Cambodian rat butcher Louch Savoun holds up a handful of the skinned rodents to a customer in the provincial town of Battambang, some 290 km northwest of Phnom Penh on February 19, 2004.REUTERS/Chor Sokunthea
According to the Reuters News Service the price of rat meat has been significantly affected by the sagging global economy. Inflation in Cambodia is at about 37% and has quadrupled the price of rat meat to about $1.28US/kg putting it almost out of range for a lot of the nation's poor. Comparatively beef in Cambodia costs about $5.20US/kg.
Of course, it must be noted that the rat meat we're talking about here is not the average urban scourge but is actually it's country cousin the wild field rat. On the positive side there appears to be an opportunity for some rat meat speculators to make a profit as flooding in the Mekong Delta has cause the rats to flee the lowlands making them an easy catch for villagers. Add this to the growing demand in neighboring countries Thailand and Vietnam (where a ton of live rats are imported daily) while a state government in east India encourages it's people to eat more rat in an effort to battle soaring food prices there.
At first, I was going to make light of this article but, as I was writing it, I realised that what may seem unacceptable to some is part of another's culture. "Modern" societies look down on less sophisticated cultures even though what they do maybe unacceptable to another culture. Every day millions of Americans consume millions of pounds of pork and seafood while there are cultures that have strict taboos against it. So I'm taking this as an opportunity to persuade others to be more open to experimentation. Most people who know me know that I will eat just about anything (unless I fear an allergic reaction) and have done so on many occasions so, if there's rat on the menu I'll probably be the first in my circle of food friends to take a taste.
Of course, it must be noted that the rat meat we're talking about here is not the average urban scourge but is actually it's country cousin the wild field rat. On the positive side there appears to be an opportunity for some rat meat speculators to make a profit as flooding in the Mekong Delta has cause the rats to flee the lowlands making them an easy catch for villagers. Add this to the growing demand in neighboring countries Thailand and Vietnam (where a ton of live rats are imported daily) while a state government in east India encourages it's people to eat more rat in an effort to battle soaring food prices there.
At first, I was going to make light of this article but, as I was writing it, I realised that what may seem unacceptable to some is part of another's culture. "Modern" societies look down on less sophisticated cultures even though what they do maybe unacceptable to another culture. Every day millions of Americans consume millions of pounds of pork and seafood while there are cultures that have strict taboos against it. So I'm taking this as an opportunity to persuade others to be more open to experimentation. Most people who know me know that I will eat just about anything (unless I fear an allergic reaction) and have done so on many occasions so, if there's rat on the menu I'll probably be the first in my circle of food friends to take a taste.
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