Hong Kong's Beefed-Up Diets Debunked

Here's what over 10 tonnes of frozen wagyu beef look like

There are statistics that say Hong Kong is the largest consumer of meat per capita in the world at an average of 137kg per person daily.

That's basically five times the international average.

Are people eating tomahawk steaks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday?

If so there would be even more Hongkongers dying of heart disease.

It's not true.

The seized speedboat with six engines at the back

The reality is that a good portion of that meat is smuggled across the border to mainland China and some of it was caught yesterday.

Hong Kong Customs intercepted a high-powered speedboat on September 2, in the southwest waters of Hong Kong. In the boat was about 10.1 tonnes of suspected smuggled frozen wagyu beef with an estimated market value of HK$21 million (US$2.7 million).

Customs officers had spotted a suspicious speedboat heading to the open sea at high speed with its navigation off, and immediately followed it. Officers later discovered the speedboat was equipped with six powerful outboard engines. Five men aged between 22 and 36 were arrested, and the meat was seized.

That is sadly wasted meat... it will probably be stuck in a freezer as evidence for months and perhaps destroyed afterwards? 

So yes -- Hongkongers are not constantly eating beef all day. The same could be said about seafood, with highly prized fish, shark's fin, abalone, sea cucumber and so on are probably smuggled north as well!