

.

.

1. Mares on the move, 2. softness, 3. Untitled, 4. Untitled, 5. Untitled, 6. 3 autumn ground, 7. Bleak winter morning, 8. A few simple stalks, 9. Delicate remnants, 10. Moon peeking through, 11. Untitled, 12. [decaying door detail], 13. handprint, 14. Grate - Bellevue, 15. andámos à chuva nº3..., 16. floresta nº2..., 17. reticula de mafra..., 18. A pair of MuckBoots with toxic orange interior really take some beating, 19. The Sound Guy does Meditation, 20. Meditating in Pairs, 21. Bouddha Méditation, 22. © Doug Blane Amaravati Buddhist monks praying for peace at the Milton Keynes Peace Pagoda, 23. Stringy Laugh, 24. flickr.com/photos/17766299@N00/153389813/, 25. Night Draw, 26. unfolding, 27. weaving, 28. Trees - Ocean City Park, WA, 29. Angular Moment Um..., 30. Got green?, 31. Leaf Show, 32. River View, 33. The ZONE, 34. Wet Evergreens, 35. Soie de Chine, 36. songs from the wood ...

 

Check out the other mosaics in my set: Heart of Flickr: Spreading the Love

Ray Yourdon's comments on this photo: "Mabel Yourdon, Everett Ilk, and a mystery woman..."

 

The deer-hunting scenes shown in these photos may seem either barbaric, or some kind of playful sport, to modern viewers. But during this period, a typical family would hunt for only one deer during the fall season, and every scrap of meat would be consumed during dinner meals for the rest of the year. I know this from personal experience: I had more than my fill of tough, stringy venison during my childhood -- in stews, steaks, and various other meals....

 

I have no idea when this photo was taken ...

 

*********************************

 

To the best of my knowledge, most of the photos in this Flickr album were taken by my grandmother, Mabel Yourdon, during the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. Most of them depict scenes of everyday life in mining camps and small towns near the Utah-Colorado border. Some of them show hunting, fishing, and camping trips in unspecified parts of the American west. It appears that a few of them were taken in southern California, when Mabel and her husband Ike traveled out there to visit relatives.

 

I have no idea what kind of camera Mabel used for these photos, nor what kind of film. There probably wasn’t that much variety available in the 1920s, and she was not a “professional” photographer. So it may have been a Brownie and whatever B/W film Kodak was selling at the time.

 

My stepfather, Ray Yourdon, was born in 1922; and his older brother, Marvin, was born two years before that. You’ll see photos of Ray and Marvin when they were young boys, when they were in high school, and when they went off to join the Navy and the Marines to fight in World War II.

 

Somewhere around 2005, I asked Ray if he could tell me the details of some of the photos; where possible, I have included those details in the notes for the photos. Some of the photos obviously evoked pleasant memories, and I heard stories about minor day-to-day events in his life that I had never heard before. But we rarely got through more than a few pictures before he ran out of energy; and so many of the photos have no explanation at all.

 

At this point, my parents and grandparents are all gone. I have cousins who grew up in the same area where these photos were taken, and one or two of them are still in that area. They may be able to fill in a few of the details; otherwise, you’ll just have to accept these photos as a glimpse of what life was like nearly a hundred years ago ...

I got the slavers on the teeth using Uhu clear resin glue, mixing the resin on a pallet until it began to go stringy- i then quickly added to the mouth and dragged to the teeth- back and fourth. It came out as good as I had hoped it would. You could add Blood For The Blood God to the resin glue if you prefer a bloody mouth/teeth

Yes, you can see a little bit more shine in the leggings while I'm sitting here. For the record, the scene behind me is Orton Park on Madison's isthmus.

I had hoped to dress up and march in Madison's LGBT pride parade in August, but a literally-at-the-last-minute family situation scuttled those plans. But I still challenged myself to dress up as Allison and venture into a public gathering. Luckily, this past weekend's Willy Street Fair was the perfect opportunity.

 

I've already ventured into detail my experiences at Willy Street Fair on Sunday (I've posted the link in the comment section below), but here is the outfit I wore that day. My hair may be a little stringy; it didn't want to behave for me even before I headed out the door (and a strand or two got stuck in the sleeve buttons of my jacket).

 

Speaking of my jacket, this is the same denim-with-pleather-sleeved jacket I sported in a 2014 shoot. I added several buttons showing messages of LGBT pride, of equality, and of Madison.

 

I originally thought about pairing the jacket with a leather skirt, but it was actually a little too warm for that (temperatures in the upper 60s/low 70s in Madison on Sunday), so I went instead with this denim skirt I found recently at a St. Vincent De Paul thrift store. And, as you certainly have noticed, I added rainbow socks, not so much to stand out but to blend in.

Perfectly camouflaged in a Stringy Bark tree.

Beefsteak Fungus / fistulina hepatica. Wollaton Hall, Nottinghamshire. 05/09/18.

 

‘MEATY?’

 

A closer look at part of a Beefsteak Fungus cap. The section channelled into by a slug certainly has the fibrous texture of raw meat, though I wouldn’t fancy cooking any and sampling it!

 

BEST VIEWED LARGE.

Here you see the bladder (blue) of a laboratory mouse that was re-infected 24 hours earlier with the bacterium Escherichia coli (pink), a common cause of UTIs. White blood cells (yellow) reach out with what appear to be stringy extracellular traps to immobilize and kill the bacteria.

 

Valerie O’Brien, a graduate student in Scott Hultgren’s lab at Washington University, St. Louis, snapped this battle of microbes and white blood cells using a scanning electron microscope and then colorized it to draw out the striking details. It was one of the winners in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology’s 2016 BioArt competition.

 

More information: directorsblog.nih.gov/2017/05/25/snapshots-of-life-fighti...

 

Credit: Valerie O’Brien, Matthew Joens, Scott J. Hultgren, James A.J. Fitzpatrick, Washington University, St. Louis

 

This image is not owned by the NIH. It is shared with the public under license. If you have a question about using or reproducing this image, please contact the creator listed in the credits. All rights to the work remain with the original creator.

  

NIH support from: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; and Office of Research on Women’s Health; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases; National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders

www.twitter.com/ecstaticist/ <-- I tweet when I post on flickr.

 

View larger | original | My top 100

 

It's that time of year. Each year I make an Argentinian pumpkin stew.

 

These pumpkins are located at Dan's Farm on Oldfield Road, Saanich, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada.

 

Beef Stew in a Pumpkin shell

 

This is a popular hearty stew in Argentina.

  

* 2 pound of beef, cut in bite size cubes

* 1 small onion, finely chopped

* 2 garlic cloves, minced

* 1 tablespoon olive oil

* 2 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped

* 1 green bell pepper; chopped

* 1 red bell pepper chopped

* 1 teaspoon black pepper

* 1 tablespoon oregano

* 2 teaspoon of basil

* 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

* 1 teaspoon sugar

* 1 cup of dried apricots, chopped coarsely if whole and large

* 3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

* 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

* 2 cups of beef broth

* 1 medium large Pumpkin

* butter or margarine; melted

* 1/4 c Dry sherry

* 1 pound of whole kernel corn, drained and/or defrosted

 

In the olive oil brown the beef with the onion and garlic. Add all the remaining ingredients, except the corn, sherry and pumpkin of course. Simmer for a 1 hour, covered.

 

Cut the top off the pumpkin and discard. Scoop out the seeds and stringy membrane, and discard them as well. You could toast the pumpkin seeds in the oven for a snack if you like, but they are not used in this recipe.

 

Brush the inside of the pumpkin with butter and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Stir in the stew, sherry and corn. Bake the stew containing pumpkin at 325F for about an hour, or until the pumpkin is tender.

 

When serving, scoop out some pumpkin along with the stew.

Emu Bottom Homestead is a historic homestead near Sunbury, in Victoria. Built around 1836, Emu Bottom is the oldest existing farmhouse constructed by settlers in Victoria. It was so named because it was on low lying ground which was the haunt of numerous emus. The main homestead and some of its outlying buildings were constructed from local stone, dry coursed with creek mud and stringy bark.

 

Emu Bottom is also a rare example of early Australian colonial architecture, with its twelve paned deeply recessed windows recalling the old world, whilst the homestead was also intelligently adapted to the new harsh Australian environment with its wide verandas and easterly aspect.

 

The building of Emu Bottom homestead commenced circa 1836. George Evans (1785 – 1876), who had arrived on the Schooner Enterprise from Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) in 1835, settled near modern day Sunbury. Emu Bottom, later called Emu Vale, was occupied by George Evans, by squatting license, as one of many large squatting runs on Crown Land. In 1843, George Evans, then aged fifty-eight, married eighteen year old Anne Holden. Six children were born from the union and grew up at the homestead. After 1851, many squatting runs, including Emu Bottom, became available for outright purchase. To George Evans' dismay, “his” run was purchased by the immensely wealthy pastoralist W. J. T. Clarke. The homestead block of 640 acres stayed with George Evans, but this was hardly viable. In about 1860, George Evans leased the property and moved to operate the Royal Oak Hotel in Queen Street in central Melbourne. He died in Melbourne in 1876, but his family eventually returned to Emu Bottom. In 1916 the last of Evans’ son’s died and the property passed through several owners, being renamed “Holly Green.”

 

In 1968, the property was purchased by the current owners, and Holly Green was completely restored and was given back its original - if perhaps less poetic - name. During restoration, several discoveries were made including the original kitchen fireplace and oven, as well as some artifacts. Today the homestead and surrounds are managed as a reception centre.

 

There we go. A little better... although my hair isn't quite perfect (nice and straight to my left, stringy to my right). But, hey, dressing up in a less-than-perfect fashion is better than not dressing up at all.

This one is the best of the two (prior pic). It's got lots of details to zoom in on. (I left it larger.) The bundle of pink stringy things inside the flower eventually open up to become the dainty tendrils with the silver thing at the end! So pretty!! :-)))

 

I learned about bokeh photos from Bev, the bokeh queen. :-) I used to delete these kind of pics... they were blurry! LOL.

 

I learn more and more every day. That's the way I like it. And I think I like the imperfect ones the best. Thank goodness. I have ample supply of them. :-))

 

Thank you for all the favorites and comments!! It keeps me going. Here's to another 6 months... I wonder where this journey will take me. :-)

Black & White Pencil Drawing. Size 11x14. A Steven Chateauneuf Creation.

PLEASE do NOT post this image on other websites without my permission.

This shrub, a BC native blooms every year at around the longest day of the year. Another name for it is Syringa, the name given to our closest provincial park, Syringa Creek Park. Apparently early explorers travelling by canoe on the Arrow Lakes found it in profusion at that location.

  

Mock orange is the only native plant species in British Columbia that belongs to the horticulturally valuable Hydrangea family. It forms a three- to five-metre-tall, somewhat spreading, many-stemmed bush. Grey, stringy bark covers its old branches.Jul 19, 2002

  

linnet.geog.ubc.ca/Atlas/Atlas.aspx?sciname=Philadelphus%...

7/9 My Novel Unforgettable'

_________________________________

 

_________________________________

  

My Novel >> Unforgettable'

 

(This book is Dedicated to the future artist.)

  

Mitsushiro Nakagawa

  

All Translated by Yumi Ikeda .

www.fotolog.net/yuming/

  

images.

 

U2 - No Line On The Horizon Live in Dublin

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oKwnkYFsiE&feature=related

  

Any hotel lobbies are dirty in yellow. Under the white lights, everything gets back to primary colors and people look them right. The dirty yellowish lights at the hotel ; not only heavy lights falling down from the chandelier but also streaks of sharp lights from the ceiling lights and the wall, crossed like creeping and crystallized right under the chandelier in the center. Kei thought that the luscious lights trying to catch attention of guests who set foot in the lobby looked yellow lights that directed commonplace dishes. It seemed to Kei that the elegant sparkle of marble laid on the whole floor and the whole wall was sleazy like cheap plastics.

 

When they were about to enter, a door man shot a persistent look to Kei, from his muddy toes to his wet hair. Kei was disturbed by the gaze for a moment because he thought they might be kicked out of the hotel. But the doorman seemed to have hesitated as he looked at Rika in a suit style, walking before Kei

 

Rika ran up the low steps in marble with a snappy pace and pushed the button at the elevator in the front. The party was supposed to be held on the 45th floor, the top floor.

Kei looked back without intention. When he looked at the sparkle of the chandelier hanging heavily in the stairwell around 5th floor, the top floor, he felt down and drooped. His contempt for marble that he felt at first suddenly went away. He was overwhelmed with the beauty he looked it over again. Kei whispered in Rika’s ear in a thin voice.

“As soon as we get off the elevator, a staff presses us. He asks us if we have a pass.” Rika sighed a little looking at Kei’s posture reflecting in gold on the door and said in shock.

“Kei, you are a fool, indeed! Don’t you think we should use emergency stairs after we get off on 44th floor? What would happen if we appear directly? Maybe the staff is just one. As I said before, a party for ending the work would start immediately after the concert. I mean before they pitch the audience out.”

“You really like music? You don’t know kind of inside story at all.” Rika added her words, looking up at the number of the floor indicated in the elevator. Kei asked as if he relieved anxiety.

“Why are you so sure that the staff is one?”

“Because it’s a fair distance from Hibiya to Shinjuku. I think the security would get easier if they go further. Well, it’s just my scent. And he is not an idol. I guess no fans chase him.”

 

They got to the 44th floor, and went to a sign of emergency stairs just on the right.

Rika opened the heavy fire door with her shoulder and ran up the stairs on the left. Kei looked at downstairs, leaning against the rails. Kei shrunk from the height and looked at the blurred streaks of lights through the stairs cutting the darkness that was thinning down intermittently.

“Kei!”

Rika raised her voice with a frown, looking at Kei.

Rika opened the door on the 45th floor with her elbow slowly and made a faint smile at Kei looking into the lobby. Then she put up her index finger. The staff was one.

 

The same lights extended to the similar marble also, from the chandelier which is smaller in radius, about two rounds, than that on the lobby.

The male staff over the rails which surrounded the escalator took a handkerchief out of his jacket and wiped his forehead. Then he apologized to the transceiver in his hand bowing down and disappeared into the hall in a hurry.

 

Rika started to run when she clasped Kei by the arm hard. Once they went to the window, and then veered to the hall on the left slowly along the glass wall. Rika showed her subtle conduct on the floor where she found no one as if she just went out of the hall for a short rest. Kei withheld his laughter looking at Rika’s manner like a mouse. But he was impressed by her prompt action that he lacked.

Rika opened the door of the hall a little, made Kei enter and glided into the hall.

 

The hall was lighter than Kei thought and there were few people. An elderly man in a suit who looked like a superior was giving some greetings heartily at the podium.

Kei slowly looked around. The hall was not so dark as the night spot Kei used to visit, but it was dim as the lighting was set weak. Kei imagined that the sound of music was vibrating the floor harder.  

 

The sparkle of chandelier on the low ceiling Kei looked up was too clear. Kei was disturbed. Most women wore chic dresses and most men were in suits although some guys were in casual jeans like Kei. It was totally the opposite of the party that Kei and Rika imagined.

“This is not a place for us.”

Rika’s voice sounded less nervous than Kei’s voice. Rika may have been brought to such parties by her father and accustomed to this kind of atmosphere. At least, Rika seemed to be more experienced than Kei.

  

Rika took some cookies and a piece of short cake cut off from a whole which were set on the side of the table covered with a white race, and then took Kei’s hand and stood by the window. A quiet night view of the west exit of Shinjuku unfolded on the glass. For a moment Kei looked at the glaring neon lamps of the east exit which got entangled in the place farer and lower than that of the west exit, and then looked back to Rika.

 

“I guess… maybe they might find us and come here…. Not so many people here.”

Before Rika finished her words, Kei heard Kaori’s voice over his shoulder. It was a low voice like spying and kind of fearful.

“Kei?”

“Nice to meet you.”

Rika nodded and reacted in a funny manner. Kaori realized that the girl was Rika, and said to her, “Good evening” in a descent voice like an extension of business.

“….What happened?”

“Can I talk outside?”

“OK, but…”

Kaori said that and looked at Rika. Rika put a plate in her hand on the edge of the table, and then took Kei’s hand and opened the door. The security guard was watching his cellular phone without looking at the vacant escalator going up and down. Rika turned back to Kaori and said, “Kei came here to end up with you. Tonight is the last time. He said that he won’t meet you anymore. Right, Kei?”

 

Kei bent his head. A dull gray of marble sent out the dim light. Kaori slowly stood face to face with Kei and turned her sparkling eyes. The back of her eyes was full of a strong light Kei didn’t know. Then Kaori began to talk quietly.

“Finally I met him…”

Kaori held out her arm and grasped Kei’s palm. Kaori’s soft warmth looked like warming him, grazing from Kei’s cold body to his heart. Kaori’s delight gushed out of the heat directly.

 

“Congratulations! Let’s go back, Kei.”

Kei shook off Rika’s hand. Kaori was absent –minded as much as Rika. At the moment Kei tried to say that that was good, a voice was heard from the back. The bustle which spread over the door spilled, and Osawa’s cool, low voice fell to their feet.

“I thought you were gone…”

Kei did not look back. He just gazed at Kaori’s eyes without movement. Her eyes were soft and there was a light smile on her lips. Rika boldly said.

“We are just on the way back.”

Kei shook off Rika’s hand on his arm again. Three people threw glances at the situation. For a while, the silence fell on the floor.

 

Kei slowly turned on Osawa. A deep blue lens caught the reflection of Kei. At the moment Osawa ran his fingers lightly through a fringe of hair on his forehead, his eyes barely appeared. The eyes were calm and something cool which had lost emotion. For a second, there was something dark and excited about Kei’s voice as he was upset at Osawa’s monotonous voice.

 

“Why did you act like that?....”

Kaori grasped Kei’s hands hard. She stood between two, and then shook her head. She kept her mouth shut tight to advise Kei not to ask him.

“You are Kei Kitami?”

Osawa talked in a low voice after he leaned slowly against the glass wall.

“Yes. He is Kitami, my boyfriend. Let’s go back, Kei.”

Rika said that, and took off Kaori’s hand on Kei’s hands. A short, high sound echoed to the ceiling. A security guard shot them a look. As the guard slowly approached, Osawa thrust out his left hand lightly and said to hold the guard

“My friends.”

“No kidding!”

Rika’s shrill voice crossed space. The guard who reversed his steps once approached again. Osawa hold the guard in the same way.

Kei approached Osawa, looking away from Kaori. Kei noticed his knees trembling, approaching Osawa

“Why on the radio…..?”

“She asked me the same question a little while ago. So I’ll tell the same thing as it is.”

  

Osawa seemed to be not interested in three, turning his back and looked down to the outside from the window. Particles of lights dotted in white below. The narrow, vertical shadows of railroad broke the lights in Shinjuku into two parts

The white lights of the west exit seen below and the colored illumination of town extending to the other side. Both were beautiful. But it seemed to Kei that the two beauties never mix together.

  

Kei looked at Osawa’s back. When Osawa spread his arms wide, the arms and the back of his white shirt looked clear against the dark window. The lizard leather shoes shone matching the outworn, wrinkled black pants. There was something confident, invisible about Osawa’s widely-spread arms, which Kei would never get. Osawa talked gently.

“It’s jealousy. My own jealousy for you. That’s it….”

“…..jealousy?”

“I’ve heard about you from her. She was quite familiar with music, so I asked why. I’ve seen girls who knew names of studio musicians in New York, but I’ve never seen a girl who told names of studios as well….

 

Kei looked backed to Kaori. She was stared at Kei with eyes which were clearer than a little girl’s. Kaori’s early childhood which Kei had no recollection flittered through his mind. There was a sweet landscape of snowfield. Kaori with red cheeks appeared through the white of new snow that breathed stillness and the clouds in gray. Rika’s voice drowned out their words as if she sensed that Kei was deeply distressed to Kaori‘s look.

“That makes sense. You planned to catch her attention, inflaming jealousy and making her mix up in that way. It’s really easy to understand.”

Osawa who understood situations of three people said, with a calm expression, like talking to himself to Rika’s defiant attitude.

“I don’t want you to comment from your point of view.”

Rika’s fingertips holding her bag in the chest hardened suddenly and whitened.

 

Osawa rubbed the corner of the eyes lightly with both hands, and then cast Kei a glance and continued to talk.

“You talk her about many things and look forward to her answer…..then she will hug you.”

Kei looked away from Osawa’s profile. Then he looked back to Kaori slowly. It seemed to Kei that her white cheeks were dyed in red lightly. Rika kept her mouth shut tight and tears ran down her cheeks.

“Perhaps you don’t know about what she told me a little while ago.”

“Stop it! Please!”

Kaori’s body froze. Her heel tapped the marble floor and made a light sound. Kaori took a step forward and implored in a feeble voice as if she threw herself on him.

It was first time Kei looked at Kaori’s face distorted by dismay.

“No. It’s for his sake. I had better say that.”

“ 《I ‘ve involved him in trouble. Could you hire him if he failed to go on to college?》”

 

Kei forgot himself and looked at Kaori. Her hair drooped over the face and her chin trembling feebly peeped. Rika took out a handkerchief and wiped her cheeks, staring at Osawa. Kei heard Rika’s stuffy small voice behind.

