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Forest Treasures
Jul. 28th, 2012 08:45 amSigh... dogs, whaddaya do with them.
We have QUITE a bit of carrion lying about in the forest, and while I would rather Kitsune not chew on it, it's impossible to stop her short of keeping her fenced in 24-7. It's pretty much her favorite thing in the world, and she gathers it up and manages her collection as if it was fine wine. I don't know if it's "bad for her" or anything but I figure that if dogs were harmed by decomposing flesh they would have gone extinct a long time ago.
The interesting thing is how selective she is. If it's too fresh, she doesn't chew on it, but instead buries it and retrieves it later. Rotten meat makes me gag, to the extent that I can hardly take out the trash without getting the dry heaves if there's something like sour chicken juice in there. But properly aged carrion smells rather good, sort of like a cross between beef jerky and country ham, and in this I think I am picking up on the same elements she does.
The idea that humans were, historically, more oriented around scavenging than hunting is something taken rather seriously by paleontologists, so it would not surprise me if we had a built in sense for when it's good to eat. In an era obsessed with freshness, we are actually neglecting a huge swath of our native culinary instincts - we are so unaccustomed to distinguishing between "edible" and "dangerous" that anything outside the bounds of perfect freshness has become either taboo or so formalized and regulated that we no longer need to exercise our own judgment.
I will admit to being tempted. But while I do have an adventurous palate, I do have my limits...
We have QUITE a bit of carrion lying about in the forest, and while I would rather Kitsune not chew on it, it's impossible to stop her short of keeping her fenced in 24-7. It's pretty much her favorite thing in the world, and she gathers it up and manages her collection as if it was fine wine. I don't know if it's "bad for her" or anything but I figure that if dogs were harmed by decomposing flesh they would have gone extinct a long time ago.
The interesting thing is how selective she is. If it's too fresh, she doesn't chew on it, but instead buries it and retrieves it later. Rotten meat makes me gag, to the extent that I can hardly take out the trash without getting the dry heaves if there's something like sour chicken juice in there. But properly aged carrion smells rather good, sort of like a cross between beef jerky and country ham, and in this I think I am picking up on the same elements she does.
The idea that humans were, historically, more oriented around scavenging than hunting is something taken rather seriously by paleontologists, so it would not surprise me if we had a built in sense for when it's good to eat. In an era obsessed with freshness, we are actually neglecting a huge swath of our native culinary instincts - we are so unaccustomed to distinguishing between "edible" and "dangerous" that anything outside the bounds of perfect freshness has become either taboo or so formalized and regulated that we no longer need to exercise our own judgment.
I will admit to being tempted. But while I do have an adventurous palate, I do have my limits...
