A Case For Eating Dogs

     I am not against the idea of consuming dogs. I believe that if other people from all over the world can eat them without an issue, then the people of the United States should be allowed to eat it without feeling alienated from our society today. In Jonathan Safran Foer's excerpt from "A Case for Eating Dogs," it states, "DESPITE THE FACT THAT IT’S perfectly legal in forty-four states, eating “man’s best friend” is as taboo as a man eating his best friend." Dog consumption being legal in the United States doesn't change the fact that some people are uncomfortable with the idea of eating a pet. Yet, I think that if it's legal then it should be more accepted in society if 88% of our country can legally eat them. I completely understand that people don't want to eat their pets, but nobody is telling them to go into their backyards and star barbecuing their dogs.
     Eating dogs gives us more options for food and is better for the environment. According to Foer's excerpt, he says, "One could argue that various “humane” groups are the worst hypocrites, spending enormous amounts of money and energy in a futile attempt to reduce the number of unwanted dogs while at the very same time propagating the irresponsible no-dog-for-dinner taboo." Another example is,  "This amounts to millions of pounds of meat now being thrown away every year. The simple disposal of these euthanized dogs is an enormous ecological and economic problem. It would be demented to yank pets from homes. But eating those strays, those runaways, those not-quite-cute-enough-to- take and not-quite-well-behaved-enough-to-keep dogs would be killing a flock of birds with one stone and eating it, too." Instead of leaving stray dogs out in the cold to starve to death, we could eat them instead. It would save us the money from putting down dogs or cleaning them up from the environment and it would be a better way to make our environment cleaner as well.
     Putting dogs onto our plates would be the same as eating a cow, chicken, pig, or sheep. We consume many of them annually and adding dogs to our menus wouldn't hurt us. Humans are sentimental creatures, so eating a dog would be like eating their best friend. Foer's excerpt states "Don’t eat animals with significant mental capacities. If by “significant mental capacities” we mean what a dog has, then good for the dog. But such a definition would also include the pig, cow, chicken, and many species of sea animals. And it would exclude severely impaired humans." Since such domestic animals have similar mental capacities, then it should be okay for people to eat dogs without getting strange looks from others. It should be as normal as consuming a hamburger or fried chicken.

Latin Roots #5

Roots:

1. Cent(i) - hundred
2. Cid(e), cis(e) - cut; kill
3. Clam, claim - cry out; declare
4. Cord, cour - heart

Word List:

1. Bicentennial - (relate to) a celebration of a two hundredth anniversary; happening once in a period of two hundred years or lasting two hundred years

A bicentennial of the 1492 would be celebrated in 1692.

2. Centenarian - a person who has lived to be one hundred years old

Some people are lucky enough to become centenarians or older than a centenarian.

3. Centurion - a Roman officer commanding one hundred men; related to the military mind, especially as it favors military solutions for handling social problems

Alexander the Great was a centurion, but led 48,000 troops to invade the Persian empire.

4. Clamorous - characterized by continuous loud and complaining voices

If there was construction being done outside of your house, you'd hear a lot of clamorous disturbances form drills and hammers.

5. Concise - covering much in few words; brief and to the point

In order to study quickly, you should summarize your notes concisely.

6. Concordance - a condition of harmony or agreement; an alphabetical index indicating reference passages, as from a writer's works

When researching about a certain author's works, refer to a concordance about them.

7. Cordial - of the heart; warm and friendly; amiable

Cordial people tend to be more liked and a lot more positive.

8. Discordant - (sounding) harsh or inharmonious; clashing

In a professional symphony or orchestra, the musicians practice extremely hard in order to not play any discordant notes.

9. Genocide - the systematic extermination of an ethnic group

Hitler tried to create a genocide in order to rid the world of Jews.

10. Incisive - keenly penetrating; cutting into

Coming from a friend, incisive criticism can cut one very deeply.

11. Proclamation - an official statement or announcement that informs or honors

Ashoka's proclamations were written in what we claim to know as the "Rock and Pillar Edicts," in order to inform his subjects of his laws.

12. Reclaim - to claim again; to restore to former importance or usefulness

Drug rehabilitation centers often reclaim lost lives.

Latin Roots #4

Roots and Derivatives:

bon, boun - good
capit, capt - chief
carn(i) - flesh
ced(e), ceed, cess - surrender

Word List:

accession - joining or part of a group

An example of an accession is when somebody joins a club.

bona fide - genuine, good faith

To have a good relationship, you must be bona fide so people will accept your true self.

bonanza - an unexpected amount of money

Finding $1000 in a wallet on the ground would be a bonanza.

bounteous - abundant, plentiful

A bounteous forest includes several plants, trees, and wild life.

capitulation - to surrender completely

A sign of capitulation would be the white flag.

carnage - remains of slaughter

After a brutal carnage, it was easy to see who won.

carnivorous - flesh eating

Zombies are carnivorous and could be considered cannibals.

incarnate - manifest; especially in human form

Humans themselves are incarnates.

intercede - to plead on behalf of another

If someone is having a hard time explaining, someone else may intercede for them.

precedent - an example or pattern

In a textbook, you may find many precedents in order to clarify your confusion.

recapitulation - to briefly summarize; a repition

To study quickly and efficiently, students may do a recapitulation of the notes they just took.

reincarnation - the act of being born into another form after death

In Hinduism, people try to escape the cycle of reincarnation in order to seek salvation.