“Kei, let’s get back. It’s all right. We managed to come here. Actually I don’t know well, but we did it anyway. We did our best. Let’s have a drink somewhere and go back.”

Kei moved Rika aside and said to Osawa. It was his desperate question.

“You have a wife and a child; still, you need Kaori?”

 

Osawa made a faint smile through sunglasses and rested his gaze on the door of the hall which opened. The cheerful laughter rippled suddenly. On the end of laughter, the artist who Kaori had been longing for beckoned Osawa nearer smiling at girls surrounding the artist. Kei’s legs stiffened with the tremor for a minute; on the other hand, Osawa waved back with a gentle smile and told that he would be right back. Then the artist seemed to feel an awkward silence inside. He looked over Kei and the other slowly and closed the door soundlessly. Osawa turned his back on Kei, and then his eyes fell on the night view again. Osawa’s eyes looked more glacial through the lenses.

 

“I think I told you I need her. It was a long time ago.”

“Don’t worry about her. I will see her home. I never intend to touch her hand. So take it easy. “ Osawa left the message to Kei, not looking at him. Then Osawa passed by Kaori standing and disappeared over the door. A dry sound of Osawa’s shoes remained long in Kei’s ears.

“Kei, I’ve not changed my mind at all. Really….”

 

The words Kaori uttered spread over the wet marble with a thin light. The cold floor echoed the small murmur quietly. Kaori looked smaller than usual for Kei. Kaori’s cheeks trembled feebly, got wet in white and shone clearly. Kei wiped away the tearful eyes and the sweat as well with the back of his hand, thinking that her words are maybe right. The hesitant, hollow feeling welled up in him and he couldn’t control them. Osawa’s existence exactly overwhelmed Kei

 

Kei stared at Kaori’s wet eyes and said, dusting mud on T-shirt that was dry.

“If you think so, why not told that before he left?”

Kei took the hand of Rika who kept silent, walked to the elevator and got down, hearing a sob of Kaori who couldn’t repress herself

  

“Rika, can you go right back?”

Kei said to Rika in a small voice like being drowned out over splash raised by a taxi. The twinkle of street lamps wet the sidewalk in silver straight. The tremble of Rika who nodded communicated itself to Kei’s palm. Rika was still crying. Rika breathed harder after she heard Kei’s gentle voice.

“Kei, what will you do?”

“I want to be alone.”

Rika looked up with an anxious look. Her eyes colored with cold silver were full of the warmth. Rika nodded lightly again trembling as if she persuaded herself. Kei tried to nestle her shoulders for a moment.

 

Kei stopped when he saw a range of lights under the railroad bridge and said. Rika also stopped next to Kei and gazed at him.

Kei bashfully patted the skirt of dry 501 jeans dyed all in brown. Then he said to Rika again,

“Rika”

Kei once bent his head and smiled, lifting his head.

“Thank you.”

Rika shut her mouth hard, shook her head in disapproval again and again and went to the station at a quick pace.

Kei saw Rika off firmly, turning him back on roadside trees. On the way, her figure became smaller and smaller, looking back again and again. She gazed at him who would look small as well, keeping sight of him constantly.

  

Perhaps you can’t understand now…

Kei wiped off the rain gathered on the bench with both hands and sat down. Soon his 501 jeans absorbed the rain and his underwear got damp

It still sprinkled over the circle of light when Kei looked up a mercury lamp. Small raindrops danced with a gentle wind, came down suddenly and disappeared in the dark.

 

Kei lay down on the bench and closed the eyes. Kaori’s smile blurred and swayed. Kei opened the eyes and gazed at the dark night sky.

The park was surrounded with three buildings. Lights still scattered like dots on each wall of the sheer buildings. While Ken gazed at the lights, he was under a deep illusion that the lights flew down to him and were absorbed into the bottom of dark, damp ground. Kei removed the shiver of legs which cowered for a second and got up. Then he repeated Osawa’s words again.

 

“Perhaps you can’t understand now…”

A big moth was lying at his feet, just on the right foot of Kei who bent his head. It spread the wings on the dark ground like a white paint spilt. It was rather smaller than Kei’s shoes. When Kei peered into the moth, he found that the right edges of both wings were missing like being chipped off by the asphalt. The white bulged abdomen got several brown lines in ellipse. It was bulging much bigger than a normal bud.

Kei touched it on tiptoe under his breath. The wings wavered as if a big sailboat leaned. The right feeler also broke halfway and turned to the outside.

 

Kei gave a sigh, waved his right hand and knelt down slowly

Kei’s fingertips shove off the black, damp ground softly. He drew the broken feelers on tiptoe, emphasizing the lines of broken wings a bit and traced the outline of wings and body carefully like giving dark shades.

 

The result did not satisfy Kei. Kei bit his lips and drew it many times, deleting it and drawing it repeatedly, with five fingers, not only with the forefinger. But each result did not reach what Kei had in his mind.

 

Kei gave up, lay down on the bench again and closed the eyes hard.

A glow of the heart was absorbed into fine raindrops falling down and faded away to the night sky quietly.

  

Kei awoke with the heat of morning light. When Kei squint his eyes, a black shadow was waving in the back of clear blue sky above his view. Kei jumped out in his haste. The man took a step back and said, “You drew this?” pointing the ground and making the stubble of his chin wave. Several plastic bags of supermarket were hanging from his fingertips of both hands and the bags made a light sound as often as he moved. The surface of the wet bags shone sharply. Kei answered with a nod squinting at it.

 

“Straight lines are not bad, but curves are loose.”

“Awful! Just an amateur painting.” the man spat out on the ground and reversed his steps slowly before the elevated railroad. The long dark shadow got longer and covered Kei’s feet.

“Excuse me!”

“What?”

“Thanks!”

 

Kei said that ironically, but it was his real feelings. The man began to walk swaying right and left widely, and then stopped suddenly to look back. The man fixed his eyes on Kei. Kei looked after with a smile, shading his eyes from the light. The man began to walk again, turned to the right and disappeared.

 

Kei looked at the moth he drew for a while. Then, he came to himself and looked around. Beside the bench there was not the white moth that stayed last evening. Kei stood up and looked about for the moth, but there was not even a sign that looked alike.

  

Kei didn’t go back to his room and stayed at the business hotel where was closest to the prep school, using the credit card given by his father.

The voice from Kaori recorded in the cellular phone and some mails as well. Kei deleted all of them without opening them. While staying at the hotel, he dropped at his room once and found Kaori’s words on a scrap of a schedule book in a mail box. “Call me. I want to see you.” The message was written in neat letters. Kei thought that he should meet Rika, not Kaori, so he went to the cram school several times. But Kei did not see Rika since that day, and had no reply from Rika though he contacted her many times.

 

After an interval of four days, Kei went back to his room and took a hot shower raising the heat of the water. Drips hit the eyelid and a soft heat soaked.

It was three days after the day Kaori stayed at his room. Kei was dragged out to a nearby supermarket by Kaori for buying groceries for four days

Kaori picked up fresh colorful vegetables arranged in the chill like adding colors to the beige basket with care.

 

Most of the vegetables Kaori took were near to primary colors. Red, green and purple vegetables made Kei image a painting in his memory.

Kei vaguely had an image of a painting in his memory looking at red, green, purple vegetables. But Kei hardly remembered even the names of those he had in his mind. The names Kei told were just Gogh and Picasso who everybody knew. Kei told Kaori about that and Kaori smiled gently and said that their paintings were that level for him.

 

The home-made dish Kaori cooked impressed Kei who didn’t remember mother’s dish. Kei imagined that Kaori eats out almost every day. But Kaori told with a shy smile that cooking on her own would be useful for her work that needs mainly entertaining the staff who employed her and the guests to the hall and the rough skin would disturb her job.

 

On the way to Kei’s room at the shed on a path by the river running along the foot of the hill, Kaori stopped suddenly on the bridge. She gazed at the thin sun setting over the river and swaying, over the parapet. Kei held the paper bag over slowly in her arms.

 

The surface of a river was glaring with the strong afternoon sun. It looked intense to Kei’s eyes. Kaori’s cheeks looked sweaty a bit because the light heat from there seemed to be conveyed to Kaori who gazed at it. Behind them the kids on their ways from school passed romping and Kaori opened the mouth thinly like replying to the kids

 

….There is various bustles in the city and the bustles pass by. If Kei wants to stop the bustles from passing by and keep them in his mind, it would not be hard. He could wrap laugh and sadness one by one with care and pack them quietly into a paper bag like the one you’ve got now.

But Kei might throw them out someday when he cannot hold the bag. It is not wrong at all. It’s no big problem about which one is right and wise, throw them out when you are walking or throw them out after you stopped? The question is that you have to make a choice someday …. And you must notice it someday…

 

The hours move on at each person’s pace. The speed of spending a day depends on each person. It looks alike understanding of study, efficiency of work and how to spend Sunday morning. It varies with each person…

So you must catch a moment of choice someday….I ‘m sure you can do well if you notice it before you are forced to do it

 

Kei turned on the tap, dropped to his knees and fell down on the spot. The dry sound of falling drips flitted through his ears. Kei squeezed his both hands and held the breath for a while, and then stifled his voice dropped from the heart clenching his back teeth. Kei was crying stiffening the whole body.

   

A red Japanese car for a family use that was released a few years ago and didn’t match the alley of Setagaya sent out a dull light under the cool light of street lamps. The corner of rear window cracked a little diagonally and a scratch stood out on the handle. I’m not sure that the window of the back seat is broken, but it was pulled down halfway and left open. Kei could see Kaori’s room on the 6th floor diagonally to the right over the roof. The light was not on in her room yet.

 

It was past 10:00 P.M. when Kei arrived there. There was almost no sign of life about. Kei gazed at the lights on the main street at the end of the shadow that extended straight. An electric sign of a small French restaurant that looked like a personal shop sent out a gentle, soft blue light. Kei remembered Kaori’s words stepping back. In past days, when Kei left Kaori’s room, she asked him to go to the restaurant together next time because it was good.

  

Kei opened his cellular phone sitting on the stairs in the center of Kaori’s apartment. A soft light wrapped Kei’s sweaty forehead.

Kei opened the inbox and found a mail from Rika. The subject was blank.

《Can I see you somewhere? I have something to talk to you.》

Kei tapped the keys in a hurry.

《You know, I mailed to you many times. I’ve been worrying about you. Can I talk to you? Right now. 》

There was a reply,《Sure.》 a while after Kei sent his mail. Kei called Rika’s phone number right away.

“Are you a1l right? You’ve been absent from classes. I asked the fussy secretary of the prep school and she replied shortly, 《You were absent longer than her.》 You are different from me, right?”

 

Rika smiled a little and said. It was the familiar, cheerful voice.

“Don’t worry. I just wanted to think about many things by myself….For a while, I was hanging out many places for a change.”

“If you say so, that’s OK….What’s that you want to talk to me?”

“Kei, can I see you? How about now?”

For a moment Kei hesitated at her invitation that sounded formal unusually, but answered.

“Sure. But Rika, I was at Kaori’s apartment now.”

 

There was a long silence. Kei added words like patching things up.

“Rika, perhaps you are correct. Kaori and I don’t go well after all. We must be not well-matched. Well, our ages must be concerned, but Kaori is sound on her goal, and it has finally come true. So she won’t need me anymore. I don’t have a goal like that Kaori has….Thank you for the other day. You accompanied me a whole day doing a rash act. “

“…Kei”

“What?”

“I want to see you right now.”

“Where can I meet you?”

“Come to my room…I’ll send you my address by mail. You ‘ve got GPS, right?”

I will be waiting…

After a while, a small figure suddenly appeared over the darkness of a long street, swayed and stopped. The sound of heels vibrated quietly. Kei thought the figure may be Kaori.

“Kei?”

At the moment Kaori asked so doubtfully, the back seat door of a red car opened. Legs got out of it and Osawa’s long hair swayed. A figure of Kaori in a distance trembled a little. Osawa fixed his eyes on Kei.

 

In a moment Osawa noticed Kei’s glance fallen on the car, heaved a deep sigh and said.

“What’s the matter? Did you think I drive around a red BMW? I am different from other lots. A fool tends to make a gorgeous fence.”

Faint lassitude was shown in Kei’s eyes. It was far from his anger. It was, rather, something that he couldn’t afford.

 

The figure of Kaori stiffened. She appeared to be astonished at a sign of two people. Kaori’s voice with a gasp fell from the end of the darkness.

“Why?”

The two shadows stared each other side by side. Kei rubbed his eyes. The shadow was a blur in the heat and swayed.

“I got here guided by GPS. Because I’ve got a thing I must talk today….”

The line of shadow behind Kaori tightened for a second. Then Kaori relaxed and asked gently,

“How about your work?”

Osawa took a square shadow out of the back seat, saying that it is a convenient age.

Perhaps it is a notebook PC. A small lamp blinked like taking a deep breath at the edge of the square shadow.

The shadow of Osawa turned back to Kei slowly. He took a step forward and asked Kei. Two shadows of buildings overlapped sharply over Osawa’s head.

“How are you getting along?”

Kei froze, then kept silent and bit his lips. The sweat on his forehead glistened with the dim light of the street lamps.

“He said he came here to say good-bye to you.”

 

The figure of Kaori suddenly became small. Kei gasped at her appearance. The stringy spit adhered to the tip of his tongue.

“Perhaps you couldn’t believe that. Look at his cellular phone. A record of mail and call is left. I just happened to hear it. I didn’t intend to hear it, though. You know, it’s hot and humid.”

Osawa looked backed to the open window of the car and said. Kei once swallowed the spit and opened his mouth. The lower lip was dry and rough.

“I don’t want you to say…..I hate you. I really hate a guy like you.”

“Why do you hate me? Because I work with famous artists and try to get at her, taking advantage of that?”

  

Kei bent his head. He kept silent and gazed at a shadow of himself at his feet for a while. It was a short, light shadow because he was just below the street lamp. The only answer to Osawa’s words that Kei found was just “Right”, besides, he bent his head again brooding on what kind of words he should add after the answer.

“There is a difference between you and me at present. It is a decisive difference. You might think that I am dangling round Kaori urgently. But it may not be right. Kaori has seen me before she saw you, besides, Kaori called me.”

 

The silhouette of Kaori swayed widely for a moment. From the back a scared voice sounded like vanishing over.

“Kei, I met him just once…. For a week we stayed together I’ve never met Osawa.”

“Actually what do you think of what she said?”

Osawa’s shoulder touched the circle of a white light falling from the street lamp. The left shoulder of his white wrinkled shirt shed a pale light. Osawa once looked down and said gently. His eyes were clear as if he was looking away beyond Kei’s figure.

 

“What was her dream? It’s to become a friend of an artist. For the only dream, she came to today rejecting the absolute stability of a job which ordinary girls want without hesitation. Besides, she is 24 years old. Perhaps it’s the peak age for a girl, and getting married at 24 is not funny. She spends such valuable time on a halfway guy like you. Perhaps she met you because she just wanted to know music simply. Actually it’s right. And what she said that something brilliant you’ve got might be a kind of compassion. It’s sympathy. An indifferent thing. If you‘ve got a talent, you might have showed your genius already, right? The picture you drew might be recognized by nobody. If you should succeed in it, the fame might be temporary. There are many possibilities in ambiguous future, but there is also anxiety. Don’t you think so?”

 

Osawa stopped to talk once, and continued.

“I worked out beside you.”

Osawa was in a circle of light. His long hair swayed a little on the shoulder. Osawa who ran his fingers through his hair took a step back and leaned against the bonnet. Osawa’s monotonous voice passed through the darkness between the two, and sneaked into Kei’s ears heavily.

“Kaori’s story doesn’t completely agree with what I said. You know? Do you think Kaori can tell you the truth? Do you think she can tell you everything under this situation? Do you think it’s her kindness to talk to you now? Kaori is not such a girl. She would talk to you later. You should know best that she is such a girl. But I never deny her story for the contradiction. That’s because Kaori was considerate of you to talk so. It’s not a lie because it could be a truth for you.”

“Osawa-san, you are too cruel.”

Kaori sobbed and said. Her shadow was shaking getting darker.

“Cruel, ah…I think I have a deep feeling for others.”

“He is still 18 years old. He lost her mother when he was a kid.”

“And he draws only a profile of a woman…..A cool artist. It’s a kind of sympathy that is in fashion these days?”

Osawa’s voice did not sound sarcastic. Kei could have replaced humiliation with anger and felt much easier if Osawa made fun of him.

Kaori’s shadow got smaller slowly and sank down at the spot. She said in a small, low voice like saying to herself with a tremble.

“No, absolutely no, Kei…I like you….I really like you….”

 

“I came here because I had business with Kaori.”

Osawa sat slowly close to the shadow that sank down and dropped to his knees.

He touched Kaori’s chin and raised it silently in the shadow silhouetted. Then, he gave her a kiss slantingly.

Kei remained standing, being staggered by the shadows overlapped. He thought that the moment will be the sequence of one moment that never ends. The shadows are, rather, something that should be there in that way.

Kei cowered and his legs trembled.

At the moment two shadows was apart, Kei started back. After his heavy, stiff legs came off the darkness of the road at last, the tremble increased all over.

Kaori’s cry calling after Kei echoed splitting the darkness of the street over and over against the back of Kei who dashed.

  

1/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24577016535/in/dateposted...

 

2/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24209330259/in/dateposted...

 

3/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/23975215274/in/dateposted...

  

4/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24515964952/in/dateposted...

 

5/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24276473749/in/dateposted...

 

6/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24548895082/in/dateposted...

 

7/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24594603711/in/dateposted...

 

8/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24588215562/in/dateposted...

 

9/9

www.flickr.com/photos/stealaway/24100804163/in/dateposted...

  

Fin.

  

images.

 

U2 - No Line On The Horizon Live in Dublin

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oKwnkYFsiE&feature=related

 

_________________________________

  

_________________________________

  

_________________________________

 

_________________________________

 

Profile.

 

In November 2014, we caught the attention of the party selected to undertake the publicity for a mobile phone that changed the face of the world with just a single model, and will conclude a confidentiality agreement with them.

 

steal-a.way-nifty.com/stealaway/2015/03/profile-march20.html

 

_________________________________

 

_________________________________

  

e

 

BOX DATE: 2001

MANUFACTURER: Mattel

DOLLS IN LINE: Barbie; Ken; Kelly as Peppermint Girl; Kelly as Snow Fairy; Jenny; Tommy as Colonel Candy; Tommy as Gingerbread Boy; Tommy as Major Mint

VARIATIONS: Blonde; African American

BODY TYPE: 1993; articulated elbows, knees, waist, & ankles; molded ballet slippers

HEAD MOLD: 1998 "Generation Girl"

 

PERSONAL FUN FACT: Firstly, I want to apologize for Miss Nutcracker's missing foot. I did not have a body donor that was proper for her in storage, nor did I have a replacement foot. Rather than remove her from this body and give her a random one, I thought it would be less noticeable with her having a single foot. Anyways, this doll was one of the Barbies I got from a comforter bag at the Salvation Army in 2013. I bought the costly lot of dolls (I think they were around $20...so each doll was most likely about $2 each) because of the Disney princess/princes inside. But there were a few very cool Barbies included. Nutcracker Barbie was very recognizable. I remembered seeing oodles of these gals in stores when I was a kid. I also acquired a boxed Peppermint Girl Kelly in 2011, at an indoor flea market we went to with Dad. That was one of our last outings with him while he was alive. So I have an extra soft spot for dolls from this line. I was very excited about finding Barbie in her original outfit. Although, I will say she was probably the doll in the least nice condition from the lot. She has a discolored yellow torso, a missing foot, and at the time of her adoption her hair was a knotty, stringy mess. Despite her many flaws, I still loved her right away. Her super long saran hair with waves and her distinctive facial screening remind me fondly of the Magical Mermaids Barbie and Krissy set I wanted as a kid. I would have definitely loved this doll if I had gotten her when I was younger. The only drawback would have been her molded ballerina feet. But I'm sure I would have worked around them, just like I did for other favorites like my 1999 Rapunzel doll!

Pro Track cyclists at the 1935 San Francisco Deamland Auditorium six day race. My grandfather Eddie Seufert in the stripes at the center/right. Pro Track cyclists at the 1933 San Francisco Deamland Auditorium six day race. My grandfather Eddie Seufert in the stripes at the center/right. "Eddie Seufert, Newark youngster was a rattling good amateur, runner up to the National Championship, and is giving a good account of himself as a professional. He is looked upon as one of the gamest riders in cycling and has probably suffered more hard knocks and bad spills than any other rider in the race with the exception of his frequent partner Reggie McNamara, the "Iron Man."

 

Oakland Sports Tribune - June 10, 1935

 

Schaller, McNamara Spurt Into Bike Lead

By ALAN WARD

 

Tony Schaller, stocky young six-day bike rider, knows what it means to be touched by inspiration.

Only inspiration conld have caused Tony to tear the Auditorium track apart in his mad rushes yesterday afternoon and last evening—rushes which brought him and Reggie McNamara, his team-mate, from a point two laps behind the leader into the forefront of the increasingly mad scramble.

