From forest to table: Inside the world’s 'bushmeat' problem

Eleven years ago, Toudissa’s popular Brazzaville restaurant, Espace Liboké, was destroyed when a military arms depot exploded, killing 246 people. His latest culinary venture is part of a mission to demonstrate that it’s possible to cook Congolese-style food without using wild game—bushmeat as it’s commonly called. Eating wild meat—everything from antelope, monkeys, and porcupines to endangered gorillas, elephants, and pangolins—has always been part of his country’s culture. But Toudissa is bucking the status quo. “If we kill all the animals, people will not have a chance to see them,” he said as we walked the crowded market aisles. “My food is natural. It comes from the water, farms, and forests—and it doesn’t include bushmeat.”