The author insists on this, and I guess it is true that this notion is promoted by popular culture. But to me it just seems insane. Have these people ever seen a swan? I mean, whenever I get close to one it is readily apparent that I am dealing with some outgrown aggressive river-beast. The only thing keeping it from biting my head off would seem to be a couple factors of two missing in the volume, which a few thousand years of evolution might have an easy solution to. I see very little cute in swans...
Agreed. A swan is no cuter than a duck, which is a common dish in many menus. Also, we eat a lot of animals which could be considered "cute". A little lamb, for example, or a piglet. So cuteness can't be the answer.
Ducks are still failry rare to be on menus depending on the culture of a restaurant. Some of my friends are still surprised I eat them.
I originally omitted in my comment about thoughts of dogs, cats, and bunnies being taboo as meals in the US. It probably has a lot to do with not only perceived cuteness, but then we have a tendency to make cute things pets, and then they become "part of the family".
You don't usually see piglets or lambs as options in the pet store.
Is duck rare in the US? While not as common as chicken, it's served as food in a lot of Western countries. I've tried it and found it delicious.
Dogs and cats: probably eaten in some cultures, though the thought is shocking to me. But bunny? Not only eaten, but also skinned for their pelts: this is extremely common, to the point I know people who breed them for this exact purpose (and to sell them as pets as well). Rabbit is a common dish in Spanish restaurants, for example.
I'll argue the highly subjective notion that rabbits are cuter than swans, yet we eat and skin rabbits. And they are available in pet stores, unlike... swan!