And Reggie McNamara, the grand old man of bike racing, the Iron Duke, Old Ironsides himself, provided the inspiration, Schaller confessed today.

HAS CRACKED RIBS

Hold on a minute! There's another bit to the story of Tony Schaller. He has been riding with ribs that certainly are cracked, a victim of intermittent dizzy spells, visitations of which sent him into two spills last night. Saturday evening it was declared Schaller certainly would be forced from the race. But listen to Tony's story— "Why, I couldn't let McNamara down. Broken ribs or no ribs at all, I had to keep going. If I dropped out it would mean Reggie dropped out, too, and that would have been a bitter blow to the swellest guy ever to mount a bicycle.

"And say, have you watched the old warhorse go since my accident? He's trying to carry every bit of the burden, too, and when the going is the toughest you'll notice him edging into the rumpus. If this bandage holds out Mac and I will be in the race at the finish tomorrow night. In fact, we'll be right out in front."

Schaller is riding with a network of tape and bandage on his side big enough to cover the footprint of an elephant. He wouldn't stop for any protracted examination of his injuries, insisting only on application of the poultice in hurry-up time. He wanted to be off! Head Trainer Freddy Diver pleaded with Schaller to toss in the sponge. Maybe McNamara could have teamed up with someone else. Why, Mac wouldn't care so much. He wouldn't want to keep in the race, headed for top money, at the expense of a game partner. Tony wouldn't even listen. And how that boy rode all yesterday!

TWO DROP OUT

Along about midnight of last night Schaller and McNamara were out in front by a full lap and going strong. Jackie Sheehan ond Harold Nauwens were second, with the nearest additional contestants three rounds behind.

Ted Snavely, Oakland's only remaining representative in this city's first six-day bicycle race, was forced out yesterday. So was Geary May, German boy. Snavely's teamate, Eddie Triest, and Geary's side-kicker, Eddie Seifert, combined and were hitting it off nicely at last inspection.

Spills during the thick of traffic accounted for almost simultaneous retirement of the lads.

Snavely hurt his right ankle, and suffered excruciating pain with each pressure on the pedal.

The member was swollen almost twiceits normal size, but even then he requested, almost tearfully, he be permitted to remain in the scramble, with pain, he went to the showers.

RACERS SET TO SPEED PACE

Ah, but the lads were riding last night, and tonight should be a more intensified duplicate of the performance just ended. And tomorrow afternoon find evening -- well, the race ends Tuesday at midnight, the outcome still is very much in doubt, almost any team could win and almost any team will.

There were five Jams between 8 and 11 o'clock last evening. Tonight there should be twice that number, while the final few hours of the race should be one continual jumble of bikes, riders, vehicles and sweaters.

We mentioned before in this story Tony Schaller cracked up twice last night, despite which set- Promoter Eddie Saunders reluctantly delivered the ultimatum.

May hurt his side when he and his machine were skidded from the top of the track to the bottom, and after a few minutes of riding, during which period he was doubled back he and McNamara—and Mac's stringy, solid legs were pumping with a precision and vigor belying his 50 years of age, his 30 years in competitive racing—hung on to their lead. In one of the spills Schaller and O'Brien tangled spokes high on the west turn, and for a few seconds after the impact and the subsequent slide over the splinters to the flat, "Cocky" was cold as an Eskimo's nose. They recover quickly, those bike riders. O'Brien was back in circulation a few laps later.

Frank Keating of New York was the next rider to run afoul of Schaller, but Frank escaped unscathed, while Tony merely gathered another bruise or two, a half dozen additional scratches and refused to reduce his speed tempo one iota.

These mad dervishes of bikedom are tensing themselves for the last big push, starting sometime today, and almost certain to be continued, with but scant interruption, through until midnight of tomorrow evening. If the early days of the contest are indicalive, the windup should be thrilling.

BIKE STANDINGS

at lO:30 a.m.

1460 miles— lllth hour—26 jams

Laps

No. behind Pts.

8—Wagner-Le FentreO277

9—Sheehan-Nanwens1365

1—McNamara-Schaller1268

4—Audy-Fielding3456

2—O'Brien-Rys3290

7—McCoy -Keating5294

10—Seufert-Triest 6240

6-Echeverirria-Rush7351

3—Saeta-Turano 8281

The back yard contained a beautiful American chestnut tree. In the spring, it blossomed long stringy yellow blooms, then set with an incredible abundance of green chestnut burrs. They ripened to brown and fell in late October, and could be harvested and eaten.

 

These trees are not native to the area, and are very special because they were almost completely wiped out in their native Eastern forests (where they were the apex species) by the chestnut blight.

Ready for business and visitors, the USDA Farmers Market celebrates the close of its 22nd season on Oct 27, 2017, in Washington, DC. The last market day featured live music from the U.S. Army Band, farm animal exhibits. Visitors were able to bowl with squash, help harvest and learn about sweet potatoes for DC Central Kitchen, pick and paint pumpkins, meet farm animals, shop for fresh picked local produce from the Chesapeake Bay Region, enjoy prepared foods, see live turkeys from Tall Cotton Farm, get a farm animal and veggie-themed temporary tattoo to wear, and shop for food inspired art work.

âVegUâ Program Coordinators prepared and talk about a pumpkin curry soup recipe during free 10-minute fruit and vegetable classes at the âVegU(cation)â tent where people learned how to how to pick, store, and prepare pumpkin curry soup. Fruits and vegetables are featured during their peak harvest time.

The USDA farmers market is located on the corner of 12th Street and Independence Ave, SW; features live music, 30+ farmers, ranchers, and small business owners in the Chesapeake Bay Region.

The festival played host to thousands of visitors from around America and looks to open May 4, 2018. For more information visit usda.gov/farmersmarket or follow @USDA_AMS on Twitter and Instagram using hashtag #USDAFarmersMkt. View photos of the market on Flickr. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.

 

PUMPKIN CURRY SOUP

Yields 8 cups

Prep Time: 1 hour | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, ï¬nely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 lb. fresh sugar pumpkin

3 cups vegetable stock

1 tbsp. curry powder

1 tsp. chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste

 

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.

2. Remove pumpkin stem and slice pumpkin in half using a sharp knife. Remove pumpkin seeds and stringy innards with a spoon. Discard or save seeds to roast later on.

3. Brush pumpkin halves with oil and place face down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes or until tender.

4. Remove from oven and let cool. Separate pumpkin ï¬esh from skin. Purée the pumpkin ï¬esh in a blender or food processor. (Process to your preference of a smooth to chunky texture. See photo album for examples.)

5. In a pot, heat onion and garlic over medium heat. Add vegetable stock, puréed pumpkin, curry powder and chili powder.

6. Bring soup to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 10

minutes.

Note: Each pound of sugar pumpkin should yield 1 cup of pumpkin purée.

 

Adapted from © My Darling Vegan 2016

 

THIS WEEK VEGU IS ALL ABOUT PUMPKINS

 

Three diï¬erent species in the Curburita genus are known as pumpkins (Cucurbita pepo, C. maxima, C. moschata). Pumpkins are typically planted in early summer and harvested in fall. Pumpkins can be stored for several months after harvesting due to their thick outer skin. There are countless diï¬erent varieties of pumpkins grown in the United States ranging in size from 2 pounds to 100 pounds and in an array of colors including orange, yellow, green, and white. One of the most common pumpkin varieties used for cooking and baking is Sugar Pie (also known as pie pumpkins), which has thin skin and sweet ï¬esh making it ideal for eating.

HOW TO PICK

Look at size. Choose pumpkins that feel solid and heavy for their size. Check for blemishes. Pick pumpkins that are unblemished, have consistent color and have the stems attached.

Feel for freshness. Press on the bottom of the pumpkin. If it is ï¬exible or has several soft spots it may indicate that it is not as fresh.

HOW TO PREPARE

To cook a fresh pumpkin, ï¬rst wash and dry the whole pumpkin. Remove the stem and slice the pumpkin in half using a sharp knife. Clean out the inside, removing the seeds and ï¬brous strings. Place the halves on a cookie sheet or tray and bake at 350º F for about 30-45 minutes depending on the size. Once cooled, peel oï¬ the skin using a knife and chop the pumpkin into cubes, or purée the ï¬esh in a blender or food processor. Use cooked pumpkin purée or cubes in pies, cakes, baked goods, soups, and stews.

HOW TO STORE

Pumpkins require cool and dry conditions for best storage. Optimal temperature is between 50-55º F and humidity of 50-70%. If stored properly, certain varieties of pumpkin can last up to two months.

Tip: Store cooked, cubed or puréed pumpkin for up to one week in the refrigerator.

Advice about freezing. Freezing pumpkin is a great option. To freeze, ï¬rst roast pumpkin in the oven (as outlined on the other side of this handout) and place cooked cubes or puréed pumpkin into freezer bags. To freeze raw cubes, ï¬rst peel the pumpkin skin and remove seeds and ï¬brous strings. Chop pumpkin into 1-inch cubes and store loosely in freezer bags. Frozen pumpkin can be stored for 9 months to 1 year.

FUN FACTS

â¢Pumpkins originated in Central America and are botanically a fruit.

â¢At the ï¬rst Thanksgiving feast in 1621, the pilgrims did not serve pumpkin pie, rather, they served stewed pumpkin.

â¢Pumpkins are members of the Cucurbitaceae family, which includes squash, zucchini, watermelon, cucumbers and gourds.

â¢Over 50,000 acres of pumpkins were harvested in the United States in 2014, producing 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins.

â¢China and India are the worldâs top pumpkin producers; U.S. is ranked ï¬fth.

â¢Illinois is the top pumpkin producing state in the U.S. followed by California, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

â¢Pumpkin is an excellent source of beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A.

â¢99% of pumpkins grown in the U.S. are sold for decoration.

While living in Malawi, it was the perfect time of year to harvest, sell, and consume sugar cane.

 

Once you bite through the bark-like outer skin, it's almost like eating a sweet apple, albeit with a very stringy texture, and while not overly enjoyable, it was highly addictive. Something that everyone in Bangwe would testify to. The streets were literally lined with the chewed-up remains of it.

 

Bangwe, Malawi, 2012.

  

www.jamesdrewturner.com

Temporary USDA Farmers Market tattoo is revealed on a display pumpkin during the USDA Farmers Market that celebrates the close of its 22nd season on Oct 27, 2017, in Washington, DC. The last market day featured live music from the U.S. Army Band, farm animal exhibits. Visitors were able to bowl with squash, help harvest and learn about sweet potatoes for DC Central Kitchen, pick and paint pumpkins, meet farm animals, shop for fresh picked local produce from the Chesapeake Bay Region, enjoy prepared foods, see live turkeys from Tall Cotton Farm, get a farm animal and veggie-themed temporary tattoo to wear, and shop for food inspired art work.

âVegUâ Program Coordinators prepared and talk about a pumpkin curry soup recipe during free 10-minute fruit and vegetable classes at the âVegU(cation)â tent where people learned how to how to pick, store, and prepare pumpkin curry soup. Fruits and vegetables are featured during their peak harvest time.

The USDA farmers market is located on the corner of 12th Street and Independence Ave, SW; features live music, 30+ farmers, ranchers, and small business owners in the Chesapeake Bay Region.

The festival played host to thousands of visitors from around America and looks to open May 4, 2018. For more information visit usda.gov/farmersmarket or follow @USDA_AMS on Twitter and Instagram using hashtag #USDAFarmersMkt. View photos of the market on Flickr. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.

 

PUMPKIN CURRY SOUP

Yields 8 cups

Prep Time: 1 hour | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, ï¬nely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 lb. fresh sugar pumpkin

3 cups vegetable stock

1 tbsp. curry powder

1 tsp. chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste

 

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.

2. Remove pumpkin stem and slice pumpkin in half using a sharp knife. Remove pumpkin seeds and stringy innards with a spoon. Discard or save seeds to roast later on.

3. Brush pumpkin halves with oil and place face down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes or until tender.

4. Remove from oven and let cool. Separate pumpkin ï¬esh from skin. Purée the pumpkin ï¬esh in a blender or food processor. (Process to your preference of a smooth to chunky texture. See photo album for examples.)

5. In a pot, heat onion and garlic over medium heat. Add vegetable stock, puréed pumpkin, curry powder and chili powder.

6. Bring soup to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 10

minutes.

Note: Each pound of sugar pumpkin should yield 1 cup of pumpkin purée.

 

Adapted from © My Darling Vegan 2016

 

THIS WEEK VEGU IS ALL ABOUT PUMPKINS

 

Three diï¬erent species in the Curburita genus are known as pumpkins (Cucurbita pepo, C. maxima, C. moschata). Pumpkins are typically planted in early summer and harvested in fall. Pumpkins can be stored for several months after harvesting due to their thick outer skin. There are countless diï¬erent varieties of pumpkins grown in the United States ranging in size from 2 pounds to 100 pounds and in an array of colors including orange, yellow, green, and white. One of the most common pumpkin varieties used for cooking and baking is Sugar Pie (also known as pie pumpkins), which has thin skin and sweet ï¬esh making it ideal for eating.

HOW TO PICK

Look at size. Choose pumpkins that feel solid and heavy for their size. Check for blemishes. Pick pumpkins that are unblemished, have consistent color and have the stems attached.

Feel for freshness. Press on the bottom of the pumpkin. If it is ï¬exible or has several soft spots it may indicate that it is not as fresh.

HOW TO PREPARE

To cook a fresh pumpkin, ï¬rst wash and dry the whole pumpkin. Remove the stem and slice the pumpkin in half using a sharp knife. Clean out the inside, removing the seeds and ï¬brous strings. Place the halves on a cookie sheet or tray and bake at 350º F for about 30-45 minutes depending on the size. Once cooled, peel oï¬ the skin using a knife and chop the pumpkin into cubes, or purée the ï¬esh in a blender or food processor. Use cooked pumpkin purée or cubes in pies, cakes, baked goods, soups, and stews.

HOW TO STORE

Pumpkins require cool and dry conditions for best storage. Optimal temperature is between 50-55º F and humidity of 50-70%. If stored properly, certain varieties of pumpkin can last up to two months.

Tip: Store cooked, cubed or puréed pumpkin for up to one week in the refrigerator.

Advice about freezing. Freezing pumpkin is a great option. To freeze, ï¬rst roast pumpkin in the oven (as outlined on the other side of this handout) and place cooked cubes or puréed pumpkin into freezer bags. To freeze raw cubes, ï¬rst peel the pumpkin skin and remove seeds and ï¬brous strings. Chop pumpkin into 1-inch cubes and store loosely in freezer bags. Frozen pumpkin can be stored for 9 months to 1 year.

FUN FACTS

â¢Pumpkins originated in Central America and are botanically a fruit.

â¢At the ï¬rst Thanksgiving feast in 1621, the pilgrims did not serve pumpkin pie, rather, they served stewed pumpkin.

â¢Pumpkins are members of the Cucurbitaceae family, which includes squash, zucchini, watermelon, cucumbers and gourds.

â¢Over 50,000 acres of pumpkins were harvested in the United States in 2014, producing 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins.

â¢China and India are the worldâs top pumpkin producers; U.S. is ranked ï¬fth.

â¢Illinois is the top pumpkin producing state in the U.S. followed by California, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

â¢Pumpkin is an excellent source of beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A.

â¢99% of pumpkins grown in the U.S. are sold for decoration.

Okay, there's really no ceremony. She just looks so darned sweet and solemn. It made me laugh.

 

Happy Silly... er... Sunday!

 

While Dora likes to see how many ping pong balls she can gather in the pool, Peggy Sue prefers to take them on one at a time and crush them in her jaws.

  

--------------------------------------

Feel free to ignore this part!

--------------------------------------

 

I'm going to start something new - adding a "Book notes" section with stories, bits and pieces of trivia, and FAQs that will usually have little or nothing much to do with the photo. This seems like as good a place as any to keep things together and semi-organized, and it's easier than starting a blog. I think it will be a good thing for me to be writing casual notes here to friends and family than the serious business of book writing. (My mind is so easily tricked like this! ;)) Even if the book never gets published, the stories will be here. And I suspect a lot of you will enjoy it. So...

 

Book notes

I noticed a couple of interesting differences (from Dora) when Peggy Sue had her operation the other day. I'm incredibly fortunate to have a vet who allows me in the surgery to observe. The girls are so fortunate to have a vet who loves them and is willing to take them in as patients.

 

I'd already known that Peggy Sue had had her first "heat" and Dora, even though she was older, had never had the experience. Doctor says it has to do with the amount of time Peggy Sue spent outside fraternizing with the clan triggering things. She says it works the same way with cats. Many girl cats who have spent their lives inside as only cats develop much slower, but as soon as they are in a mixed environment, the hormones kick in. I thought that was fascinating about cats, and more so because it seems to work the same way with our girls.

 

It is awesome to witness the physical changes one big ol' burst of hormones will do. I could already see that Peggy Sue has real nipples; Dora still has faint little dots. Dora's uterus was tiny like a skinny rubber band. The doctor had to point out the stringy little bits that were her tubes and ovaries. If you balled everything up, it would hardly take up about the same space as a small grape. Peggy Sue's were huge by comparison, slightly smaller than the size of a ping pong ball. (There's my tie-in with the photo. lol) The textures were different, too. Dora's was soft, mushy, and not very well defined. Peggy Sue's uterus was definitely tubular and looked tougher. Her ovaries were larger, well-defined, and looked like the pictures I remember from science class so long ago when they tried to teach us something about "the facts of life."

 

I hope I didn't bore anyone or gross you out.

 

The facts of life thing reminds me, I was asked the other day about raccoon family life. No, the male doesn't hang around and help raise the kits. His job is to go around and spread his genes far and wide. Male raccoons range farther than the stay at home females. The permanent coon clan society here at the Marshside Menagerie is mostly made up of a cooperative group of related females... mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, etc. The baby boys stick around close to home for the first year or two. As they get older, they seem to circulate out to different female territories. Circulate is really the best word, because as far as I can tell, they don't establish their own separate territories. They all come back around from time to time. There are also a small number of mature males who live around here year-round - big older guys like Ted. More on that another time.

 

One last bit... I saw Patty for a few minutes yesterday. We had a nice, quick visit and she and Dora took a moment to chat. Yes, I think they recognized each other. Patty has been "away" for a week or more... long enough to have me worried witless! Of course, she was probably off preparing a place to have babies. I didn't get a very good look, but it doesn't look like she is nursing yet. Even so, I imagine she'll be introducing us to a new generation in a couple of months.

       

Kate Ferguson harvests some sweet potatoes during the USDA Farmers Market which celebrates the close of its 22nd season on Oct 27, 2017, in Washington, DC. The last market day featured live music from the U.S. Army Band, farm animal exhibits. Visitors were able to bowl with squash, help harvest and learn about sweet potatoes for donation DC Central Kitchen, pick and paint pumpkins, meet farm animals, shop for fresh picked local produce from the Chesapeake Bay Region, enjoy prepared foods, see live turkeys from Tall Cotton Farm, get a farm animal and veggie-themed temporary tattoo to wear, and shop for food inspired art work.

âVegUâ Program Coordinators prepared and talk about a pumpkin curry soup recipe during free 10-minute fruit and vegetable classes at the âVegU(cation)â tent where people learned how to how to pick, store, and prepare pumpkin curry soup. Fruits and vegetables are featured during their peak harvest time.

The USDA farmers market is located on the corner of 12th Street and Independence Ave, SW; features live music, 30+ farmers, ranchers, and small business owners in the Chesapeake Bay Region.

The festival played host to thousands of visitors from around America and looks to open May 4, 2018. For more information visit usda.gov/farmersmarket or follow @USDA_AMS on Twitter and Instagram using hashtag #USDAFarmersMkt. View photos of the market on Flickr. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.

 

PUMPKIN CURRY SOUP

Yields 8 cups

Prep Time: 1 hour | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, ï¬nely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 lb. fresh sugar pumpkin

3 cups vegetable stock

1 tbsp. curry powder

1 tsp. chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste

 

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.

2. Remove pumpkin stem and slice pumpkin in half using a sharp knife. Remove pumpkin seeds and stringy innards with a spoon. Discard or save seeds to roast later on.

3. Brush pumpkin halves with oil and place face down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes or until tender.

4. Remove from oven and let cool. Separate pumpkin ï¬esh from skin. Purée the pumpkin ï¬esh in a blender or food processor. (Process to your preference of a smooth to chunky texture. See photo album for examples.)

5. In a pot, heat onion and garlic over medium heat. Add vegetable stock, puréed pumpkin, curry powder and chili powder.

6. Bring soup to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 10

minutes.

Note: Each pound of sugar pumpkin should yield 1 cup of pumpkin purée.

 

Adapted from © My Darling Vegan 2016

 

THIS WEEK VEGU IS ALL ABOUT PUMPKINS

 

Three diï¬erent species in the Curburita genus are known as pumpkins (Cucurbita pepo, C. maxima, C. moschata). Pumpkins are typically planted in early summer and harvested in fall. Pumpkins can be stored for several months after harvesting due to their thick outer skin. There are countless diï¬erent varieties of pumpkins grown in the United States ranging in size from 2 pounds to 100 pounds and in an array of colors including orange, yellow, green, and white. One of the most common pumpkin varieties used for cooking and baking is Sugar Pie (also known as pie pumpkins), which has thin skin and sweet ï¬esh making it ideal for eating.

