Julie and I have a membership at Sam's Club here in China, which is a 20 minute scooter ride from our apartment. We originally joined because we were told by other expats that Sam's had the safest meat in town. The place is always packed, and like in the US, the actual savings to be had here are suspect. The reason I like to go is that they tend to have pretty fresh fish and sushi. The fish is so fresh in fact that you can watch an employee pull one out of the tank and brain it on the floor in front of you. That's what's happening in the top photo. The Sam's employee is killing the fish by pounding it several times on the floor that everyone walks on. Some liquid of an unknown type got on my camera as I took the photo. What I love about the picture is that the employee wears both a hairnet and gloves as he does something completely unhygienic. Next we have the soft-shelled turtles. I don't think any meat eater should judge others for eating a different type of meat, but what got me about these live turtles was the price tags pierced into their bodies. It seems a bit barbaric and unnecessary. I'm pretty sure that even without the tag that the cashier could identify it as a turtle. Or perhaps it's a security tag to avoid the awkward, "do you have a live soft-shelled turtle in your pants" inquiry. I'm not sure if the pricing is per kilo or per turtle, but 155 RMB works out to about $25 USD. That puts turtle well into the luxury food category. People here eat it because turtle is believed to increase longevity. Another luxury item is alligator, shown in the last photo. I think it is like the Chinese Viagra. I wonder what I need to eat to treat my contempt. I'm guessing stewed mouse lips or fried chinchilla ears.
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