I liked the connection to a cultural domestication, it is something I haven’t thought fully about before. I like the reference to pets representing a higher social status in France and Germany. I think today other animals represent wealth especially in the new trends to keep acquiring exotic animals and mixed breeds. The readings stated that as people’s personal engagement with livestock diminished it coincided with a shift to urban populated areas. This trend has also continued today . The most interesting relationship to me is how humans treat some animals over others. People love their dogs more than other people sometimes but when it comes to cattle we readily eat it. How did the domestication process evolve to produce emotional connections with some animals and not others ?
One thought on “Darwin”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
My favorite part of the reading was also definitely the connection to culture. I think that the things you mentioned, such as using pets as status symbols and recent trends of desiring exotic pets, are all things that were done with human wants as the driver, and no concern for what humans actually need, and more importantly what is best for the animals. I think it’s a shame that one of the biggest aspects missing from so called human culture is a lack of consideration for the environment and for the ecosystem, including the animals that are vital to ecosystems.