HOW TO PICK

Look at size. Choose pumpkins that feel solid and heavy for their size. Check for blemishes. Pick pumpkins that are unblemished, have consistent color and have the stems attached.

Feel for freshness. Press on the bottom of the pumpkin. If it is ï¬exible or has several soft spots it may indicate that it is not as fresh.

HOW TO PREPARE

To cook a fresh pumpkin, ï¬rst wash and dry the whole pumpkin. Remove the stem and slice the pumpkin in half using a sharp knife. Clean out the inside, removing the seeds and ï¬brous strings. Place the halves on a cookie sheet or tray and bake at 350º F for about 30-45 minutes depending on the size. Once cooled, peel oï¬ the skin using a knife and chop the pumpkin into cubes, or purée the ï¬esh in a blender or food processor. Use cooked pumpkin purée or cubes in pies, cakes, baked goods, soups, and stews.

HOW TO STORE

Pumpkins require cool and dry conditions for best storage. Optimal temperature is between 50-55º F and humidity of 50-70%. If stored properly, certain varieties of pumpkin can last up to two months.

Tip: Store cooked, cubed or puréed pumpkin for up to one week in the refrigerator.

Advice about freezing. Freezing pumpkin is a great option. To freeze, ï¬rst roast pumpkin in the oven (as outlined on the other side of this handout) and place cooked cubes or puréed pumpkin into freezer bags. To freeze raw cubes, ï¬rst peel the pumpkin skin and remove seeds and ï¬brous strings. Chop pumpkin into 1-inch cubes and store loosely in freezer bags. Frozen pumpkin can be stored for 9 months to 1 year.

FUN FACTS

â¢Pumpkins originated in Central America and are botanically a fruit.

â¢At the ï¬rst Thanksgiving feast in 1621, the pilgrims did not serve pumpkin pie, rather, they served stewed pumpkin.

â¢Pumpkins are members of the Cucurbitaceae family, which includes squash, zucchini, watermelon, cucumbers and gourds.

â¢Over 50,000 acres of pumpkins were harvested in the United States in 2014, producing 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins.

â¢China and India are the worldâs top pumpkin producers; U.S. is ranked ï¬fth.

â¢Illinois is the top pumpkin producing state in the U.S. followed by California, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

â¢Pumpkin is an excellent source of beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A.

â¢99% of pumpkins grown in the U.S. are sold for decoration.

Dog meat refers to the flesh and other edible parts derived from dogs. Historically, human consumption of dog meat has been recorded in many parts of the world, including East and Southeast Asia, West Africa, Europe, Oceania and the Americas.

 

In the 21st century, dog meat is consumed in many parts of China, Korea and Vietnam, parts of Switzerland, as well as parts of Europe, Americas, the African continent, such as Cameroon, Ghana and Liberia.

 

Today, a number of cultures view the consumption of dog meat to be a part of their traditional and day-to-day cuisine, while others - such as Western culture - consider consumption of dog to be a taboo, although they have been consumed in times of war and/or other hardships or in rural areas where food is scarce. It was estimated in 2014 that worldwide, 25 million dogs are eaten each year by humans.

 

DOG BREEDS USED FOR MEAT

NUREONGI

The Nureongi is a yellowish landrace from Korea. Similar to other native Korean dog breeds, such as the Jindo, nureongi are medium-sized spitz-type dogs, but are larger, with greater musculature and a distinctive coat pattern. They are quite uniform in appearance, yellow hair and melanistic masks. Nureongi are most often used as a livestock dog, raised for its meat, and not commonly kept as pets.

 

HAWAIIAN POI

The Hawaiian Poi Dog or ʻīlio (ʻīlio mākuʻe for brown-furred Poi dogs) is an extinct breed of pariah dog from Hawaiʻi which was used by Native Hawaiians as a spiritual protector of children and as a source of food.

 

XOLOITZCUINTLE (Mexican Hairless)

The Xoloitzcuintle, or Xolo for short, is a hairless breed of dog, found in toy, miniature and standard sizes. The Xolo also comes in a coated variety and all three sizes can be born to a single litter. It is also known as Mexican hairless dog in English speaking countries, is one of several breeds of hairless dog and has been used as a historical source of food for the Aztec Empire.

 

BY REGION

AFRICA

CAMEROON

The Mandara mountains people like dog meat. The Mayo-Plata (Mayo Sava district) market is well known for its dog meat outlets. Among the Vame people, domestic dogs are only eaten for specific rituals.

 

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

Despite tests showing 156 dogs were infected with Ebola, the consumption of dog meat is no longer taboo. Several families may chip in to purchase a whole large dog.

 

GHANA

The Tallensi, the Akyim's, the Kokis, and the Yaakuma, one of many cultures of Ghana, consider dog meat a delicacy. While the Mamprusi generally avoid dog meat, it is eaten in a "courtship stew" provided by a king to his royal lineage. Two Tribes in Ghana, Frafra and Dagaaba are particularly known to be "tribal playmates" and consumption of dog meat is the common bond between the two tribes. Every year around September, games are organised between these two tribes and the Dog Head is the trophy at stake for the winning tribe

 

LIBERIA

Liberians are said to lump the term dog meat and bushmeat together. A local animal welfare group. Anti Pet & Bush Meat Coalition, claimed 75% of Liberians consume dog meat. 75% of Liberians rely on bush and pet meat as a staple diet.

 

MOROCCO

Islamic law bans the eating of dog meat as does the government of Morocco, however the consumption of dog meat still occurs particularly in poorer regions, often being passed off as other meats as was the case in 2013 and 2009 cases

 

NIGERIA

Dogs are eaten by various groups in some states of Nigeria, including Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Plateau, Ondo, Kalaba, Taraba and Gombe of Nigeria. They are believed to have medicinal powers.

 

In late 2014, the fear of contracting the Ebola virus disease from bushmeat led at least one major Nigerian newspaper to imply that eating dog meat was a healthy alternative. That paper documented a thriving trade in dog meat and slow sales of even well smoked bushmeat.

 

AMERICAS

CANADA

It is legal to sell and serve dog meat, providing that it must be killed and gutted in front of federal inspectors. If a dog is killed out of the view of federal inspectors, the killing might involve cruelty, which would be a violation of the Criminal Code, and those convicted may be sentenced to up to 5 years in prison.

 

ANCIENT MEXICO

In the time of the Aztec Empire in what is now central Mexico, Mexican Hairless Dogs were bred, among other purposes, for their meat. Hernán Cortés reported when he arrived in Tenochtitlan in 1519, "small gelded dogs which they breed for eating" were among the goods sold in the city markets. These dogs, Xoloitzcuintles, were often depicted in pre-Columbian Mexican pottery. The breed was almost extinct in the 1940s, but the British Military Attaché in Mexico City, Norman Wright, developed a thriving breed from some of the dogs he found in remote villages.

 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The term "dog" has been used as a synonym for sausage since 1884 and accusations that sausage makers used dog meat date to at least 1845. The belief that sausages contained dog meat was occasionally justified.

 

In the late 19th century, a cure for tuberculosis (then colloquially termed "consumption") using an exclusive diet of dog meat was tried. Reports of families eating dog meat out of choice, rather than necessity, were rare and newsworthy. Stories of families in Ohio and Newark, New Jersey who did so made it into editions of The New York Times in 1876 and 1885.

 

In the early 20th century, dog meat was consumed during times of meat shortage.

 

NATIVE AMERICANS

The traditional culture surrounding the consumption of dog meat varied from tribe to tribe among the original inhabitants of North America, with some tribes relishing it as a delicacy, and others (such as the Comanche) treating it as a forbidden food. Native peoples of the Great Plains, such as the Sioux and Cheyenne, consumed it, but there was a concurrent religious taboo against the meat of wild canines.

 

During their 1803–1806 expedition, Meriwether Lewis and the other members of the Corps of Discovery consumed dog meat, either from their own animals or supplied by Native American tribes, including the Paiutes and Wah-clel-lah Indians, a branch of the Watlatas, the Clatsop, the Teton Sioux (Lakota), the Nez Perce Indians, and the Hidatsas. Lewis and the members of the expedition ate dog meat, except William Clark, who reportedly could not bring himself to eat dogs.

 

The Kickapoo people include puppy meat in many of their traditional festivals. This practice has been well documented in the Works Progress Administration "Indian Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma".

 

AUSTRALIA

It is legal to eat dogs in most States and Territories, except for South Australia. However, it is illegal to sell dog meat in any Australian State or Territory.

 

ARTIC AND ANTARTIC

Dogs have historically been emergency food sources for various peoples in Siberia, northern Canada, and Greenland. Sled dogs are usually maintained for pulling sleds, but occasionally are eaten when no other food is available.

 

British explorer Ernest Shackleton and his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition became trapped, and ultimately killed their sled dogs for food. Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was known to have eaten sled dogs during his expedition to the South Pole. By eating some of the sled dogs, he required less human or dog food, thus lightening his load. When comparing sled dogs to ponies as draught animals he also notes:

 

"...there is the obvious advantage that dog can be fed on dog. One can reduce one's pack little by little, slaughtering the feebler ones and feeding the chosen with them. In this way they get fresh meat. Our dogs lived on dog's flesh and pemmican the whole way, and this enabled them to do splendid work. And if we ourselves wanted a piece of fresh meat we could cut off a delicate little fillet; it tasted to us as good as the best beef. The dogs do not object at all; as long as they get their share they do not mind what part of their comrade's carcass it comes from. All that was left after one of these canine meals was the teeth of the victim – and if it had been a really hard day, these also disappeared."

 

Douglas Mawson and Xavier Mertz were part of the Far Eastern Party, a three-man sledging team with Lieutenant B.E.S. Ninnis, to survey King George V Land, Antarctica. On 14 December 1912 Ninnis fell through a snow-covered crevasse along with most of the party's rations, and was never seen again. Mawson and Mertz turned back immediately. They had one and a half weeks' food for themselves and nothing at all for the dogs. Their meagre provisions forced them to eat their remaining sled dogs on their 507 km return journey. Their meat was tough, stringy and without a vestige of fat. Each animal yielded very little, and the major part was fed to the surviving dogs, which ate the meat, skin and bones until nothing remained. The men also ate the dog's brains and livers. Unfortunately eating the liver of sled dogs produces the condition hypervitaminosis A because canines have a much higher tolerance for vitamin A than humans do. Mertz suffered a quick deterioration. He developed stomach pains and became incapacitated and incoherent. On 7 January 1913, Mertz died. Mawson continued alone, eventually making it back to camp alive.

 

ASIA/PACIFIC

CHINA

Selling dog meat for consumption is legal in Mainland China and approximately 10 million dogs each year are slaughtered for consumption. The eating of dog meat in China dates back thousands of years. Dog meat (Chinese: 狗肉; pinyin: gǒu ròu) has been a source of food in some areas from around 500 BC and possibly even earlier. It has been suggested that wolves in southern China may have been domesticated as a source of meat. Mencius, the philosopher, talked about dog meat as being an edible, dietary meat. It is thought to have medicinal properties, and is especially popular in winter months in northern China, as it is believed to raise body temperature after consumption and promote warmth. Historical records have moreover shown how in times of food scarcities (as in war-time situations), dogs could also be eaten as an emergency food source.

 

Dog meat is sometimes called "fragrant meat" (香肉 xiāng ròu) or "mutton of the earth" (地羊 dì yáng) in Mandarin Chinese and "3–6 fragrant meat" (Chinese: 三六香肉; Cantonese Yale: sàam luhk hèung yuhk) in Cantonese (3 plus 6 is 9 and the words "nine" and "dog" have close pronunciation. In Mandarin, "nine" and "dog" are pronounced differently).

 

In modern times, the extent of dog consumption in China varies by region, most prevalent in Guangdong, Yunnan and Guangxi, as well as the northern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning. It is still common to find dog meat served in restaurants in Southern China, where dogs are specially raised on farms. However, there are instances of finding stolen pet meat on menus. Chinese netizens and the Chinese police intercepted trucks transporting caged dogs to be slaughtered in localities such as Chongqing and Kunming. In 2014, 11 people in the Hunan province were sentenced to prison for allegedly poisoning over 1,000 dogs and selling the poisonous meat to restaurants. Since 2009, Yulin, Guangxi has held an annual festival of eating dog meat. This purportedly celebrates the summer solstice, however, in 2014, the municipal government published a statement that the festival is not a cultural tradition, rather, a commercial event held by restaurants and the public. Various dog meat dishes (and more recently, cats) are eaten, washed down by lychees wine. The festival in 2011 spanned 10 days, during which 15,000 dogs were consumed. Estimates of the number of dogs eaten during the festival range between 10 and 15 thousand. Festival organisers say that only dogs bred specifically for consumption are used, however, there are claims that some of the dogs purchased for slaughter and consumption are strays or stolen pets, as evidenced by their wearing collars. Some of the dogs eaten at the festival are burnt or boiled alive and there are reports that the dogs are sometimes clubbed or beaten to death in the belief that the increased adrenalin circulating in the dog's body adds to the flavour of the meat. At the 2015 festival, there were long queues outside large (300-seat) eateries which sold the dog meat for around £4 (€5.60) per kilogram. Prior to the 2014 festival, eight dogs (and their two cages) sold for 1,150 yuan ($185) and six puppies for 1,200 yuan. Prior to the 2015 festival, a protester bought 100 dogs for 7,000 yuan ($1,100; £710). The animal rights NGO Best Volunteer Centre claims the city has more than 100 slaughterhouses, processing between 30 and 100 dogs a day. However, the Yulin Centre for Animal Disease Control and Prevention claims the city has only eight dog slaughterhouses selling approximately 200 dogs, although this increases to about 2,000 dogs during the Yulin festival. There are several campaigns to stop the festival; more than 3,000,000 people have signed petitions against it on Weibo (China’s version of Twitter) and a petition to stop the festival (addressed to the Chinese Minister of Agriculture, Chen Wu) reads "Do the humane thing by saying no to this festival and save the lives of countless dogs that will fall victim to this event - an event that will butcher, skin alive, beat to death etc. thousands of innocent dogs." Prior to the 2014 festival, doctors and nurses staff were ordered not to eat dog meat there, and local restaurants serving dog meat were ordered to cover the word "dog" on their signs and notices.

 

The movement against the consumption of cat and dog meat was given added impetus by the formation of the Chinese Companion Animal Protection Network (CCAPN). Expanded to more than 40 member societies, CCAPN in 2006 began organizing protests against eating dogs and cat, starting in Guangzhou and following up in more than ten other cities with a positive response from the public. Before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, officials ordered dog meat to be taken off the menu at its 112 official Olympic restaurants to avoid offending visitors from various nations who might have been concerned by the offering of dog meat.

 

In 2010, draft legislation was proposed to prohibit the consumption of dog meat. The legislation, however, was not expected to be enforced, making the consumption of dog meat illegal if it passed. In 2010, the first draft proposal of the legislation was introduced, with the rationale to protect animals from maltreatment. The legislation includes a measure to jail people for up to 15 days for eating dog meat. However, certain cultural food festivals continue to promote the meat. For example, in 2014, 10,000 dogs were killed for the Yulin dog eating festival.

 

As of the early 21st century, dog meat consumption is declining or disappearing. In 2014, dog meat sales decreased by a third compared to 2013. It was reported that in 2015, one of the most popular restaurants in Guangzhou serving dog meat was closed after the local government tightened regulations; the restaurant had served dog meat dishes since 1963. Other restaurants that served dog and cat meat dishes in the Yuancun and Panyu districts also stopped serving these in 2015.

 

HONG KONG

In Hong Kong, the Dogs and Cats Ordinance was introduced by the British Hong Kong Government on 6 January 1950. It prohibits the slaughter of any dog or cat for use as food, whether for mankind or otherwise, on pain of fine and imprisonment. In February 1998, a Hong Konger was sentenced to one month imprisonment and a fine of two thousand HK dollars for hunting street dogs for food. Four local men were sentenced to 30 days imprisonment in December 2006 for having slaughtered two dogs.

 

TAIWAN

In 2001, the Taiwanese government imposed a ban on the sale of dog meat, due to both pressure from domestic animal welfare groups and a desire to improve international perceptions, although there were some protests. In 2007, another law was passed, significantly increasing the fines to sellers of dog meat. However, animal rights campaigners have accused the Taiwanese government of not prosecuting those who continue to slaughter and serve dog meat at restaurants. Although the slaughter and consumption of dog meat is illegal in Taiwan, there are reports that suggest the practice continues as of 2011. In Taiwan, dog meat is called "fragrant meat" (Chinese: 香肉; pinyin: xiāngròu). In 2007, legislators passed a law to fine sellers of dog meat NT$250,000 (US$7,730). Dog meat is believed to have health benefits, including improving circulation and raising body temperature.

 

INDIA

In India, dog meat is eaten by certain communities in the Northeast Indian border states of Mizoram, Nagaland, and Manipur where it is considered to be a delicacy. These states border Burma and may have been influenced by Chinese culture and traditions.

 

INDONESIA

Indonesia is predominantly Muslim, a faith which considers dog meat, along with pork to be "haraam" (ritually unclean) and therefore do not eat it. However, dog meat is eaten by several of Indonesia's non-Muslim minorities.

 

The consumption of dog meat is associated with the Minahasa culture of northern Sulawesi, Maluku culture, and the Bataks of northern Sumatra, where dog meat is considered a festive dish usually reserved for occasions such as weddings and Christmas.

 

Popular Indonesian dog-meat dishes are rica-rica, also called rintek wuuk or "RW", rica-rica waung, guk-guk, and "B1". On Java, there are several dishes made from dog meat, such as sengsu (tongseng asu), sate jamu, and kambing balap.

 

Dog consumption in Indonesia gained attention in United States where dog is a taboo food, during 2012 Presidential election when incumbent Barack Obama was pointed by his opponent to have eaten dog meat served by his Indonesian stepfather Lolo Soetoro during his stay in the country.

 

JAPAN

The consumption of dog meat is not a feature of modern Japanese culture because Japanese people believe that certain dogs have special powers in their religion of Shintoism and Buddhism. Dog meat was consumed in Japan until 675 AD, when Emperor Temmu decreed a prohibition on its consumption during the 4th–9th months of the year. Normally a dog accompanied the emperor for battle, so it was believed that eating a dog gave emperors bad luck. In Japanese shrines certain animals are worshipped, such as dogs as it is believed they will give people a good luck charm. Animals are described as good luck in scrolls and Kakemono during the Kofun period, Asuka period and Nara period. According to Meisan Shojiki Ōrai (名産諸色往来) published in 1760, the meat of wild dog was sold along with boar, deer, fox, wolf, bear, raccoon dog, otter, weasel and cat in some regions of Edo. Ōta Nampo recorded witnessing puppies being eaten in Satsuma Province in a dish called Enokoro Meshi (えのころ飯).

 

KOREA

Gaegogi (개고기) literally means "dog meat" in Korean. The term itself, however, is often mistaken as the term for Korean soup made from dog meat, which is actually called bosintang (보신탕; 補身湯, Body nourishing soup) (sometimes spelled "bo-shintang").

 

The consumption of dog meat in Korean culture can be traced through history. Dog bones were excavated in a neolithic settlement in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. A wall painting in the Goguryeo Tombs complex in South Hwangghae Province, a World Heritage site which dates from the 4th century AD, depicts a slaughtered dog in a storehouse. The Balhae people also enjoyed dog meat, and the modern-day tradition of canine cuisine seems to have come from that era.

 

Although their Mohe ancestors did not respect dogs, the Jurchen people began to respect dogs around the time of the Ming dynasty and passed this tradition on to the Manchu. It was prohibited in Jurchen culture to use dog skin, and forbidden for Jurchens to harm, kill, and eat dogs, as the Jurchens believed the "utmost evil" was the usage of dog skin by Koreans.

 

SOUTH KOREA

Dog meat is often consumed during the summer months and is either roasted or prepared in soups or stews. The most popular of these soups is bosintang and gaejang-guk, a spicy stew meant to balance the body's heat during the summer months. This is thought to ensure good health by balancing one's "Qi", the believed vital energy of the body. A 19th-century version of gaejang-guk explains the preparation of the dish by boiling dog meat with vegetables such as green onions and chili pepper powder. Variations of the dish contain chicken and bamboo shoots.

 

Over 100,000 tons of dog meat, or 2.5 million dogs, are consumed annually in South Korea. Although a fair number of South Koreans (approximately 42% to 60%) have eaten dog meat at least once in their lifetime, only a small percentage of the population is believed to eat it on a regular basis.

 

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety recognizes any edible product other than drugs as food. South Korean Food Sanitary Law (식품위생법) does not include dog meat as a legal food ingredient. In the capital city of Seoul, the sale of dog meat was outlawed by regulation on February 21, 1984 by classifying dog meat as 'repugnant food' (혐오식품), but the regulation was not rigorously enforced except during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. In 2001, the Mayor of Seoul announced there would be no extra enforcement efforts to control the sale of dog meat during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which was partially hosted in Seoul. In March 2008, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced its plan to put forward a policy suggestion to the central government to legally classify slaughter dogs as livestock, reigniting debate on the issue.

