Gadling

"...we do suggest that you travel abroad to exercise your food rights and chow down on all those goodies you can't have back home in America..."

Sorry, Neil. I disagree with you completely. Many food laws are in place to protect endangered or soon-to-be-endangered species. For example, illegal shark finning butchers between 73 and 100 million sharks each year -- so that some Asian cultures can enjoy shark fin soup (See: http://www.divester.com/2006/09/27/73-million-sharks-killed-each-year/ and http://www.divester.com/2006/12/06/australias-shark-populations-collapsing/). While many people may not *like* sharks and don't care what happens to them, removing a single species from an ecosytem -- especially an animal as important as a shark! -- can cause irreversible harm. Think: ecosystem collapse.

It's not a "right" to eat animals whose populations are dwindling rapidly. It's not a "right" to massacre entire species so that a few needy people can demonstrate their self-worth. What IS right is to spread the word about shark finning, its ecological consequences, and what you can do to stop it.

BTW -- cheilean sea bass is a protected species, too, and shouldn't be eaten. It's delicious, to be sure, but soon there won't be any left (http://www.endangeredfishalliance.org/chileanseabass.htm).

I think your posts are great, Neil, but this one was irresponsible.

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Mangosteens are banned in USA? Why?

You silly, silly people. ;)

(native of Malaysia, where mangosteens are common and appreciated)

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Tiara wrote: "Mangosteens are banned in USA? Why?"

It's not the mangosteen itself that is the problem in the USA, but the insects, fungi, mites and other pests about which the U.S. Dept of Agriculture is concerned. The NY Times had a story a few months ago on the mangosteen, and a devoted grower in Puerto Rico who will soon be selling his crop in the U.S. It also said that Thailand would be irradiating mangosteen and exporting them to the USA.

When I have traveled to Asia, I always am sure to enjoy mangosteens.

I agree with Willy's comment: there is no "right" to eat endangered species.

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Willy,
I completely agree with you.
The intention of the post was in no way promoting the consumption of endangered animals and if anyone has misconstrued it as such, I apologize. There are plenty of other food items, such as Thai fruit, that are illegal here in the states and which should be tried while abroad. This was the culinary adventure of which I speak. Eating shark fin soup, endangered songbirds, and other animals which might soon disappear from this planet is just WRONG. Thanks for pointing this out so I can better clarify my post: eat as much as you can while abroad that is illegal back home, UNLESS IT IS ENDANGERED! Then put down the fork and slowly back away.
Neil

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Only America wants you to take as many pills as possible, as seen on t.v., but food is bad. Cigarettes are unhealthy, but the government still allows there production, but food is bad. People have eaten unpasteurised cheese throughout history, across the world, but because of the threat of listeria, it is banned. Lunch meats from the grocery store have more listeria than cheese. FYI, cheese is a bacterial process. The American publis has mass flouridation in it's water supplies, and we are one of the few western countries to still allow this mass drugging of a population. Hmmmm!

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Let's just keep eating beef, with hormones, and American cheese, with food coloring. Firget anything natural and healthy. Lets consume more vegetable oils, when all studies show it is actually as bad if not worse than tallow, or lard.

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Most of these foods would be more safe to comsume if the American farmer and the processing plants would be more careful. How many e-coli stories do we hear about in beef, because feces is allowed to be mixed with meat.

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#1 Willy,
..if you buy American shark you won't have to worry about finning because its illegal. You can't just bring the fins to the fish house to be sold, the whole shark has to be sold.

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The Marlon Brando/Matthew Broderick flick, "The Freshman" (1990) [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099615/] spoofs the culinary necessity of eating "different" foods, and the extremes people will go to to get them. Mildly entertaining, it also satirizes the need to consume exotic foods in a world where over 30,000 children die per day as a direct result of poverty, [approx one every three seconds, which mean at least a couple died as you read this], and would settle for a cup of plain broth & rice.

Bon Appetit!
Peace.

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Silly me! I just knew this was going to be an article about how to balance out the occassional piece of chocolate cake calorie wise!

Sad..that there are some people so monied and bored that this is the new juvenille kick.?

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I understand and appreciate banning the sale and consumption of certain endangered animals. I wouldn't be a responsible world citizen if I participated in the removal of another species.

What I don't like is some authority telling me I can't have something because of a potential danger. What happened to common sense? Personal responsibility? I'd love to try an unpasteurized cheese or jamon iberico. In nicer restaurants, I'll order a burger medium rare. Due to common sense and personal responsibility, I won't order my burger medium rare at the local fast food joint. From the distributor to the store and all the steps in between culminating with the teenager preparing it... well, I'm not going to risk my health for what would likely be a mediocre burger.

I also don't like foods being banned for their supposed cruelty to the animal. I'm so glad I was able to recently try foie gras (you can read about this at my blog). It seems foie gras is being removed from the legal lists in many states. I don't ask if my beef or poultry or pork came from a gently executed cow, chicken, or pig. I'm not bloodthirsty, either. I just don't expect to eat meat only from animals that have died from natural causes.

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anybody who watches the 'parasite' stories on Animal Planet- including the woman who had tapeworm larvae in her brain- would NEVER eat undercooked meat again!

