Could you eat a songbird?!
@morgandrake (2136)
United States
September 19, 2007 12:45pm CST
Ok, this morning I am reading the news on-line and I ran across this story about a French dish had been banned because the animal in question is an endangered species.
Once I realized what they were talking about, I went "Arrgh!" Songbird?! They are eating little birds? How wrong and horrible is that?
Ok, I admit that I eat chicken. And occasionally, one of the outdoor cats catches and eats a bird (in their defense, they are the results of a feral cat colony--they had to catch their own dinner for several years before I showed up).
But I can not imagine eating tweety. Maybe I am just a wimpy American, but songbirds are meant for being pretty and sweet music, not to gobble down like a twinkie.
And yes, I would change my tune if I was straving to death (after all, I came from a poor family--I eat a lot of stuff that normal people don't touch because of that). But I am not straving to death, and either are these people. To be able to pay $210 for a bite sized morsel is a sign that you are too well off to be eating tweety.
Leave tweety alone.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20868380/?GT1=10357
5 responses
@craftcatcher (3699)
• United States
19 Sep 07
I have no problem with eating anything as long as it's not remotely endangered or poisonous, preferably farm raised. I've eaten a lot of strange things in my time. The smallest birds I've ever eaten was a pigeon and a cornish hen. Both make for a nice hearty meal if stuffed.
I wouldn't have a problem with songbirds either as long as they were farm raised specifically for food so that the wild population could flourish. If this little bird is such a delicacy I'm surprised someone isn't smart enough to farm raise them and leave the wild population alone. Just plain dumb in my book!
1 person likes this
@morgandrake (2136)
• United States
20 Sep 07
It is probably against the law. I know that there are certain birds that even if they are injured can't be kept by private individuals--if they are on the endangered, you can't own one. In my area, even magpies and crows are off-limits.
@peaceful (3294)
• United States
19 Sep 07
In many cultures songbirds are on the menu:
http://jamessolheim.com/recipes.html
As well as parrots and swans- I myself wouldn't eat them knowingly, but I have sampled dishes from a lot of cultures- without asking about the ingredients, as a matter of politeness... Hopefully none of them contained singbirds or Ravens- which I adore! :) LOL!:)
1 person likes this
@morgandrake (2136)
• United States
20 Sep 07
Ravens and magpies are both off limits to me--don't want to eat my totem animals.
@lingli_78 (12821)
• Australia
20 Sep 07
i can't imagine myself eating tweety... :-) i just don't have the heart and feel very cruel if i do it... i only eat normal meat like chicken, beef, pork, fish and prawns (very rare)... :-)
1 person likes this
@creematee (2810)
• United States
20 Sep 07
That is just wrong! If I was starving, and the only thing I could manage to kill and eat was a bird, then probably yes, I would eat it, but There is NO WAY I would spend $210 on it! I wouldn't even spend that on the best steak, pork, AND fish put together for a meal for 4! YIKES!
1 person likes this
@houndsgood (774)
• United States
19 Sep 07
I personally could not and I agree with you.
There is a big difference between eating a songbird and eating a chicken not from the perspective of what animal is better/nicer/shouldn't be eaten but a mere practical standpoint.
A songbird has such a negligible amount of meat in it that cooking it is really only a novelty, not a legitimate way to nourish yourself, even if you could make the argument of someone starving and eating off the land. When it is cooked I am sure it is even more negligible if the meat shrinks up. Native peoples must know this because there are few, if any, cultures that eat small songbirds. Usually they have far higher value to them alive to alert people to the presence of edible berries, and to warn them of certain predators, and consume harmful insects.
A chicken or turkey is more substantial and could feed one or a few people.
1 person likes this
