Meat section at the public market in Dumaguete City

Not many expats buy their meat from the market on the grounds that it is not sufficiently chilled there. This may be the case and is certainly one reason why meat is cooked thoroughly in Filipino kitchens.

But it is also an optical illusion if the Western customer thinks that meat is better here when he buys it in the supermarkets in the malls. Anyone who takes the trouble to visit the abattoir early in the morning will realize that the delivery vehicles at the abattoirs are not refrigerated vehicles.

I was at the abattoir at 4:30 a.m. when we picked up a whole pig for our own use from one of the gigantic fattening farms in Bukidnon province. The delivery vehicles were also being loaded at this time. These were the same vehicles that drove to the markets and supermarkets in the malls and made deliveries at the back, out of sight of the customers.

At the market, you can see how a worker throws an 80 kg pig on his shoulder and takes it to the appropriate stall.