It’s Time to Get Rid of Wet Markets in China and SE Asia

Todd Thurman, January 2020

How many more epidemics are required before we decide to address the obvious? How many more humans and animals must die from diseases with roots in the disease incubator that is Asia before we finally recognize something must be done? Disease outbreaks, human, animal and zoonotic (diseases that can be passed between humans and animals) are becoming more dangerous. There are many factors contributing to this trend, but one thing that way too many of these outbreaks have in common is a connection to wet markets in Asia.

Wet markets in China and SE Asia have been decreasing in popularity in recent years as younger consumers migrate towards modern supermarkets and even to online shopping for meat and produce. Wet markets, however, remain entrenched in Asian culture and are still very popular among middle-aged and older people throughout most of Asia. When you walk through wet markets in bigger cities, you often see tourists snapping photos and enjoying the novelty of the strange environment. It’s rare in the west to see such a chaotic situation with fresh meat, seafood, fresh fruit and vegetables and live animals, common and exotic, all in the same place. Add to that the huge number of vendors competing for consumer’s attention and you’re left with quite the memorable experience.

Wet markets are often preferred by local consumers because they like their food to be as fresh as possible and, understandably, they like the idea of supporting local farmers and producers. Not surprisingly, prices are also often much cheaper in wet markets than in supermarkets, a major consideration for shoppers in Asia who typically spend a much higher percentage of their income on food compared to countries in Europe and North America. While it may seem paradoxical to many westerners, Asians often claim that the food at the local wet market is healthier and safer than food found at a supermarket. There is a deeply ingrained lack of trust in food systems in many parts of Asia and people often just assume that the fewer people that handle the food and less distance it has to travel, the less risk. Perhaps the biggest reason people continue to patronize wet markets though is simply tradition. “That’s the way we’ve always done it” is a powerful force indeed.

There is a dark side to the markets, however, and we cannot continue to ignore or dismiss those factors. The reality is that wet markets provide fertile ground for food safety issues and both animal and human disease challenges. It’s not just the markets themselves, but also the supply chain implications that come along with them. Many of these challenges are exacerbated by the population density in most Asian countries that often proves to be the final factor that turns marginally unsafe situations into downright dangerous ones.

Food Safety:

Food safety standards vary widely among wet markets. I’ve seen markets in China, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Malaysia that were quite good in terms of managing food safety risks. It’s also true that they’ve undoubtedly gotten better over time; I’ve noticed the positive trend in my ten years of extensive travel to Asia. The majority of the markets, however, remain a source of major food safety concerns and the conditions in some are downright deplorable. As recently as a year ago, I was in a market that was using the same large unwashed, plastic tubs to transport live animals and cut meat to be sold to consumers. The conditions in these markets, often hot and humid, are ideal environments for the growth of pathogens that can be dangerous to humans and animals. Precautions such as gloves, hand washing and cleaning and disinfecting of tools and equipment are lackadaisical at best in many markets. It’s not uncommon to see dogs and cats roaming around looking for scraps.

Problems with food safety in China and SE Asia are well documented. These challenges certainly extend way beyond wet markets but the role of these markets in perpetuating food safety problems is undeniable. It’s true that education and awareness of good food safety practices could dramatically improve these challenges, but the reality is that practices haven’t changed that much despite widespread knowledge of these issues. It’s also true that there are food safety challenges that exist in the more modern systems, but these issues are more easily addressed in a supply chain that is more structured and more easily monitored and regulated.

Human, Animal & Zoonotic Diseases:

The role of wet markets in the spread of animal and zoonotic diseases is also well-documented. Both the Chinese SARS outbreak in 2003 and the current issue with coronavirus which started in Wuhan, China, have been traced back to wet markets. In the SARS case, scientists believe the original source of the virus was bats that then transferred the virus to civets which were sold for meat in markets in Guangdong in southern China. The first human victims are believed to have contracted the virus from exposure to civets at the market.

The source of the current coronavirus issue in Wuhan is still not completely clear but it is believed to have origins in a market in the city. I have a friend that lives just a few blocks from that specific market. Despite it being referred to as a seafood market, my friend tells me there were often many other species for sale in this market including all kinds of traditional livestock and other species such as bats, snakes and other reptiles. Again, it is too early to know for sure, but it seems likely that the novel coronavirus was originally introduced to the human population through these animals.

