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Q: where does the meat come from?
the meat packing industry is complicated. its been through many reforms in the west. what is it like in china?
If by "meat" you mean "beef", I do not think that in China they have ranches growing cattle for butchering purposes. And if they do, they have not been around for too long. Yes, they do have dairy farms, but Chinese in general have not been too partial to red meat. Pork, chicken and fish are the main three sources of meat for Chinese.
I have asked many Chinese friends the question "why is beef so tough here after cooking?" many times, and the most common answer I got back was that farmers use bulls and cows for working in a farm most of the time, and when they grow old, they are sold to the butchers for meat, and as a result of all the work and their age, their meat tends to be tough when cooked.
I have no idea if this is right or wrong, but that is what I know. I would be interested in knowing more about this subject, so look foward to see other more detailed answers. I met a fellow from Australia once, he was in Guangxi Province working for a Aust. Company setting up a ranch with bulls and cows for diry and meat purposes. But after maybe 9 months he went back home and never returned, so I do not know if the deal busted or if it is still going on.
Shining_brow:
I would imagine that part of the problem of the Aust guy is: what will the locals feed the cows? In Aust, there are strict conditions (relatively speaking), which wouldn't be upheld here. And then, take into account other health and safety standards... and the cost of transport... I could see it working given the droughts that have (had) been hitting us hard for a few decades.. but who knows.
kchur:
I have been told this is true, about the beast of burden thing, as well, and it wouldn't surprise me. It was similar in the western world for thousands of years, pretty much until the appearance of tractors, etc. It was only then that farmers started commonly raising and breeding their cattle for meat.
I'm just fortunate that I met a guy here (VERY local) who had about 30 cattle purely for beef! So, none of that 'work' stuff for them!!!
Also remember, beef cattle like a slightly drier climate... certainly not the sort of climate that is nice for growing rice! They need a firmer footing... not slogging through mud. Too much mud leads to too much disease for their sensitive bodies. Even if you did get them in the wetter climes - the more mud-slogging, the more muscle built up to do the slogging.. which in turn means tougher muscle, and therefore tougher meat.
Given that this makes cattle more annoying than pigs (add in food and land requirements), and you can see why pork is preferred.
Traveler:
Those cattle are so lucky that they don't have to do hard labour; just bred to be killed and eaten :-)
The Chinese eat fresh meat. For everything. It's been a common practice even now that there is refridgeration. So, when you buy some beef here, it was killed within a very short period of time.
In the west, we age beef - either by dry aging or wet aging. Dry aging means hanging the beef up in a dry cooler (almost freezing, but the meat will NOT be frozen) for 15-21 days. This allows moisture to escape from the meat, concentrates the natural flavor, and lets the natural enzymes that occur in the meat to break down the connective tissue. This results is more flavorful, and much more tender, beef. This method is very expensive because of the storage costs and coolers. It also encourages a "crust" of mold to grow on the meat (which is trimmed off before you ever see it) that helps add flavor and tenderness as well.
Wet aging is done by sealing meat (usually a large cut) in a vacuum sealed package and letting the enzymes break down the tough connective tissue. This results is more flavorful (but less so than dry aged), jucier, and extremely tender beef. It's also quicker - only about 1 week of aging. This is the most common version done in the US.
This is why beef here is tougher and pretty flavorless - it's not aged.