 

The primary dog breed raised for meat, the Nureongi (누렁이), or Hwangu (황구); is a non-specific, mixed breed.

 

There is a large and vocal group of Koreans (consisting of a number of animal welfare groups) who are against the practice of eating dogs. Popular television shows like 'I Love Pet' have documented, in 2011 for instance, the continued illegal sale of dog meat and slaughtering of dogs in suburban areas. The program also televised illegal dog farms and slaughterhouses, showing the unsanitary and horrific conditions of caged dogs, several of which were visibly sick with severe eye infections and malnutrition. However, despite this growing awareness, there remain some in Korea that do not eat or enjoy the meat, but do feel that it is the right of others to do so, along with a smaller but still vocal group of pro-dog cuisine people who want to popularize the consumption of dog in Korea and the rest of the world. A group of pro-dog meat individuals attempted to promote and publicize the consumption of dog meat worldwide during the run-up to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, which prompted retaliation from animal rights campaigners and prominent figures such as Brigitte Bardot to denounce the practice. Opponents of dog meat consumption in South Korea are critical of the eating of dog meat, as some dogs are beaten, burnt or hanged to make their meat more tender.

 

The restaurants that sell dog meat, often exclusively, do so at the risk of losing their restaurant licenses. A case of a dog meat wholesaler, charged with selling dog meat, arose in 1997 where an appeals court acquitted the dog meat wholesaler, ruling that dogs were socially accepted as food. According to the National Assembly of South Korea, more than 20,000 restaurants, including the 6,484 registered restaurants, served soups made from dog meat in Korea in 1998. In 1999 the BBC reported that 8,500 tons of dog meat were consumed annually, with another 93,600 tons used to produce a medicinal tonic called gaesoju (개소주).

 

NORTH KOREA

Daily NK reported that the North Korean government included dog meat in its new list of one hundred fixed prices, setting a fixed price of 500 won per kilogram in early 2010.

 

NEW ZEALAND

Dog meat is rarely eaten in New Zealand but has been said to be becoming more popular as it is not illegal as long as the dog is humanely killed.

 

A Tongan man living in New Zealand caused public outrage when he was caught cooking his pet dog in his backyard; this event led to calls for change in the law.

 

PHILIPPINES

The “Malays”, a sea-faring population that is now scattered throughout South-East Asia, introduced the practice of domesticating dogs for meat consumption to the indigenous population of the Philippines.

 

In the capital city of Manila, Metro Manila Commission Ordinance 82-05 specifically prohibits the killing and selling of dogs for food. Generally however, the Philippine Animal Welfare Act 1998 prohibits the killing of any animal other than cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabaos, horses, deer and crocodiles, with exemptions for religious, cultural, research, public safety and/or animal health reasons. Nevertheless, the consumption of dog meat is not uncommon in the Philippines, reflected in the occasional coverage in Philippine newspapers,.

 

The Province of Benguet specifically allows cultural use of dog meat by indigenous people and acknowledges this might lead to limited commercial use.

 

Asocena is a dish primarily consisting of dog meat originating from the Philippines.

 

In the early 1980s, there was an international outcry about dog meat consumption in the Philippines after newspapers published photos of Margaret Thatcher, then British Prime Minister, with a dog carcass hanging beside her on a market stall. The British Government discussed withdrawing foreign aid and other countries, such as Australia, considered similar action. To avoid such action, the Filipino government banned the sale of dog meat, despite dog meat being the third most consumed meat, behind pork and goat. The ban eventually became totally disregarded, although it was reinstated by President Ramos in 1998 in the Animal Welfare Act (Republic Act 8485).

 

POLYNESIA

Dogs were historically eaten in Tahiti and other islands of Polynesia, including Hawaii at the time of first European contact. James Cook, when first visiting Tahiti in 1769, recorded in his journal, "few were there of us but what allow'd that a South Sea Dog was next to an English Lamb, one thing in their favour is that they live entirely upon Vegetables". Calwin Schwabe reported in 1979 that dog was widely eaten in Hawaii and considered to be of higher quality than pork or chicken. When Hawaiians first encountered early British and American explorers, they were at a loss to explain the visitors' attitudes about dog meat. The Hawaiians raised both dogs and pigs as pets and for food. They could not understand why their British and American visitors only found the pig suitable for consumption. This practice seems to have died out, along with the native Hawaiian breed of dog, the unique Hawaiian Poi Dog, which was primarily used for this purpose. The consumption of domestic dog meat is still commonplace in the Kingdom of Tonga, and has also been noted in expatriate Tongan communities in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States.

 

THAILAND

Unlike other countries where dog meat consumption has been shown to have historical precedents, Thailand does not have a mainstream culture of dog eating. However, in recent years, the consumption of dog meat in certain areas of the country, especially in certain northeastern provinces like Sakon Nakhon and Nakhon Phanom, notably Sakon Nakhon province's Tha Rae sub-district, which has been identified as the main center for the country's illegal, albeit lucrative, dog meat trade, has attracted widespread attention from the Thai population and local news media. This has led large groups of Thai citizens to become increasingly vocal against the consumption of dog meat and the selling of dogs that are transported through Laos to neighbouring Mekong countries, including Vietnam and China. According to news reports, a considerable number of these dogs continue to be stolen from people's homes by illegal carriers. This was also the case following the 2011 Thailand Floods. Dubbed as the country's 'Trade of Shame', Thai netizens, in particular, have now formed several informal animal welfare and rescue groups in an attempt to stop this illegal trade, with the collective attitude being that 'Dogs are not food'. Established not-for-profit animal charity organizations like the Soi Dog Foundation have also been active in raising awareness and working in conjunction with local Thai authorities to rehabilitate and relocate dogs rescued from trucks attempting to transport live dogs across the border to nearby countries. Significantly, this issue has strengthened the nation's animal rights movement, which continues to call on the Thai government to adopt a stricter and more comprehensive animal rights law to prevent the maltreatment of pets and cruelty against all animals.

 

TIMOR LESTE

Dog meat is a delicacy popular in East Timor.

 

UZBEKISTAN

Although not commonly eaten, dog meat is sometimes used in Uzbekistan in the belief that it has medicinal properties.

 

VIETNAM

Dog meat is consumed more commonly in the northern part of Vietnam than in the south, and can be found in special restaurants which specifically serve dog meat. Dog meat is believed to bring good fortune in Vietnamese culture. It is seen as being comparable in consumption to chicken or pork. In urban areas, there are sections that house a lot of dog meat restaurants. For example, on Nhat Tan Street, Tây Hồ District, Hanoi, many restaurants serve dog meat. Groups of customers, usually male, seated on mats, will spend their evenings sharing plates of dog meat and drinking alcohol. The consumption of dog meat can be part of a ritual usually occurring toward the end of the lunar month for reasons of astrology and luck. Restaurants which mainly exist to serve dog meat may only open for the last half of the lunar month. Dog meat is also believed to raise the libido in men. The Associated Press reported in October 2009 that a soaring economy has led to the booming of dog restaurants in Hanoi, and that this has led to a proliferation of dognappers. Reportedly, a 20 kilograms dog can sell for more than $100 — roughly the monthly salary of an average Vietnamese worker. The Vietnamese Catholic Church is a major consumer of dog meat during the Christmas holiday. There is a large smuggling trade from Thailand to export dogs to Vietnam for human consumption.In 2009, dog meat was found to be a main carrier of the Vibrio cholerae bacterium, which caused the summer epidemic of cholera in northern Vietnam. Prior to 2014, more than 5 million dogs were killed for meat every year in Vietnam according to the Asia Canine Protection Alliance. However, there are indications that the desire to eat dog meat in Vietnam is waning. Part of the decline is thought to be due to an increased number of Vietnamese people keeping dogs as pets, as their incomes have risen in the past few decades. “[People] used to raise dogs to guard the house, and when they needed the meat, they ate it. Now they keep dog as pets, imported from China, Japan, and other countries. One pet dog might cost hundreds of millions of dong [100 million dong is $4,677].”

 

EUROPE

BRITAIN & IRELAND

Eating dog meat is considered entirely taboo, as is common with most European societies, and has been taboo for many centuries outside of times of scarcity such as sieges or famines. However, early Brittonic and Irish texts which date from the early Christian period suggest that dog meat was sometimes consumed but possibly in ritual contexts such as Druidic ritual trance. Sacrificial dog bones are often recovered from archaeological sites however they were typically treated differently, as were horses, from other food animals. One of Ireland's mythological heroes Cuchulainn, had two geasa, or vows, one of which was to avoid the meat of dogs. The breaking of his geasa led to his death in the Irish mythology.

 

BELGIUM

A few meat shops sold dog meat during the German occupation of Belgium in World War I, when food was extremely scarce. According to The New York Times, in the 19th century the Council of the Veterinary School of Belgium occasionally recommended dog meat for human consumption after being properly inspected.

 

FRANCE

Although consumption of dog meat is uncommon in France, and is now considered taboo, dog meat has been consumed in the past by the Gauls. The earliest evidence of dog consumption in France was found at Gaulish archaeological sites, where butchered dog bones were discovered. French news sources from the late 19th century carried stories reporting lines of people buying dog meat, which was described as being "beautiful and light." During the Siege of Paris (1870–1871), there were lines at butcher's shops of people waiting to purchase dog meat. Dog meat was also reported as being sold by some butchers in Paris, 1910.

 

GERMANY

Dog meat has been eaten in every major German crisis since, at least, the time of Frederick the Great, and is commonly referred to as "blockade mutton". In the early 20th century, high meat prices led to widespread consumption of horse and dog meat in Germany.

 

The consumption of dog meat continued in the 1920s. In 1937, a meat inspection law targeted against trichinella was introduced for pigs, dogs, boars, foxes, badgers, and other carnivores. Dog meat has been prohibited in Germany since 1986.

 

SAXONY

In the latter part of World War I, dog meat was being eaten in Saxony by the poorer classes because of famine conditions.

 

THE NETHERLANDS

During severe meat shortages coinciding with the German occupation from 1940 to 1945, sausages found to have been made of dog meat were confiscated by authorities in the Netherlands.

 

POLAND

While dog meat is not eaten, some rural areas of Poland especially Lesser Poland, dog fat can be made into lard, which by tradition is believed to have medicinal properties — being good for the lungs, for instance. Since the 16th century, fat from various animals, including dogs, was used as part of folk medicine, and since the 18th century, dog fat has had a reputation as being beneficial for the lungs. It is worth noting that the consumption of such meat is considered taboo in Polish culture, also making lard out of dogs' fat is illegal. In 2009, a scandal erupted when a farm near Częstochowa was discovered rearing dogs to be rendered down into lard. According to Grazyna Zawada, from Gazeta Wyborcza, there were farms in Czestochowa, Klobuck, and in the Radom area, and in the decade from 2000 to 2010 six people producing dog lard were found guilty of breaching animal welfare laws (found guilty of killing dogs and animal cruelty) and sentenced to jail. As of 2014 there have been new cases prosecuted.

 

SWITZERLAND

Dogs, as well as cats, are eaten regularly by farmers in rural areas for personal consumption. While commercial slaughter and sale of dog meat is illegal, cultural attitudes toward slaughtering of animals for meat is traditionally liberal in Switzerland. The favorite type of meat comes from a dog related to the Rottweiler and consumed as 'mostbrockli' a form of marinated meat. Animals are slaughtered by butchers and either shot or bludgeoned.

 

In his 1979 book Unmentionable Cuisine, Calvin Schwabe described a Swiss dog meat recipe gedörrtes Hundefleisch served as paper-thin slices, as well as smoked dog ham, Hundeschinken, which is prepared by salting and drying raw dog meat.

 

It is illegal in Switzerland to commercially produce food made from dog meat, or to produce such food for commercial purposes.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Day 106 of 365: A year in songs and photos

Song: Turbonegro, Age of Pamparius

 

After doing that list yesterday, I realized I have yet to cover some of my very favorite bands in this project. So here's one.

 

This was the first Turbonegro song I ever heard. Todd sent me the CD and said I would love it. So I put it in, listen....wait for the song to build up, he’s whispering something about denim and apocalypse dudes..and then....finally. It kicks in. And it kicks ass. I'm thinking, This is awesome. This is........what did he just say? No. Couldn’t be. Did he say something about pizza? Yes, yes he did. It's a song about pizza. But don't let that fool you. This band, especially this album, are awesome. Listen to it here.

 

So let's talk about pizza.

 

When we went to California, Todd took me to some place called Round Table so I could get a taste of west coast pizza. Babe, that wasn't pizza. It was stale bread with toppings.

 

Before I tell you about the perfect pizza, let’s get something straight. When I say “pizza” I am talking about the real thing. Not frozen. Not from some chain restaurant that has the word “California” in its name and puts things like pears on top of their pizza. Not some other chain that serves you jarred sauce and processed cheese stuff on a piece of cardboard. Pizza Hut? Not pizza. Dominoes? Not pizza? Papa John’s? That’s a laxative.

 

So what’s real pizza? Real, New York pizza?

 

In my pizza fantasy - yes, I have those, especially when I am on a no carb diet - I am ordering a slice. With a Coke. Let it be known, I rarely drink soda. I think carbonated drinks are evil. But with pizza, you have to have Coke. It’s just the way it is. It goes back to Saturday afternoons when I was about twelve or so, hanging out in Joey’s Pizzeria, watching Joey himself make the pies, Joe Cocker’s “The Letter” playing over and over again on the jukebox, the sounds of the pinball machine sometimes drowning out the music. We’d get the first pizza out of the oven every Saturday. 45 cents for a slice and Coke. God, I’m old.

 

So I order the slice and the soda. I watch the pizza being made, watch the cranky old man flip the dough in the air. I can smell every ingredient. The air is thick with marinara sauce and melting cheese. Two fat ladies in flour-stained aprons behind the counter talk in Italian. There’s a soccer game on the tv in the corner. Some guy with a gold chain around his neck opens the oven. A big wooden shovel thing goes in. Pizza comes out.

 

It’s sizzling. It’s perfect. My stomach does a rumble. I watch as Vinny moves the pizza from oven to metal tray. He spins the tray and as the pie turns, his pizza cutter flies and in five seconds there are eight perfect slices. My mouth waters. Vinny puts a piece of wax paper on a paper plate and shovels a slice onto that.

 

He slides it down the counter toward me. Mangia, he says. I take the pizza over to my table and stare at the condiments. Maybe a little garlic, a little red pepper. I lift the slice and attempt the fold. Ahhh, it folds so easily, like a good pizza should. The crust is thin enough to make the two corners meet when you fold it. The tip of the slice points down and is weighed down by tons of cheese and grease. I hold the pizza over the wax paper and watch the grease drip down. Just a few drops so I can make sure this thing is done right. The grease looks good. I turn the slice around and hold it above my mouth. Let more of that shiny, red grease drip into my mouth. The cheese is about to slide off the crust. I lower it. Take a small bite. As I pull the slice back, I have to use my fingers to separate the cheese from the pie. It's all stringy and greasy and perfect. One bite down and already I’m having a foodgasm. This, my friends, is the perfect pizza. Foldable. Greasy. Cheese that slides. I am having a moment. I am in pizza heaven.

 

I know if I look around, my reverie will be broken. There will be some woman patting down her slice with a napkin, soaking the grease up before she eats it. Blasphemy! Don’t ever let me see you do that. It’s like someone putting ketchup on a steak. It’s just not right and should be punishable by death.

 

I know if I look around more there will be someone eating a pizza that has pineapple on it. Someone else will be eating something they call pizza, but which is just a pile of lettuce and tomatoes on some cooked dough. Salad pizza? What the hell, mate? That’s not pizza. That’s lettuce with bread. Someone else will be eating a slice that is covered in ground beef and sour cream and jalapeños. That’s not a pizza, buddy. That’s a freaking tostada. Call it what it is. What it isn’t, is pizza.

 

So I don’t look around. I just eat my slice and stare at the mural on the wall. Naked statues and fountains and canals. Some fat guy with a mustache tossing dough in the air. My pizza is good. It is perfect. I wash it down with Coke and a smile. Nothing can ruin my pizza moment.

 

I hear someone order a pie. Pineapple and pears and goat cheese, oh my. I have to walk out. It’s too much to take. My perfect pizza moment is ruined!

 

As always, my fantasy ends with me getting screwed.

 

And yes, Californians, they are called pizza pies and we sell them in slices. I may not miss the New York winters when I move to other coast, but I will miss a good slice of greasy, cheesy pizza.

 

So you think you had a decent pizza

Well not like this

So you think you had a real good pizza

Well not like this

 

Now go listen to some Turbonegro!

 

and vote for lili!

. . . OTHER COUNTRIES - OTHER CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS

. . . andere Länder - andere Sitten! That' s life

. . . who are we to blame this?

Speisehund - fertig zum Verzehr . . .

_____________________________________

 

Dog meat refers to the flesh and other edible parts derived from dogs. Historically, human consumption of dog meat has been recorded in many parts of the world, including East and Southeast Asia, West Africa, Europe, Oceania and the Americas.

 

In the 21st century, dog meat is consumed in many parts of China, Korea and Vietnam, parts of Switzerland, as well as parts of Europe, Americas, the African continent, such as Cameroon, Ghana and Liberia.

 

Today, a number of cultures view the consumption of dog meat to be a part of their traditional and day-to-day cuisine, while others - such as Western culture - consider consumption of dog to be a taboo, although they have been consumed in times of war and/or other hardships. It was estimated in 2014 that worldwide, 25 million dogs are eaten each year by humans.

 

DOG BREEDS USED FOR MEAT

NUREONGI

The Nureongi (Korean: 누렁이) is a yellowish landrace from Korea. Similar to other native Korean dog breeds, such as the Jindo, nureongi are medium-sized spitz-type dogs, but are larger with greater musculature and a distinctive coat pattern. They are quite uniform in appearance, yellow hair and melanistic masks. Nureongi are most often used as a livestock dog, raised for its meat, and not commonly kept as pets.

 

HAWAIIAN POI

The Hawaiian Poi Dog or ʻīlio (ʻīlio mākuʻe for brown-furred Poi dogs) is an extinct breed of pariah dog from Hawaiʻi which was used by Native Hawaiians as a spiritual protector of children and as a source of food.

 

XOLOITZCUINTLE (MEXICAN HAIRLESS)

The Xoloitzcuintle, or Xolo for short, is a hairless breed of dog, found in toy, miniature and standard sizes.The Xolo also comes in a coated variety and all three sizes can be born to a single litter. It is also known as Mexican hairless dog in English speaking countries, is one of several breeds of hairless dog and has been used as a historical source of food for the Aztec Empire.

 

BY REGION

AFRICA

CAMEROON

Among the Vame people, domestic dogs are only eaten for specific rituals.

 

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Despite tests showing 156 dogs were infected with Ebola, the consumption of dog meat is no longer taboo.

 

GHANA

The Tallensi, the Akyim's, the Kokis, and the Yaakuma, one of many cultures of Ghana, consider dog meat a delicacy. While the Mamprusi generally avoid dog meat, it is eaten in a "courtship stew" provided by a king to his royal lineage. Two Tribes in Ghana, Frafra and Dagaaba are particularly known to be "tribal playmates" and consumption of dog meat is the common bond between the two tribes. Every year around September, games are organised between these two tribes and the Dog Head is the trophy at stake for the winning tribe

 

MOROCCO

Islamic law bans the eating of dog meat as does the government of Morocco, however the consumption of dog meat still occurs particularly in poorer regions, often being passed off as other meats as was the case in 2013 and 2009 cases

 

NIGERIA

Dogs are eaten by various groups in some states of Nigeria, including Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Plateau, Ondo, Kalaba, Taraba and Gombe of Nigeria. They are believed to have medicinal powers.

 

In late 2014, the fear of contracting the Ebola virus disease from bushmeat led at least one major Nigerian newspaper to imply that eating dog meat was a healthy alternative. That paper documented a thriving trade in dog meat and slow sales of even well smoked bushmeat.

 

AMERICA

CANADA

It is legal to sell and serve dog meat, providing that it must be killed and gutted in front of federal inspectors. If a dog is killed out of the view of federal inspectors, the killing might involve cruelty, which would be a violation of the Criminal Code, and those convicted may be sentenced to up to 5 years in prison.

 

ANCIENT MEXICO

In the time of the Aztec Empire in what is now central Mexico, Mexican Hairless Dogs were bred, among other purposes, for their meat. Hernán Cortés reported when he arrived in Tenochtitlan in 1519, "small gelded dogs which they breed for eating" were among the goods sold in the city markets. These dogs, Xoloitzcuintles, were often depicted in pre-Columbian Mexican pottery. The breed was almost extinct in the 1940s, but the British Military Attaché in Mexico City, Norman Wright, developed a thriving breed from some of the dogs he found in remote villages.

 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The term "dog" has been used as a synonym for sausage since 1884 and accusations that sausage makers used dog meat date to at least 1845. The belief that sausages contained dog meat was occasionally justified.

 

In the late 19th century, a cure for tuberculosis (then colloquially termed "consumption") using an exclusive diet of dog meat was tried. Reports of families eating dog meat out of choice, rather than necessity, were rare and newsworthy. Stories of families in Ohio and Newark, New Jersey who did so made it into editions of The New York Times in 1876 and 1885.