Wet markets have been implicated not just in human disease challenges but also in animal disease outbreaks. Outbreaks of avian influenza in Hong Kong (in 1997) and mainland China (in 2013 and 2017-2018) were major human health concerns. Avian influenzas may or may not be a threat to humans depending on the strain, but it is always a deadly risk for poultry. An outbreak of Avian Influenza killed more than 40 million turkeys and chickens in the US in 2015 and the disease has killed millions of birds in China in the last 7 years, remaining a constant threat to the industry. It’s not just birds and people that are potentially infected, some strains of the influenza virus are also a risk to swine, dogs, horses and many other animals.

In addition to influenza, wet markets can serve as reservoirs for many other animal diseases. Most notably, African Swine Fever (ASF), which can be transmitted between pigs through contact with infected meat but poses no risk to human health. ASF has destroyed over half the swine herd in China (>30% of the pigs in the world) since August of 2018 and has also infected most pig-producing countries in Asia including Vietnam, the Philippines, South Korea and others. It is believed that poor transportation biosecurity and feeding of meat waste to pigs are two of the biggest factors in the spread of ASF in Asia.

Not only are wet markets a direct potential source for spreading infected meat products, the associated supply chains complicate the implementation of biosecurity procedures aimed at controlling animal disease. In the US and many other developed markets, animals are typically raised in rural areas that are close to feed sources and far away from major population centers. Meat is then processed regionally and transported through a cold supply chain to big cities and other more populated areas. This allows for farms to be located in sparsely populated areas that are more isolated and easier to protect from health challenges.

In the “hot” supply chains associated with wet markets, animals are generally marketed, procured, slaughtered, processed and offered for sale in the same day. This requires farms and meat processing facilities to be located close to population centers. Because we’re talking about China and SE Asia, these aren’t just population centers but some of the most densely populated places on earth. These areas are also some of the most animal dense areas on the planet. Prior to ASF, roughly 50% of the pigs in world lived on roughly 3% of the world’s landmass…in China. The density of both animals and people creates a nightmarish scenario for biosecurity and was a major factor in the depth, breadth and speed of the spread of ASF in China and some SE Asian countries like Vietnam.

The most recent outbreaks (ASF in Pigs and the Wuhan novel coronavirus in humans) should be the final motivation necessary for governments and industries to finally take action and eliminate or least drastically reduce wet markets. This is not a new idea, there were calls to eliminate or highly regulate wet markets in Hong Kong way back in the 1990’s. Some of those plans were implemented but some were abandoned due to concerns about the cultural aspects of wet markets and complaints about the lack of access to less expensive, local food.

Plans to reduce the number of and provide for more regulation over wet markets were also implemented in larger cities in mainland China in the last 10 years with mostly good results in the largest cities but highly variable results everywhere else. In China, where “small towns” often have populations of one million plus, that’s a problem. Many westerners had probably never heard of Wuhan until recently, but it is the capital of Hubei province and is home to around 11 million people, only slightly smaller than New York City and Los Angeles COMBINED.

In 2018, Shawn Smallman called for the elimination of wet markets in Hong Kong in a paper published in the Journal of International and Global Studies which is available online here. In the conclusion of his paper, Mr. Smallman wrote, “In the end, however, the ultimate decision regarding whether to maintain the wet markets in Hong Kong must balance economic and socials costs of this measure the health risks that this trade poses.” It is clear to me that at this point, animal and human health risks far outweigh the economic and social costs.

Some have argued that the wet markets are in decline and will go away on their own. They say we should just allow for a gradual decline. I understand the concerns and am sympathetic to many of the arguments for maintaining the status quo, but we cannot continue to wait for wet markets to die a slow death. The recent high-profile challenges have made it obvious; now’s the time for governments, organizations and industries around Asia to do away with wet markets and transition to a cold supply chain as soon as possible. This is the only reasonable answer to modernize the food supply and ensure human and animal health and a stable food supply.

About the Author:

Todd Thurman is the owner of SwineTex Consulting Services, LLC, a US-based provider of consulting and training services for the global swine industry. He can be reached at [email protected] or through the company’s website: www.swinetex.com

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