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[Rentahamster]

If it was cheaper to get cows from Africa than to breed them then you can bet your ass people would do that.

Quite true. Unfortunately, it seems like we're going to have to wait it out until some of the following criteria are met:

Economies of scale and/or new techniques make farming donkeys cheaper.
Restrictions are put on the import of donkeys from overseas.
Restrictions are put on the export of donkeys to China.
The amount of donkeys in the world get so low that the price naturally rises (yikes).
The demand for donkeys is reduced somehow (unlikely)..

 

[cromofo]

Shame. Donkeys were and still are one of the important animals for human advancement. Just 50 years ago life without donkeys in a lot of places wouldn't be the same. Be it for carrying stuff, trade etc. They're right alongside horses.

Donkeys matter. Fuck China.

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

Case in point, donkey's population has declined massively in Europe in the last century cause there's not much use for them anymore.

I get the feeling people weren’t up in arms about that.

Not being China and all.

 

[Jezbollah]

Are we at least talking about medicine that's supposed to cure cancer and stuff like that (not saying it does, bit is that the way it's being sold?).

Or is it yet another case of the Chinese bringing a species to neart extinction because it's supposed to enhance their sex life ?

near extinction. Again, prove it.

 

[jchap]

When I used to raise show pigs and sheep as a kid we had a Donkey that hung out with them. His role was to stomp a hole in any Coyote who was stupid enough to enter the pens looking for an easy meal. He was very good at his job. I had to toss dead and horribly disfigured coyotes out of the pen several times a month. They are pretty mean animals.

 

[Necron]

The chinese government really needs to make a big push against this « traditional medicine » bullshit.

Agree.

 

[Antiwhippy]

Add yet another animal to the list. The chinese are now singhlehandedly killing tigers,sharks, rhinos, elephants,now donkeys etc. All for their bullshit superstitious hocus pocus medicine that cure nothing.

I'm pretty sure deforestation caused by the beef industry has caused thousands of extinctions already.

Better stop eating beef!

 

[djplaeskool]

China #1 in eating ass?

lmao

 

[Fat4all]

I don't watch that anime

 

[Morat]

I'm pretty sure deforestation caused by the beef industry has caused thousands of extinctions already.

Better stop eating beef!

Yeah, industrial farming is fucking horrible, both environmentally and ethically. I'm not defending China, but some posters here might consider how awful many of our food production practices are.

 

[nelsonroyale]

This is such bullshit. How can people believe in this rubbish?

 

[Beartruck]

The Chinese are aware Viagra exists and they can stop grinding up shit for aphrodisiacs right? Jackasses.

 

[Sunster]

I'm interested in learning more about how the so-called 'alternative medicine' industry has affected other species. Does anybody have any other examples?

Sharks are being hunted to extinction.

 

[Sunster]

Outdoor Cats?

This guy knows.

 

[Khaz]

The chinese government really needs to make a big push against this « traditional medicine » bullshit.

Why does the Chinese government still prop that anachronistic unscientific bullshit? Is it merely a case of keeping the peons happy or do they try to mask a chronic lack of medicine in less developed areas by promoting 'TCM' as a "more Chinese" alternative?

It's an appeal to traditional values. Mao pushed hard for what was a derelict system back then, and the current government does too.

A millennial history can't be that wrong, right?

 

[Nikodemos]

It's an appeal to traditional values. Mao pushed hard for what was a derelict system back then, and the current government does too.

A millennial history can't be that wrong, right?

What if it was never right in the first place?

And I don't understand Mao's fascination with 'TCM'. Wasn't he supposed to rip out the old imperial era junk? I mean, that's what the whole "Cultural Revolution" was supposed to be about anyway. You're not supposed to pick and choose which ancient bullshit you're going to keep supporting.

 

[shira]

Donkey meat is delicious though...

Lurou huoshao is the fucking best.

In related news, I think I know what I'm having for dinner tonight.

So if it's delicious, then why

 

[Chaos2Frozen]

When I used to raise show pigs and sheep as a kid we had a Donkey that hung out with them. His role was to stomp a hole in any Coyote who was stupid enough to enter the pens looking for an easy meal. He was very good at his job. I had to toss dead and horribly disfigured coyotes out of the pen several times a month. They are pretty mean animals.

How did you train him to kill coyotes?

 

[erlim]

"Chinese Traditional Medicine" is a fucking Maoist prpaganda bullshit. Sad, that people believe it.



