What is better? Fresh or packaged

Tyler, Shirley(Tyler's helper) and I all went to the "local" market last week for the first time. Some people also call it the wet market but I'm not sure why yet.

(Produce picked today or yesterday and trucked in from the country)

I must say that if the USFDA had come and inspected the place I think it might not have made the standards we expect in the US but then I got to thinking...

(Yes, that is a tree stump)

All of these vegetables were probably picked within the last day or so, the pigs and chickens had been made into meat in the past day or even that morning or as you can see from the photos "right now" so can you get any fresher than that? In America, we like it all to be "sanitary". It must be sealed, signed and delivered in Styrofoam packages in order for it to be safe. I wonder how much bacteria is on the meats and vegs that we eat in America verses the meat and vegs which have been picked and eaten within the same day.

Of course then there is the taste. Nothing beats fresh eggs and vegetables.

Fresh eggs (not refridgerated)

How long does it take for a pork chop to go from start to finish in America vs. China. I don't have the facts but wonder how long and how fresh American food is compared to the Chinese way of eating. Chinese pride themselves on eating fresh foods. Locals buy their food fresh EVERY day. It is part of the day. You get it from the market, bring it home, cook it and that is the end of it. No freezing, canning or left overs. It makes you wonder about how we do things at home. What do you think?

Live shrimp and chickens

P.S. We did eat the "local" food which Shirely prepared for us and it was delicious and we did not get any kind of food poisoning...