[Gpdd] MISC: Role of cavies in other cultures

[Willowstorm25 at aol.com]

Hi Slaves,
 
Just wanted to throw my opinion out there about the use of guinea pigs in  
zoos and such:
 
Joan:  I agree with you totally on the natural order thing.  Yes,  you are 
right, there are many animals in South America that eat guinea pigs all  the 
time.  But I don't feel that they should be bred, either, in this  country, out 
of their natural environment, for the sole purpose of exploitation  and abuse.
 
I do not feel that pet stores should be selling them so carelessly, and I  am 
infuriated by individuals and establishments that house and maintain  them 
irrepsonsibly, and I am quick to make my feelings known.  I have been  an 
advocate, educator and supporter of animal (particularly guinea pig)  rescue and 
adoption for years, and I am usually the first one to stick in my  two-sense when 
I see an helpless animal being misused and maltreated by ignorant  and 
uncaring people who should know better.
 
However, I must admit to something, and I hope this does not alienate me to  
all of my fellow slaves.....  I teach English to South and Central American  
immigrants, about 2/3 of whom come from countries in which guinea pig (or  cuy, 
as it is called in South America) is as much of a staple as  chicken and beef 
in the USA.  There are ranches in operation throughout the  U.S., many run by 
immigrants of South American ancestry, that raise and  sell cuy for the sole 
purpose of consumption of its meat, which has been part of  the cultures of 
Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and other Latin American  countries for tens of thousands 
of years.  
 
While I would never eat a guinea pig, nor tell my students where they might  
find a guinea pig to eat, I do not condemn my students and friends of South  
American extraction for continuing their cultural tradtions any more  than I 
would expect my vegetarian friends to condemn my yen  for the occasional Black 
Angus hamburger.  My students, in turn,  respect my decision, as strange as it 
may seem to them, to keep guinea pigs  as pets and to consider them beloved 
members of my family.  When they visit  my home, they treat my pets with 
respect, and when I visit their home, though I  will not partake in the consumption 
of cuy, I respect their traditions.  It  is difficult, but I manage to do it.
 
As hard as it may be to accept, every ethnic group that has emigrated to  the 
U.S. has brought with it food traditions that long-time denizens have  
considered strange and at times offensive.  While it is fine  to protest these 
traditons by simply not participating, I accept  that we cannot feasibly dictate to 
other cultures what they do or don't eat  in their own kitchens...
 
I think Ryvvir & Aquinnah understand and forgive me for that  acceptance.



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