 

In the early 20th century, dog meat was consumed during times of meat shortage.

 

NATIVE AMERICANS

The traditional culture surrounding the consumption of dog meat varied from tribe to tribe among the original inhabitants of North America, with some tribes relishing it as a delicacy, and others (such as the Comanche) treating it as a forbidden food.

 

Native peoples of the Great Plains, such as the Sioux and Cheyenne, consumed it, but there was a concurrent religious taboo against the meat of wild canines.

During their 1803–1806 expedition, Meriwether Lewis and the other members of the Corps of Discovery consumed dog meat, either from their own animals or supplied by Native American tribes, including the Paiutes and Wah-clel-lah Indians, a branch of the Watlatas, the Clatsop, the Teton Sioux (Lakota), the Nez Perce Indians, and the Hidatsas. Lewis and the members of the expedition ate dog meat, except William Clark, who reportedly could not bring himself to eat dogs.

 

The Kickapoo people include puppy meat in many of their traditional festivals. This practice has been well documented in the Works Progress Administration "Indian Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma".

 

AUSTRALIA

It is legal to eat dogs in most States and Territories, except for South Australia. However, it is illegal to sell dog meat in any Australian State or Territory.

 

ARTIC AND ANTARCTIC

British explorer Ernest Shackleton and his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition became trapped, and ultimately killed their sled dogs for food. Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was known to have eaten sled dogs during his expedition to the South Pole. By eating some of the sled dogs, he required less human or dog food, thus lightening his load. When comparing sled dogs to ponies as draught animals he also notes:

 

"...there is the obvious advantage that dog can be fed on dog. One can reduce one's pack little by little, slaughtering the feebler ones and feeding the chosen with them. In this way they get fresh meat. Our dogs lived on dog's flesh and pemmican the whole way, and this enabled them to do splendid work. And if we ourselves wanted a piece of fresh meat we could cut off a delicate little fillet; it tasted to us as good as the best beef. The dogs do not object at all; as long as they get their share they do not mind what part of their comrade's carcass it comes from. All that was left after one of these canine meals was the teeth of the victim – and if it had been a really hard day, these also disappeared."

 

Douglas Mawson and Xavier Mertz were part of the Far Eastern Party, a three-man sledging team with Lieutenant B.E.S. Ninnis, to survey King George V Land, Antarctica. On 14 December 1912 Ninnis fell through a snow-covered crevasse along with most of the party's rations, and was never seen again. Mawson and Mertz turned back immediately. They had one and a half weeks' food for themselves and nothing at all for the dogs. Their meagre provisions forced them to eat their remaining sled dogs on their 507 km return journey. Their meat was tough, stringy and without a vestige of fat. Each animal yielded very little, and the major part was fed to the surviving dogs, which ate the meat, skin and bones until nothing remained. The men also ate the dog's brains and livers. Unfortunately eating the liver of sled dogs produces the condition hypervitaminosis A because canines have a much higher tolerance for vitamin A than humans do. Mertz suffered a quick deterioration. He developed stomach pains and became incapacitated and incoherent. On 7 January 1913, Mertz died. Mawson continued alone, eventually making it back to camp alive.

 

ASIA/PACIFIC

CHINA

Selling dog meat for consumption is legal in Mainland China and approximately 10 million dogs each year are slaughtered for consumption. The eating of dog meat in China dates back thousands of years. Dog meat (Chinese: 狗肉; pinyin: gǒu ròu) has been a source of food in some areas from around 500 BC and possibly even earlier. It has been suggested that wolves in southern China may have been domesticated as a source of meat. Mencius, the philosopher, talked about dog meat as being an edible, dietary meat. It is thought to have medicinal properties, and is especially popular in winter months in northern China, as it is believed to raise body temperature after consumption and promote warmth. Historical records have moreover shown how in times of food scarcities (as in war-time situations), dogs could also be eaten as an emergency food source.

 

Dog meat is sometimes called "fragrant meat" (香肉 xiāng ròu) or "mutton of the earth" (地羊 dì yáng) in Mandarin Chinese and "3–6 fragrant meat" (Chinese: 三六香肉; Cantonese Yale: sàam luhk hèung yuhk) in Cantonese (3 plus 6 is 9 and the words "nine" and "dog" have close pronunciation. In Mandarin, "nine" and "dog" are pronounced differently).

 

In modern times, the extent of dog consumption in China varies by region, most prevalent in Guangdong, Yunnan and Guangxi, as well as the northern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning. It is still common to find dog meat served in restaurants in Southern China, where dogs are specially raised on farms. However, there are instances of finding stolen pet meat on menus. Chinese netizens and the Chinese police intercepted trucks transporting caged dogs to be slaughtered in localities such as Chongqing and Kunming. In 2014, 11 people in the Hunan province were sentenced to prison for allegedly poisoning over 1,000 dogs and selling the poisonous meat to Yulin, Guangxi has held an annual festival of eating dog meat. This purportedly celebrates the summer solstice, however, in 2014, the municipal government published a statement that the festival is not a cultural tradition, rather, a commercial event held by restaurants and the public. Various dog meat dishes (and more recently, cats) are eaten, washed down by lychees wine. The festival in 2011 spanned 10 days, during which 15,000 dogs were consumed. Estimates of the number of dogs eaten during the festival range between 10 and 15 thousand. Festival organisers say that only dogs bred specifically for consumption are used, however, there are claims that some of the dogs purchased for slaughter and consumption are strays or stolen pets, as evidenced by their wearing collars. Some of the dogs eaten at the festival are burnt or boiled alive and there are reports that the dogs are sometimes clubbed or beaten to death in the belief that the increased adrenalin circulating in the dog's body adds to the flavour of the meat. At the 2015 festival, there were long queues outside large (300-seat) eateries which sold the dog meat for around £4 (€5.60) per kilogram. Prior to the 2014 festival, eight dogs (and their two cages) sold for 1,150 yuan ($185) and six puppies for 1,200 yuan. Prior to the 2015 festival, a protester bought 100 dogs for 7,000 yuan ($1,100; £710). The animal rights NGO Best Volunteer Centre claims the city has more than 100 slaughterhouses, processing between 30 and 100 dogs a day. However, the Yulin Centre for Animal Disease Control and Prevention claims the city has only eight dog slaughterhouses selling approximately 200 dogs, although this increases to about 2,000 dogs during the Yulin festival. There are several campaigns to stop the festival; more than 3,000,000 people have signed petitions against it on Weibo (China’s version of Twitter) and a petition to stop the festival (addressed to the Chinese Minister of Agriculture, Chen Wu) reads "Do the humane thing by saying no to this festival and save the lives of countless dogs that will fall victim to this event - an event that will butcher, skin alive, beat to death etc. thousands of innocent dogs." Prior to the 2014 festival, doctors and nurses staff were ordered not to eat dog meat there, and local restaurants serving dog meat were ordered to cover the word "dog" on their signs and notices.

 

The movement against the consumption of cat and dog meat was given added impetus by the formation of the Chinese Companion Animal Protection Network (CCAPN). Expanded to more than 40 member societies, CCAPN in 2006 began organizing protests against eating dogs and cat, starting in Guangzhou and following up in more than ten other cities with a positive response from the public. Before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, officials ordered dog meat to be taken off the menu at its 112 official Olympic restaurants to avoid offending visitors from various nations who might have been concerned by the offering of dog meat.

 

In 2010, draft legislation was proposed to prohibit the consumption of dog meat. The legislation, however, was not expected to be enforced, making the consumption of dog meat illegal if it passed. In 2010, the first draft proposal of the legislation was introduced, with the rationale to protect animals from maltreatment. The legislation includes a measure to jail people for up to 15 days for eating dog meat. However, certain cultural food festivals continue to promote the meat. For example, in 2014, 10,000 dogs were killed for the Yulin dog eating festival.

 

As of the early 21st century, dog meat consumption is declining or disappearing. In 2014, dog meat sales decreased by a third compared to 2013. It was reported that in 2015, one of the most popular restaurants in Guangzhou serving dog meat was closed after the local government tightened regulations; the restaurant had served dog meat dishes since 1963. Other restaurants that served dog and cat meat dishes in the Yuancun and Panyu districts also stopped serving these in 2015.

 

HONG KONG

In Hong Kong, the Dogs and Cats Ordinance was introduced by the British Hong Kong Government on 6 January 1950. It prohibits the slaughter of any dog or cat for use as food, whether for mankind or otherwise, on pain of fine and imprisonment. In February 1998, a Hong Konger was sentenced to one month imprisonment and a fine of two thousand HK dollars for hunting street dogs for food. Four local men were sentenced to 30 days imprisonment in December 2006 for having slaughtered two dogs.

 

TAIWAN

In 2001, the Taiwanese government imposed a ban on the sale of dog meat, due to both pressure from domestic animal welfare groups and a desire to improve international perceptions, although there were some protests. In 2007, another law was passed, significantly increasing the fines to sellers of dog meat. However, animal rights campaigners have accused the Taiwanese government of not prosecuting those who continue to slaughter and serve dog meat at restaurants. Although the slaughter and consumption of dog meat is illegal in Taiwan, there are reports that suggest the practice continues as of 2011. In Taiwan, dog meat is called "fragrant meat" (Chinese: 香肉; pinyin: xiāngròu). In 2007, legislators passed a law to fine sellers of dog meat NT$250,000 (US$7,730). Dog meat is believed to have health benefits, including improving circulation and raising body temperature.

 

INDIA

In India, dog meat is eaten by certain communities in the Northeast Indian border states of Mizoram, Nagaland, and Manipur where it is considered to be a delicacy. These states border Burma and may have been influenced by Chinese culture and traditions.

  

INDONESIA

Indonesia is predominantly Muslim, a faith which considers dog meat, along with pork to be "haraam" (ritually unclean) and therefore do not eat it. However, dog meat is eaten by several of Indonesia's non-Muslim minorities.

 

The consumption of dog meat is associated with the Minahasa culture of northern Sulawesi, Maluku culture, and the Bataks of northern Sumatra, where dog meat is considered a festive dish usually reserved for occasions such as weddings and Christmas.

 

Popular Indonesian dog-meat dishes are rica-rica, also called rintek wuuk or "RW", rica-rica waung, guk-guk, and "B1". On Java, there are several dishes made from dog meat, such as sengsu (tongseng asu), sate jamu, and kambing balap.

 

Dog consumption in Indonesia gained attention in United States where dog is a taboo food, during 2012 Presidential election when incumbent Barack Obama was pointed by his opponent to have eaten dog meat served by his Indonesian stepfather Lolo Soetoro during his stay in the country

 

JAPAN

The consumption of dog meat is not a feature of modern Japanese culture because Japanese people believe that certain dogs have special powers in their religion of Shintoism and Buddhism. Dog meat was consumed in Japan until 675 AD, when Emperor Temmu decreed a prohibition on its consumption during the 4th–9th months of the year. Normally a dog accompanied the emperor for battle, so it was believed that eating a dog gave emperors bad luck.[citation needed] In Japanese shrines certain animals are worshipped, such as dogs as it is believed they will give people a good luck charm. Animals are described as good luck in scrolls and Kakemono during the Kofun period, Asuka period and Nara period. According to Meisan Shojiki Ōrai (名産諸色往来) published in 1760, the meat of wild dog was sold along with boar, deer, fox, wolf, bear, raccoon dog, otter, weasel and cat in some regions of Edo. Ōta Nampo recorded witnessing puppies being eaten in Satsuma Province in a dish called Enokoro Meshi (えのころ飯).

 

KOREA

Gaegogi (개고기) literally means "dog meat" in Korean. The term itself, however, is often mistaken as the term for Korean soup made from dog meat, which is actually called bosintang (보신탕; 補身湯, Body nourishing soup) (sometimes spelled "bo-shintang").

 

The consumption of dog meat in Korean culture can be traced through history. Dog bones[further explanation needed] were excavated in a neolithic settlement in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. A wall painting in the Goguryeo Tombs complex in South Hwangghae Province, a World Heritage site which dates from the 4th century AD, depicts a slaughtered dog in a storehouse. The Balhae people also enjoyed dog meat, and the modern-day tradition of canine cuisine seems to have come from that era.

 

Although their Mohe ancestors did not respect dogs, the Jurchen people began to respect dogs around the time of the Ming dynasty and passed this tradition on to the Manchu. It was prohibited in Jurchen culture to use dog skin, and forbidden for Jurchens to harm, kill, and eat dogs, as the Jurchens believed the "utmost evil" was the usage of dog skin by Koreans.

 

SOUTH KOREA

Dog meat is often consumed during the summer months and is either roasted or prepared in soups or stews. The most popular of these soups is bosintang and gaejang-guk, a spicy stew meant to balance the body's heat during the summer months. This is thought to ensure good health by balancing one's "Qi", the believed vital energy of the body. A 19th-century version of gaejang-guk explains the preparation of the dish by boiling dog meat with vegetables such as green onions and chili pepper powder. Variations of the dish contain chicken and bamboo shoots.

 

Over 100,000 tons[94] of dog meat, or 2.5 million dogs, are consumed annually in South Korea. Although a fair number of South Koreans (approximately 42% to 60%) have eaten dog meat at least once in their lifetime, only a small percentage of the population is believed to eat it on a regular basis.

 

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety recognizes any edible product other than drugs as food. South Korean Food Sanitary Law (식품위생법) does not include dog meat as a legal food ingredient. In the capital city of Seoul, the sale of dog meat was outlawed by regulation on February 21, 1984 by classifying dog meat as 'repugnant food' (혐오식품), but the regulation was not rigorously enforced except during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. In 2001, the Mayor of Seoul announced there would be no extra enforcement efforts to control the sale of dog meat during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which was partially hosted in Seoul. In March 2008, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced its plan to put forward a policy suggestion to the central government to legally classify slaughter dogs as livestock, reigniting debate on the issue.

 

The primary dog breed raised for meat, the Nureongi (누렁이), or Hwangu (황구); is a non-specific, mixed breed.

 

There is a large and vocal group of Koreans (consisting of a number of animal welfare groups) who are against the practice of eating dogs. Popular television shows like 'I Love Pet' have documented, in 2011 for instance, the continued illegal sale of dog meat and slaughtering of dogs in suburban areas. The program also televised illegal dog farms and slaughterhouses, showing the unsanitary and horrific conditions of caged dogs, several of which were visibly sick with severe eye infections and malnutrition. However, despite this growing awareness, there remain some in Korea that do not eat or enjoy the meat, but do feel that it is the right of others to do so, along with a smaller but still vocal group of pro-dog cuisine people who want to popularize the consumption of dog in Korea and the rest of the world. A group of pro-dog meat individuals attempted to promote and publicize the consumption of dog meat worldwide during the run-up to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, which prompted retaliation from animal rights campaigners and prominent figures such as Brigitte Bardot to denounce the practice. Opponents of dog meat consumption in South Korea are critical of the eating of dog meat, as some dogs are beaten, burnt or hanged to make their meat more tender.

 

The restaurants that sell dog meat, often exclusively, do so at the risk of losing their restaurant licenses. A case of a dog meat wholesaler, charged with selling dog meat, arose in 1997 where an appeals court acquitted the dog meat wholesaler, ruling that dogs were socially accepted as food. According to the National Assembly of South Korea, more than 20,000 restaurants, including the 6,484 registered restaurants, served soups made from dog meat in Korea in 1998. In 1999 the BBC reported that 8,500 tons of dog meat were consumed annually, with another 93,600 tons used to produce a medicinal tonic called gaesoju (개소주).

 

NORTH KOREA

Daily NK reported that the North Korean government included dog meat in its new list of one hundred fixed prices, setting a fixed price of 500 won per kilogram in early 2010.

 

NEW ZEALAND

Dog meat is rarely eaten in New Zealand but has been said to be becoming more popular as it is not illegal as long as the dog is humanely killed.

 

A Tongan man living in New Zealand caused public outrage when he was caught cooking his pet dog in his backyard; this event led to calls for change in the law.

 

PHILIPPINES

The “Malays”, a sea-faring population that is now scattered throughout South-East Asia, introduced the practice of domesticating dogs for meat consumption to the indigenous population of the Philippines.

 

In the capital city of Manila, Metro Manila Commission Ordinance 82-05 specifically prohibits the killing and selling of dogs for food. Generally however, the Philippine Animal Welfare Act 1998 prohibits the killing of any animal other than cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabaos, horses, deer and crocodiles, with exemptions for religious, cultural, research, public safety and/or animal health reasons. Nevertheless, the consumption of dog meat is not uncommon in the Philippines, reflected in the occasional coverage in Philippine newspapers,.

 

The Province of Benguet specifically allows cultural use of dog meat by indigenous people and acknowledges this might lead to limited commercial use.

 

Asocena is a dish primarily consisting of dog meat originating from the Philippines.

 

In the early 1980s, there was an international outcry about dog meat consumption in the Philippines after newspapers published photos of Margaret Thatcher, then British Prime Minister, with a dog carcass hanging beside her on a market stall. The British Government discussed withdrawing foreign aid and other countries, such as Australia, considered similar action. To avoid such action, the Filipino government banned the sale of dog meat, despite dog meat being the third most consumed meat, behind pork and goat. The ban eventually became totally disregarded, although it was reinstated by President Ramos in 1998 in the Animal Welfare Act (Republic Act 8485).

 

POLYNESIA

Dogs were historically eaten in Tahiti and other islands of Polynesia, including Hawaii at the time of first European contact. James Cook, when first visiting Tahiti in 1769, recorded in his journal, "few were there of us but what allow'd that a South Sea Dog was next to an English Lamb, one thing in their favour is that they live entirely upon Vegetables". Calwin Schwabe reported in 1979 that dog was widely eaten in Hawaii and considered to be of higher quality than pork or chicken. When Hawaiians first encountered early British and American explorers, they were at a loss to explain the visitors' attitudes about dog meat. The Hawaiians raised both dogs and pigs as pets and for food. They could not understand why their British and American visitors only found the pig suitable for consumption. This practice seems to have died out, along with the native Hawaiian breed of dog, the unique Hawaiian Poi Dog, which was primarily used for this purpose. The consumption of domestic dog meat is still commonplace in the Kingdom of Tonga, and has also been noted in expatriate Tongan communities in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States.

 

THAILAND

Unlike other countries where dog meat consumption has been shown to have historical precedents, Thailand does not have a mainstream culture of dog eating. However, in recent years, the consumption of dog meat in certain areas of the country, especially in certain northeastern provinces like Sakon Nakhon and Nakhon Phanom, notably Sakon Nakhon province's Tha Rae sub-district, which has been identified as the main center for the country's illegal, albeit lucrative, dog meat trade, has attracted widespread attention from the Thai population and local news media. This has led large groups of Thai citizens to become increasingly vocal against the consumption of dog meat and the selling of dogs that are transported through Laos to neighbouring Mekong countries, including Vietnam and China. According to news reports, a considerable number of these dogs continue to be stolen from people's homes by illegal carriers. This was also the case following the 2011 Thailand Floods. Dubbed as the country's 'Trade of Shame', Thai netizens, in particular, have now formed several informal animal welfare and rescue groups in an attempt to stop this illegal trade, with the collective attitude being that 'Dogs are not food'. Established not-for-profit animal charity organizations like the Soi Dog Foundation have also been active in raising awareness and working in conjunction with local Thai authorities to rehabilitate and relocate dogs rescued from trucks attempting to transport live dogs across the border to nearby countries. Significantly, this issue has strengthened the nation's animal rights movement, which continues to call on the Thai government to adopt a stricter and more comprehensive animal rights law to prevent the maltreatment of pets and cruelty against all animals.

 

TIMOR LESTE

Dog meat is a delicacy popular in East Timor.

 

UZBEKISTAN

Although not commonly eaten, dog meat is sometimes used in Uzbekistan in the belief that it has medicinal properties.

 

VIETNAM

Dog meat is consumed more commonly in the northern part of Vietnam than in the south, and can be found in special restaurants which specifically serve dog meat. Dog meat is believed to bring good fortune in Vietnamese culture. It is seen as being comparable in consumption to chicken or pork. In urban areas, there are sections that house a lot of dog meat restaurants. For example, on Nhat Tan Street, Tây Hồ District, Hanoi, many restaurants serve dog meat. Groups of customers, usually male, seated on mats, will spend their evenings sharing plates of dog meat and drinking alcohol. The consumption of dog meat can be part of a ritual usually occurring toward the end of the lunar month for reasons of astrology and luck. Restaurants which mainly exist to serve dog meat may only open for the last half of the lunar month. Dog meat is also believed to raise the libido in men. The Associated Press reported in October 2009 that a soaring economy has led to the booming of dog restaurants in Hanoi, and that this has led to a proliferation of dognappers. Reportedly, a 20 kilograms dog can sell for more than $100 — roughly the monthly salary of an average Vietnamese worker. The Vietnamese Catholic Church is a major consumer of dog meat during the Christmas holiday. There is a large smuggling trade from Thailand to export dogs to Vietnam for human consumption.

 

In 2009, dog meat was found to be a main carrier of the Vibrio cholerae bacterium, which caused the summer epidemic of cholera in northern Vietnam.

