60 Minutes Explores the Pricey Underbelly of Truffles

Truffles, they are so fancy and expensive that 60 Minutes dedicated one fifth of their show this weekend to exploring the topic. Also: "Truffles are under siege"! Scarcity has led to them "being trafficked like drugs, stolen by thugs, and threatened by inferior imports from China." 60 Minutes is Dr. Seuss now.

Anyway, because of global warming, truffle harvesting is way, way down, and this has led to a seedy truffle trafficking underground that steals from restaurants, sells truffles on the black market, and even kidnaps truffle hunting dogs. That's not nearly as bad as the Chinese truffles that somehow get slipped in among Italian and French harvest "like cutting flour into cocaine." And watch out: American law doesn't require the labeling of distinct varieties of truffles, so who even knows what crap they're selling here. Educate yourself, below:

Video: Truffles: The Most Expensive Food in the World

· Truffles: The Most Expensive Food in the World [CBS]
· All Truffle Coverage on Eater [-E-]