Where does food come from?

There is a growing awareness that people are becoming unaware of what exactly they are eating. I personally have come across people (college students) who did not know that shrimp have heads, not to mention the fact that heads are actually the tastier part of the shrimp. One difference that I find when I travel outside the USA is the contrast between supermarkets here and those in other places. Odors are almost completely absent from USA supermarkets in marked contrast to supermarkets and open air markets in Europe and Asia. Especially in Asia, where food is often bought still alive, be it at the market or in restaurants. I remember the first time I traveled to Macau, when one day my father wanted to eat fish, so the waiter brought him a fish, taken from a fish tank located in the middle of the restaurant, for his approval. As my sister an I looked at the fish flapping inside a bucket, another waiter from the table next to us lost control of an eel and then had to chase it on the restaurant floor as the eel tried to make a dash to the door. I also clearly remember the chicken they served us that day. The entire chicken was cut into bite size portions, but was laid out on the plate in front of us still retaining its whole body shape, including its head, which stared at us no matter how hard we tried not to look.

Anyway, these memories came to me after reading this piece yesterday so I thought I would write about them.