July 28, 2010
NYC
Elevation: 80m
In The New Yorker there is an article by Jonathan Franzen about the practice of poaching song birds in places such as Malta, Cyprus and Italy, ambelopoulia. The song birds are caught either by lime sticks, nets or sometimes even shot, served boiled and or pickled. It is a delicacy and a plate of them costs about 40-60 Euros.
As I am reading through this article a few thoughts / reactions flutters through me. First, sympathy as Franzen describes the mercy killing of a song bird him and an activist have freed from the lime sticks but is now too hurt to be saved. I could feel the little tiny bird in my hand as Franzen describes the swift motion that took the bird’s head off. Secondly, I wondered how do I feel about this in relation to WOK THE DOG?
The act of dog eating in China began out of poverty and desperation. Somewhere along the way, it became a thing to do in the winter time, as dog meat is warming according to the teaching of traditional Chinese medicine. In Korea, dog meat is favorite during the summer seasons but I believe the source of the practice too came from lack verus abundance. When there is nothing to eat, I think you should eat whatever there is available to you, be it dog or song birds. In the particular case of dog eating, given that all protests are based on sentimental attachments Westernized citizens have in regards to dogs as pets, I am comfortable coming down on the side of defending dog eating.*
According to Franzen, lime stick trapping of song birds has been a “tradition in Cyprus at least since the 16th Century. Migratory birds were an important seasonal source of protein in the countryside, and older members of Cypriots remember being told by their mothers to go out to the garden and catch some dinner.” Alright, so then we must content with both the issue of scarcity and tradition in regards to ambelopoulia.
Within the scope of scarcity and need for food, the argument becomes some what easier as you eat what you can get. However, with Cyprus, Malta and Italy all member of the European Union and this is 2010, I am having a hard time understanding why is food still an issue of scarcity. The Bird Directive of 1979 requires member state to protect all European bird species and irrespective to repeated warning from the EU for infringement Cyprus has thus far avoided fines and judgments. May I please ask why? The issue of tradition is a harder issue to tackle. The hunting and trapping of song birds is a matter of tradition and patriotism. This is where I feel a sense of moral ambiguity in relation to WOK THE DOG. One could argue that dog eating is also one of tradition. Yet I think the distinctive difference here is that canines are yet to be endangered and facing extinction. Maybe that is where we should draw the line….what’s for dinner? Something that is no where near extinction or over hunted.
It is hard to force any one culture / nation to change and shed traditions that are deeply rooted. I am in general for tradition unless it is just illogical, out dated and or simply dumb. As we overfish the ocean clean, as we vacuum the sky free of birds, the delicate balance of hunter / pray is skewing towards an artificial world where there will be little nature left. Survival of the fittest is not about necessarily about the strongest but the most adoptable to their environment. In this contest, the winner is clear. Humans will out hunt, out fish and out kill just about every other creature on planet earth. But as we do so with a blind spot towards the longevity of our collective survival our strength is not serving our best interest. Perhaps there is a time when tradition, patriotism, exotic-ness, and or simply an indulgent of the taste buds should be exchanged for a boarder vision.
* No, I have never eaten dog meat. Franzen was reluctant to sample the ambelopoulia but he felt duty bound as a good journalist to at least try. I do too feel duty bound to try.
* This is image from Tsukiji and of giant tuna, which is endangered and over-fished.
