Frog Legs? Yum.

I don't actually like frog legs. I've never tried them.

But being a food lover, I think it's interesting how food seems to be such a sensitive, big part of culture. It's not just the food--it's also how it's eaten, when it's eaten, who's eating it, where it's being served, and in what order!

People also really conflict about what's eaten. For instance, a lot of people think frog legs are weird. And there's a huuuuuuuuuuge opposition  about dog-eating in Asia. I've actually heard a lot of comments about it. I was being picky at a meal once, and some kid said, "You shouldn't be picky, considering you even eat dogs."

I was pretty offended. I don't eat dogs. Most Asians don't eat dogs. But it's incredible and kind of sad that a lot of the time whole nationalities and whole races are all lumped together based on the actions of a few individuals. That being said, other places also have their own "eatables" and "non-eatables." A lot of cultures, particularly in India, don't believe in eating cows, right? They would have been horrified by my hamburger-munching commentator.

A lot of the "eat" and "do not eat" are dependent on the particular culture's perception on the animal. While I am personally against dolphin or whale eating, as are a lot of people who see them as intelligent self-aware species, whales are popular in Japan and in native North American cultures because they are seen as a medicine. Horses are eaten in France because they are seen very similarly to how cows are seen in America.

It's all a matter of established belief in the culture--is the animal food, a friend, or practically human?