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Wet Markets, a Thread
There& #39;s a lot of talk about "wet markets" in China, to the point where it has become largely a slur for any and all things deems "unsanitary" or "gross" or "unconscionable" about some minority eating habits.
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There& #39;s a lot of talk about "wet markets" in China, to the point where it has become largely a slur for any and all things deems "unsanitary" or "gross" or "unconscionable" about some minority eating habits.
(1/17)
So, let& #39;s get in to it. What is a "wet market?" It& #39;s not nearly the Texas Chainsaw Massacre fetid slaughterhouse floor you might think it is. It is, in essence, a market for farm-fresh goods - perishables.
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(2/17)
This includes slaughtered-at-purchase meats, yes (they& #39;re not slaughtering pigs or cows on-site, mind you... those are a little unwieldy to keep in a vendor-booth... more like chickens and fish).
(3/17)
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It& #39;s also, at least as much, a place where people go to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, and other goods - typically directly from the farmers who& #39;ve trucked or carted them into town that morning.
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Why is this important?
Chinese people - now this might sound strange at first, but I& #39;ll explain, so bear with me - have trust issues with their government.
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Chinese people - now this might sound strange at first, but I& #39;ll explain, so bear with me - have trust issues with their government.
(5/17)
Does this come as a shock to you? It shouldn& #39;t. Take even a cursory look at China& #39; history & see at most times in its history, the people are only grudgingly tolerating the government& #39;s eternal bullshittery. Take a look at all the peasant rebellions.
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China& #39;s relationship to food and trust has been shaken a bit too frequently. I recall my own 1st yr here - 2008, the year of the Beijing Olympics - when it broke that a company making baby-formula had been cutting it with Melamine (that is, a chemical fire-retardant)...
(7/17)
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to make it "look" like it had more protein than it actually did. 300k people sick, 54k infants hospital& #39;d, & 12 died. That& #39;s just one scandal, from 12 years ago, and Chinese people would still often rather fly to AU than buy CN-produced baby-formula. Can you blame them?
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(8/17)
So, suffice it to say there are some longstanding trust issues with food that one cannot actually stand there and *see* being prepared... from field to plate.
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That& #39;s half the fun of a lot of small restaurants in China... You can watch, within minutes, every step for the process - going from a lump of dough and a bubbling cauldron, to a delicious bowl of noodles.
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Wet markets provide that for many, in a way that more Western-conventional supermarkets often do not. Supermarkets in cities like Shanghai often go out-of-their-way to look and feel overtly "foreign" in order to make them seem, ironically, more trustworthy.
(11/17)
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Those that don& #39;t go for that hyperwestern aesthetic, instead go the route of the ... "wet market"... of having live animals in the tanks, and those animals they can& #39;t keep live in supermarkets, *very* prominently on-display as being ultra, super fresh.
(12/17)
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So, what is a "wet market?" It& #39;s pretty much a farmers& #39; market. That& #39;s it. Farmers& #39; markets that - worldwide - about 5 billion people rely on for their daily nutritional needs.
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(13/17)
What do people mean when they invoke the term "wet market" and bring up bats, pangolins, and bear bile?
That& #39;s a different thing. Those are Exotic Animal Mkts. & those are bad. Those shouldn& #39;t exist, cruel, dangerous, & their continued operation is rightly to be derided
(14/17)
That& #39;s a different thing. Those are Exotic Animal Mkts. & those are bad. Those shouldn& #39;t exist, cruel, dangerous, & their continued operation is rightly to be derided
(14/17)
They& #39;re also relatively rare. Not everyone- indeed very, vanishingly few people in China (though again, that& #39;s in terms of China& #39;s overall population, so the naked numbers can look shocking to Western eyes) - ever have been in one, much less frequent or buy from them.
(15/17)
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They& #39;re primarily for the "Traditional Chinese Medicine" quacks. They more like the Vodoun Witch Doctor& #39;s shop, or Joe Exotic& #39;s tiger zoo... yeah they& #39;re there, and they suck, but they& #39;re still there. Even though we all know that they really shouldn& #39;t be.
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So, in conclusion:
* "wet markets" - not bad, actually pretty good!
* "exotic animal markets" & quack TCM shops - bad places that should be shut down
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
(Fin/17)
* "wet markets" - not bad, actually pretty good!
* "exotic animal markets" & quack TCM shops - bad places that should be shut down
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
(Fin/17)
