Diverse Squirming
Why doesn't PETA celebrate diversity?
The film, in which a part-fried fish is shown breathing and wriggling on a plate as it is being slowly eaten alive in a restaurant, has been posted on the video-sharing website YouTube.Aren't we supposed to defer our on cultural preferences, automatically, in favor of other cultural practices?
In order to keep the carp alive chefs cook its body but wrap its head in a wet cloth to keep it breathing, before covering it in sauce and serving in on a plate.It strikes me as very... sophisticated. They can cook the fish while keeping it alive. No throat slashing, no electrocution - no concerns about the humane handling of the fish.
The YouTube video shows diners, who are laughing and joking, prodding the fish while it is still moving, before picking it apart with chopsticks.Well, when in Beijing, right?
Peta, the animal rights group, called the video, which had more than 120,000 views on YouTube in a week, "disgusting". A spokesperson said: "Every decent person should be shocked when anyone mocks or abuses a helpless dying animal."Decent in one culture is not decent in all cultures.
It is not the first time that the Chinese have been criticised for their extreme eating habits. Reports have claimed some restaurants offer monkey's brains. Other dishes include rats, dogs, snakes, lizards and baby mice.
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