Racism targets Asian food, businesses in U.S. during COVID-19 pandemic

By CHRISTINE FERNANDO and CHEYANNE MUMPHREY LOS ANGELES As the coronavirus spread throughout the U.S., bigotry toward Asian Americans was not far behind, fueled by the news that COVID-19 first appeared in China. Some initial evidence suggested the virus began in bats, which infected another animal that may have spread it to people at one of Wuhan, Chinaࢀ™s ࢀœwet markets.ࢀ Such markets sell fresh meat, fish and vegetables, and some also sell live animals, such as chickens, that are butchered on site to ensure freshness for consumers. The information quickly got distorted in the U.S., spurring racist memes on social…