About 400 people gathered in the Spanish town of Jabugo's Plaza of Ham for a gala dinner. They ate outdoors beneath an almost full moon, as candles flickered on tables draped with heavy cloths, flamenco guitars thrummed in the background, and liveried waiters served plates of seared tuna and beef tenderloin. But for all that elegance, no one stayed seated for long. Along the edges of the plaza, a dozen of the country's most renowned ham cutters (yes, there is such a thing) carved off glistening slices of jamón ibérico — ibérico ham. And even in these troubled times for pigs, the attendees at the fifth World Congress of Cured Ham, which ended on May 8, found the ruby meat an irresistible draw. "No, I'm not worried about it," said champion carver José Angel Muãoz, as he served up one plate after another of paper-thin slices to a never-ending line of guests. "These people know ham better than anyone in the world. And you don't see them holding back." (See pictures of Spain's tomato festival.)
The 'it' he was referring to is, of course, swine flu. According to the World Health Organization, the number of people infected worldwide stands, as of Monday morning, at 4,694, of which 95 cases have occurred in Spain. And some evidence seems to point to a factory pig farm in La Gloria, Mexico, as a possible source for the virus. But among the scientists, producers, regulators and distributors who had gathered in Aracena, just down the road from Jabugo, to network and listen to scientists discussing the latest innovations in pig breeding and ham raising, no one was willing to admit concern about what the future might hold for their prized product.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1897373,00.html?xid=newsletter-daily
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