In the West, when it comes to which meat is for dinner, we nearly always choose beef, pork, or chicken. Yet cows and pigs are only two of more than five thousand of species of mammals, and chicken is one of ten thousand species of birds.

Meanwhile, at different times in history and in different places around the world, people have enjoyed dining on all sorts of animals, from elephants to flamingos to jellyfish.

So how do individuals and cultures decide which animals to eat, and which they don’t? And why is this decision so divisive — why do many Americans look with such horror on those who eat, say, horse or dog?

Listen in this episode for a healthy serving of myth-busting — about domestication, disgust, and deliciousness—as we explore this thorny question.

Thumbnail Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

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