Disinfection and Detoxification - Clean Diet

Author: Song Weimin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: 5. The Dangers of Eating Wild Animals
Wild animals are often referred to as "wild delicacies," including those that walk on the ground, crawl, fly in the sky, and swim in the water. Among them, many are Class I and II protected species, as well as rare, endangered, unique, and critically endangered animals. Each animal is a unique gene pool. The extinction of a species means the destruction of a gene pool, and it means that our vibrant world will forever lose a friend and helper bestowed upon us by nature. The wise call out: For the sake of our future generations, give them a complete and beautiful world—never turn our dining tables into slaughterhouses for extinct wild animals! (1) Gluttony Can Lead to an Ecological Disaster: An authoritative report shows that out of the internationally recognized 640 endangered wild animals, China accounts for 156. In a country of 1.3 billion people, once a certain animal becomes a delicacy, its fate is sealed. Take a chilling survey: On January 20, 2000, a study on the status of wild animal consumption in China revealed that 49.8% (688) of 1,381 restaurants, 15.4% (44) of 286 subsidiary food markets, and 41.7% (91) of 218 rural markets were engaged in the trade of wild animals. Most wild animals are natural predators of agricultural pests: one snake can catch 60 mice a year, while one mouse can destroy 5 kilograms of grain annually. In a large city, eating 1 million frogs each year means "eating" away 1 million kilograms of grain at the same time! The survival or extinction of one species affects the life or death of many related species. Research shows that the eradication of one plant can lead to the destruction of 10 to 30 other plants, insects, and higher animals that depend on it. Nature's food chain and ecological web are interconnected, with even the slightest disturbance affecting the entire ecosystem. Among the world's 4,650 known mammal species, one in four is listed as an "at-risk" species, with a high likelihood of extinction in the near future. There are 182 bird species on the brink of extinction, and 20% of amphibians, reptiles, and 30% of fish face the same fate. Some people think that "wild" means "natural," but it's not always "safe and reliable." Many natural plants are inherently toxic, and eating wild animals is even more perilous. (2) Be Careful of Catching Diseases from Eating Wild Delicacies: The trend of eating wild delicacies is rampant in some regions. Whether it's gazelles, wild deer, weasels, wild rabbits, or mountain chickens (birds), or small insects like scorpions and grasshoppers, they have all become delicacies on the dining table. It's important to know that many wild animals carry and spread diseases, some of which are zoonotic, transmitted through animals that store, carry, or spread pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, rickettsiae, spirochetes, and protozoa. It has been reported that over 60 types of wild animals, such as roe deer, deer, wild boars, capybaras, wild cattle, wild rabbits, squirrels, marmots, foxes, red foxes, wolves, antelopes, rock sheep, and gazelles, not only can contract and spread diseases like brucellosis, E. coli infection, listeriosis, tularemia, pseudotuberculosis, plague, anthrax, hemorrhagic fever, leptospirosis, and certain protozoal diseases but can also transmit these diseases to humans. Some of these diseases, such as plague, anthrax, listeriosis, hemorrhagic fever, leptospirosis, and echinococcosis, are extremely dangerous and have high mortality rates. In Northwest China and Inner Mongolia, there have been cases where hunting and eating marmots and foxes led to dozens of deaths from plague. Additionally, many animals share diseases with humans, such as rabies, foot-and-mouth disease, influenza, anthrax, and Japanese encephalitis, making them easier to spread between humans, livestock, and animals. Moreover, the molds and parasites on animals can cause over 160 different diseases. ① Wild Animals Carry Many Parasites and Pathogens: Up to 91% of frogs are infected with the parasitic Dicrocoelium dendriticum. Once the larvae enter the human body, they often in soft tissues and internal organs. If they settle in the brain, they can cause blindness, paralysis, convulsions, and epilepsy. ② Wild Animals Contain Toxic and Harmful Chemical Substances: Pesticide and cantharidin pollution in frog meat, lead pollution, and chemical weapon-induced contamination have tainted pangolins, making Vietnamese people reluctant to eat them. Some people enjoy snake bile and fish bile, only to suffer acute poisoning and liver and kidney failure. ③ Wild Animals Transmit Viral Diseases: The 2003 SARS outbreak caused by the SARS virus made people further aware of the dangers of eating wild animals. On May 27, 2003, the Ministry of Agriculture's Animal Coronavirus Epidemic Source Investigation Team announced that coronaviruses had been detected in bats, monkeys, pangolins, and snakes, with genetic sequences identical to those of the SARS virus. As a result, some people called for legislation to ban the consumption of wild animals. Some have discovered that HIV may have originated in chimpanzees, and it was only through "close contact" between Africans and chimpanzees that it spread to humans today. ④ Some poachers use toxic methods to capture wild animals, even resorting to highly toxic pesticides. Eating such poisoned wild delicacies can easily lead to acute poisoning or chronic, latent harm to human health. All of these serve as a warning to those who dare to try new things. Abstaining from eating wild animals starts with us and our families. Let's be civilized and law-abiding citizens, and stop illegal sellers of wild animals when we encounter them.