Tasty pests that
pack a protein punch
Story by Giordano Stolley and Somchai Taphaneeyapan
Pictures by Giordano Stolley |
|
 |
Bangkok, Thailand - Through out time many a tale has been told of plagues
of locusts that destroyed crops leaving farmers destitute. The result
has been a multi-billion-dollar worldwide industry to eradicate these
and other crop-eating pests.
However, in Thailand the problem has been solved in novel fashion:
Eat the pests. In fact, the demand for crop-eating pests as well as
other insects has soared to such an extent in the past decade that a
kilogram of locusts commands a better price than a kilogram of corn.
Thai farmers can earn between 200 and 400 Thai baht per kilogram of
locusts compared to the miserly five baht per kilogram of corn.
The demand has outstripped the country's capacity to supply consumers
with the insects that the country must, during lean times, import them
from its neighbouring countries, namely Myanmar (Burma), Cambodia and
Laos.
In addition, the University of Khon Kaen in northeastern Thailand has
pioneered techniques of farming locusts and crickets while the Ratamangal
Institute of Technology in Sakon Nakhon has pioneered insect canning.
But it is not only locusts and crickets that have appealed to the Thai
palate. Silkworms, water bugs, grasshoppers, ants, ant eggs, bamboo
worms and scorpions are also becoming a major part of the Thai kitchen.
Ants are said to give a sour taste, replacing lemons in salads, for
example. Locusts - and there are several varieties - are fried until
they crackle. The chef then sprays them with soy sauce and hot pepper,
occasionally adding monosodium glutamate. The female maengda, a type
of water bug that looks disturbingly similar to a cockroach, is not
only eaten but is also used in a variety of pastes such as the Numprikkrapi
shrimp paste.
Foreign tourists in Bangkok are often surprised to see what they think
is a fried cockroach - the maengda - being offered for sale. And then
they look on with horror as a local breaks off the legs and head of
the cockroach-looking bug, before placing the abdomen between his teeth
and squeezing the pasty soy-tasting interiors into his mouth with relish.
Urban legend has it that a plague of locusts nearly two decades ago
had farmers madly spraying insecticide to protect their crops. One farmer
wondered what he could do with all the dead bugs and so fried them.
Locals in his village found the bugs, when cooked in a flavourful soy
sauce to be tasty. The rest is history.
Awareness of the harmful effects of insecticides has traders insisting
that the insects arrive at the market still alive and flapping.
 |
Chompoon
Boontham, an edible insect wholesaler at Bangkok's Klong Toey market dishes up a creepy crawly treat for a vendor to sell on Bangkok's streets.
- Picture: Giordano Stolley |
Chompoon Boontham, 25, who has been selling for more than five years
to street vendors at Bangkok's Klong Toey market, claims that a decade
ago a kilogram of locusts only fetched 20 baht a kilogram. These days
she's getting 300 baht a kilogram and in when there are shortages the
price jumps by 25 percent. She buys the insects alive from middlemen
who have bought them from the farmers or themselves gone into the farmers'
fields to catch the assortment of insects.
She freezes a portion of her purchases to ensure that she does not
run out in the lean hot season from April to June.
What environmental impact the shortage of insects in the country has
is unclear, with no real impact studies having been done, but a visit
to neighbouring Myanmar (Burma) shows how much more bird life there
is in comparison to that in Thailand.
An entomologist with Thailand's Department of Agriculture, who declined
to be named, said the impact was limited as the insects had an enormous
capacity to reproduce and only limited species of insects were being
consumed or collected for fish farms. This he said left the birds and
other insect-eating wildlife plenty of other bugs to eat.
Yet, according Khon Kaen University lecturer Tassanee Cheamchanya,
one of the reasons she and the university began pioneering the techniques
that have led to successful commercial farming of crickets and locusts
was the impact the insect trade was having on the country's environment.
"While a farmer may only hunt certain species, he ends up catching
numerous other insects that are simply killed. Commercial breeding may
help to reduce damage to the environment," said Charnchai Tharvornukulkit,
an assistant professor at the university.
Commercial breeding techniques have been successful. A recent survey
of cricket farmers in the Khon Kaen area showed that the average monthly
net profit of cricket farms between May 2000 and August 2001 had increased
by13 per cent. That growth rate certainly is better than the Thai economy
during the same period.
How much the entire insect industry contributes to Thailand's economy
is unclear and exactly how many people are employed in the industry
is unknown. But there are many who exclusively make a living from the
trade.
She and her husband run their business 24 hours a day everyday of the
year. "On a bad day I will sell at least 40,000 baht." But
assuming that there are only 500 such wholesalers in the country selling
half of what Chompoon and her husband sell, working 300 days a year,
the industry at a conservative guess could be worth as much as 70 million
dollars a year to the Thai economy.
A spokeswoman for Thailand's Internal Trade Department said, "We
don't keep figures of this." And attempts to get figures from the
Ministry of Commerce's Trade and Economic Index Division were equally
unsuccessful. How much Thailand imports from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar
(Burma) is anybody's guess.
Nutritionally, the insects are surprisingly good. Sa-nga Damapong,
a nutritionist at the Nutrition Division of Thailand's Public Health
Ministry, said, "We have done research and much research is being
done. They are very good for humans as they are high in calcium, proteins
and irons."
Recent research by the Thai Farmers Research enter Co. Ltd shows that
a large cricket delivers more protein (20.6 grams) per 100 grams than
either beef (18.8 grams), pork (14.1 grams), chicken (20.2 grams) or
chicken eggs (12.7 grams). Only the popular catfish delivers more protein
per gram. In terms of fat per 100 grams the locust is streaks ahead
of beef, pork chicken and eggs having considerably less fat.
The popularity of the edible critters continues to soar. One enterprising
businessman has begun selling franchises for bug-selling carts, with
uniforms and logos provided, while the Bangkok Post reported recently
that insects would be available in Central - an upmarket department
store chain.
In Thailand's northern city of Pitsanaluk, Tongchart Nusa, who is reputed
to be Thailand's largest wholesaler in insects, has a factory that cans
seven types of insects. His factory produces 1,000 cans a day. So far
the canned insects are only for the local market, but the ambitious
Tongchart plans in the future to begin exporting the finished product.
Dollars, pounds, euros and other strong currencies would be most welcome,
so don't be surprised if you one day find canned crickets fried in soy
sauce being displayed on the shelves of your local supermarket.
|
|
 |
|
 |
|