Shortages Lead To Panic Buying In Spain. Officials call for calm as people storm supermarkets and restaurants over fears of a food shortage.
Shortages Lead To Panic Buying In Spain
Officials in Spain are calling for calm after supermarkets and restaurants have been overwhelmed following reports of a food shortage. The popular Spanish dish “albondigas”, often served as tapas, could disappear from supermarket shelves and menus as a national shortage has been confirmed.
Albondas are under threat as development destroys their natural habitat.
Traditional Dish Under Threat
Albondigas have been eaten for generations in Spain, but due to an increase in development of rural land their natural habitat is being eroded and their numbers are falling. Carlos Comida from pressure group Albondigas Natural Unique Selection said “Demand for new houses seems to be greater than the demand for albondigas. Developers are destroying their habitat, and now we’re seeing the consequences as Spain has started to run out.”
What Are Albondigas
Albondigas are small creatures which live in the grassy inland parts of southern Spain around Coin and Ronda. They belong to the Geminorum IV family of animals. Beginning life as small furry creatures, they grow to about 3 inches long at which point they are considered ready to eat. Their anatomy has puzzled scientists for years, as they don’t seem to have a mouth, eyes, or a digestive system. It’s unclear how they are able to move around and consume food.
A fully matured albondiga, ready for transportation to a meat processing plant.
Mortal Enemies Of The British Empire
Albondigas farmer Enrique Bola-Redonda says they are puzzling creatures which dislike British people. “They don’t do much, except for shake and make purring noises. They must have eyes of some sort though, as they have an aversion to British people. If an albondiga sees a Brit it will begin violently shaking and become aggressive. Explorer Christopher Columbus once claimed that albondigas were mortal enemies of The British Empire”.
Greater Protection Needed
Food experts are calling for greater protection of their habitat. Chef Matt Brush from Fuengirola says “Free range albondigas are so much better than factory farmed ones. They are difficult for farmers to keep. Because of their size they can slip through chicken wire fences and escape. If we want to keep eating them, we need to protect their numbers.”
A well dressed albondigas farmer demonstrates the traditional method of catching the little creatures.
Outraged Expats
Expat spokeswoman Anne Fernandez from online outrage expression group Brexpats In Spain says “This is outrageous, we love albondigas and need to stop building on their natural habitat. When they’re gone, we’ll all be even more outraged. Clearly this is happening because of Brexit, which is also outrageous. All these Brits have ditched the UK and moved to Spain because of Brexit, and they’re too tight to buy property on the coast so more development is being done inland where the albondigas live.”
Foreign Muck
Not everyone is concerned by the potential albondigas shortage. Derek Jackson from Birmingham now lives in Estepona, he says “Actually I’m not from Birmingham, I’m from Edgbaston. I wouldn’t eat foreign muck like these albondigas things, they sound proper wrong. I only eat good traditional English food here in Spain, like curry and pizza”. ”
Stew Pidd thinks this is fake news.
Stew Pidd lives in Benalmadena. He says “ This is fake news. Obviously. Anything which is beyond me must be fake news. Brexit is great. They need us more than we need them. Boris is best. Fake news.”
Do you think that more need to be done to protect the natural habitat of the albondigas? Have your say in the comments below.
Written by Dani Garcia, Costa Del Sol Update
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