Personally I have no issue with people in other parts of the world eating the "unorthodox" animals. It is as normal for people in Central America to fry up an iguana as it is for people here in the states to fry up a chicken. And in some parts of Asia it's as normal to eat dog as it is for people here to eat pig. I think the problem is that here in the states we come up with names to separate the animals from the foods made from them. Although we know that hamburger(even though HAM is a pig product, never got that one) is made from cows, it is different to go into McDonald's and order a 1/4 pound cow chunk w/cheese than a beef 1/4 pounder w/ cheese.
Also, it is another mode of pushing an American sense of moral superiority over other nations(not trying to be un-American here, just saying how I see it). The whole, "Oh my god, do you know in -insert country here- they eat -insert animal here-? Disgusting!" would change drastically if we could throw away our sense of being better than someone else over our food choices. As has already been shown, farm raised reptiles are no worse for us than farm-raised cattle(maybe even better due to lack of steroids)because no matter what, the bacteria and nasties are pretty much cooked out of any kind of meat, so they are a non-issue. Also, the issue of intelligence and personality is brought up when eating other animals(dogs and cats especially). Cows and chickens have just as much personality in my opinion as most dogs or cats, and pigs are ranked among some of the most intelligent animals on earth, but we can eat them all day long, but snub our noses at the Asian or African family that might eat monkey. We are doing the same thing as they are everywhere else in the world, we just distance ourselves from it, and therefore can sleep better at night knowing that we ate a sacred Hindu cow as opposed to little butt-licking Fluffy chained up in the yard.
Just for the record, I am a vegetarian... okay well I do have my serious weaknesses. Seafood of just about ANY kind(raised on the north FL coast and have to have it) and chicken wings tend to tempt me back over to the dark meat side from time to time. But I have eaten turtle, rattlesnake, and of course plenty of gator.
And if you want to see something funny, and maybe a little disturbing depending on your sensabilities, go to Gatorland in Kissimmee, FL. It is a great crocodilian attraction where you can observe and watch these magnificent creatures and then go to the snack vendor and eat them. lol I have no problem with that(mainly because I eat a bunch of gator nuggetts every time I go), but it is kinda funny.
