Ninth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

Consumption of cabrito (roasted kid) in Monterrey, northern Mexico, is an example of tourists’ lack of ethical considerations when enjoying is their main concern. This paper dwells firstly, on the consumption of kid meat for tourism and recreational purposes from a utilitarian standpoint (Singer, 1975), whose premise is that individual interests cannot supersede collective welfare; secondly, it reveals the unethical situations in which the production and consumption of cabrito are involved. The practice of consuming cabrito is supported by three different socio-cultural phenomena: kid supply and demand is perceived as a tourist synecdoche (it’s an essential part of the tourist experience); kid meat dishes are an element of the local identity which reinforce the idea of belonging to the place; it is a pricey dish which is linked with a symbol of social prestige. Furthermore, tourists do not consider it an unethical activity because of the human–non-human power relations generated and because its ingestion reinforces the construction of masculinity. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to reveal why the consumption of cabrito responds to a trivial interest that has been blown out of proportion, misleading tourists into thinking of it as an act that leads to the pleasure of tasting and the satisfaction of the desire to experience something new.