Free market usually means fluctuating prices for goods and services, thanks to the competition between firms. But when it comes to the market for meat and fish, the United States, priding itself as a free market economy, doesn’t have abundant options for consumers to pick. Grocery store butchers commonly offer beef, pork, chicken and turkey. Several different parts of the cow, such as sirloin and shank, might make the butcher department look a bit fancy. Seafood departments in grocery stores only offer large fish without lots of bonds, but large fish such as tuna contain high level of mercury. When speaking of poultry, usually the only options are chicken and turkey.
But in other places in the world, meat and poultry are not only limited to beef, pork, chicken and turkey. In East Asia and Southeast Asia, for example, ducks and geese are put on dining tables just as regularly as chicken. In southern Europe, ducks and geese are available, though they are less common than chicken. The Chinese have even domesticated wild pigeons and quails as part of their poultry industry. Nutritionists have proven the meat of these birds have unique health benefits that chicken cannot offer. For example, duck breasts contain niacin, which helps with fat metabolism and cholesterol control. Duck meat is also abundant with iron, necessary for red blood cell function.
As a nation built for immigrants, restaurants that provide cuisines from all over the world scatter around the country. But the degree of diverse meat consumption is still far from the one of race integration. Why has the U.S. developed a modernized poultry industry that excludes other edible birds such as ducks and geese? Very few in American history have ever answered this question through extensive research. Yet possible answers could still come from history, such as the history of how people domesticated turkey.
Data from U.S. Department of Agriculture show that in 1970, the consumption for turkey carcass was 8.1 pounds per capita. But in 2012, the consumption jumped to 16 pounds per capita, doubling the consumption four decades ago. This indicates that turkey, which was eaten traditionally only during Thanksgiving and Christmas, has been becoming more popular in people’s daily diet. The change in people’s preference toward turkey has driven farmers to breed the bird and supply them not only limited to holidays. If domesticating wild turkey to become a commercial poultry is possible, the same could happen to ducks and geese. But people’s shift of preference takes a long time to evolve.
Government regulations on food safety contribute to the stagnation of people’s preference of consuming exotic meats to a large extent. The Food Safety and Inspection Service of USDA and FDA impose tough restrictions on domestic production of meat and poultry, and tougher rules of importation of them. For instance, U.S. government bans import of mooncakes, traditional Chinese pastries that contain cooked duck egg yolks or meat as fillings, fearing the outbreak of bird influenza. Without wide exposure to other poultry products in first place, demand from consumers is still low, and farmers have little incentive to breed the birds.
Lack of recipes is probably the most common reason people don’t adopt exotic meats as part of their daily diets. Going back to history, among those who came to North America were mostly men. It’s believed these men had limited knowledge in cooking, so the original recipes for meat were only used with beef, pork and chicken. Thinking about the difference between how Texans and Carolinians barbecue might give you an idea how primitive method of cooking is still employed. But cooking duck or goose breast is actually very similar to cooking beef and veal, just with different herbs and sauces. Recipes would be feasible once the tastes of people change, and they will borrow and learn from other ethnic groups.
Do not let the ignorance about food prevent us from being gourmet.
Send your thoughts to Ziyi at technician-viewpoint@ncsu.edu.
