Nice catch: A man skims used cooking oil from the sewer.Photos: Andrew SteinStrolling along an alley lined with restaurants late one evening in Hangzhou, China, the fetid stench of sewage and rotting food wafted deep into my olfactory grooves. As I began to turn a pallid green, I'll never forget the sight that jolted me back into consciousness: a lone man fishing in the sewer for the cooking oil swirling chunkily around the surface. For months I had been hearing about a black-market sewer-oil industry, but the thought was just too difficult to digest. Living in a state of incredulity …

Is that a giant cucumber or are you just happy to see me? My local produce market features donggua, or winter melons.Photos: Andrew Stein I’m in Hangzhou, the capital of China’s fertile Zhejiang province.I've lived happily for months under the impression that I eat locally. Within one block of my apartment, in downtown Hangzhou, the capital of China's rich and fertile Zhejiang Province, I can take care of almost all my food needs by supporting the little, local guy. No need for supermarkets when you've got great local food available! Then, one day, cutting veggies for an omelet in my …