People eat meat and fish. Because it is healthy, tasty and completes the meal. Many types of animals are edible. In the Netherlands and Belgium, only a small number of edible animal species are eaten. Which animals can you eat?
Why do we eat meat?
Although doubt remains, man appears to have been a hunter-gatherer in origin. This is especially noticeable in the eyes that are located at the front of the head. Man eats meat to survive. Nowadays we mainly eat meat because it is tasty and completes the meal. Meat also provides proteins, the important building blocks of the body. Meat also provides fat, vitamins B and D, iron and zinc. People who do not eat meat also get these nutrients well from fish. If they leave the fish alone, there are plenty of alternatives.
Cattle
In the Netherlands and Belgium, people mainly eat meat that is bred for meat consumption: pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, turkeys and fish.
Pet food
We eat more pets than we think. Rabbits for example. In the Netherlands, both wild and domestic rabbit are eaten. The difference is in the taste: domestic rabbit tastes more like chicken. Chicken is also widely eaten: an animal that is also frequently kept as a pet or as poultry. Horses are kept as pets, pack animals or mounts, but are just as easily eaten.
Many animals kept here as pets are eaten with relish in other countries. Guinea pigs are a tasty Christmas dinner, especially in Peru. Dogs and cats are often eaten in China and Korea . Dog and cat meat is eaten throughout Asia, but the two countries above take the cake. Rats are eaten with relish in India.
Eating pets sometimes brings protests. Understandable, because we pamper and caress our pets. You don’t eat something like that. However, in other countries, for example, the cow is a sacred animal: something that should absolutely never be eaten. Eating pets will therefore always have pros and cons. What is a pet to one person is nothing more than a tasty snack to another.
Eating wild animals
Eating wild animals is very normal, especially in China. Tigers, lions, bears, snakes, crocodiles, various wild animal species are bred specifically for this. But wild animals are also hunted for meat. Seal meat is regularly eaten in Greenland. In Thailand people like to eat elephant meat. And in Kenya zebra, giraffe and ostrich are served.
But a lot of game is also eaten in the Netherlands and Belgium: deer, rabbit, duck or pheasant. There are plenty of wild animals in our countries to hunt and eat.
Birds and fish
Poultry and fish are eaten worldwide. Herring and chicken are two very well-known species. The fish species mainly eat herring, salmon, oyster, trout, tuna, cod, coalfish, sardine, anchovies, sole, mackerel and eel. Of the bird species, these are chicken, turkey, duck, quail, pigeon and guinea fowl.
Insects, reptiles and amphibians
Insects are also increasingly appearing on the menu in the Netherlands. Grasshopper in particular is becoming popular. In non-Western countries, insects such as grasshoppers, spiders, cockroaches, crickets and mealworms are much more commonly eaten.
Reptiles and amphibians are rarely eaten in the Netherlands and Belgium , with the exception of the frog (frog legs). In non-Western countries, crocodile, caiman, iguana, frog, toad and snake are eaten more often.
Can you eat any animal?
Many animal species are protected and cannot simply be killed. In most cases, an animal may only be slaughtered in a slaughterhouse and must be stunned beforehand. Exceptions are ritual slaughters. Most people who slaughter an animal themselves (ritually) encounter a chicken, rooster, rabbit, goat, sheep, hare or pigeon.
The slaughter of dogs and cats is prohibited by law in the Netherlands and Belgium, but eating dog and cat meat is not prohibited. Livestock may only be slaughtered by a slaughterhouse.
In principle, you can eat any animal if you like it: the question is often how you get this meat. Much of the meat will have to come from abroad, because slaughter is often prohibited in Western countries.
Belief often determines what can and cannot be eaten . Jews and Muslims don’t eat pork, Hindus don’t eat beef and Christians figure it out for themselves. But for those who are not tied to a certain religion: eat what you want and what you like.