The National Geographic did a series on poisons in their May 2005 issue. One paragraph in particular struck me as having rather remarkable ramifications.
From an article on food testers, page 31:
These days, employment opportunities for tasters are in decline. In England, Buckingham Palace reports there is no formal procedure for food tasting. "The in-house help are fully vetted," a palace spokesman says. The Japanese emperor hasn't used a food taster in years, though President George W. Bush has used Navy mess specialists to handle the job. In the state kitchens of Thailand, humans are factored out altogether. There, in an inspired example of equal opportunity employment, the taste-test heroes of the banquet table, directed be the Ministry of Health, are a legion of white mice.
.....
So, in short, our President believes that the lives of our troops are worth as much as mice.
How egalitarian.
(I haven't been able to find independent verification of this, but I think that the National Geographic is a fairly reliable source...)