Chinese chef sacked 12 times wins animal rights award

BBC News : China animal rights chef honoured

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A cook in north-east China who was sacked 12 times for refusing to cook rare wild animals has been recognised for his contribution to conservation.

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http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...ivet_ap203.jpg

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Rare animals are often eaten as a delicacy in China, and some Chinese officials have linked the spread of the respiratory disease Sars with the eating of civet cats.

But Mr Zhang, whose story was reported by the official Chinese news agency Xinhua, refused to cook animals like hedgehogs and pangolins.

Last year, he even began visiting restaurants to try and persuade other chefs to stop cooking wild animals.

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Unfortunately, it is a fact that there are numerous Chinese people from Hong Kong and Taiwan visit mainland China solely because they want to enjoy delicacies such as dogs, cats and different kinds of wild animals.

The link between SARs and these so-called delicacies is because Chinese connoisseurs of wild animals insist that such "energy-boasting" creatures taste best when they are cooked medium-rare (like beef steaks).

Wild animals carry a variety of exotic bacterias. And when they are not cooked in high temperature until they are very well-done, chances are the bacterias are not completely eliminated.

These Chinese people also believe wild animals can create the same effect of Viagra. Actually some old and middle-aged Japanese guys would eat them for this reason. I know because some of my J-friends asked if I could buy them some "dried wild animals" when I visited Hong Kong. Crazy! I may not even be able to pass the Canadian Customs with such disgusting "food" in the very first place!

I told them to go to China themsleves but they said they were afraid to eat them fresh because these food were dirty even when they were cooked well-done. I personally think so too. Yuck!

Not surprisingly, there is a strong positive correlation between the democracy of a country and its animal rights. China still has a lot of issues in human rights (although it is improving slowly). What can we expect them to treat their animals? They don't even treat their people right!

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Originally Posted by Jean-Francois

Unfortunately, it is a fact that there are numerous Chinese people from Hong Kong and Taiwan visit mainland China solely because they want to enjoy delicacies such as dogs, cats and different kinds of wild animals.

The link between SARs and these so-called delicacies is because Chinese connoisseurs of wild animals insist that such "energy-boasting" creatures taste best when they are cooked medium-rare (like beef steaks).

Wild animals carry a variety of exotic bacterias. And when they are not cooked in high temperature until they are very well-done, chances are the bacterias are not completely eliminated.

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I think, you mix some things up here.

Cats & dogs are domesticated, no problem to eat them, just like cattle or pigs. Anyway even if you shoot a wild cat, this shouldn't pose much of a problem. In Europe deer & wild boars are shot & eaten. The handling & preparation of the meat might pose a risk.

The problem with SARS is that many Chinese want to buy these animals alive. The infection took very probably place on one of the markets where great numbers of caged animals are for sale.

Well, I haven't been to China myself, but from my experience with the Chinese I know here in Germany, I can say that they eat their meat always well done. So well done, that it almost hurts to watch. Always cutting meat in small pieces before cooking, brrr.
OK, it mostly tastes good, but it's not really done according to what I learned about preparing meat.

Bossel, I am amazed by your knowledge in China. :cool:

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Cats & dogs are domesticated, no problem to eat them, just like cattle or pigs.

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Of course I know the difference between domesticated animals and wild animals. I think probably its my English that got your confused.

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The problem with SARS is that many Chinese want to buy these animals alive. The infection took very probably place on one of the markets where great numbers of caged animals are for sale.

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That's the problem of the Avian Flu too.

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from my experience with the Chinese I know here in Germany, I can say that they eat their meat always well done.

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Yes, Chinese people cook most meats well done. But when it comes to cats, dogs and wild animals, they have different cooking techniques. Do they ever serve these delicacies to you in Germany?

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In Europe deer & wild boars are shot & eaten.

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I know! It's probably because European countries are old countries. When men were created by God, we would just eat whatever we could digest. But in North America, the consuming of dogs, cats, horses, monkeys and pigeons is frown upon because many think they are friends of humans. And as for myself, I don't eat a lot of stuffs ranging from ALL breeds of poultry to North-American-made chocalates like Godiva and Laura Secord.

I actually think a lot of Germans would rather taking walks with their dogs than hanging out with friends. Thay love their dogs! But that's only my personal impression. In Canada, some guys treat their cats like their girl-friends. I am not joking! I have a friend (a white guy) who turns down jobs that require a lot of travelling mainly because he wants to spend more time with his cat. And he will not switch to other brands of cat food just because they are on sales. He is afraid that his cat may not like the new brand and will get mad at him.

In China and North Korea, a lot of peasants would eat dogs that grow up with them. Some do so because they are hungry and poor but for the not-so-poor ones, I don't know...

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Originally Posted by Jean-Francois

Yes, Chinese people cook most meats well done. But when it comes to cats, dogs and wild animals, they have different cooking techniques. Do they ever serve these delicacies to you in Germany?

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Not that I know of. But who knows what happens in the backyards of some Chinese restaurants? Many dogs & cats disappear & are never seen again. :evil:

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I actually think a lot of Germans would rather taking walks with their dogs than hanging out with friends. Thay love their dogs! But that's only my personal impression. In Canada, some guys treat their cats like their girl-friends.

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I think, in Germany it's pretty similar to Canada. There are even special graveyards for pets nowadays.

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In China and North Korea, a lot of peasants would eat dogs that grow up with them.

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Actually, eating animals that grew up with you is the traditional way for all human cultures, I think. Only in urbanized Western society we have distanced ourselves so much from nature, that we can feel so attached to pets even if they're not ours.
On small farms & ranches it may be still like in the old days. You live your daily life with the animals, but yet you have not much of a problem slaughtering & eating them. Though dogs & cats have a certain advantageous position even there, hmm (at least in the West).

The special position of cats could be traced back to the adoration in Egypt, but damned if I know where the attachment to dogs comes from.


Editing:
Just came across this news article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3693517.stm
Seems, times are changing in China, too.

The particular kind of civet to which the SARS antigens have been traced is called "hakubishin" in Japanese ("masked palm civet" in English), and initial reporting in the Japanese news inaccurately called the animal a "jako-neko".

I knew about "hakubishin" in Chinese cuisine from a comic book called "Tetsunabe no Jan".
In Japan "hakubishin" was introduced some years ago for its fur, and though the industry has since perished, the animals have escaped and established populations.

I remember watching a TV-show in which they were trying to film an escaped raccoon that came roaming around to a resident's pond and eat all their goldfish. And a "hakubishin" came sniffing around. This was in Yokohama or Kamakura or somewhere in the Kanagawa-ken area.

Kudos to that chef. He knows his limits like Chen Kenichi (I invented that colloquialism myself). :bravo: