The Chinese Have Eaten Everything

Georgi's company threw a big party on Saturday night to celebrate 10 years of fantastic achievements. Since I had an important contribution to their success, offering support to one of their most attractive employees, obviously I was on the guest list.
I met quite a few people, some sober, others drunk, some stylish and eye-catching and others quite clever and sharp. Among them, a lady who's been travelling quite a bit for the last thirty odd years. She seemed to be in love with some places and just hate some others. Nothing unusual, I would say. However, I was surprised to hear that she would never go back to China. Why? Not because of the excessive state control, climate or pollution, but because "the Chinese have eaten everything."
"- Everything?"
"- Yes, everything. There's no wildlife left, no birds or foxes. Just empty forests."

I knew she was exaggerating, so I did a quick web search today. Apparently she was not. China's consumption of wildlife for food and medicine is rising every year with many once widespread species now being close to extinction. This is partly due to higher demand for food by a population now representing more than 20% of the World's total, but even more interesting due to their "slightly odd" dietary inclinations. China's proverbial appetite for reptiles and animals we use as pets is only the tip of the iceberg. If you're curious to see what else is on the menu in Beijing, have a look at this website. And if you're in town you might want to book a table at the Beijing's exclusive Penis Restaurant. Alternatively you could become a vegetarian and save a few owls...
"Chinese eat everything that flies, except aeroplanes, everything with four legs, except tables, and everything that swims, except submarines" says a modern Cantonese proverb. That might have to change soon to something like:
"The Chinese have eaten everything. Now they can only eat aeroplanes, tables and submarines."