Green Daily

Think recent food price increases are causing some changes in your diet? Poorer Cambodians are switching to rat to because of rising beef prices.

Before we all go 'ewwwww', rats has been eaten for a long time in neighboring countries like Thailand and by the Aborigines of Australia .

You can still say 'ewwwww', but fast food stalls in Thailand sell them poached, fried, grilled or baked and vendors say that the meat is rather tasty and quite clean if the rodents are caught in rice fields (obviously, free-range rat would taste better).

The price of rat meat has increased four-fold in Cambodia, where "spicy field rat with garlic" is becoming more and more popular. In Thailand, the sale of rat snacks are booming, and over on the subcontinent, an Indian government official has suggested that rat-eating could be useful in combating rising food prices, partly to replace pricier meat but also because rats eat so much grain stock. The official is also asking expensive hotels to consider adding rats to their menus.

I have a pretty strong stomach -- put in a when-in-Rome situation, I would probably munch on some muroids. In the meantime, I'll do my part by reducing meat consumption and leave the furry rodents alone.