Swiss Cuisine

In the interest of cross-cultural awareness, here's a provocative story from Europe. According to the Rheintaler Bote, a weekly newspaper in Switzerland, human consumption of domestic animals, like dogs, is acceptable, however, sale or trade of such animals is prohibited. In fact, two communities in the Alps, St. Gallen and Appenzell, have traditionally enjoyed dogmeat at the dinner table. As expressed by one farmer, the typical attitude is that:

". . . meat from dogs is the healthiest of all. It has shorter fibres than cow meat, has no hormones like veal, no antibiotics like pork."

It is also generally accepted by the local population that dog lard has medicinal "health benefits," in particular for the treatment of rheumatism.

After a German television crew reported on the Swiss dog eating tradition, many people were shocked.

Letters of protest were written from different countries to the regional and federal governments. A petition was signed by 7000 people and handed to the commission of the Cantons [the political subdivisions of St. Gallen and Appenzell]. It was rejected and not passed on to the Federal Council. The reason? It would not be the duty of the state to watch over the eating habits of its citizens.

The Swiss should be applauded. No government should intrude on the dinner tables of its citizens. I'm sure there are many politicians in the US of a different opinion. By the way, this writer has no strong opinion on what other folks eat. It's none of my business.

Robert Koehler has more on this subject at The Marmot's Hole.