Eating live animals

Summary

Eating live animals is the practice of humans eating animals that are still alive. It is a traditional practice in many East Asian food cultures. Animals may also be eaten alive for shock value. Eating live animals, or parts of live animals, may be unlawful in certain jurisdictions under animal cruelty laws. Religious prohibitions on the eating of live animals by humans are also present in various world religions.

Live octopus that has been cut into small pieces and served, a popular delicacy in South Korea.
video icon Youtube video of the preparation and eating of sannakji

Practice edit

For shock value edit

Several television game shows such as Fear Factor, Survivor and I'm a Celebrity feature segments where contestants must eat live animals including spiders, cockroaches and grubs. On his show Man vs. Wild, host Bear Grylls is sometimes shown eating various insects alive. There have been calls to ban eating animals alive on these shows.[1] A YouTube channel called "Food for Louis" shows Louis Cole eating live animals.[2]

The swallowing of live goldfish was sometimes practiced within the United States.

Traditional food edit

Fish edit

In Japan, Ikizukuri ("prepared alive") is the preparation of sashimi ("pierced food") made from live seafood. The most popular sea animal used in ikizukuri is fish but octopus is typically the only species that is still moving on the plate.

Another fish dish invented by a Taiwanese chef from Chiayi, is called Yin Yang fish (also dead-and-alive fish) in which the fish's body (but not the head) is rapidly deep-fried and served while the head is still fresh and moving. It is prepared extremely quickly, with care not to damage the internal organs, so that the fish can remain alive for thirty minutes.[3][4]

In an interview, celebrity chef Raymond Blanc stated that in Japan, he had eaten live eels. He was advised to add vinegar and sake, which made them jump around, and then swallowed them whole.[5]

Frog edit

In 2012, a video showing a woman in Japan eating a live frog was posted on YouTube and went viral. In the video, a live frog is seen stabbed alive, stripped of its skin, and its inedible innards removed to be served as fresh sashimi on an iced platter.[6]

In 2007, a newspaper reported that a man from south east China claimed that eating live frogs for a month cured his intestinal problems. He also eats live mice and rats.[7]

Andrew Zimmern of the Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods ate frog sashimi in restaurant seafood name Asadachi in Shinjuku. Though most of the frog is served dead (and raw), the meal begins by eating the frog's fresh, still-beating heart.[3]

Snake edit

Consuming the beating heart and blood of live snakes has been a reported practice among some locals and tourists in certain parts of Vietnam, particularly Le Mat village in Hanoi.[8][9] The practice was documented on Gordon's Great Escape when celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay swallowed the beating heart of a cobra at a Ho Chi Minh eatery.[10][11] It was also consumed by celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain[12] in the same city.[13]

Octopus edit

In Korea, Sannakji is the preparation of live octopus that has been cut into small pieces or prepared whole, and served with its arms still squirming.[3] The octopus from which the tentacles are cut is usually dead by the time of serving; however, the animal's highly innervated limbs continue to writhe due to continuing nerve activity.[14]

Sea urchin edit

Sea urchins are prized as a delicacy in many places worldwide (particularly in Japan, France, South Korea, Chile, New Zealand, the Philippines, Italy, Spain, the Mediterranean,[15] and North America)[16] for their briny-flavoured gonads. The gonads are often eaten raw, such as in sushi (typically called uni). Some people prefer to eat them immediately after they are cut open.[citation needed] Scissors are often used to avoid the protective spines whilst cutting the animal open. The gonads do not move, even when taken from the live animal.[3]

Shrimp edit

In China, drunken shrimp is a dish that can be served live, although it can also be prepared with dead shrimp.[17] When served live, the shrimp, usually 10 per serving, are first doused in a strong liquor which makes them less likely to struggle while being swallowed and also creates a flavourful marinade. A plate is typically held over the bowl to prevent the shrimp from leaping out as they are much more active than when served as Odori ebi.[3][4]

Odori ebi ("dancing shrimp") is a type of Japanese sashimi that contains young shrimp, usually only one individual per serving. The shrimp has its shell removed and sometimes its head as well. These can be deep fried and served alongside the rest of the shrimp, which is still moving its legs and antennae while being eaten. The shrimp only dies when chewed.[4]

Oyster edit

Oysters are the most common animal eaten alive, as it is generally their state when served raw.[18][3]

Ant edit

A chain of restaurants, based primarily in Copenhagen, serves a salad crawling with live ants. The ants are chilled so that they move slowly, and are supposed to taste like lemongrass.[4]

Cockroach edit

Live cockroaches were eaten in a competition in Florida in 2012. The winner collapsed and died from asphyxia due to choking and aspiration of gastric contents.[19]

Larva edit

 
Casu marzu, a traditional Sardinian sheep milk cheese that contains insect larvae

One example of eating live larvae is the witchetty grub of Aboriginal Australian cuisine, which can be eaten alive and raw or cooked.[3]

Casu marzu is a traditional Sardinian sheep milk cheese, notable for containing live insect larvae. It is found almost exclusively in Sardinia, Italy. Casu marzu goes beyond typical fermentation to a stage most would consider decomposition, brought about by the digestive action of the larvae of the cheese fly Piophila casei. These larvae are deliberately introduced to the cheese. The cheese received attention on Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. Zimmern described the taste of the cheese as "so ammoniated" that "...it scorches your tongue a bit." The cheese is known to leave an aftertaste for a duration of up to several hours.[20] Similar milk cheeses notable for containing living insect larvae are produced in several Italian regions.[21][22][23]

Religious prohibitions edit

Judaism edit

According to the Talmud, the sixth Noahide Law (Hebrew: שבע מצוות בני נח Sheva mitzvot B'nei Noach, lit. "Seven Laws [of the] Children [of] Noah") sets out a moral and religious imperative not to eat of a live animal. The Tosefta contains more explicit language on the subject, stating not to eat "a limb torn from a living animal".

As a Noahide Law, this law is said to apply to all the "children of Noah"—that is, all of humanity—as a requirement to ensure a place in the World to Come (Olam Ha-Ba). The laws of Kashrut, on the other hand, set out additional regulations which are binding upon Jews only.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Wright, Alice (22 Nov 2017). "It's time to ban eating live creatures on I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here". Metro. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  2. ^ Tring, O. (2012). "The man who eats live animals". The Guardian. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Nelson, B. "7 animals that are eaten alive by humans". mnn.com. Mother Nature Network. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  4. ^ a b c d Griffen, S. (2013). "10 animals that people eat alive". listverse.com. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
  5. ^ Blanc, Raymond (2011-02-06). "Raymond Blanc: 'These little live eels jump from the bowl and down". The Independent. Interviewed by Hugh Montgomery. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  6. ^ "Viral video of live frog sashimi sparks protest". FoxNews.com. Fox News. 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  7. ^ "Eating live frogs, rats "cures tummy upsets"". Reuters. 2007. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
  8. ^ Phillips, Jak (2013-03-11). "I Ate and Drank Cobra in Vietnam's Snake Village". Vice. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  9. ^ Lastoe, Stacey (25 October 2019). "Hanoi's most popular snake restaurant beckons adventurous diners". CNN.com. Video by Diana Diroy. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  10. ^ "11 Foods Eaten Alive That May Shock You". foodnetwork.ca. Food Network Canada. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  11. ^ Jamieson, Alastair (2011-05-15). "Gordon Ramsay eats beating heart of a snake". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  12. ^ Collett, Michael (2018-06-09). "Anthony Bourdain took us on a journey of the world — often by eating really strange things". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  13. ^ Richer, Shawna (April 6, 2002). "Adventures in the food trade". The Globe And Mail. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  14. ^ "Clash of culture? Sannakji angers US animal activists". koreatimes.co.kr. 2010-05-14. Retrieved 2022-06-10.
  15. ^ Stefánsson, Guðmundur; Kristinsson, Holly; Ziemer, Nikoline; et al. (October 2017). Markets for Sea Urchins: A Review of Global Supply and Markets (PDF). matis.is (Report). Matís. pp. 3, 11. 10-17.
  16. ^ Sun, Jenny; Chiang, Fu‐Sung (2015-11-01). "Use and Exploitation of Sea Urchins". Echinoderm Aquaculture: 25–45. doi:10.1002/9781119005810.ch2. ISBN 9781119005810. Retrieved 2020-03-18 – via researchgate.net.
  17. ^ "Off the Beaten Palate: Live drunken shrimp". Shanghaiist.com. 2013-03-23. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  18. ^ "Just FYI, Raw Oysters Are Alive Until You Eat Them". HuffPost.com. 2017-05-25. Retrieved 2020-03-18.
  19. ^ "Cockroach-eater 'choked to death'". BBC News. 2012-11-26. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
  20. ^ "Video "Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, Sardinia season 6"". YouTube.com. 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2014-08-01.
  21. ^ "Cacie' punt". comuni-italiani.it. Comuni Italiani. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  22. ^ "Formaggio saltarello" (PDF). prodottitipici.com. Prodotti tipici. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  23. ^ "Pecorino marcetto" (PDF). prodottitipici.com. Prodotti tipici. Retrieved 30 April 2011.