Funny.. almost all of these countries are in Europe, and yet the two countries that are not in Europe are so far the only two that everyone has guessed.
You can try to look it up if you want to. I got the information from FAOSTAT. It's not in a neat and easy-to-read list format like on most Wikipedia pages.
I knew Austria and Germany had to be at the top of the list (the Wiener Schnitzel, Schweinebraten, etc.), haha. I also knew my home country (Slovenia) had to be on the list because a lot of people over here really do eat pork a lot (I personally don't like it all that much, but yeah).
The only two I missed were Vietnam and Cyprus. I'm actually surprised about Cyprus. Since there is a substantial Turkish population there (and they're muslim, so they weren't supposed to eat pork), I just assumed there was no way it could ever be on the list.
Surprised how neighbouring countries such as Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia are so far from each other in consumption of pork. I thought the culture in those was similar too? Another that might be explained by religion differences or something is Montenegro - Macedonia. Guess which one I included in my guesses? :)
I think so many are in Europe because 1) 1st world countries eat more meat in general, 2) there's fewer people with religion limiting it, 3) Countries like USA, Australia, Japan have a bigger variety of meats (and seafoods) available to them or then beef is cheaper in general as well?
I live in NYC, not exactly a food desert, yet it's very difficult to find veal and lamb, let alone rabbit or duck. Beef and chicken reign supreme and sadly crowd everything else out.
What the hell are you talking about "greater variety of meats available"? Europeans eat pork because they like it, not because they can't get anything else. Have you ever even been to Europe? Can you imagine how many different and varied cuisines there are in Europe? Can you imagine how many different pork recipes we have across Europe, using every single possible cut of the animal? This is just insane.
I never found any hashi kabsa anywhere in Europe. Though I wasn't looking particularly hard for it. Also never saw any whale bacon or shark fin soup or goat ankles or chicken feet or fried grasshopper or seasoned mealy worms or fetid duck fetus still in the shell... have come across all of those things in other places. I'm sure you can get all of the above and more somewhere in France, though. They will eat anything.
I'm not sure you could find these in France - I sure haven't seen many of them... Anyway, my point wasn't that you can find everything here, but that you can find far too great a diversity of dishes, animals, and cuisines in Europe, to attribute the pork-eating figures to "lack of choice".
I was surprised about Estonia as well, considering I had some delicious pork dishes in Tallinn. I did notice that Estonians eat more fish than Latvians, so that may explain the disparity.
I was genuinely surprised we weren't on here. Though it's honestly better that we aren't higher since we already have heart disease and diabetes as a leading cause of death. Also, I would assume China is capable of producing cheaper pork internally, right? I didn't realize they depended on us for this
Desease is not the main cause, cost of production is. Animal farming in the US is substantial cheaper than almost anywhere else in the world.
Also worth notice is that China has a serious problem of a lack of arable lands, combined with the pressure of heavy pollution caused by animal industries, it's only sensible they'd import from US.
To say a recent outbreak of flu (which the US also experienced years ago) is the reason they've been importing for all these years does not paint the whole picture.
I was only in Montenegro for a few days so I don't really know, but I know from spending time in many other Muslim countries that in some places they are strictly observant about halal dietary rules and in other places really not so much or not at all. Given how heavily pork features in most European cuisine, and how secular most of the Muslims I met in the Balkans were, it wouldn't surprise me if those in Montenegro fell into the latter category.
I find this unlikely, even Muslims who aren't practising tend to avoid pork. Maybe a non-practising Muslim will drink, but it is far less likely he or she will eat pork.
Pork is so incredibly versatile. I mean, I like bacon as much as the next guy, but I find that some people's cultural obsession with bacon (which, apparently, can be traced back to ad campaigns...) really limits their scope about all the wonderful and amazing other things you can do with pork. Speaking only of what I know, the sheer number of different types of charcuterie (which is cured meat, generally pork) you can find in countries like France, Germany, Italy, Spain... is nothing short of amazing. And I'm not even talking about all the other dishes you can do with pork: roasts, stews, soups... Pork is awesome!
No need to introduce this quiz as a celebration. Pigs are extremely intelligent and it's hugely depressing that there are so many people in developed countries prepared to ignore this for the sake of the taste of a fatty, and sometimes hairy, meat. Hmmmmm.
