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By ELAINE GANLEY
Associated Press Writer
PARIS
(AP) — ``Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what
you are,'' goes the adage penned by famed gastronome Jean
Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, who aptly took the pulse of his
countrymen 175 years ago.
Food,
with its symphony of flavors, textures and smells, has long
defined France, where eating is something of a carnal pleasure.
But that last bite of blood-red steak or that final forkful
of steak tartare is going down less easily of late.
The
specter of mad cow disease has darkened the dinner table
here, capping a series of other food-related fears and forcing
the French to revisit their relationship with what they
eat.
Suddenly, ``our foods are threatening,'' said Claude Fischler,
an expert on the sociology of food with
France's
National Center for Scientific Research. ``We have the feeling
of being surrounded and trapped. Wherever you turn, there
is a risk.''
Experts
say the well-known French passion for good food is not about
to disappear, but the approach to food is evolving. Globalization,
a faster-paced lifestyle in the cities and food fears are
forcing the French to think twice about what goes on their
plates.
At France's
open air food markets, the senses are regaled with the season's
cornucopia of fruits, vegetables, meats, spices and feathered
fowl — all displayed like fall fashions at a luxury
boutique. But a hint of fear has crept into the conversations
that fill the stalls.
At a
Left Bank market, the fish monger was found in a heated
discussion with a customer about the perceived dangers of
genetically modified foods. A few stalls down, Simone Leumenier,
presiding over an array of meats, from calves' tail to roast
beef, was telling customers why they should not fear her
faux filets. She patiently explained the difference between
bone marrow — considered safe — and spine marrow
forbidden because it risks transmitting the human form of
mad cow disease.
``People
don't know what to think anymore,'' said Leumenier, the
fourth generation of a family of Normandy butchers.
Mad
cow, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is believed to
be linked to the brain-wasting human disease variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob
Disease, which is usually fatal. Scientists believe it originated
in Britain when cattle were given feed containing the ground
remains of sheep infected with a brain ailment. That practice
is now banned throughout the European Union.
Fear
of the disease were reawakened this fall in France: More
than 100 sick cows have been detected here this year, and
meat from a possibly infected herd ended up on grocery store
shelves. That came on the heels of a series of food scares,
including listeria contamination, dioxin in chickens and
damage to shellfish from an oil-tanker spill last December.
France
has forbidden a range of cow parts from going to market,
from T-bone steak — cut too close to the spine —
to cow's thymus glands, used in ``ris de veau,'' and brains
and intestines, used to encase large sausages. Most recently,
the government banned use of bone meal and all cow meat-based
feeds for all animals.
Leumenier's
beef sales have fallen 30 percent since October. They plunged
48 percent in 1996, when anxiety swept Europe after the
extent of Britain's mad cow problem was disclosed.
A study
by the Center for Research and Documentation, CREDOC, shows
that 45 percent of the French people have reduced their
intake or stopped eating beef altogether since October.
``One
of the major findings ... is that the stigma of today will
not disappear in the short term,'' CREDOC said. Three French
out of 10 do not intend to return to their normal beef-eating
habits, it said.
``The
idea that we could no longer control the food chain ...
triggered a real psychosis that risks being durable,'' said
Jean-Pierre Loisel, director of CREDOC's consumer department.
Fear
of food among the French sounds like an anomaly. Very young,
the French learn to appreciate their gastronomic traditions.
At some
French schools, children in the lower grades are taken on
gastronomic discovery trips. Each year, a nationwide ``taste
week'' promotes regional foods and inculcates an appreciation
of the art of eating. And in his latest movie, French star
Gerard Depardieu portrays the chef Vatel — who committed
suicide in 1602 when two banquet roasts were not ready on
time.
However,
changes in eating habits have been afoot for some time in
France. Frozen foods have gained wide acceptance as women
join the work force. Globalization, and a faster-paced lifestyle,
are slowly transforming traditional long lunches into sandwich
breaks, at least in the city.
Now,
there is growing concern over the health and safety aspects
of food. That was the major finding in a 1998-99 CREDOC
study of French eating habits which showed obesity, heart
problems and cholesterol rank as top fears — not brain
damage, food poisoning or other ailments linked to recent
food crises.
Still,
experts say food for the French represents more than just
nourishment; it is intimately bound to social well-being:
A recent study by Fischler with citizens in Nantes showed
conviviality to be the most important aspect of eating.
Fischler
and others predict that the French will continue to cut
meat consumption and demand quality control of what they
eat.
``I
think they are dealing with the issues in a typically French
way ...,'' said Fischler. ``I'm sure they will devise new
ways of enjoying their food.''
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