Rhinos, tigers, sharks, dolphins, and many more.

It's actually a practice the communists wanted to get rid of in the cultural revolution, but they were forced to keep it because they couldn't afford penicillin and stuff.

China is definitely the Michael Jordan of extincting animals though. What's that one freshwater dolphin they ended?

I hope they get the idea American mosquitos and cockroaches give you chubbies. I feel like only China's insatiable thirst can end species like these.

 

[Nomadic Sparks]

Donkeys

 

[Despera]

What about alternatives like horses, mules and zebras?

 

[erlim]

What about alternatives like horses, mules and zebras?

Man, they'd extinct all those things.

 

[Nikodemos]

It's actually a practice the communists wanted to get rid of in the cultural revolution, but they were forced to keep it because they couldn't afford penicillin and stuff.

Ah, so basically the same bullshit the Communist government pulled in Romania in the '80s. They were spending all their foreign currency on trying to repay the debt, that nothing was left for current expenditures like importing medicine. Instead, they created 'naturist' medicine (basically modern day herbology). Mind you, that stuff sort of works (since many plants do contain active compounds), but it's nowhere near as efficient as an actual pill. It also left Romanians with an excessive distrust of non-naturist medicine.

 

[norinrad]

I'm all for using the same bullets poachers use for killing animals to be used on the poachers when caught. I think it's fair.

 

[erlim]

Ah, so its basically the same bullshit the Communist government pulled in Romania in the '80s. They were spending all their foreign currency on trying to repay the debt, that nothing was left for current expenditures like importing medicine. Instead, they created 'naturist' medicine (basically modern day herbology). Mind you, that stuff sort of works (since many plants do contain active compounds), but it's nowhere near as efficient as an actual pill. It also left Romanians with an excessive distrust of non-naturist medicine.

Yeah. It was just so they had medical care at all. I think now they are trying a hybrid eastern-western paradigm health system. I know Chinese medicine has a huge component for plants. It's like Zelda Breath of the Wild.

I am wondering if Chinese medicine has a more civilized application just through herbal supplements, or are all Chinese doctors hawking rhino horns?

 

[Nikodemos]

I am wondering if Chinese medicine has a more civilized application just through herbal supplements, or are all Chinese doctors hawking rhino horns?

Sadly, I suspect hawking erection pills to rich middle-aged businessmen probably brings in more money for less effort compared to creating standardized-concentration root/flower extracts.

 

[post-S]

Yeah. It was just so they had medical care at all. I think now they are trying a hybrid eastern-western paradigm health system. I know Chinese medicine has a huge component for plants. It's like Zelda Breath of the Wild.

I am wondering if Chinese medicine has a more civilized application just through herbal supplements, or are all Chinese doctors hawking rhino horns?

There are legit traditional doctors in hospitals (legit in the sense that they only give you tried-and-true recipes, and always refer you to appropriate department when you get something big.)

Problem is many people believe that a truly great traditional doctor won't be found at a modern hospital, and they are willing to try any random recipe those "doctors" tell them to.

 

[Chichikov]

Yeah. It was just so they had medical care at all. I think now they are trying a hybrid eastern-western paradigm health system. I know Chinese medicine has a huge component for plants. It's like Zelda Breath of the Wild.

I am wondering if Chinese medicine has a more civilized application just through herbal supplements, or are all Chinese doctors hawking rhino horns?

China has good hospitals that practice science based medicine. Like, if you're having an appendicitis they ain't gonna TCM you and if you have an infection you'll get antibiotics. This is mostly for over the counter stuff, though Western medicine is also available in all pharmacies (at least in the big cities).

The government is trying to create some sort of East West hybrid, at least they say they do, but I have no idea how it works in practice.

 

[Conor_Fool]

Chinese alternative medicine makes me fucking sick. Absolutely shameful.

 

[erlim]

China has good hospitals that practice science based medicine. Like, if you're having an appendicitis they ain't gonna TCM you and if you have an infection you'll get antibiotics. This is mostly for over the counter stuff, though Western medicine is also available in all pharmacies (at least in the big cities).

The government is trying to create some sort of East West hybrid, at least they say they do, but I have no idea how it works in practice.

It's probably like, "here's some acupuncture to (maybe) heal your incision site faster."

 

[Nikodemos]

The government is trying to create some sort of East West hybrid, at least they say they do, but I have no idea how it works in practice.

