I haven't researched it, but I assume the... diversity (to use a neutral word) of the Chinese diet is due to it being a country with a high population and a very long history of food shortages and famines, some of them within living memory.
In most parts of the world and for most of human history, protein-rich food hasn't been found neatly packed in plastic in the chilled cabinets of the local supermarket. It has been difficult to come by, and consuming just about any available source has been a necessary survival tactic for most of the time homo sapiens has existed.
There are rich assholes in China who eat exotic animals just because they can, but the living standards in rural China are still not that high, most dwellings there don't have refrigerators and so, for some people, any sort of meat is a welcome addition to their diet.
I'm not attempting to excuse the Chinese propensity to eat just about any animal and it's clear from SARS and the current outbreak of coronavirus (as well as some outbreaks of Ebola), that handling wild animals and eating them can be a very risky thing to do. For that matter, there's a long list of all sorts of diseases hunters in the USA can be exposed to and catch when they're handling, butchering and eating wild game.
Chinese obsession with eating exotic, endangered animals
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I haven't researched it, but I assume the... diversity (to use a neutral word) of the Chinese diet is due to it being a country with a high population and a very long history of food shortages and famines, some of them within living memory.
In most parts of the world and for most of human history, protein-rich food hasn't been found neatly packed in plastic in the chilled cabinets of the local supermarket. It has been difficult to come by, and consuming just about any available source has been a necessary survival tactic for most of the time homo sapiens has existed.
There are rich assholes in China who eat exotic animals just because they can, but the living standards in rural China are still not that high, most dwellings there don't have refrigerators and so, for some people, any sort of meat is a welcome addition to their diet.
I'm not attempting to excuse the Chinese propensity to eat just about any animal and it's clear from SARS and the current outbreak of coronavirus (as well as some outbreaks of Ebola), that handling wild animals and eating them can be a very risky thing to do. For that matter, there's a long list of all sorts of diseases hunters in the USA can be exposed to and catch when they're handling, butchering and eating wild game.