Dog meat off the menu during Beijing Olympics
BEIJING Canine cuisine is core sent to the doghouse during nearest month’s Beijing Olympic Games.
Dog meat has been struck from the menus of officially designated Olympic restaurants, and Beijing tourism officials are telling other outlets to discourage consumers from ordering dishes made from dogs, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Friday.
Waiters and waitresses should “patiently” suggest other options to diners who order dog, it declared, quoting city tourism bureau Vice Director Xiong Yumei.
Dog, known in Chinese as “xiangrou,” or “fragrant meat,” is eaten by more Chinese despite its purported health-giving qualities.
Beijing isn’t the first Olympic multitude to slap a ban on the dish.
South Korea banned dog meat during the 1988 Seoul Olympics by invoking a statute prohibiting the sale of “foods deemed unsightly.” After the Olympics, the ban was not strictly enforced.
Dog meat is also eaten in more other Asian countries, including Vietnam, the Philippines and Laos.
Original text: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008046377_apchingdogmeat.html?syndication=rss
