chelsea Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 (edited) Did anyone else see the trailer for the new channel 4 series? (starts next wed) http://www.channel4sales.com/programming/could+you+eat+an+elephant/1569 Its one I definitely wont be watching. Two "celebrity chefs" explore taboo meats/food around the world. Channel 4 like to be contreversial dont they....I dont know what it is about them at the moment - they have to show as much animal killing as possible. I know some people will say that if you dont want to see it then turn off......which I will, but I cant stop thinking about it and the trailer gives you a taste of whats to come also. Edited January 9, 2009 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clootie Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 I was only just talking about this - I won't be watching it either. I can't stop thinking about the trailer. I think it was the dogs that did it for me - very upsetting, can't get the image out of my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted January 8, 2009 Author Share Posted January 8, 2009 thank goodness it wasnt just me.... Its the first thing I mentioned to OH when he got home. I dont think channel 4 should be showing the trailer TBH as we dont get a warning that its going to be on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fowlbird Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 TBH I can't see any difference between eating dog, elephant or cows etc... and no, I won't be eating any Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mutrix Farmers Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Problem is what is taboo in one country isn't in another. After all humans were fair game in some places of the world!! However don't agree with killing an animal for entertainment to see what it tastes like. Won't be watching. And could I eat an elephant? Not all in one go!! (Sorry!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fowlbird Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 However don't agree with killing an animal for entertainment to see what it tastes like. Won't be watching. it's not part of a regular kill then? that's obscene I thought they were filming somewhere where elephants are part of the local diet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mutrix Farmers Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I'm not even sure in Kenya they have ever been part of the normal diet of the natives! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fowlbird Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I wouldn't know, never having been to Kenya! I still see no difference between eating the flesh of one animal or another... the queasiness set in around the age of 8 or 9 when I suddenly connected the kidney on my plate to the ones in my body Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 well, as long as it's free range and had a good life and is a herbivore, I'll eat it. I draw the line at eating vegetarians though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fowlbird Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 well, as long as it's free range and had a good life and is a herbivore, I'll eat it. I draw the line at eating vegetarians though! thank goodness for that! I'll be safe travelling through Northwest Cheshire then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 what I meant though that these are not normal meats we would eat here in the west. In one show they eat dog, and in others snakes and monkeys Would you eat dog? When we travelled to the far east they ate anything that crawled! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fowlbird Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 Would you eat dog? no, but I wouldn't eat cow, sheep or pig either and certainly not cutsie little chookies and others When we travelled to the far east they ate anything that crawled! the other night we met up with some friends who live in France - they were invited to a party where just about every part of every animal was served including the spinal cord of something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 the other night we met up with some friends who live in France - they were invited to a party where just about every part of every animal was served including the spinal cord of something Ooh er... I had heard that about France also, they dont like to waste anything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quickcluck Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I agree with you Chelsea! It's a race to see which programme can be the most disgusting. I certainly do not see it as entertainment in any way, shape or form.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KimmyCustard Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 We're off to Bangkok next month, only thing I'm not looking forward to is the snakes and chooks and animals in cages in the markets............... sad. Kimmy x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 We're off to Bangkok next month, only thing I'm not looking forward to is the snakes and chooks and animals in cages in the markets............... sad. Kimmy x Just look the other way, that's what I did. When we were in HongKong one of our "excursions" involved going to a market...not a good idea! Bangkok is fab , have you been there before? (if not, you must go to the Grand Palace) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 It is all cultural isn't it....what offends some is mainstream for others. Bushmeat and the eating of any endangered species is not acceptable. but as far as I can see, there is little we can do from our cosy armchairs, apart from support the appropriate wildlife charities, especially tose which have re-education among their aims. I am against the eating of dogs, cats etc, but am more concerned about their welfare when alive and in particular, the manner of their death than I am about their flesh being eaten. I agree that the TV folk are running out of reality programme ideas with which to titivate the jaded palate of the nation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 apropos of questionable delicacies, Jeremy Clarkson was on TV a few years ago gobbling down an Ortolan