Pets or Meat?

There's a scene in Michael Moore's Roger & Me where rabbits are being sold as "Pets or Meat." I saw an article today highlighting a local restaurant serving cuy, a word I didn't recognize. If the Spanish eludes you too, let's just say puerco is to pig as cuy is to guinea pig.

According to this BBC food page, Peruvians consume 22 million guinea pigs a year. That's a lot of meat. On the other hand, if you're a lover of these fluffy rodents and see them as pets, be forewarned that this Google Image search for cuy is not for you; it will fill your browser with a checkerboard of pets and meat.

Different strokes for different folks. From my perspective, the oxtail and sweetbreads are looking better.