Hairy? Did you try to bite the meat directly off the living pig? No wonder you don't like it! Anyway, I don't think anyone ignores that pigs are intelligent, social, and sometimes very cute animals - but so are horses, and aren't they delicious? There you go!
I can't vouch for that Uzbek restaurant, but, when prepared adequately, horse is indistinguishable from a good, lean cut of beef. I eat it from time to time, although it gets harder to find in France as well, which is a shame, since we have horses, and when you don't eventually eat them, the meat just goes to waste. On a personal note, I find pigs and lambs much cuter and more endearing than horses.
There was a punchline once on the Colbert Report concerning businesses that had not done adequate market research, and a made-up failed business in Israel, something like "Saturdays Only Pork-a-torium!"
I thought it was a funny line. Imagine my surprise when I got to Tel Aviv and drove past this place
I somehow managed to be typing nearly the entire time and only score four, and none until the last minute when I got all the ones not in Europe. I guessed almost ten European countries too before giving up on it.
I'm all for eating less meat, and I did cut back a lot, for environmental reasons, and I totally respect people who choose for themselves not to eat meat. I also think there should be harsh laws against animal cruelty, including such barbaric practices as not stunning the animals before butchering them.
However, as kalba said, we can only survive on previous life. Unless you have somehow taught yourself how to photosynthesize, in which case, well done, pretty much the only things you consume that weren't alive at some point are water and salt. Good luck living on that. I suspect you're just here to flaunt your perceived moral superiority anyway.
How is the first half of your comment so kind and understanding and the second so rude and unfounded? OP didn't suggest we completely stop eating other living things (pork eaters are monsters is a bit ridiculous, though). They highlighted ethical and environmental problems with large-scale meat production, both of which are pretty substantial issues. Nothing like a comment section online to rile me up about poor listening/reading skills, yet here I am...
Calling unethical factory farms monsters is fair enough. Calling pork-eaters monsters without explanation is rude and unfounded. Unethical, perhaps, but monsters is extreme.
Saudis eat more chicken per capita than anyone else in the world. Pork in the country is illegal. Though I did smuggle some in from Bahrain, on occasion.
In Spain we have the saying "Del cerdo, hasta los andares", which would literally translate to something as "From the pork, even its gait". So that tells you quite everything.
He left in a huff. From his JetPunk user page: The moderation of this site, always questionable, arbitrary, haphazard, and a bit hit-or-miss... has become s**t, and/or deliberately punitive.
It's unfortunate - I didn't always agree with him, but enjoyed reading his voluminous comments.
I knew Austria and Germany had to be at the top of the list (the Wiener Schnitzel, Schweinebraten, etc.), haha. I also knew my home country (Slovenia) had to be on the list because a lot of people over here really do eat pork a lot (I personally don't like it all that much, but yeah).
The only two I missed were Vietnam and Cyprus. I'm actually surprised about Cyprus. Since there is a substantial Turkish population there (and they're muslim, so they weren't supposed to eat pork), I just assumed there was no way it could ever be on the list.
I think so many are in Europe because 1) 1st world countries eat more meat in general, 2) there's fewer people with religion limiting it, 3) Countries like USA, Australia, Japan have a bigger variety of meats (and seafoods) available to them or then beef is cheaper in general as well?
Also worth notice is that China has a serious problem of a lack of arable lands, combined with the pressure of heavy pollution caused by animal industries, it's only sensible they'd import from US.
To say a recent outbreak of flu (which the US also experienced years ago) is the reason they've been importing for all these years does not paint the whole picture.
Bacon and sausages butties, Pork with Sunday dinners. I thought we'd be there for sure.
I thought it was a funny line. Imagine my surprise when I got to Tel Aviv and drove past this place
However, as kalba said, we can only survive on previous life. Unless you have somehow taught yourself how to photosynthesize, in which case, well done, pretty much the only things you consume that weren't alive at some point are water and salt. Good luck living on that. I suspect you're just here to flaunt your perceived moral superiority anyway.
It's unfortunate - I didn't always agree with him, but enjoyed reading his voluminous comments.