Animals you consider too smart to eat

[Caliga]

FWIW I don't think cows are particularly stupid, but I don't see anyone on Languish saying we should not eat beef.

Lots of people don't eat beef

Amended.

[Barrister]

We shouldn't eat beef.

Bison is much tastier and healthier. 

[jimmy olsen]

If they were really smart, we wouldn't need to have this debate.

Not necessarily--people actually did and do eat apes and dolphin often enough, but more modern sensibilities tend to be repulsed at the notion, due to a growing recognition of intelligence.

If they are not smart enough to avoid being a tasty snack, then they are not smart enough to worry about, obviously.

Even if Dolphins were as smart as humans or smarter, how could they possibly prevent us from eating them if we wanted to? They live in the sea and have no limbs with which to manipulate their environment and produce tools with.

[Eddie Teach]

Even if Dolphins were as smart as humans or smarter, how could they possibly prevent us from eating them if we wanted to? They live in the sea and have no limbs with which to manipulate their environment and produce tools with?

Telekinesis?

Dunno how they would evolve that intelligence without also having ways to utilize it.

[Malthus]

If they were really smart, we wouldn't need to have this debate.

Not necessarily--people actually did and do eat apes and dolphin often enough, but more modern sensibilities tend to be repulsed at the notion, due to a growing recognition of intelligence.

If they are not smart enough to avoid being a tasty snack, then they are not smart enough to worry about, obviously.

Even if Dolphins were as smart as humans or smarter, how could they possibly prevent us from eating them if we wanted to? They live in the sea and have no limbs with which to manipulate their environment and produce tools with?

They could hire lawyers to sue anyone who eats them, paying in undersea treasures. 

[I Killed Kenny]

none

[DisturbedPervert]

Even if Dolphins were as smart as humans or smarter, how could they possibly prevent us from eating them if we wanted to? They live in the sea and have no limbs with which to manipulate their environment and produce tools with.

All the monkeys will pay

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28315

[The Brain]

Attendants at the Augusta Languish meet may or may not recall that I deeply enjoy calamari, but a few years back I stopped eating cephalopods, for the same reason that I would refuse to eat dog or cat.  Octopi and cuttlefish are clearly too intelligent to be ethically consumed, and squid are borderline enough to qualify for protection.

Naturally, I would expect most people here would not even consider eating a great ape, cetacean, or elephant, animals approaching human levels of sapience, at least outside of a starvation scenario that would already permit a justification for eating other people.

I'm also disturbed by the possibility that pigs are cat/dog-level intelligent, because pig meat is too delicious to say goodbye to.

Are there any animals that you won't eat, because you consider their cognitive abilities to be sufficient to permit them a right to live?

Syt, whatever name he's posting under or if he's still here, need not reply to this, because "none" is not a terribly interesting answer.

1. Why wouldn't you eat an intelligent animal? I'm not interested in eating great apes but that has more to do with their hairy humanesque looks and HIV rumors. Whale or elephant isn't served a lot in Sweden but if I got some I would eat it without giving the possibly high intelligence of the animal a thought.

2. Pigs are bright, that is well known. Our Western tradition of not eating cats and dogs has nothing to do with the perceived intelligence level of the animals.

[Savonarola]

To be honest, no. I've had Guinea pig, I love squid, I've had dog (tastes like beef, btw). I wish I had tried ox and horse when I was in Mongolia. I'll try pretty much anything that's tasty and not human.

An ox is a castrated steer; you've probably had it somewhere along the way.

I've had cured horse (like horse ham) in Verona.  It was unbelievably salty.  Horse is a specialty of Parma; I got a chuckle out of the many restaurants which advertised "Horse Roast-Beef Style" there. 

[The Brain]

Horse is nice.

[Darth Wagtaros]

We shouldn't eat beef.

Bison is much tastier and healthier. 

[garbon]

FWIW I don't think cows are particularly stupid, but I don't see anyone on Languish saying we should not eat beef.

Lots of people don't eat beef

Amended.

I suppose I wouldn't tell anyone not to eat beef, but I generally won't eat it.

[garbon]

If they are not smart enough to avoid being a tasty snack, then they are not smart enough to worry about, obviously.

So eating babies, no big deal?

[Valmy]

FWIW I don't think cows are particularly stupid

Are you kidding me?   I worked with cattle for many years and they are dumbest fucking things ever, which is a rather common trait for big herd herbivores.  Brains are not really required to group up together and eat everything.

[saskganesh]

We shouldn't eat beef.

Bison is much tastier and healthier. 

I agree, but grass fed beef is also really lean. people need powerful protein.