Chinese "Food" "Market"

"You can eat anything with four legs except the dinner table," says a local Chinese expression that's as disgusting as it is true.

At the Qingping market in Guangzhou, scorpions scamper in bowls, water snakes coil in tanks and cats whine in cramped cages, all waiting to be slaughtered, skinned and served for dinner. At the market, everything from turtles to insects are sold alongside fowl and freshly caught fish.

The 2002 outbreak of the SARS virus resulted in the civit, a local gourmet favorite, being banished to the black market. The raccoon-like animal was blamed for spreading SARS, which infected 8,000 people globally and killed 800. And with exotic wildlife and squalor have returning to the Qingping market, health officials worry that another killer virus could emerge.

"Even though official measures are in place, they are not faithfully followed. We are not talking about just civet cats, but all animals," noted an infectious disease expert in Hong Kong.

Traditional wet markets still account for the bulk of fresh food sales in China. Why? The concept of buying food once a week and putting it in your fridge doesn't really exist in China yet. "It's produced today, bought today, and eaten later today," said John Chapple, general manager for China-based food analysis laboratory Sino Analytica.

Eating fresh is one thing, but eating anything is another. Fuck, it's disgusting to think what the Chinese are eating. I don't think I want to eat Chinese food anymore.