A Change In Asian Cuisine

 

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If you're planning a trip to parts of East Asia to sample the different foods there, keep in mind that the more and more westernized South Korea is making consumption of dog meat illegal in 2027. The linked article is written by this fellow:

 Peter J. Li, PhD, is an associate professor of animal politics and law at the University of Houston-Downtown and a China policy specialist at Humane Society International

There's  a university in Texas, not northern California or Manhattan, that has an occupied position in "animal politics and law". Can there even be such a thing as "animal politics"? Eating socially favored animals doesn't seem to be much of a problem in Houston or anywhere else in the country. There might be issues with elephants doing circus tricks and tigers leaping through rings of fire but speakeasy dog restaurants seem like a stretch.

Dr. Li mentions that Asian nations should use the "soft power" of culture to spread niceties like banning dog cuisine. "Soft power" has been credited with aspects of US culture spreading over the world, particularly through entertainment, movies and music, though that seems to be more and more of a two-way street and perhaps not completely beneficial.

But what if this kind of thinking becomes universal? Will Indian Hindus be able to criminalize the consumption of beef in areas where they're not politically dominate? Eating horse meat, once a daily lunch menu item at the Harvard faculty club is now illegal in practical terms anywhere in the US but is still common in parts of Europe and many other places as well.

Be that as it may, the University of Houston-Downtown is a public university and an independent part of the University of Houston system. It's none of my business but just as an observation, is the eating of dog meat anywhere in the world the legitimate concern of a southern US institution ostensibly devoted to research and education? Wouldn't replacing Dr. Li with a professor of chemistry or physics be more valuable for the Houston population than an animal rights activist? If one really does care about man's best friend wouldn't he also be appalled at the obese dogs on leashes plodding down suburban American streets?

What's really being driven at here isn't a critique of Asian dietary foibles and the reaction to them. It's about the US university and the changes in its make-up and function. Recent controversies concerning university affairs miss the most important aspects, what was and is their actual purpose and have they strayed from it? If they have, is there a remedy needed and what might it be?

Dr. Peter Li                         newsus.cqtn.com