no dog meat for you

If you're headed to Beijing for the Olympics, and hoping to get a taste of some dog meat (yum!), you might be disappointed. The Beijing Catering Trade Association has ordered all 112 designated Olympic restaurants to take dog off the menu, and has strongly advised other establishments to stop serving it until September. Waiters have been urged to "patiently" suggest alternative dishes to customers who ask for dog. It's all part of a wider campaign to avoid offending foreigners during the Games.

Here's an interesting opinion piece in the New York Times on the sticky issue of canines as cuisine, pointing out the Western fascination (and hypocrisy) with the "exotic" Chinese diet, as well as the Chinese government's own hypocritical image consciousness: It's Too Hot for Dog on the Menu.