The disheartening first half of 2020 was definitely far from what any of us were hoping for. Yet, it would be dishonest to say that what we are facing right now is something completely unexpected. Already in 2007, researchers from Hong Kong tried to raise awareness of the fact that “the presence of a large reservoir of SARS-CoV-like viruses in horseshoe bats, together with the culture of eating exotic mammals in southern China, is a time bomb”. Unfortunately, the power of eating habits often seems to trump facts. Now we are witnessing the consequences.