WE ARE WHAT WE EAT ... BUT DO WE CARE HOW WE KILL IT?

My esteemed colleague Brian Reyes earns his daily crust reporting on the news for the Gibraltar Chronicle. He is also a talented photographer and keen foodie. He has a blog – My Mediterranean Diet – which is both engaging and interesting.


Brian recently penned a series of articles first dealing with a bullfight in Algeciras and then following it up with articles on the meat as a dish. I suspect we have both bought our ‘toro de lidia’ from the same butcher in the Algeciras market and what surprised me was that beef from a prized bull is only fit for the stewing pot.

Now Brian’s first article with a graphic description and photos of the killing of his future meal has caused outrage amongst some readers of the Dscriber website that is based in the USA. I certainly think his piece has been amongst the most read and has certainly drawn probably the most comments, the majority highly critical.

Maybe Brian was brave or naive in writing the series and I do not intend to enter the fraught argument here for or against bullfighting. The only comment I will make is to those who doubt the bravery of the matador. Stand beside one of these bulls as I have and tell me he is a coward. You do not enter a field where these beasts graze or pass by one on foot if it has escaped – the chances are it will try to kill you!

The majority of the bulls that enter the ring have been bred on farms where they have roamed free and been extremely well cared for except for their final day or so. No other animal comes to the table via the ‘fiesta nacional’ but is the process they go through any less humane? I somewhat doubt it.

Anybody living in rural Spain will have come across the ‘matanza’ where the family pig is tied live to a frame, has its throat cut and then bleeds to death. The blood is used for morcilla and over the next day or so every part of the pig will be butchered and prepared in to some dish or another. It will then feed the family for many months to come. Before you point and say here is another example of cruel Spain of course the same method of slaughter is used by the Jews and Muslims as part of their dietary laws.

I have driven behind a big truck as dawn breaks as it brings in live chickens to the factory where I believe they are gassed. Some break free – the odd one escapes, others are run over by a following vehicle, some break their legs and wings and land in a bloody heap on the tarmac.

Cattle, pigs and sheep who rarely enjoy the lifestyle of the bullring bull are crowded in to trucks then shipped off to the abattoir for a humane death. They say it is quick and painless. Sorry but it isn’t.

Of course we could choose to eat fish which are pulled from the sea in giant nets and then drown – gasping for water in the air of the trawler's deck.

Now all of this is a good argument for not eating meat or fish but I do both as do the majority of people and I have no intension of changing. For when I sit down at my table or in a restaurant I eat the tasty dish that is set before me and do not give a thought on how the creature got there. Yet also I am not so foolish as to believe it was a painless end for the animal or fish concerned. We are what we eat – but the majority don’t care how we kill it!

Brian’s blog: http://www.mymediterraneandiet.net/

MAKING A RIGHT CALAMARI OF IT

I have to admit that I was astonished that an octopus in a tank in a German aquarium should have captured the world’s attention by correctly predicting the result of eight matches in the World Cup.

Just on Saturday I sat gob-smacked before my TV as I watched a news item on the octopus named Paul surrounded by hi-tech film crews from the major broadcasters filming the creatures every move – which with eight legs is rather a lot.

Sadly the news presenters on Sky News got their calamares in a twist. Normally the talking heads read straight from the autocue but there are one or two who like to throw in the odd quip which are usually as hilarious as hitting your funny bone.

When the exploits of Paul the English born octopus, who predicted Germany would beat his own country and Spain would triumph over the mighty Hun, were aired we were treated to asides about plates of calamares. Oh dear, oh dear – calamares are squid not octopus and I have to say that whilst I live in Spain under the sun of the Mediterranean diet calamares, pulpo and jibia are not dishes I would seek out. Calamares I could chew on but pulpo and jibia would see me running faster than an eight-legged octopus. Certainly faster than Wayne Rooney!

Just in case you were wondering what you’d do with an octopus should one stray your way (or indeed a Sky News presenter) I bring you a recipe below from Galicia where they know all about these beasts of the deep.

