Taiwan’s night markets have been one of Taiwan’s most important cultural icons for years. They are a great place to spend time with friends. The jaw-dropping aromas further excite the tourists who visit. However, the night markets pose food-welfare risks, can affect mental health, generate trash, and drive a nefarious cycle.

1. Food safety concerns

Taiwan’s night markets are known for delicious dishes, but they are also renowned for food safety incidents that have escalated in recent years. For example, in February of 2019, more than 27,000 kg of toxic eggs were seized by Taiwanese government officials. These eggs, tainted with the insecticide fipronil, can affect our livers and thyroid glands (it releases hormones that regulate our metabolic rate) and was classified as a possible carcinogen by the American EPA.

Additionally, there have also been reports of plasticizers in a variety of processed foods, where palm oil has been replaced by plasticizers. According to ECHA (European Chemicals Agency) Member States Committee, plasticizers are considered endocrine disruptors and may lead to severe defects in reproduction and child development. To summarize, the quality of the food sold in night markets is disturbing.

2. Too noisy

Speaking of disturbing, imagine trying to go to sleep, but the buzzing sound of mosquitoes never ceases. And for the whole night, this will be something that cannot be stopped. This is what night markets sound like. The mosquito is the night market, and the buzzing sound is the sound of noise pollution emanating from it. According to Taiwan Insight, noise pollution is one of the top environmental complaints in Taiwan, aside from air pollution. This is clearly a problem; the World Health Organization reports that interrupted sleep may cause “increased risk of ischemic heart disease as well as sleep disturbance, cognitive impairment among children, annoyance, stress-related mental health risks, and tinnitus”.

Not only does this deeply affect our much-needed sleep, but this also affects our environment too. According to the Australian Academy of Science, birds in urban environments have declined in population due to “continuous noise generated by urban environments”. The surrounding constant stream of anthropogenic noises forces birds to adjust their vocal calls in an attempt to either mate or call out to their families. This causes birds to migrate to other places, inducing habitat loss.

3. Environmental concerns

According to The American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei, Taiwan generates an estimated 16.5 million tons of food waste per year. This could fill 182 Olympic-sized swimming pools, and much of the food waste comes from the night markets. This astonishing figure of food waste provides a perfect way for Taiwanese taxpayers to also waste billions of dollars a year.

Additionally, plastic waste is also a colossal problem. Plastic bags, plastic containers, styrofoam boxes, disposable utensils, cardboard bento boxes, plastic cups, etc.,are all examples of trash produced from night markets that pollutes our beautiful environment.

Furthermore, night markets attracts tons of traffic. This increases air pollution in surrounding areas of the night markets but also increases carbon emissions.

4. The vicious cycle

As you might have noticed, the points presented above are all aspects of a growing problem. More consumers and vendors are visiting night markets to earn money or buy goods. More customers mean bigger and more night markets which in turn increase the problems of environmental degradation, noise pollution, and risks associated with low-quality food in night markets. And as customers increase, this would then increase further.

In the final analysis, night markets prove to be more of a problem than advantageous. The ramifications of night markets include health risks of eating food products from night markets, noisy neighborhoods, wasting of resources, and ultimately a vicious cycle of the problems getting worse. Night markets impact people’s lives and they are highly unpleasant for the community and for the world.