João Menezes & Associados/ GTEPS / Pecuária Já

Waiter: "To begin, half a dozen oysters, raw. Then the steak tartare with a raw egg yolk. And the cheese course to finish." Diner: "What's on the board tonight?" Waiter: "Brie de Meaux, Comté and Roquefort, madam. All unpasteurised. Under French law they must be, or they lose the name." Diner: "Wonderful. I'll have a glass of milk with the cheese. Unpasteurised as well, if you have it." Waiter: "I'm afraid we can't serve raw milk, madam." Diner: "You've run out?" Waiter: "We're not permitted. A restaurant isn't allowed to sell it." Diner: "On what grounds?" Waiter: "Safety, I believe." Diner: "You've just sold me six raw shellfish." Waiter: "Very fresh, madam. In this morning." Diner: "And a plate of raw minced beef with a raw egg on it." Waiter: "Chef's signature." Diner: "And three cheeses made from raw milk, one of which has been sitting in a cave since the summer before last." Waiter: "Twenty-four months, the Comté. It's exceptional." Diner: "So the milk is safe to serve after two years in a cave." Waiter: "It matures, madam." Diner: "But not this morning, when the cow had only just finished with it." Waiter: "I'm afraid not." Diner: "Could I buy it anywhere?" Waiter: "From the farmer himself, I understand. At the farm. I'm told the bottle carries a health warning." Diner: "Does the tartare carry one?" Waiter: "There's a small asterisk on the menu." Diner: "And the oysters?" Waiter: "The same asterisk, madam." Diner: "So the shellfish gets a footnote and the milk gets a law." Waiter: "I could bring you a glass of the ordinary. Pasteurised." Diner: "Is that from the same farm as the cheese?" Waiter: "From several hundred farms, madam. It's blended." Diner: "I'll have the wine." Waiter: "Very good. That's also unpasteurised."

The polyester fleece is the best-travelled garment in human history. It has been to places its owner never will. Found near the summit of Everest, in the snow at 8,440 metres. Found in fresh snowfall in Antarctica. Found in the clouds above Mount Fuji. Found in the rain over America's national parks, 1,000 tonnes a year. Found at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, inside a shrimp. Found in the lungs of 11 out of 13 surgical patients in Hull. Found in the blood of 17 out of 22 donors in Amsterdam. Found in the human placenta. Found in breast milk. Found in every human testicle one laboratory tested. Found in the human brain, about a plastic spoon's worth. It sets off from the washing machine. One load of synthetics sends up to 700,000 fibres down the drain to see the world. In the interests of balance, scientists have also gone looking for wool. So far it has only been found on sheep.