in France, knowing full well it was illegal. Not only was it illegal, the manner in which they are prepared is so cruel. An Ortolan is a little bird which they drown in brandy then roast I saw the ad for this prog last night and the scene of the dogs packed in like sardines in that cage was really upsetting Wonder how these travelling gourmets will justify their exploits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze Posted January 10, 2009 Share Posted January 10, 2009 I'm with Egluntine. My problem isnt so much with the eating of dogs but more that the cultures that eat dogs etc don't treat them well. As for eating still beating snakes hearts and the like... its too much for me. I also think theres a difference between which animals. Rare animals and birds are a definite nono straight off however they've been treated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 I have complained to channel 4 about the ad for the programme. It comes on without warning and I too dont want to see those poor little dogs packed in that cage before their death . I am choosing not to watch the programme so why should I see clips of it in the trailer in between a light hearted programme like Big Brother. I understand completely what you are saying about cultural differences....just a shame when a lot of the far east has civillised modern cities now (with access to normal livestock) and they still eat the weirdest things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted January 10, 2009 Author Share Posted January 10, 2009 I am against the eating of dogs, cats etc, but am more concerned about their welfare when alive and in particular, the manner of their death than I am about their flesh being eaten. . Well said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted January 14, 2009 Author Share Posted January 14, 2009 this is the reply I got about the complaint I made about the trailer advertising the show Thank you for your e-mail regarding the trailer for the programme COULD YOU EAT AN ELEPHANT? We are sorry to read that you found the images within the trailer upsetting and disagree with our decision to commission this particular programme. The documentary is a considered and thought-provoking look at the unusual foods eaten by different cultures around the world, and explores where some British food taboos stem from. We feel that this is a balanced programme and should you choose to watch it, you will see that the presenters do condemn the treatment of some animals where appropriate and we do have clear on-air warnings about the content and it is scheduled appropriately after the watershed. I accept their reply, but it they are still showing the trailer which is why I complained in the 1st place as it comes on without warning and OH has to shout "look away" when he sees it coming! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeckyBoo Posted January 14, 2009 Share Posted January 14, 2009 I haven't seen the trailer, to be honest as a carnivore I don't think I can object to eating any animal, who's to say the difference between a fluffy lamb, a snake, a sweet little guinea pig, if I'm going to eat meat I don't think I should be hypocritical and say "I'll only eat the ones that aren't cute". But I can't treat animals as purely in existence for my consumption. If I'm going to eat an animal I want it to have been treated well, to have lived a life as close to that which nature intended, to have fed on the the things it would naturally have fed on and to have had a death as free from pain, stress and fear as it is possible to have. Then I want every bit of that animal to be used so that it's death is not a wasted one. I want my children to grow up knowing that roast dinner on Sunday was running around in a field the week before. That no matter how "free from pain stress and fear" it's death was, it was still a death and that means blood. Other countries live by other standards and who is to say we are right and they are wrong, I wholey condemn abuse of animals for the "satisfaction" of humans, but some cultures are so far removed from us I think it is naive of us to impose our values on them. Who's to say how I would treat a dog if it stood between my children and starvation? As a final righteous rant, I do think that Channel 4 sometimes just goes for shock value, yes, people should be aware of what happens to animals in other countries, but if you just shove something unpalatable in someones face, chances are they will do exactly as you have said, turn away and not look. Far better to give someone warning so they can sit and peek between their fingers and see, if only a little bit, what it is you are trying to show them. Would I eat an elephant? Yup, I'd give it a go, as long as it wasn't killed "just to see what it tasted like" or just for TV. If it was part of a normal native diet I'd try it. (Must be a boomin' big oven tho!! ) Mrs B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rachel19 Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I don't object to eating any animal really having eaten quite a few already - when in south africa I ate things like zebra, warthog and hippo and if elephant had been on the menu I would have eaten that as well. These animals tend to be on large game reserves where they are shot to demand and live wild up until that point so in my opinion it is probably better than inensively farmed animals. I wouldn't eat these things in this country as they are not native but when in another country where this is normal i don't see a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clootie Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 I don't object to eating any animal really having eaten quite a few already - when in south africa I ate things like zebra, warthog and hippo and if elephant had been on the menu I would have eaten that as well. These animals tend to be on large game reserves where they are shot to demand and live wild up until that point so in my opinion it is probably better than inensively farmed animals. I wouldn't eat these things in this country as they are not native but when in another country where this is normal i don't see a problem. even dog? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
