Where Food Comes From

In France Christmas is really about 1) food, 2) food, 3) more food and 4) presents. I don't know anyone in my immediate circle (family and friends) who has any religious associations with the holiday, instead we celebrate in joyous Pagan fashion with our families after 3 or 3 days spent slaving away in the kitchen and several weeks of food shopping and preparation.

But unlike America, in France we like to know where our food comes from, whether we are personally acquainted or not with GlouGlou le Dindon or Gédéon The Goose, Homère Le Homard or even our fishy friends, in the immortal words of Pierre Desproges "Le Congre que le Bar abhorre et le Bar que le Congre hait" (you could spend 6 months trying to translate the puns, so I won't).
In America, alas, poultry doesn't even look like poultry (and I'm not speaking about the taste) and fish, arrggl, how can you people eat something so unfresh looking, already filleted and therefore impossible to assess their freshness. It's a shame. FIY, packing poultry in water to make it appear plump is a blasphemy against taste buds, fish doesn't grow on sushis and shellfish isn't cultivated in clam chowder either.

Si to educate my US foodie friends, I'm posting a few pictures of what animal food looks like and where it comes from. Fishermen bringing in the catch, whole cods and soles, live turkeys and dead fowls, I show you the works. Squeamish readers, vegetarians and vegans who landed on this page randomly, pass your way, Nature is cruel.

For the others, next time I'll tell you how to kill chickens, rabbits and fish and escargots. It may come handy one day.