Senegal Prior to Ordering Meat

Senegal

Prior to ordering meat or seafood at a restaurant it is advisable to ask the waitperson what cuts are the freshest and where the product comes from. This is good research for three reasons: one, knowledge is power; two, your query lets the staff know you are particular, and that you expect positive results from your experience; and three, fresh is always better and generally safer.

How does this pertain to launching a program to import products from Senegal? The answer is simple: knowledge is power and asking questions or conducting pivotal research is always an intelligent and productive exercise. The first question should be, what about Senegal's reputation as a nation? How stable a country is it, given that African nations have suffered in recent years under some horrendous circumstances (AIDS/HIV; drought; malnutrition; genocide; famine; civil war; malaria; political corruption, among other issues)?

As to Senegal, the CIA's "World Factbook" is recognized as authoritative, reliable information, and on page one of Senegal's section the Factbook states that "Senegal is one of the most stable democracies in Africa." Further, Senegal has a "long history" of participation in "international peacekeeping," the CIA reports. The nation got its independence from its previous colonial occupier, France, in 1960, and it is slightly smaller than South Dakota. An estimated 11,987,121 people live in Senegal, with a median age of 18.9 years; the life expectancy is just over 60 years for females and just under 58 years for males. About 40.2% of the population over 15 years of age can read and write; some 94% of the nation is Muslim and about 5% of the citizens are Christian. Fifty-four percent of the population lives "below the poverty line" (CIA).

As of 2003 estimates, 44,000 people in Senegal have AIDS or HIV, and the "degree of risk" from major infectious disease is "very high," the CIA report continues. Indeed, some of the diseases that are food borne, vectorborne and waterborne include: hepatitis a, typhoid fever, yellow fever, malaria, meningitis, schistosomiasis, and bacterial and protozoal diarrhea.

Only about 12.51% of Senegal's land is arable, the CIA Factbook explains, and the country does experience "periodic droughts."

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES: The lowlands are flooded during wet seasons, and presently there are numerous "...wildlife populations threatened by poaching." There is also a problem with deforestation, overgrazing, soil erosion and over-fishing, and because of the clear-cutting of forested areas in Senegal, a process of "desertification" is well underway. The problem of desertification is significant because according to United Nations' information (Thompson Gale / Nations Encyclopedia) 46% of Senegal is classified as semiarid. There has been "inadequately controlled cutting of forests for fuel" and there has also been significant overgrazing of existing grasslands (which are dwindling away). The capital of Dakar suffers from "improper sanitation" according to Nations Encyclopedia; but on the positive side of urban life, 92% of city dwellers have access to safe drinking water. Still, wherever you look in Senegal, you can't escape the fact that this is a third world country; to wit, 35% of people living in rural Senegal do not have access to safe drinking water.