Lions, Tigers and Sweet Tea

Would you eat bear on a plane, on a train? Lions, tigers, bears, horses and squirrels—it’s all the same. What’s the big fuss about eating exotic meats? Earlier this week, I heard the story of a chef who felt adventurous and decided that lion meat tacos could be all the rage, and it is—literally! The chef has received death threats for offering lion meat. One commenter said the menu item was immoral.  What’s the definition of immorality? The dictionary defines it as something that contradicts traditional values. Can we label everything that conflicts with traditional principles as immoral or are we actually talking about culturally based standards? Many traditional and cultural practices vary by geography. See if these people sound immoral:

                                             http://youtu.be/yvxPnjPzHz8

If we’re going to toss around labels, then we need strong definitions that can withstand cross-cultural scrutiny. If you could edit the dictionary, how would you rewrite the definition for immoral?    

 

 

  http://news.msn.com/us/lion-tacos-spark-outrage-in-florida-but-will-remain-on-menu  

Meat Me Halfway

If one more person tells me that they’ve stopped eating beef or all meat, I don’t know what I’ll do.  I’m beginning to feel like a vegetarian lifestyle represents the newest wave of political correctness and, if this continues, people will leave the local drive-through window and secretly devour their burgers an alleyway to avoid the no-meat enforcers.

Not long ago, I heard the high cost of cattle feed caused one owner to feed their cow chocolate and Mexican food. If that strategy helps the cow to produce chocolate milk and spicy, pre-seasoned beef, I’m all for it! I find it difficult to infuse beef with good flavor. In all fairness to cattle farmers, I know marinating is the answer, but when I start making dinner plans at around three o’clock in the afternoon, it doesn’t leave me a lot of time for defrosting and marinating. Several weeks ago, my children made their own meat dry rub using brown sugar and other spices. I hope they wrote the recipe down. Regardless of how creative the preparation is, some people can’t be convinced to eat meat; conversely, other people refuse to give it up. Listen to the debate:   

The experts provided great pros and cons. In short, we should listen to our bodies and do what works for us.  We can make our own personal choices, but why do we feel such passion about convincing others to agree with our lifestyles?                

An Unusual Burger

By now, you’re probably familiar with the controversy surrounding the contents of our nation’s beef supply and the issue of meat additives. Meat processors vigorously defend the use of “lean trimmings” while their critics continue to rail against including “pink slime” in the ground beef meat mix.  

I’m still uncertain about who’s right, perhaps both sides have a case. What if adding “lean trimmings”/ “pink slime” to our ground beef simply sounds unappetizing, but not harmful? If that’s true, should loud objections disrupt beef processing and normal protocol at meat packing plants? They did.

Our daily food choices seem more cautious and conservative compared to folks abroad. See if you can imagine eating this:

 

If you decide to avoid meat that contains lean, finely textured beef additives, maybe you’ll try ice cream on those empty buns. Sometimes the most ordinary or the most unusual ideas become the year’s hottest, new trends.  If you were to (re)start a trend based on something you already do, what would it be?