It's not complicated, in that the principles are already known, but it's dfficult since you need industrial-scale processes to obtain reliable products.
You need to process several tons of milk thistle in order to obtain several kilos of standardised concentration silymarin.
Same with St. John's wort or yarrow.

 

[alvis.exe]

I am wondering if Chinese medicine has a more civilized application just through herbal supplements, or are all Chinese doctors hawking rhino horns?

I'm pretty sure that stuff involving endangered species and animal parts only/mostly happens in China. Never heard of that in the West or in more Westernized countries like Taiwan where it's transformed into mostly herbal products intended as supplementary therapy for things Western medication can't treat well (like pain). At least that's what it should be like everywhere, though I'm sure that laws and regulations in these countries also play a part by helping to deter all but the shadiest practitioners. Wish China would catch up with the times already and ban/crack down harder on the use of animal products though ultimately the most important thing will be education.

 

[Robot Carnival]

China #1 in eating ass?

Underrated post.

lol this right here.

Donkey meat in china is so good. Don't know about the Chinese medicine shit here but the donkey restaurants are legit delicious.

Lurou huoshao is the fucking best.

In related news, I think I know what I'm having for dinner tonight.

Shame about that medicine bullshit though.

yeah, I think the amount of donkey meat ate is definitely less than the amount of donkey skin used for medicine. I tried it before and I would say the way they cooked it (hot pot) is really delicious indeed.

These pandas are cuter and actually want to breed.

yup, I'm in the same team. Red Panada > Big Panada.

 

[Bakercat]

Fucking jackasses ruining everything...

 

[Thorgal]

They're cute.

being cute didn't save the Tasmanian tiger though .

 

[erlim]

I'm firmly in the red panda camp over the giant panda camp. Please tell me there's no witch doctory using red pandas for boners.

 

[……forgetit]

How did you train him to kill coyotes?

I don’t think it takes much training, donkeys are just hard asses.

 

[Chezzymann]

It's a shame so many people believe in this stuff. Lots of people in the West do too. I had to take a "philosophy of science" (lol) class in college and it was basically all about taking eastern medicine more seriously when there's literally zero evidence it's effective. All people have is logical fallacies like appealing to tradition "it's been around for 5000 years!" And anecdotal evidence.

My dad said "well, penicillin came from native American medicine!" That's great, if there's legitimate stuff that can come from it I'm all for it. But the reason most of it hasn't been Integrated into western medicine is cause there's no evidence it works. Just people saying "it worked for my friend!"

 

[LordKasual]

But they spent billions of dollars to save pandas, who don't seem to really have any descernable survival skills.

They have the absolute strongest survival trait on earth; humans think they're cute

I mean just think about it...with the way cats behave? If they weren't cute they'd be fucking extinct by now

 

[Combichristoffersen]

Man, they'd extinct all those things.

Just wait until they realize the use of Soylent Green as medicine.

 

[travisbickle]

Anyone have articles about the involvement of the Chinese government in the present day? I always thought because of China's huge population any medicine/food fad is possible to endanger a species.

 

[badflame]

It's a global effect. They are becoming less and less necessary.

The solution: adopt a donkey!

 

[dr3upmushroom]

Donkey meat in china is so good. Don't know about the Chinese medicine shit here but the donkey restaurants are legit delicious.

Stop eating all the ass!

 

[Mikey Jr.]

Is this about erections again.....

 

[S-Wind]

Is there anything more destructive to animal populations than "traditional medicine"?

Climate change?

 

[Poppy]

Deforestation?

Anyway, burros are cute.

i read this as "burritos are cute" so i guess i am part of the problem

 

[Phobophile]

I had some donkey meat in Beijing a couple months ago. It was delicious! Like a mix of beef shank and goat.

 

[Diseased Yak]

China #1 in eating ass?

Lmao wow, Bravo to you sir/madam!

This news makes me really sad. When I was in my early teens, I had pet donkey named Henry who was amazing. They're basically (well, he was) like a large dog. He'd follow me around as I explored the rural Texas area I lived in, and loved to eat. Dude would eat left over biscuits like no tomorrow, and he'd get mega excited about Snickers bars.

The best thing about him was he'd fart and pretend it scared him.

 

[NastyBook]

China #1 in eating ass?

Most obvious joke and it's still funny. *claps*

 

[brian577]

It's a global effect. They are becoming less and less necessary.

The solution: adopt a donkey!

Not in the countries they're being stolen from.