I am in complete shock! Someone told me that in mainland China they eat monkey's brain!?

Question

While the monkey is tied to the table and still alive and screaming! This is one of the most horrible things I have ever heard! Do you know if this is true?

Answer 1

No, it isn't true. Think about it, even if it were, how the heck can the monkey be screaming if the head is already cut open??

Answer 2

Yes, it's true that some people in some cultures do eat brains of animals as food...including people in the US (beef, pork and even squirrel brain is a delicacy in parts of the southern US). So while the idea of consuming the brain of a monkey is feasible, that bit about the monkey being alive and screaming is simply an urban legend. Not at all true.

Ever notice that when people say stuff like that, it's always about some place on the other side of the world, never part of their own ethnic group or nation? Creating and spreading food myths with the intent to villify the consumer of said food is really a form of ethnocentrism and racism when you think of it, and it certainly doesn't help that Hollywood perpetuates such myths in movies like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Answer 3

As horrible as it sounds it IS TRUE, monkey brains are a speciality in the southern provinces of China. However, it's illegal but it's still done behind closed doors for very rich people who like that kind of stuff. The main problem with the Chinese is that they have an extremely awkward point of view when it comes to creatures other than human (and even with humans they're very strange though they don't eat them). They eat all kinds of weird things, amongst them many endangered species. Reasons for this are, amongst others, that some of these dishes are said to be aphrodisiacs or have a life prolonging effect. Something more common is that they eat snakes (fried, braised, cooked, boiled, grilled, many ways) and the host of the dinner gets the honor of eating the snake's gall bladder and gets to drink the snake's blood, both said to be very healthy. The Chinese are also fond of sharks' fin soup which is said to be a delicacy and is extremely expensive. The problem is the way in which they "harvest" those fins, they catch the sharks, cut off their fins on the back and on both sides while the shark is still alive and then throw the rest of the shark back into the water where this animal dies slowly and painfully since sharks need to be in constant motion or they will die. Since they can't move anymore without fins they die very slowly, comparable to a human in an air-tight room where the air is very slowly sucked out and the person in it takes many hours to die.

Answer 4

First of all, monkey is kind of endangered and illegal to hunt, so I don't know where they would get the monkey from in the first place. It won't be too widely eaten anyway.

Second of all, eating it alive is most likely an urban legend made up by Northerners who abhorent southern appetite.

As for the video (widely circulated on the web), check www.snopes.com.

Answer 5

in fact it is true. My friend has personally seen the video, the only reason i didn't see it but i heard it, was because i didn't have the stomach to watch.

They tied the monkey down and using little hammers and chisels, took the top half of the skull off (this is while the monkey was still alive and screaming profusely). It was in a cage with its hands and feet tied to the sides, while its head was sticking out the top. The chinese people then cut pieces of its brain out and put it in theyre brandy filled shot glass and drank/ate it. As they were cutting its brains out the monkey was slowly becoming real mellow as if it had been labotimized. I'm from Sabah, North Borneo and as a native it makes me very sad to see this kind of animal cruelty. Horrific people with a horrific culture towards animals.

Answer 6

yes, but that was over 50 years ago. At that time, only ppl in Canton/HK area considered that as a delicacy.
Eating monkeys(including monkey brain) has been banned for decades by Chinese government. This is just another misconception of China. Nowadays, Chinese people don't eat monkey brains.

Answer 7

You think that's bad... consider what we AMERICANS/EUROPEANS do to poor baby calves so we can have veal. And that's done on a regular basis... far more torturous and methodical... not just as some rare delicacy. I don't know whether the Chinese eat monkey brains, but maybe we can all start thinking about what can be improved from within before judging others.

Answer 8

I hope you know that the chinese eat everything. As long as someone makes something up about how its actually go for you. they will eat it.

I've also heard about people eating monkey brains when the monkey is alive and they slowly watch it die.

Answer 9

yes, true. my wife and son have eaten monkey brain. a delicacy they say.but chinese people don't die from what they eat and they don't look stuffed as do americans. i have eaten many things from china and most are delicious.

Answer 10

I have heard that too, the hit the live monkey with little hammers until they crack its scull and then eat the brains...
that is what i heard...
supposed to be something fancy...
whatever.. sounds gross!

Answer 11

If it were true, that would be shocking. But I hate that in Spain they are ok about eating bull's testicles, I was disgusted, I would never eat that. i cannot believe that they eat that, ill, damn.