 

Prior to 2014, more than 5 million dogs were killed for meat every year in Vietnam according to the Asia Canine Protection Alliance. However, there are indications that the desire to eat dog meat in Vietnam is waning. Part of the decline is thought to be due to an increased number of Vietnamese people keeping dogs as pets, as their incomes have risen in the past few decades. “[People] used to raise dogs to guard the house, and when they needed the meat, they ate it. Now they keep dog as pets, imported from China, Japan, and other countries. One pet dog might cost hundreds of millions of dong [100 million dong is $4,677].”

 

EUROPE

BRITAIN & IRELAND

Eating dog meat is considered entirely taboo, as is common with most European societies, and has been taboo for many centuries outside of times of scarcity such as sieges or famines. However, early Brittonic and Irish texts which date from the early Christian period suggest that dog meat was sometimes consumed but possibly in ritual contexts such as Druidic ritual trance. Sacrificial dog bones are often recovered from archaeological sites however they were typically treated differently, as were horses, from other food animals. One of Ireland's mythological heroes Cuchulainn, had two geasa, or vows, one of which was to avoid the meat of dogs. The breaking of his geasa led to his death in the Irish mythology.

 

BELGIUM

A few meat shops sold dog meat during the German occupation of Belgium in World War I, when food was extremely scarce. According to The New York Times, in the 19th century the Council of the Veterinary School of Belgium occasionally recommended dog meat for human consumption after being properly inspected.

 

FRANCE

Although consumption of dog meat is uncommon in France, and is now considered taboo, dog meat has been consumed in the past by the Gauls. The earliest evidence of dog consumption in France was found at Gaulish archaeological sites, where butchered dog bones were discovered. French news sources from the late 19th century carried stories reporting lines of people buying dog meat, which was described as being "beautiful and light." During the Siege of Paris (1870–1871), there were lines at butcher's shops of people waiting to purchase dog meat. Dog meat was also reported as being sold by some butchers in Paris, 1910.

 

GERMANY

Dog meat has been eaten in every major German crisis since, at least, the time of Frederick the Great, and is commonly referred to as "blockade mutton". In the early 20th century, high meat prices led to widespread consumption of horse and dog meat in Germany.

 

The consumption of dog meat continued in the 1920s. In 1937, a meat inspection law targeted against trichinella was introduced for pigs, dogs, boars, foxes, badgers, and other carnivores. Dog meat has been prohibited in Germany since 1986.

 

SAXONY

In the latter part of World War I, dog meat was being eaten in Saxony by the poorer classes because of famine conditions.

 

THE NETHERLANDS

During severe meat shortages coinciding with the German occupation from 1940 to 1945, sausages found to have been made of dog meat were confiscated by authorities in the Netherlands.

 

POLAND

While dog meat is not eaten, some rural areas of Poland especially Lesser Poland, dog fat can be made into lard, which by tradition is believed to have medicinal properties - being good for the lungs, for instance. Since the 16th century, fat from various animals, including dogs, was used as part of folk medicine, and since the 18th century, dog fat has had a reputation as being beneficial for the lungs. It is worth noting that the consumption of such meat is considered taboo in Polish culture, also making lard out of dogs' fat is illegal. In 2009, a scandal erupted when a farm near Częstochowa was discovered rearing dogs to be rendered down into lard. According to Grazyna Zawada, from Gazeta Wyborcza, there were farms in Czestochowa, Klobuck, and in the Radom area, and in the decade from 2000 to 2010 six people producing dog lard were found guilty of breaching animal welfare laws (found guilty of killing dogs and animal cruelty) and sentenced to jail. As of 2014 there have been new cases prosecuted.

 

SWITZERLAND

Dogs, as well as cats, are eaten regularly by farmers in rural areas for personal consumption. While commercial slaughter and sale of dog meat is illegal, cultural attitudes toward slaughtering of animals for meat is traditionally liberal in Switzerland. The favorite type of meat comes from a dog related to the Rottweiler and consumed as 'mostbrockli' a form of marinated meat. Animals are slaughtered by butchers and either shot or bludgeoned.

 

In his 1979 book Unmentionable Cuisine, Calvin Schwabe described a Swiss dog meat recipe gedörrtes Hundefleisch served as paper-thin slices, as well as smoked dog ham, Hundeschinken, which is prepared by salting and drying raw dog meat.

 

It is illegal in Switzerland to commercially produce food made from dog meat, or to produce such food for commercial purposes.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Very much like Snoqualmie Falls (which is much farther downstream from here), Twin Falls has been one of the hardest waterfalls in the state of Washington for me to capture properly. A huge part of that, like all waterfalls, is lighting. Twin Falls though has a very interesting flow. Considering how massive the Snoqualmie River is, it is a bit surprising that Twin Falls is not gushing with full power force most of the year. I have been here four times, each throughout spring and summer. And I always seem to catch it right in these inbetween periods where it is flowing with some force and at the same time kind of stringy, which makes for these interesting compositions of force and stringiness. This is my favorite of all my captures and this is basically what it has looked like during all my visits. I have though come across a few images where it is massively flowing. I will be interested to see that with my own eyes. Furthermore, the canyon that the river passes through to get to this fall (which includes two other waterfalls) creates this look in my opinion as well. In any event this is a great waterfall and a nice hike. Some locals refer to this as Upper Snoqualmie Falls or Lower Twin Falls. Thanks for checking this out. Enjoy!

Dog meat refers to the flesh and other edible parts derived from dogs. Historically, human consumption of dog meat has been recorded in many parts of the world, including East and Southeast Asia, West Africa, Europe, Oceania and the Americas.

 

In the 21st century, dog meat is consumed in many parts of China, Korea and Vietnam, parts of Switzerland, as well as parts of Europe, Americas, the African continent, such as Cameroon, Ghana and Liberia.

 

Today, a number of cultures view the consumption of dog meat to be a part of their traditional and day-to-day cuisine, while others - such as Western culture - consider consumption of dog to be a taboo, although they have been consumed in times of war and/or other hardships or in rural areas where food is scarce. It was estimated in 2014 that worldwide, 25 million dogs are eaten each year by humans.

 

DOG BREEDS USED FOR MEAT

NUREONGI

The Nureongi is a yellowish landrace from Korea. Similar to other native Korean dog breeds, such as the Jindo, nureongi are medium-sized spitz-type dogs, but are larger, with greater musculature and a distinctive coat pattern. They are quite uniform in appearance, yellow hair and melanistic masks. Nureongi are most often used as a livestock dog, raised for its meat, and not commonly kept as pets.

 

HAWAIIAN POI

The Hawaiian Poi Dog or ʻīlio (ʻīlio mākuʻe for brown-furred Poi dogs) is an extinct breed of pariah dog from Hawaiʻi which was used by Native Hawaiians as a spiritual protector of children and as a source of food.

 

XOLOITZCUINTLE (Mexican Hairless)

The Xoloitzcuintle, or Xolo for short, is a hairless breed of dog, found in toy, miniature and standard sizes. The Xolo also comes in a coated variety and all three sizes can be born to a single litter. It is also known as Mexican hairless dog in English speaking countries, is one of several breeds of hairless dog and has been used as a historical source of food for the Aztec Empire.

 

BY REGION

AFRICA

CAMEROON

The Mandara mountains people like dog meat. The Mayo-Plata (Mayo Sava district) market is well known for its dog meat outlets. Among the Vame people, domestic dogs are only eaten for specific rituals.

 

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

Despite tests showing 156 dogs were infected with Ebola, the consumption of dog meat is no longer taboo. Several families may chip in to purchase a whole large dog.

 

GHANA

The Tallensi, the Akyim's, the Kokis, and the Yaakuma, one of many cultures of Ghana, consider dog meat a delicacy. While the Mamprusi generally avoid dog meat, it is eaten in a "courtship stew" provided by a king to his royal lineage. Two Tribes in Ghana, Frafra and Dagaaba are particularly known to be "tribal playmates" and consumption of dog meat is the common bond between the two tribes. Every year around September, games are organised between these two tribes and the Dog Head is the trophy at stake for the winning tribe

 

LIBERIA

Liberians are said to lump the term dog meat and bushmeat together. A local animal welfare group. Anti Pet & Bush Meat Coalition, claimed 75% of Liberians consume dog meat. 75% of Liberians rely on bush and pet meat as a staple diet.

 

MOROCCO

Islamic law bans the eating of dog meat as does the government of Morocco, however the consumption of dog meat still occurs particularly in poorer regions, often being passed off as other meats as was the case in 2013 and 2009 cases

 

NIGERIA

Dogs are eaten by various groups in some states of Nigeria, including Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Plateau, Ondo, Kalaba, Taraba and Gombe of Nigeria. They are believed to have medicinal powers.

 

In late 2014, the fear of contracting the Ebola virus disease from bushmeat led at least one major Nigerian newspaper to imply that eating dog meat was a healthy alternative. That paper documented a thriving trade in dog meat and slow sales of even well smoked bushmeat.

 

AMERICAS

CANADA

It is legal to sell and serve dog meat, providing that it must be killed and gutted in front of federal inspectors. If a dog is killed out of the view of federal inspectors, the killing might involve cruelty, which would be a violation of the Criminal Code, and those convicted may be sentenced to up to 5 years in prison.

 

ANCIENT MEXICO

In the time of the Aztec Empire in what is now central Mexico, Mexican Hairless Dogs were bred, among other purposes, for their meat. Hernán Cortés reported when he arrived in Tenochtitlan in 1519, "small gelded dogs which they breed for eating" were among the goods sold in the city markets. These dogs, Xoloitzcuintles, were often depicted in pre-Columbian Mexican pottery. The breed was almost extinct in the 1940s, but the British Military Attaché in Mexico City, Norman Wright, developed a thriving breed from some of the dogs he found in remote villages.

 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The term "dog" has been used as a synonym for sausage since 1884 and accusations that sausage makers used dog meat date to at least 1845. The belief that sausages contained dog meat was occasionally justified.

 

In the late 19th century, a cure for tuberculosis (then colloquially termed "consumption") using an exclusive diet of dog meat was tried. Reports of families eating dog meat out of choice, rather than necessity, were rare and newsworthy. Stories of families in Ohio and Newark, New Jersey who did so made it into editions of The New York Times in 1876 and 1885.

 

In the early 20th century, dog meat was consumed during times of meat shortage.

 

NATIVE AMERICANS

The traditional culture surrounding the consumption of dog meat varied from tribe to tribe among the original inhabitants of North America, with some tribes relishing it as a delicacy, and others (such as the Comanche) treating it as a forbidden food. Native peoples of the Great Plains, such as the Sioux and Cheyenne, consumed it, but there was a concurrent religious taboo against the meat of wild canines.

 

During their 1803–1806 expedition, Meriwether Lewis and the other members of the Corps of Discovery consumed dog meat, either from their own animals or supplied by Native American tribes, including the Paiutes and Wah-clel-lah Indians, a branch of the Watlatas, the Clatsop, the Teton Sioux (Lakota), the Nez Perce Indians, and the Hidatsas. Lewis and the members of the expedition ate dog meat, except William Clark, who reportedly could not bring himself to eat dogs.

 

The Kickapoo people include puppy meat in many of their traditional festivals. This practice has been well documented in the Works Progress Administration "Indian Pioneer History Project for Oklahoma".

 

AUSTRALIA

It is legal to eat dogs in most States and Territories, except for South Australia. However, it is illegal to sell dog meat in any Australian State or Territory.

 

ARTIC AND ANTARTIC

Dogs have historically been emergency food sources for various peoples in Siberia, northern Canada, and Greenland. Sled dogs are usually maintained for pulling sleds, but occasionally are eaten when no other food is available.

 

British explorer Ernest Shackleton and his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition became trapped, and ultimately killed their sled dogs for food. Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was known to have eaten sled dogs during his expedition to the South Pole. By eating some of the sled dogs, he required less human or dog food, thus lightening his load. When comparing sled dogs to ponies as draught animals he also notes:

 

"...there is the obvious advantage that dog can be fed on dog. One can reduce one's pack little by little, slaughtering the feebler ones and feeding the chosen with them. In this way they get fresh meat. Our dogs lived on dog's flesh and pemmican the whole way, and this enabled them to do splendid work. And if we ourselves wanted a piece of fresh meat we could cut off a delicate little fillet; it tasted to us as good as the best beef. The dogs do not object at all; as long as they get their share they do not mind what part of their comrade's carcass it comes from. All that was left after one of these canine meals was the teeth of the victim – and if it had been a really hard day, these also disappeared."

 

Douglas Mawson and Xavier Mertz were part of the Far Eastern Party, a three-man sledging team with Lieutenant B.E.S. Ninnis, to survey King George V Land, Antarctica. On 14 December 1912 Ninnis fell through a snow-covered crevasse along with most of the party's rations, and was never seen again. Mawson and Mertz turned back immediately. They had one and a half weeks' food for themselves and nothing at all for the dogs. Their meagre provisions forced them to eat their remaining sled dogs on their 507 km return journey. Their meat was tough, stringy and without a vestige of fat. Each animal yielded very little, and the major part was fed to the surviving dogs, which ate the meat, skin and bones until nothing remained. The men also ate the dog's brains and livers. Unfortunately eating the liver of sled dogs produces the condition hypervitaminosis A because canines have a much higher tolerance for vitamin A than humans do. Mertz suffered a quick deterioration. He developed stomach pains and became incapacitated and incoherent. On 7 January 1913, Mertz died. Mawson continued alone, eventually making it back to camp alive.

 

ASIA/PACIFIC

CHINA

Selling dog meat for consumption is legal in Mainland China and approximately 10 million dogs each year are slaughtered for consumption. The eating of dog meat in China dates back thousands of years. Dog meat (Chinese: 狗肉; pinyin: gǒu ròu) has been a source of food in some areas from around 500 BC and possibly even earlier. It has been suggested that wolves in southern China may have been domesticated as a source of meat. Mencius, the philosopher, talked about dog meat as being an edible, dietary meat. It is thought to have medicinal properties, and is especially popular in winter months in northern China, as it is believed to raise body temperature after consumption and promote warmth. Historical records have moreover shown how in times of food scarcities (as in war-time situations), dogs could also be eaten as an emergency food source.

 

Dog meat is sometimes called "fragrant meat" (香肉 xiāng ròu) or "mutton of the earth" (地羊 dì yáng) in Mandarin Chinese and "3–6 fragrant meat" (Chinese: 三六香肉; Cantonese Yale: sàam luhk hèung yuhk) in Cantonese (3 plus 6 is 9 and the words "nine" and "dog" have close pronunciation. In Mandarin, "nine" and "dog" are pronounced differently).

 

In modern times, the extent of dog consumption in China varies by region, most prevalent in Guangdong, Yunnan and Guangxi, as well as the northern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning. It is still common to find dog meat served in restaurants in Southern China, where dogs are specially raised on farms. However, there are instances of finding stolen pet meat on menus. Chinese netizens and the Chinese police intercepted trucks transporting caged dogs to be slaughtered in localities such as Chongqing and Kunming. In 2014, 11 people in the Hunan province were sentenced to prison for allegedly poisoning over 1,000 dogs and selling the poisonous meat to restaurants. Since 2009, Yulin, Guangxi has held an annual festival of eating dog meat. This purportedly celebrates the summer solstice, however, in 2014, the municipal government published a statement that the festival is not a cultural tradition, rather, a commercial event held by restaurants and the public. Various dog meat dishes (and more recently, cats) are eaten, washed down by lychees wine. The festival in 2011 spanned 10 days, during which 15,000 dogs were consumed. Estimates of the number of dogs eaten during the festival range between 10 and 15 thousand. Festival organisers say that only dogs bred specifically for consumption are used, however, there are claims that some of the dogs purchased for slaughter and consumption are strays or stolen pets, as evidenced by their wearing collars. Some of the dogs eaten at the festival are burnt or boiled alive and there are reports that the dogs are sometimes clubbed or beaten to death in the belief that the increased adrenalin circulating in the dog's body adds to the flavour of the meat. At the 2015 festival, there were long queues outside large (300-seat) eateries which sold the dog meat for around £4 (€5.60) per kilogram. Prior to the 2014 festival, eight dogs (and their two cages) sold for 1,150 yuan ($185) and six puppies for 1,200 yuan. Prior to the 2015 festival, a protester bought 100 dogs for 7,000 yuan ($1,100; £710). The animal rights NGO Best Volunteer Centre claims the city has more than 100 slaughterhouses, processing between 30 and 100 dogs a day. However, the Yulin Centre for Animal Disease Control and Prevention claims the city has only eight dog slaughterhouses selling approximately 200 dogs, although this increases to about 2,000 dogs during the Yulin festival. There are several campaigns to stop the festival; more than 3,000,000 people have signed petitions against it on Weibo (China’s version of Twitter) and a petition to stop the festival (addressed to the Chinese Minister of Agriculture, Chen Wu) reads "Do the humane thing by saying no to this festival and save the lives of countless dogs that will fall victim to this event - an event that will butcher, skin alive, beat to death etc. thousands of innocent dogs." Prior to the 2014 festival, doctors and nurses staff were ordered not to eat dog meat there, and local restaurants serving dog meat were ordered to cover the word "dog" on their signs and notices.

 

The movement against the consumption of cat and dog meat was given added impetus by the formation of the Chinese Companion Animal Protection Network (CCAPN). Expanded to more than 40 member societies, CCAPN in 2006 began organizing protests against eating dogs and cat, starting in Guangzhou and following up in more than ten other cities with a positive response from the public. Before the 2008 Beijing Olympics, officials ordered dog meat to be taken off the menu at its 112 official Olympic restaurants to avoid offending visitors from various nations who might have been concerned by the offering of dog meat.

 

In 2010, draft legislation was proposed to prohibit the consumption of dog meat. The legislation, however, was not expected to be enforced, making the consumption of dog meat illegal if it passed. In 2010, the first draft proposal of the legislation was introduced, with the rationale to protect animals from maltreatment. The legislation includes a measure to jail people for up to 15 days for eating dog meat. However, certain cultural food festivals continue to promote the meat. For example, in 2014, 10,000 dogs were killed for the Yulin dog eating festival.

 

As of the early 21st century, dog meat consumption is declining or disappearing. In 2014, dog meat sales decreased by a third compared to 2013. It was reported that in 2015, one of the most popular restaurants in Guangzhou serving dog meat was closed after the local government tightened regulations; the restaurant had served dog meat dishes since 1963. Other restaurants that served dog and cat meat dishes in the Yuancun and Panyu districts also stopped serving these in 2015.

 

HONG KONG

In Hong Kong, the Dogs and Cats Ordinance was introduced by the British Hong Kong Government on 6 January 1950. It prohibits the slaughter of any dog or cat for use as food, whether for mankind or otherwise, on pain of fine and imprisonment. In February 1998, a Hong Konger was sentenced to one month imprisonment and a fine of two thousand HK dollars for hunting street dogs for food. Four local men were sentenced to 30 days imprisonment in December 2006 for having slaughtered two dogs.

 

TAIWAN

In 2001, the Taiwanese government imposed a ban on the sale of dog meat, due to both pressure from domestic animal welfare groups and a desire to improve international perceptions, although there were some protests. In 2007, another law was passed, significantly increasing the fines to sellers of dog meat. However, animal rights campaigners have accused the Taiwanese government of not prosecuting those who continue to slaughter and serve dog meat at restaurants. Although the slaughter and consumption of dog meat is illegal in Taiwan, there are reports that suggest the practice continues as of 2011. In Taiwan, dog meat is called "fragrant meat" (Chinese: 香肉; pinyin: xiāngròu). In 2007, legislators passed a law to fine sellers of dog meat NT$250,000 (US$7,730). Dog meat is believed to have health benefits, including improving circulation and raising body temperature.

 

INDIA

In India, dog meat is eaten by certain communities in the Northeast Indian border states of Mizoram, Nagaland, and Manipur where it is considered to be a delicacy. These states border Burma and may have been influenced by Chinese culture and traditions.

 

INDONESIA

Indonesia is predominantly Muslim, a faith which considers dog meat, along with pork to be "haraam" (ritually unclean) and therefore do not eat it. However, dog meat is eaten by several of Indonesia's non-Muslim minorities.

 

The consumption of dog meat is associated with the Minahasa culture of northern Sulawesi, Maluku culture, and the Bataks of northern Sumatra, where dog meat is considered a festive dish usually reserved for occasions such as weddings and Christmas.

 

Popular Indonesian dog-meat dishes are rica-rica, also called rintek wuuk or "RW", rica-rica waung, guk-guk, and "B1". On Java, there are several dishes made from dog meat, such as sengsu (tongseng asu), sate jamu, and kambing balap.

 

Dog consumption in Indonesia gained attention in United States where dog is a taboo food, during 2012 Presidential election when incumbent Barack Obama was pointed by his opponent to have eaten dog meat served by his Indonesian stepfather Lolo Soetoro during his stay in the country.

