Social media explodes after CNN columnist suggests eating dogs

(Image credit: Twitter/Busy Treats)

last updated 8 January 2015

CNN ran an opinion article by John Sutter this morning with the provocative title "The argument for eating dog." Since it was published, social media sites, especially Twitter, have exploded with negative responses to Sutter's article.

It's not surprising that Sutter's article elicited a strong response — his first sentence linked out to graphic photos of the dog meat trade. Sutter goes on to say that eating dog meat could be "helpful" in the United States. Here's a summary of Sutter's thesis:

If we think dog shouldn't be eaten — like, ever, regardless of how clean the trade is and how quick the kill — then maybe we should think about the other animals we eat, and if and why we don't feel the same way about them. Is it because we spend so much time with dogs — looking into their eyes, talking to them, walking them, picking up their crap — that we understand that they are living, breathing, feeling beings? Would we feel that way about other animals if we could hang out more? [CNN]