We're having Nemo for dinner, wait where are you going?

Like a lot of kiddos growing up today in America, Camden is a big fan of animated movies, television shows, and books with talking, human-like animals. Everything from Dora the Explorer to Finding Nemo has some kind of anthropomorphic animal. Our personal library alone has several books with some kind of talking pig, dog, bear, or worms. Some are just regular free-ranging animals while others , live in houses, go to work or go shopping, and wear clothes just like us.

And it's cute and everything. Like on Chicken Run, where those chickens are not only human talk and build stuff they also live in coops. And they spend pretty much the entire movie trying to avoid being eaten by humans. So their constantly running around scared with the ever-present threat of becoming food for humans.  Cute right? And that's just one example. So you're probably wondering what's the problem? Well I don't know if it's a problem, see what you think.

Could it be possible that all these images of anthropomorphic animals are sending some kids a mixed message at dinner time? Hey kids, check out this talking chicken and his family. They live just like us and wear clothes and think and feel just like us. Oh, you love them? Well now eat them. Yeah, it's a little weird don't you think. 

It's no wonder Camden refuses to eat his food whenever we're serving one his cartoon friends. Why would he want to eat Nemo, or the cows from Barnyard, or the pigs from the Three Little Pigs who spend the whole story trying to avoid being eaten by the villain, the bad guy, the Big Bad Wolf? I mean in the story he's supposed to empathize with the pigs right? Why would he eat them then? Why not just make him eat our dog?

So I wonder, does he think it's the same? I don't know. All I'm saying is that it's possible. That when he sees personified animals he may get the idea that they aren't food. 

Of course, meat isn't the only food that Camden refuses to eat. He won't eat broccoli. But he's never liked broccoli. He's also never seen a talking stalk of broccoli with shoes and a hat talking about how his dream was to be a famous rockstar, so I think it's a little different. Plus, he used to eat meat, before he reached the point in development where he started figuring out more things.

So what's the answer? Should I keep him from anything that personifies animals? Yeah, that's probably not going to happen. I mean I don't really think he thinks Will Smith's character, Oscar, from Shark Tales is real. But maybe he can't stomach eating "fish" when he associates it with one of his cartoon buddies. Maybe.