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We should refrain from giving way to blatant racism, like for example calling on purpose this virus the "Chinese virus". There is no evidence at all that 'wet markets' are the source of this. If there is an issue it is the hunting of wild animal for food and that is not specific to China, see Ebola, etc.
So, what’s the difference between a “wet market” and the sort of familiar farmer’s market of butchers/fishmongers/etc. that five-star restaurants source from all over the world? This article seems to be doing a motte-and-bailey of grossing you out with things that are just “regular meat wholesaler things” (e.g. fresh meat sitting out on ice without refrigeration) and then moralizing about the specific kinds of meats…
> So, what’s the difference between a “wet market” and the sort of familiar farmer’s market 1) The wet market is full of live animals in close proximity and very unsanitary conditions. So pathogens are more likely to still be alive, and can jump between diverse hosts, not just to humans. 2) The wet market is full of non-domesticated , exotic animals which carry pathogens humans are not acquainted to.
And yet, nobody gets sick from that. Food poisoning in your sushi or your raw oysters, every time it’s been followed up, has turned out to be from the source (farming in bad conditions) or from transport (shipping hundreds of miles in non-refrigerated trucks), not from cross-contamination at a market.
Thus my point: clearly, some markets keep generating diseases; but if they’re doing the same thing as the markets that don’t generate diseases, then it’s likely not wet markets as a process for distributing food that are the problem here. Because some of them—almost all of them, in fact—work just fine. (Analogy: are “restaurants” a vector for disease? Not in general, no. Specific ones, certainly. But not as a concept. Something additional has to be going on.)
So, if you eliminate the process itself, what’s left? The inventory and its sourcing; the people and their own personal hygiene; and a few other things. In any case much less tasteful topics to argue about. Which is why people would prefer that this not be about those things, and instead be some endemic issue to meat markets.
Or just stop eating meat altogether. There are diseases and potent antibiotic resistant bugs brewing in our factory farms in the west too. None of this is necessary for human health or nutrition.
That's simply not true. My life has drastically improved since I reduced carbs and increased meat consumption. This is not anecdata either, there are well done studies supporting this.
I remember when I was small, I accompanied my mom to a wet market, and saw a frog butchered in front of my eyes (chopped into two horizontal cut), and that gave me chills till this day that I actually don't eat frog meat. I do other stuffs though and have no problem handling knife for meat work. On the other hand, wet market like Tokyo's Tsukiji is very fresh and clean. Actually, wet markets through Japan are usually…
Afaik (1990s), it's just more expensive (and possible frostbites without gloves iirc), so we don't use it when normal ice works, but I can see Japan using that for all wet markets (because sushi of all things).
So, what’s the difference between a “wet market” and the sort of familiar farmer’s market of butchers/fishmongers/etc. that five-star restaurants source from all over the world? This article seems to be doing a motte-and-bailey of grossing you out with things that are just “regular meat wholesaler things” (e.g. fresh meat sitting out on ice without refrigeration) and then moralizing about the specific kinds of meats…
> So, what’s the difference between a “wet market” and the sort of familiar farmer’s market of butchers/fishmongers/etc. that five-star restaurants source from all over the world? That's exactly the question I have. How are these Chinese markets fundamentally different from, say, the Japanese Tsukiji fish market? Taking a look at pictures like https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vendors_begin_sell... it doesn't…
They were banned after SARS and that worked, no new diseases from China for a few years. Then they were permitted again and we got MERS and now COVID-19.
China needs to learn its lesson for good this time...
Let's think about how these viruses occur. They jump from one species of animal (dead or alive) to humans. How can we pragmatically reduce the risk? 1. Ban markets where two different species are kept close to each other. 2. Identify species that are high risk. Ban eating them if they are not essential (other than domesticated animals). 3. For domesticated animals, have tough safety regulations. 4. For villages/citie…
It's important not to demonize Chinese people here. However, it's at the very least equally important to ensure that their agricultural practices stop producing these pandemic viruses. This is not the first one. Not even close. This is not one of those things that could have happened anywhere and the Chinese were simply unlucky. This is a direct consequence of their agricultural practices and it is extremely importan…
We should refrain from giving way to blatant racism, like for example calling on purpose this virus the "Chinese virus". There is no evidence at all that 'wet markets' are the source of this. If there is an issue it is the hunting of wild animal for food and that is not specific to China, see Ebola, etc.
There is quite a bit of evidence actually. People are always quick to defend wet markets when they serve no real purpose over traditional markets.