Chef Jason Febres at the Taste & See restaurant in Wichita seems confused by all of the commotion over his menu. Febres triggered an international outcry with his announcement that he would be serving up Lion for a special on the menu with kangaroo, alpaca, crocodile and water buffalo. After the restaurant was deluged with objections from animal rights activists, environmentalists, and human beings, Febres withdrew the item saying “We did took a second look … and realized that yes, it can be a little shocking and disturbing for some people.”
Perhaps the second and third look should have occurred immediately after the idea came to him. Febres added “I did felt [sic] touched and didn’t mean to offend anybody so I decided to make it right and substitute the Lion course.”
Here is the most troubling aspect of the story: the dinner was quickly sold out.
Febres insists that this would have been “farm-raised lion meat” and not anything wild. In response to the criticism, he said “It’s just ignorance” and noted that the African lion is not endangered.
If you recall, we discussed the plan of an Arizona restaurant last year to serve lion tacos.
The controversy is a real-life version of the movie “The Freshman” where people would pay a premium price to eat the last of a species.
Here is the question. If you are a meat eater, is there a moral difference between eating a water buffalo or kangaroo and a cow? If you can eat a water buffalo, what is the moral line in not eating a lion raised in captivity?
Source: Kansas
Kudos: Mark Volker
PETA……. People Eating Tasty Animals…… They’ve been doing this for centuries…….I think…..
There is no moral difference. Some people (think you should not eat animals that are cute (monkeys), or endangered (lions), or with which people have pet or pet-like relationships (dogs and horses). Outside the United States, many disagree with one or more of the above.
My question is whether lion meat is palatable, at least, to U.S. consumers. I have been told that meat from carnivores tends to be strongly flavored and unpalatable, but have no personal experience.
The restaurant owner must be from the Yukon Territory where they eat anything that does not eat them first.
Dredd, the same is true of Cajuns. If it moves, they will kill and eat it, if it doesn’t eat them or kill them.
In the South of France they serve up a tasty Cassoulet which can have eyeballs floating in it….
Some in the cosmos mayt think LIon is simply getting his just desserts…I am glad that humans don’t think that way….
Wow. Is it legal to kill lions anywhere? Is it legal for restaurants to offer lion meat on the menu? While I am a meat eater, I would not eat any meat from endangered species or that was not raised for the purpose of consumption.
At least he didn’t receive death threats like the man who tried to server lion tacos in his restaurant a few years ago.
I’m not a strict vegetarian – an occasional turkey sub or blt. And I leave it half eaten if I think about where the meat came from. The vegetarian diet is the most healthful.
“What’s the Matter with Kansas?” Well, this and lots more.
What a disgrace.
Woosty,
You never know what you get in sausage. I swear there was something I won’t mention in the premium italian import, which I stopped shopping afterwards.
Better hope the lion doesn’t eat you first. They kill hyenas and eat them. I think it’s rather disgusting. But meat is meat.
Pick your appetizer.
Lions don’t have split hooves or chew their cuds. Feh. “Let the goyim eat it.”
Get the water buffaloes instead. Just stay away from the crocodiles.
Just substitute the American Cougar, which is actually pretty tasty. Plus it helps the local economy with buy American.
I see no moral difference in eating something that was grown specifically to be eaten.
give the chef a steak knife and let him go into the cage and carve off a slice.
I don’t understand the debate. Wikipedia says lions are “vulnerable”, not endangered, and this restaurant is offering farm-raised, not hunted, meaning it would not decrease the number of wild lions. They might be able to provide lions for zoos, or even release them in the wild.
My best guess is that the only reason people are shocked is because they are not used to eating lion meat. There are interesting studies showing people attribute (erroneously) lower intelligence to animals whose meat they are used to eating…
My ex-wife used to eat buffalo and ostrich. I told her I didn’t like it. We got divorced.
A decadent meal for a dilatant clientele. I’m with Pete, if people want a memorable meal of wild meat they should really get back to their roots. Give them a pointed stick and let them kill their wild beast. Now that would be a memorable meal, no matter the ‘winner’.
That very expensive Japanese delicacy, whale-sperm sushi, (from happy, farm-raised whales no doubt) is supposed to be quite tasty also.
Lotta,
Farm raised whales?!
Better you eat the lion than the lion eat you.
Raff, well you know the only whales they take on their yearly hunts are for scientific study, it couldn’t be from them.
Meat is meat. An animal suffers when it dies in one way or another. To the animal, from his/her perspective, dying is dredful. The animal does not want to die. This is the same if the animal is a cow, farm raised lion, domestic sperm whale, or pet vegetarian vulture with an identity crisis.
Some animals eat other animals, Some eat plants, some both. A plant would want to live but lacking a brain, it cannot beg to differ. Unlike certain lichens, animals cannot live by
breadminerals alone. We need meat/plants to live.A farm raised animal does not lack a brain, it has concerns as mentioned in the first paragraph.
If we choose to eat meat, we choose to eat meat. If we choose to eat only plants, we choose to only eat plants. Animals other than we don’t care about the prey they chew upon, other than how soon dinner time arrives. The prey is just something to chew on. Herbivores do not care about the suffering of plants, only where the next meal is.
Like it or not, this is the nature of the beasts.
Lottakatz contributed:
“That very expensive Japanese delicacy, whale-sperm sushi”
~+~
Hopefully that form of sushi comes with a warning about also having the Salmon Roe with it. Might lead to 9 months of indigestion and a rather horrid “outcome”.
The chef changed his mind, and pulled the lion meat dish.
By the way, ‘farm raised’ does not make the act ‘better’. Lions are a vulnerable species, so any lions being raised should solely be raised specifically for species preservation–not for spoiled people with too much money.
This supper is for jaded appetites who have lost all concept of what it means to “have a life”.
And this chef is bolstering his mediocre cooking skills by using exotic meats.
A truly great chef can make a memorable meal of what’s easily available. It’s only the mediocre chefs that have to use exotic ingredients.
In addition, there are health risks associated with certain types of feline meat. For instance, it’s extremely hazardous to eat cougar meat, though some idiots do so–probably because of some kind of macho insecurity.
On the removal of the lion dish
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-08-14/lion-chops-provoke-outrage-as-wichita-chef-rethinks-menu
Shelley,
I don’t think it’s a good idea to kill animals just to put their head on a platter.
Darren,
