The Avian Bird Flu has made it way to my part of the world. I have heard of two cases in Croatia (for those of you who don't know your geography, Montenegro shares a border with Croatia ) and there have been several cases in Romania (which borders Serbia) and at least one known case in Greece. In the grocery store last week I noticed that the chickens were marked with labels that said they had been checked by sanitation authorities. And some of my colleagues have said that they have stopped buying chicken all together because they are scared. Nothing I like to eat has ever been put into question-- though I lived in France at the height of the "vache folle" (mad cow) scare, I haven't touched beef in almost 15 years so it was a non-issue for me (but the thought of animals eating reprocessed animals is disgusting). When the Avian Bird Flu was still something in Asia, far far away, I wasn't concerned. Now that it is knocking at my door, I have started to worry. Chicken makes up a substantial part of my diet. My favorite lunches here are the delicious grilled chicken sandwiches (white meat only, delivered fresh from the farm, skinless boneless chicken served on a freshly baked bun with fresh toppings) but since the bird flu made it's way to Southeastern Europe, I haven't eaten any chicken. Although I know that this flu hasn't killed any humans, I think it may be just a matter of time. And I frankly don't have a lot of confidence in Montenegro's Ministry of Health to protect the country from a full fledged outbreak if it comes to that.

So I have stopped eating chicken for the time being, and have stepped up my tuna intake. But then I start worrying about my mercury intake. And as winter is approaching there are fewer and fewer delicious fruits and vegetables for sale... What's a girl to do?