I should also point you to the blog of my esteemed colleague Brian Reyes – My Mediterranean Diet – which as the label says brings you wonderful recipes from this region. He has yet to tackle the octopus – wise man, wise man!

OCTOPUS 'A LA MUGARDESA'

2kg of octopus
4 potatoes
1 green pepper
1 large onion
2 or 3 peeled tomatoes
Oil
Vinegar
Coarse Salt
1/2 teaspoon of hot paprika
3 cloves of garlic

Put 2 litres of water into a pan and, when it begins to boil, put the octopus into it briefly three times. That way it will be more tender and the suckers on the tentacles will not be lost. Then let it cook, over a strong heat, for 40 minutes. When this time is up, put the water to one side so you can use it to make the sauce. Peel and chop the potatoes and partly cook them in the reserved water. Then add salt to them. Finely chop the onion and add it to a frying pan with oil. When it is well done, add the chopped pepper and tomato. After 15 minutes, add 2 or 3 large spoonfuls of octopus cooking water. Put the potatoes in a deep serving dish and the chopped octopus in the centre. Add salt immediately. Lightly fry the garlic and, separately, mix the sweet and hot paprika. When the garlic is browned, add a large spoonful of cooking water and then the paprika mixture. Optionally, you can use a little vinegar. Pour the sauce obtained over the octopus.

By the by I am told that octopus should be eaten very hot indeed - as to Sky News presenters the hotter the better!

A BAY AT BAY

I was yesterday reading a very interesting report by my esteemed colleague Brian Reyes in the Gibraltar Chronicle (see note at the end of this blog). It concerned a report published by the environmental group Greenpeace in conjunction with environmental groups on both sides of the border on the need for the Spanish, British and Gibraltarian government’s to put their political differences aside in order to tackle the problems in the bay zone.

One paragraph caught my eye: “As if to underline the point, the report is careful to refer to the bay as ‘the Bay of Algeciras/Bay of Gibraltar’, reflecting the differing positions on jurisdiction.”

The naming of the bay has been a constant thorn in my side. If you are Gibraltarian – it is the Bay of Gibraltar, which I believe it also its internationally accepted name. If you are Spanish – it is the Bahía de Algeciras – the Bay of Algeciras. Over the years I have received stinging fleas in my ear from Llanito readers when in an article on Gibraltar I have referred to the bay with its Spanish name.

Now I am more careful. If writing specifically for Gibraltar – I use the Bay of Gibraltar. If I am writing from a Spanish angle – it’s the Bay of Algeciras. More often than not I duck the issue and talk of the bay zone.

Brian also referred to “less well-known concerns such as the fact that most towns in the area - including both Gibraltar and Algeciras - pump untreated sewage directly into the sea.”

Now I have known for a long time about the problem of Algeciras. Indeed I have written on it many times as it has been faced with action by the EU as it is the only town of its size in Spain without a water treatment plant, contravenes Euro law and hence Madrid faced heavy sanctions. A sewage plant is now under construction but it would be a wiser man than me who would give you a date when this will actually be operational.

However I had no idea that the same situation existed in Gibraltar. The Rock with a population of no more than 30,000 is tiny compared with its neighbour across the bay with an official population of 115,000 but where many more people live and heavy industry exists.

None-the-less I was rather alarmed to learn that Gibraltar with its advanced infrastructure – with plans underway for a new airport plus major developments off the west beach – has not installed a water treatment plant. This after all is the most basic of requisites.

There are of course numerous major issues in the report such as bunkering, shipping, nuclear vessels, cancer concerns and the environmental effects of heavy industry. All the same it has to be said that if we are concerned with the quality of water in the bay and Strait then water treatment plants in all towns must be a top priority.

(To read Brian Reyes – Letters from Gib, an excellent blog, click on the link on the right hand side of this page. I was particularly interested to learn about his recent experiences in the House of Lords).