 

JAPAN

The consumption of dog meat is not a feature of modern Japanese culture because Japanese people believe that certain dogs have special powers in their religion of Shintoism and Buddhism. Dog meat was consumed in Japan until 675 AD, when Emperor Temmu decreed a prohibition on its consumption during the 4th–9th months of the year. Normally a dog accompanied the emperor for battle, so it was believed that eating a dog gave emperors bad luck. In Japanese shrines certain animals are worshipped, such as dogs as it is believed they will give people a good luck charm. Animals are described as good luck in scrolls and Kakemono during the Kofun period, Asuka period and Nara period. According to Meisan Shojiki Ōrai (名産諸色往来) published in 1760, the meat of wild dog was sold along with boar, deer, fox, wolf, bear, raccoon dog, otter, weasel and cat in some regions of Edo. Ōta Nampo recorded witnessing puppies being eaten in Satsuma Province in a dish called Enokoro Meshi (えのころ飯).

 

KOREA

Gaegogi (개고기) literally means "dog meat" in Korean. The term itself, however, is often mistaken as the term for Korean soup made from dog meat, which is actually called bosintang (보신탕; 補身湯, Body nourishing soup) (sometimes spelled "bo-shintang").

 

The consumption of dog meat in Korean culture can be traced through history. Dog bones were excavated in a neolithic settlement in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. A wall painting in the Goguryeo Tombs complex in South Hwangghae Province, a World Heritage site which dates from the 4th century AD, depicts a slaughtered dog in a storehouse. The Balhae people also enjoyed dog meat, and the modern-day tradition of canine cuisine seems to have come from that era.

 

Although their Mohe ancestors did not respect dogs, the Jurchen people began to respect dogs around the time of the Ming dynasty and passed this tradition on to the Manchu. It was prohibited in Jurchen culture to use dog skin, and forbidden for Jurchens to harm, kill, and eat dogs, as the Jurchens believed the "utmost evil" was the usage of dog skin by Koreans.

 

SOUTH KOREA

Dog meat is often consumed during the summer months and is either roasted or prepared in soups or stews. The most popular of these soups is bosintang and gaejang-guk, a spicy stew meant to balance the body's heat during the summer months. This is thought to ensure good health by balancing one's "Qi", the believed vital energy of the body. A 19th-century version of gaejang-guk explains the preparation of the dish by boiling dog meat with vegetables such as green onions and chili pepper powder. Variations of the dish contain chicken and bamboo shoots.

 

Over 100,000 tons of dog meat, or 2.5 million dogs, are consumed annually in South Korea. Although a fair number of South Koreans (approximately 42% to 60%) have eaten dog meat at least once in their lifetime, only a small percentage of the population is believed to eat it on a regular basis.

 

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety recognizes any edible product other than drugs as food. South Korean Food Sanitary Law (식품위생법) does not include dog meat as a legal food ingredient. In the capital city of Seoul, the sale of dog meat was outlawed by regulation on February 21, 1984 by classifying dog meat as 'repugnant food' (혐오식품), but the regulation was not rigorously enforced except during the 1988 Seoul Olympics. In 2001, the Mayor of Seoul announced there would be no extra enforcement efforts to control the sale of dog meat during the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which was partially hosted in Seoul. In March 2008, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced its plan to put forward a policy suggestion to the central government to legally classify slaughter dogs as livestock, reigniting debate on the issue.

 

The primary dog breed raised for meat, the Nureongi (누렁이), or Hwangu (황구); is a non-specific, mixed breed.

 

There is a large and vocal group of Koreans (consisting of a number of animal welfare groups) who are against the practice of eating dogs. Popular television shows like 'I Love Pet' have documented, in 2011 for instance, the continued illegal sale of dog meat and slaughtering of dogs in suburban areas. The program also televised illegal dog farms and slaughterhouses, showing the unsanitary and horrific conditions of caged dogs, several of which were visibly sick with severe eye infections and malnutrition. However, despite this growing awareness, there remain some in Korea that do not eat or enjoy the meat, but do feel that it is the right of others to do so, along with a smaller but still vocal group of pro-dog cuisine people who want to popularize the consumption of dog in Korea and the rest of the world. A group of pro-dog meat individuals attempted to promote and publicize the consumption of dog meat worldwide during the run-up to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by Japan and South Korea, which prompted retaliation from animal rights campaigners and prominent figures such as Brigitte Bardot to denounce the practice. Opponents of dog meat consumption in South Korea are critical of the eating of dog meat, as some dogs are beaten, burnt or hanged to make their meat more tender.

 

The restaurants that sell dog meat, often exclusively, do so at the risk of losing their restaurant licenses. A case of a dog meat wholesaler, charged with selling dog meat, arose in 1997 where an appeals court acquitted the dog meat wholesaler, ruling that dogs were socially accepted as food. According to the National Assembly of South Korea, more than 20,000 restaurants, including the 6,484 registered restaurants, served soups made from dog meat in Korea in 1998. In 1999 the BBC reported that 8,500 tons of dog meat were consumed annually, with another 93,600 tons used to produce a medicinal tonic called gaesoju (개소주).

 

NORTH KOREA

Daily NK reported that the North Korean government included dog meat in its new list of one hundred fixed prices, setting a fixed price of 500 won per kilogram in early 2010.

 

NEW ZEALAND

Dog meat is rarely eaten in New Zealand but has been said to be becoming more popular as it is not illegal as long as the dog is humanely killed.

 

A Tongan man living in New Zealand caused public outrage when he was caught cooking his pet dog in his backyard; this event led to calls for change in the law.

 

PHILIPPINES

The “Malays”, a sea-faring population that is now scattered throughout South-East Asia, introduced the practice of domesticating dogs for meat consumption to the indigenous population of the Philippines.

 

In the capital city of Manila, Metro Manila Commission Ordinance 82-05 specifically prohibits the killing and selling of dogs for food. Generally however, the Philippine Animal Welfare Act 1998 prohibits the killing of any animal other than cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabaos, horses, deer and crocodiles, with exemptions for religious, cultural, research, public safety and/or animal health reasons. Nevertheless, the consumption of dog meat is not uncommon in the Philippines, reflected in the occasional coverage in Philippine newspapers,.

 

The Province of Benguet specifically allows cultural use of dog meat by indigenous people and acknowledges this might lead to limited commercial use.

 

Asocena is a dish primarily consisting of dog meat originating from the Philippines.

 

In the early 1980s, there was an international outcry about dog meat consumption in the Philippines after newspapers published photos of Margaret Thatcher, then British Prime Minister, with a dog carcass hanging beside her on a market stall. The British Government discussed withdrawing foreign aid and other countries, such as Australia, considered similar action. To avoid such action, the Filipino government banned the sale of dog meat, despite dog meat being the third most consumed meat, behind pork and goat. The ban eventually became totally disregarded, although it was reinstated by President Ramos in 1998 in the Animal Welfare Act (Republic Act 8485).

 

POLYNESIA

Dogs were historically eaten in Tahiti and other islands of Polynesia, including Hawaii at the time of first European contact. James Cook, when first visiting Tahiti in 1769, recorded in his journal, "few were there of us but what allow'd that a South Sea Dog was next to an English Lamb, one thing in their favour is that they live entirely upon Vegetables". Calwin Schwabe reported in 1979 that dog was widely eaten in Hawaii and considered to be of higher quality than pork or chicken. When Hawaiians first encountered early British and American explorers, they were at a loss to explain the visitors' attitudes about dog meat. The Hawaiians raised both dogs and pigs as pets and for food. They could not understand why their British and American visitors only found the pig suitable for consumption. This practice seems to have died out, along with the native Hawaiian breed of dog, the unique Hawaiian Poi Dog, which was primarily used for this purpose. The consumption of domestic dog meat is still commonplace in the Kingdom of Tonga, and has also been noted in expatriate Tongan communities in New Zealand, Australia, and the United States.

 

THAILAND

Unlike other countries where dog meat consumption has been shown to have historical precedents, Thailand does not have a mainstream culture of dog eating. However, in recent years, the consumption of dog meat in certain areas of the country, especially in certain northeastern provinces like Sakon Nakhon and Nakhon Phanom, notably Sakon Nakhon province's Tha Rae sub-district, which has been identified as the main center for the country's illegal, albeit lucrative, dog meat trade, has attracted widespread attention from the Thai population and local news media. This has led large groups of Thai citizens to become increasingly vocal against the consumption of dog meat and the selling of dogs that are transported through Laos to neighbouring Mekong countries, including Vietnam and China. According to news reports, a considerable number of these dogs continue to be stolen from people's homes by illegal carriers. This was also the case following the 2011 Thailand Floods. Dubbed as the country's 'Trade of Shame', Thai netizens, in particular, have now formed several informal animal welfare and rescue groups in an attempt to stop this illegal trade, with the collective attitude being that 'Dogs are not food'. Established not-for-profit animal charity organizations like the Soi Dog Foundation have also been active in raising awareness and working in conjunction with local Thai authorities to rehabilitate and relocate dogs rescued from trucks attempting to transport live dogs across the border to nearby countries. Significantly, this issue has strengthened the nation's animal rights movement, which continues to call on the Thai government to adopt a stricter and more comprehensive animal rights law to prevent the maltreatment of pets and cruelty against all animals.

 

TIMOR LESTE

Dog meat is a delicacy popular in East Timor.

 

UZBEKISTAN

Although not commonly eaten, dog meat is sometimes used in Uzbekistan in the belief that it has medicinal properties.

 

VIETNAM

Dog meat is consumed more commonly in the northern part of Vietnam than in the south, and can be found in special restaurants which specifically serve dog meat. Dog meat is believed to bring good fortune in Vietnamese culture. It is seen as being comparable in consumption to chicken or pork. In urban areas, there are sections that house a lot of dog meat restaurants. For example, on Nhat Tan Street, Tây Hồ District, Hanoi, many restaurants serve dog meat. Groups of customers, usually male, seated on mats, will spend their evenings sharing plates of dog meat and drinking alcohol. The consumption of dog meat can be part of a ritual usually occurring toward the end of the lunar month for reasons of astrology and luck. Restaurants which mainly exist to serve dog meat may only open for the last half of the lunar month. Dog meat is also believed to raise the libido in men. The Associated Press reported in October 2009 that a soaring economy has led to the booming of dog restaurants in Hanoi, and that this has led to a proliferation of dognappers. Reportedly, a 20 kilograms dog can sell for more than $100 — roughly the monthly salary of an average Vietnamese worker. The Vietnamese Catholic Church is a major consumer of dog meat during the Christmas holiday. There is a large smuggling trade from Thailand to export dogs to Vietnam for human consumption.In 2009, dog meat was found to be a main carrier of the Vibrio cholerae bacterium, which caused the summer epidemic of cholera in northern Vietnam. Prior to 2014, more than 5 million dogs were killed for meat every year in Vietnam according to the Asia Canine Protection Alliance. However, there are indications that the desire to eat dog meat in Vietnam is waning. Part of the decline is thought to be due to an increased number of Vietnamese people keeping dogs as pets, as their incomes have risen in the past few decades. “[People] used to raise dogs to guard the house, and when they needed the meat, they ate it. Now they keep dog as pets, imported from China, Japan, and other countries. One pet dog might cost hundreds of millions of dong [100 million dong is $4,677].”

 

EUROPE

BRITAIN & IRELAND

Eating dog meat is considered entirely taboo, as is common with most European societies, and has been taboo for many centuries outside of times of scarcity such as sieges or famines. However, early Brittonic and Irish texts which date from the early Christian period suggest that dog meat was sometimes consumed but possibly in ritual contexts such as Druidic ritual trance. Sacrificial dog bones are often recovered from archaeological sites however they were typically treated differently, as were horses, from other food animals. One of Ireland's mythological heroes Cuchulainn, had two geasa, or vows, one of which was to avoid the meat of dogs. The breaking of his geasa led to his death in the Irish mythology.

 

BELGIUM

A few meat shops sold dog meat during the German occupation of Belgium in World War I, when food was extremely scarce. According to The New York Times, in the 19th century the Council of the Veterinary School of Belgium occasionally recommended dog meat for human consumption after being properly inspected.

 

FRANCE

Although consumption of dog meat is uncommon in France, and is now considered taboo, dog meat has been consumed in the past by the Gauls. The earliest evidence of dog consumption in France was found at Gaulish archaeological sites, where butchered dog bones were discovered. French news sources from the late 19th century carried stories reporting lines of people buying dog meat, which was described as being "beautiful and light." During the Siege of Paris (1870–1871), there were lines at butcher's shops of people waiting to purchase dog meat. Dog meat was also reported as being sold by some butchers in Paris, 1910.

 

GERMANY

Dog meat has been eaten in every major German crisis since, at least, the time of Frederick the Great, and is commonly referred to as "blockade mutton". In the early 20th century, high meat prices led to widespread consumption of horse and dog meat in Germany.

 

The consumption of dog meat continued in the 1920s. In 1937, a meat inspection law targeted against trichinella was introduced for pigs, dogs, boars, foxes, badgers, and other carnivores. Dog meat has been prohibited in Germany since 1986.

 

SAXONY

In the latter part of World War I, dog meat was being eaten in Saxony by the poorer classes because of famine conditions.

 

THE NETHERLANDS

During severe meat shortages coinciding with the German occupation from 1940 to 1945, sausages found to have been made of dog meat were confiscated by authorities in the Netherlands.

 

POLAND

While dog meat is not eaten, some rural areas of Poland especially Lesser Poland, dog fat can be made into lard, which by tradition is believed to have medicinal properties — being good for the lungs, for instance. Since the 16th century, fat from various animals, including dogs, was used as part of folk medicine, and since the 18th century, dog fat has had a reputation as being beneficial for the lungs. It is worth noting that the consumption of such meat is considered taboo in Polish culture, also making lard out of dogs' fat is illegal. In 2009, a scandal erupted when a farm near Częstochowa was discovered rearing dogs to be rendered down into lard. According to Grazyna Zawada, from Gazeta Wyborcza, there were farms in Czestochowa, Klobuck, and in the Radom area, and in the decade from 2000 to 2010 six people producing dog lard were found guilty of breaching animal welfare laws (found guilty of killing dogs and animal cruelty) and sentenced to jail. As of 2014 there have been new cases prosecuted.

 

SWITZERLAND

Dogs, as well as cats, are eaten regularly by farmers in rural areas for personal consumption. While commercial slaughter and sale of dog meat is illegal, cultural attitudes toward slaughtering of animals for meat is traditionally liberal in Switzerland. The favorite type of meat comes from a dog related to the Rottweiler and consumed as 'mostbrockli' a form of marinated meat. Animals are slaughtered by butchers and either shot or bludgeoned.

 

In his 1979 book Unmentionable Cuisine, Calvin Schwabe described a Swiss dog meat recipe gedörrtes Hundefleisch served as paper-thin slices, as well as smoked dog ham, Hundeschinken, which is prepared by salting and drying raw dog meat.

 

It is illegal in Switzerland to commercially produce food made from dog meat, or to produce such food for commercial purposes.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Primarily used for cooking (mild, earthy flavor without a lot of stringiness that other pumpkin/squash species have), they are called "cheese pumpkins" in that the fully mature gourds resemble wheels of cheese.

Florence picked a pumpkin and paints it during the USDA Farmers Market which celebrates the close of its 22nd season on Oct 27, 2017, in Washington, DC. The last market day featured live music from the U.S. Army Band, farm animal exhibits. Visitors were able to bowl with squash, help harvest and learn about sweet potatoes for DC Central Kitchen, pick and paint pumpkins, meet farm animals, shop for fresh picked local produce from the Chesapeake Bay Region, enjoy prepared foods, see live turkeys from Tall Cotton Farm, get a farm animal and veggie-themed temporary tattoo to wear, and shop for food inspired art work.

âVegUâ Program Coordinators prepared and talk about a pumpkin curry soup recipe during free 10-minute fruit and vegetable classes at the âVegU(cation)â tent where people learned how to how to pick, store, and prepare pumpkin curry soup. Fruits and vegetables are featured during their peak harvest time.

The USDA farmers market is located on the corner of 12th Street and Independence Ave, SW; features live music, 30+ farmers, ranchers, and small business owners in the Chesapeake Bay Region.

The festival played host to thousands of visitors from around America and looks to open May 4, 2018. For more information visit usda.gov/farmersmarket or follow @USDA_AMS on Twitter and Instagram using hashtag #USDAFarmersMkt. View photos of the market on Flickr. USDA Photo by Lance Cheung.

 

PUMPKIN CURRY SOUP

Yields 8 cups

Prep Time: 1 hour | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, ï¬nely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

3 lb. fresh sugar pumpkin

3 cups vegetable stock

1 tbsp. curry powder

1 tsp. chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste

 

1. Preheat oven to 350° F.

2. Remove pumpkin stem and slice pumpkin in half using a sharp knife. Remove pumpkin seeds and stringy innards with a spoon. Discard or save seeds to roast later on.

3. Brush pumpkin halves with oil and place face down on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 45 minutes or until tender.

4. Remove from oven and let cool. Separate pumpkin ï¬esh from skin. Purée the pumpkin ï¬esh in a blender or food processor. (Process to your preference of a smooth to chunky texture. See photo album for examples.)

5. In a pot, heat onion and garlic over medium heat. Add vegetable stock, puréed pumpkin, curry powder and chili powder.

6. Bring soup to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 10

minutes.

Note: Each pound of sugar pumpkin should yield 1 cup of pumpkin purée.

 

Adapted from © My Darling Vegan 2016

 

THIS WEEK VEGU IS ALL ABOUT PUMPKINS

 

Three diï¬erent species in the Curburita genus are known as pumpkins (Cucurbita pepo, C. maxima, C. moschata). Pumpkins are typically planted in early summer and harvested in fall. Pumpkins can be stored for several months after harvesting due to their thick outer skin. There are countless diï¬erent varieties of pumpkins grown in the United States ranging in size from 2 pounds to 100 pounds and in an array of colors including orange, yellow, green, and white. One of the most common pumpkin varieties used for cooking and baking is Sugar Pie (also known as pie pumpkins), which has thin skin and sweet ï¬esh making it ideal for eating.

HOW TO PICK

Look at size. Choose pumpkins that feel solid and heavy for their size. Check for blemishes. Pick pumpkins that are unblemished, have consistent color and have the stems attached.

Feel for freshness. Press on the bottom of the pumpkin. If it is ï¬exible or has several soft spots it may indicate that it is not as fresh.

HOW TO PREPARE

To cook a fresh pumpkin, ï¬rst wash and dry the whole pumpkin. Remove the stem and slice the pumpkin in half using a sharp knife. Clean out the inside, removing the seeds and ï¬brous strings. Place the halves on a cookie sheet or tray and bake at 350º F for about 30-45 minutes depending on the size. Once cooled, peel oï¬ the skin using a knife and chop the pumpkin into cubes, or purée the ï¬esh in a blender or food processor. Use cooked pumpkin purée or cubes in pies, cakes, baked goods, soups, and stews.

HOW TO STORE

Pumpkins require cool and dry conditions for best storage. Optimal temperature is between 50-55º F and humidity of 50-70%. If stored properly, certain varieties of pumpkin can last up to two months.

Tip: Store cooked, cubed or puréed pumpkin for up to one week in the refrigerator.

Advice about freezing. Freezing pumpkin is a great option. To freeze, ï¬rst roast pumpkin in the oven (as outlined on the other side of this handout) and place cooked cubes or puréed pumpkin into freezer bags. To freeze raw cubes, ï¬rst peel the pumpkin skin and remove seeds and ï¬brous strings. Chop pumpkin into 1-inch cubes and store loosely in freezer bags. Frozen pumpkin can be stored for 9 months to 1 year.

FUN FACTS

â¢Pumpkins originated in Central America and are botanically a fruit.

â¢At the ï¬rst Thanksgiving feast in 1621, the pilgrims did not serve pumpkin pie, rather, they served stewed pumpkin.

â¢Pumpkins are members of the Cucurbitaceae family, which includes squash, zucchini, watermelon, cucumbers and gourds.

â¢Over 50,000 acres of pumpkins were harvested in the United States in 2014, producing 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins.

â¢China and India are the worldâs top pumpkin producers; U.S. is ranked ï¬fth.

â¢Illinois is the top pumpkin producing state in the U.S. followed by California, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

â¢Pumpkin is an excellent source of beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A.

â¢99% of pumpkins grown in the U.S. are sold for decoration.

My wife got up early with me this morning and we headed over to Hug Point on the Oregon Coast. I think I needed her encouragement to get back on the horse... the last time that I got up before sunrise to shoot, was that infamous morning with Christina and Gregory. That was when I lost my 7D and brand new 10-20mm over the side of the bridge at the Grist Mill.

 

So anyway, we got up and headed over to Hug Point, just south of Cannon Beach. The sky didn't give much to work with but the waterfall was a rockstar.

 

We had a great time, got breakfast at the Pig 'N Pancake, then breakfast again at the Haystack Bakery... and breakfast again at Bruce's Candy Kitchen. It was a great morning.

Everyone's done one of these except for me until now, this is my cliche contribution.

HCS

MFM cut her own hair. Yes, all kids do it. Of course the style reminded our two daughters (Auntie here in photo and MFM's mummy) of when I cut their brother's hair when he was young with the clippers. It was patchy and stringy just like MFM's turned out. Of course, laughter ensued about borther's hair and then the pinky swear promise that if she ever wants a style like this again that she will ask mummy to take her to the hairdresser. :)

1 2 ••• 8 9 11 13 14 ••• 79 80