Ah the noble guinea pig... so cute, so furry, so... tasty?!

Bear with me a moment as I delve into the world of pet cuisine (which I've done before).  Although I am not a card-carrying PETA member, I do think it's important that we all know as much as possible about where our food comes from.  Normally when I've blogged about this stuff in the past I've challenged people to consider the cultural context of what they consider "food".

Whether you know it or not, you have three categories of animals in your brain.  First there's wild animals: things that live in the forest and zoos that you probably don't want to eat (like gorillas).  Then there's companion animals: critters you can get at a pet store and live with you in your home.  And lastly there are food animals: basically any creature reared on a farm.  Which animals belong in which categories is largely based on your culture.  For example, Americans think of whales as "wild" whereas the Japanese think of them as "food".  Animals such as rabbits which were a staple of American settlers years ago, changed in our culture from "food" animals to "companion" animals today.  Most Westerners nowadays would feel uncomfortable eating rabbit stew due to the images of the fluffy bunny that was used as the main ingredient.

And that's an important thing to consider.  We always perceive companion animals as being "cute" and having "personalities", but we distance ourselves from having similar thoughts about animals we place in the "food" category such as cows and chickens.

The cultural categorization of animals has a profound influence on how we understand food sources.  Are hunters barbaric or do they simply have a different definition of which animals fall under the "food" category?  Are PETA activists extremists simply because they view all animals as "wild" or "companion" animals?

In our modern society we have a very artificial, abstract relationship to our food.  Most of the foods we consume are actually food products.  Hamburger patties, breaded chicken nuggets, fish sticks... you get the idea.

I don't have any answers on which animals belong where, or whether we should all be vegans or what have you.  But I challenge you to consider the components of your own diet.  Ask yourself where these food items come from and, in the case of animal-derived food sources, consider the life of the animal that produced the food.  Sometimes the answers aren't what you want to hear but at least you'll make a more informed and moral choice the next time you go grocery shopping.

To help get your gears turning, scroll down for a series of guinea pig images.  Some show guinea pigs as cute pets, others show them as cuisine.  Challenge yourself to consider the differences between these pictures and if I had presented a series of chickens and KFC entrees.

So what are your thoughts?  Is there really a difference between guinea pigs and chickens, or is it simply our cultural background that's drawn the line for us? 

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