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Neil, you wrote about "New legislation in the States has recently been preventing a whole host of exotic foods from entering our mouths; beluga caviar, wild mushrooms, live lobsters, Brie de Meaux, jamon iberico, and even unpasteurized milk." While I don't go for some of those items, unpasteurized milk, bought from the right place, is perfectly safe. In fact (yup - it's really true), pasteurizing is a process that converts a fresh food source into a more "industrial commodity". It is only necessary if the milk has bacteria, and will be sitting somewhere for a long time. And the farmer is too lazy to do the observations and/or testing to keep the milk safe. The process of pasteurizing destroys most of the nutritional value of the milk and converts it to a suspension of milkfat and lactose. Add a little drug residue and maybe some leftover BGH and now you have something really legal, but really nasty. And we then get to see ads from the corporate giants to add more of that to our diet - even tho milk isn't one of the best ways to try and get calcium!

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This is a good dialog.The Brando/Brodeerick film "The Freshman" addresses the topic well. People should be free to choose the foods that they prefer as long as they do not choose endangered species, or foods that would not exist if the animals that produce them were not subjected to extreme cruelty (foie de gras).
If a person is concerned with the treatment of animals used for foods, and the methods of animal slaughter, there is always the option of vegetarianism, or,the buying and eating of Kosher meats and poultry exclusively.
As human beings, linked to all other living beings, we need to pay attention to, (and try to eradicate) world hunger. If we wish to have a future, we also would do well to respect the planetary ecosystem & the fragile web of life.
I too, only ended up on this site, because I thought I would be reading tips on nutrition, or good news, like when we found out that coffee, black and green tea, red wine and dark chocolate, (consumed in moderation), can be good for you.

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WE ARE CONSUMERS, WE AS HUMANS ARE MEANT TO EAT ANYTHING WE FEEL LIKE ENDANGERED OR NOT WHO ARE WE TO TRY TO CHANGE SOMEONES CULTURE OR TRY TELLING PEOPLE WHAT NOT TO EAT. ALL YOU PETA PEOPLE SHOULD KEEP IT REAL AND EAT A BUFFALO STEAK JUST LIKE YOUR ANCESTORS DID. ON THE OTHER HAND, I'M GOING TO DRIVE TO A REMOTE BUT FAMILIAR PART OF BAJA CALIFORNIA AND WINE AND DINE ON A 200$ PLATE OF CAUAMA (SEA TURTLE OR IS IT TORTUGA MARINA) EITHER WAY IT'S A TREAT I'VE ALWAYS LOOKED FOWARD TO.

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Mmm! Yes, mangosteens are delicious.

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Mike wrote: "anybody who watches the 'parasite' stories on Animal Planet- including the woman who had tapeworm larvae in her brain- would NEVER eat undercooked meat again!"

Sorry, Mike...not true. I love steak tartar (raw meat)! I've spent most of my life in the food industry, here and abroad, and I KNOW the difference between "safe" and "unsafe" foods. Proper preparation and handling is key!

I also agree with Webguy's post: "...but food is bad. People have eaten unpasteurised cheese throughout history, across the world, but because of the threat of listeria, it is banned. Lunch meats from the grocery store have more listeria than cheese. FYI, cheese is a bacterial process..."

Cheese is a bacterial process. I have NEVER become ill from eating unpasteurized cheese, but have had problems digesting the over-processed lunch meats and cheeses in the U.S. See, the rest of the world has a more natural approach to food. I don't know about you but I'd rather take my chances of becoming ill by eating natural foods.

And thank you, Ima Wurdibitsch! Ditto! I second your emotions!

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In my wildest dreams I can't imagine why human beings, who have the highest consciousness of any other species on the planet, would want to eat foods such as foie gras or veal when these foods are produc ed through and solely dependent upon the excruciating torture of animals. Who cares if they taste good? There are a million other tasty foods to eat.

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i live in the sticks of south carolina, we have cattle, pigs and a lake on the property, we grow what we want to eat, drink milk right from the cow, make our own cheese and pick our own wild mushrooms, and cook our burgers anyway we want. i am not endangering anything, and still about 25 % of what i eat or drink could be called illegal.

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I have been in the culinary industry for many years. I have several culinary and nutrition degrees and I have learned so much about the science of food and the laws behind it. I have a love and appreciation of all food my life would be nothing without it but there has to be a level of respect.

Has anyone here ever had to do research on foie gras? I have. They do almost the same thing to veal calves as they do to foie gras geese. Immediately after birth a large plastic tube is shoved down their esophagus never to be removed. After that they are confined in a box, the calves are not allowed to ever see the light of day and neither are allowed to move their entire lives. Food is force fed to the animal nonstop until they are extremely fat and their organs can no longer process the extremely high calorie diet. Their organs become saturated with fat to the highest degree. They become so overweight their legs cannot maintain their own body weight and they are forced to lie in teir own excrement for months to even years. Would you honestly want to eat such a thing? The high price you are paying for is the torture procedure which that animal has lived through its entire life.

As far as shark, beluga caviar, and Chilean sea bass are concerned they are amazing food to work with but they are endangered. If people don't lay off right now they wont be able to eat them ever again. Is it so much to just ask people to allow the population to regrow? Is it too much to just ask for more time? Ever consider that if the population of these animals is alowed to balance itself out again the prices might go down?

As far as fruits and vegetables go, I travel abroad on a regular basis and take my own chances but I am not about to be responsible for bringing dangerous microbes and such into the country that could wipe out crops and devastate the nations food supply.

Its all about respect!! You have to ask yourself what respect do you have for the earth, the ecosystem, the animals we share the earth with, and the other people we share our country and planet with.

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